The State Department claimed Wednesday that they have been "looking at" developing a long-term strategy to fight ISIL in both Iraq and Syria for a year.
The United States has stressed repeatedly that its current limited missions in Iraq against ISIL are not long-term solutions. "We are looking long-term at how we fight ISIL," said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.
Asked by a reporter to clarify, Harf said, "We've been looking at that for quite some time. That's not new."
"We've been looking at that for months and months, even before the latest offenses that started in June against Mosul - for, you know, a year or so now, we've been looking very closely at how you confront them in the long term," Harf continued.
"And so, in this year, have there been any conclusions or any recommendations?" asked the reporter.
Harf replied that "we've taken a number of steps, as you've seen," and spoke in general terms about focusing on how to get "the necessary assistance, whether it's monetary or with arms and weapons" to countries fighting ISIL.