US general gives anti-Daesh air campaign failing grade

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against Daesh received a failing grade from a top Air Force intelligence commander on Wednesday.

"I would give us a 5, which means we have a lot of work to do," Lt. Gen. Robert Otto told CNN in an interview in which he evaluated air targeting on a 10-point scale.

According to Otto, up to 60 percent of aircraft flying above Syria and Iraq drop bombs.

"We are the best in the world at what we do. But there is always room to improve," Otto said.

A Republican-led Congress has criticized the performance of the coalition’s air campaign because nearly half of the sorties failed to release its ammunition.

The website of U.S. Central Command indicates that the U.S. and its partner nations have flown at least 92,000 sorties since August 2014 and have conducted as much as 13,500 strikes.

CIA Director John Brennan acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. has "a way to go before we are able to say we have made some significant progress against Daesh.”

Speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations think tank in Washington, Brennan said Daesh still “has a lot of momentum” in terms of generating foreign fighter terrorist attacks outside Syria and Iraq.

"We cannot rest at all. We have to increase our efforts,” he said.