Defense Secretary Ash Carter says the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to ISIS wasn't due to a failure of American or coalition strategy, but due to a failure by Iraqi forces. Carter made the comments, his first since Ramadi fell, to CNN Pentagon reporter Barbara Starr:

What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered. In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and yet they failed to fight, they withdrew from the site, and that says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves.

The interview, aired on CNN's State of the Union program, saw Carter offer up the idea that the kinds of support given to Iraqi forces could change over time but the key factor is a real engagement by the Iraqis themselves:

We can give them training, we can give them equipment -- we obviously can't give them the will to fight. But if we give them training, we give them equipment, and give them support, and give them some time, I hope they will develop the will to fight, because only if they fight can ISIL remain defeated.

Carter defended the use of air strikes, calling them effective. He downplayed the idea that American ground forces could take on a larger role in front line fighting.