A top U.S. diplomat says the international campaign against the Islamic State is still in its “earliest phases,” but the effort to roll back the extremist militants will take much longer. He said progress is likely to be uneven.

Brett McGurk, deputy special presidential envoy to the coalition to counter IS, testified at a House hearing on Wednesday. Both Republicans and Democrats criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough to defeat the militants.

McGurk defended the administration’s response, and outlined gains in both Iraq and Syria.

But Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the White House of “dithering.” He says IS still controls essentially the same amount of territory it did in the summer.

(AP)