U.S. is having success against ISIL, leader says at Cincy convention

The top military leader in the U.S. told thousands of veterans that American troops have had “significant success” in taking the leaders of the Islamic State off the battlefield.

“The current fight against ISIL is our priority and we’re taking the fight to the enemy in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Libya,” said Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday at the American Legion National Convention in Cincinnati.

“But I want to make it clear that our No. 1 priority and the reason why we are in all those places is to prevent an attack here in the homeland,” the four-star general added. “Over the past year, we’ve had some significant success taking ISIL leaders off the battlefield, reducing their resources and the territory that they hold.

“We’ve also built the capacity of global forces to make sure whatever success that we have is enduring. Most importantly, we’ve undermined the aura of invincibility and the credibility of ISIL’s narrative. They are being exposed for the losers that they are.”

Dunford is the first major national speaker to speak to some 9,000 members of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary gathered at the Duke Energy Convention Center. This week, Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Secretary of the VA Robert McDonald will address veterans.

Stanley Pleasant, a 64-year-old Air Force veteran who lives in Dayton, said Dunford’s message reassured him the U.S. military was making gains against the Islamic State terrorist group.

“But it’s just going to take some time,” he said. “We’re not going to do it overnight.”

Vietnam veteran Dennis Dickey, 65, of Covington, Ohio, said hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops around the world are focused on the defeat of the terrorist group.

“Over the past year we’ve gained a little momentum on that,” he said.