Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said the Obama administration was "unprepared" to create an effective military campaign to battle the Islamic State.
Speaking about his column in Wednesday's Washington Post, Ignatius said Obama is looking to "shake up" his White House team in light of fast-moving developments in Iraq and Syria.
"I think in a sense what you are looking at is strategies, some assembly required," Ignatius said. "In other words, this is being put together as they're rolling forward. It happened so fast. The administration was unprepared."
Ignatius said that the initial aims of protecting Irbil, Baghdad, and the Mosul dam were accomplished, but now the Obama administration is struggling to define its goals and move forward in the war against IS.
"Now they're into a second phase," Ignatius said. "And I think they are struggling to figure out 'what are our goals?' and they need help."