WASHINTON (Sputnik) — Dunford made the remarks during his confirmation hearing to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. If confirmed by the Senate, Dunford will take over as Joint Chiefs Chairman from Army General Martin E. Dempsey on October 1, 2015.
“Of the nine lines of effort, the Defense Department has two: to deny the enemy sanctuary and to build Iraqi and Syrian forces,” the News quoted Dunford as saying on Thursday. “The other lines of effort are managed by the State Department, the Treasury Department, law enforcement and other agencies.”
The Marine general noted he does not see how the United States can achieve an enduring success unless it addresses the other “seven lines of effort.”
“[T]hey are, in the final analysis, more important.”
Dunford also told the Committee that he was comfortable with the current strategy that stresses a whole-of-government approach, the News reported.
US military operations against the Islamic State under the direction of the Department of Defense is really buying time and space for those other seven lines of effort to work, the News described Dunford as telling the committee.
The United States is leading a Coalition against the Islamic State comprised of some 60 nations. The Coalition has conducted more than 5,100 airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq since August 2014, and in Syria since September 2014.
