Top Army General: 'Incredibly Disappointing' to See 'Fractured' Iraq

The Army's top general reaffirmed Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's bleak assessment of the Iraqi military's will to fight Thursday, conceding there's "a problem with leadership."

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, who served multiple tours in Iraq, said though he felt hopeful about Iraq's future in 2010, the nation's leaders never overcame the deep distrust between sects, and Iraq "fractured," Army Times reports.

"It's incredibly disappointing to me, personally, what I've watched happen," he said. "I really believed, at that time [in 2010], that in five years or so, Iraq would be doing very well. But, frankly, they fractured."

Odierno says now he sees "there probably is a problem with leadership."

"They have to have the will to fight," he says, Army Times reports. "It always goes back to the government of Iraq. Unless you get everyone to believe the government of Iraq is there for all Iraqis, you're always going to have this problem."

"You have to have the right leadership, you have to have strong military leadership, you have to build technical competence in your forces, and you have to have the will and desire to fight," he added. "If you're missing any of those things, you're not going to be successful."

Carter's charge that the Iraqi army "showed no will to fight" came after Islamic State (ISIS) militants easily captured Ramadi – and Odierno said the military is still analyzing what happened there, Army Times reports.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you exactly why things fell apart in Ramadi," he said. "But it's clear to me that we have to help them ensure they have the right leadership. That plays a role in the will of people to fight."

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