Baghdad: Iraq today rejected accusations by the US defence chief that its security forces dodged battle in Ramadi and lack the will to fight the Islamic State group.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter argued that the May 17 fall of Ramadi, the worst defeat Baghdad has suffered in almost a year, could have been avoided.
"We have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIS and defend themselves," he told CNN on Sunday, using one of the acronyms referring to the Islamic State organisation.
Washington has been one of Baghdad's key partners in the war to reclaim the ground lost to ISIS last year and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expressed disbelief at Carter's stinging comments.
"I'm surprised why he said that. I mean, he was very supportive of Iraq. I am sure he was fed with the wrong information," Abadi told the BBC.
The loss of Ramadi, capital of Iraq's largest province Anbar, raised questions over the strategy adopted not only by Baghdad but also by Washington to tackle ISIS.
Months of air strikes and the deployment of advisers to reform and train the security forces have failed to keep up with IS's aggressive tactics.
"Secretary Carter's remarks are surprising and likely to negatively affect the morale of the ISF," Iraq analyst Ahmed Ali said, using the acronym for the Iraqi security forces.
Ali, a visiting senior fellow at the Education for Peace in Iraq Centre, argued there were several examples of Iraqi forces showing plenty of grit and cited the Baiji refinery, where elite troops have repelled relentless ISIS attacks for months.
Ahmed al-Assadi, spokesman of the Hashed al-Shaabi umbrella organisation for Shiite militia and volunteers Abadi reluctantly called in after Ramadi's fall, reacted angrily to Carter's comments.
"This lack of will the US defence secretary mentioned is how the enemies of Iraq have tried to depict the Iraqi security forces," he told AFP.
The government has nonetheless admitted to shortcomings, vowing to investigate the chaotic retreat from Ramadi and punish "recalcitrant" fighters.
After a year of fighting and despite a string of territorial losses, the jihadists' will to fight, on the other hand, was never really in doubt.
ISIS is a trim fighting force which has time and again displayed great tactical skill and whose men see death on the battlefield as the ultimate reward.
