U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that protecting the Syrian border town of Kobani is not the main objective of U.S.-coalition forces.
"Kobani is a tragedy because it represents the evil of ISIL, but it is not the definition of the strategy or the full measure of what is happening with respect to ISIL,” Kerry said.
Kerry says the priority of the U.S. is to provide the space for Iraq to get its government in place, and begin to push back against ISIS.
“That is taking place. And one community will not define the strategy over a few days when it is a strategy that will take weeks and months”
According to a human rights monitoring group, ISIS fighters are on the brink of taking Kobani. U.S.-led air strikes failed to stop their advance. The U.N. says if Kobani falls to militants, they will have a strategic military post on the Turkish border.
Kerry’s comments came after a news conference in Boston about climate change.
