During the White House press briefing today, ABC News reporter Jon Karl questioned Press Secretary Josh Earnest about President Obama’s current strategy against ISIS, asking if he believed that the president’s strategy was succeeding.

“Overall, yes,” Earnest said after hesitating for a moment, admitting that although Ramadi had fallen into the hands of Islamic State terrorists, there had been other successful operations in Iraq.

“The strategy that the president has laid has enjoyed periods of progress,” Earnest added.

Earnest referred to Obama’s October 2014 statement that there would be “periods of setback” during the fight against ISIS.

He also assured reporters that Obama was deeply involved in the fight, insisting that he was asking about the operation “just about every day.”

After fielding several questions about the fall of Ramadi, Earnest questioned reporters about their persistence.

“Are we going to light our hair on fire every time there’s a setback?” he asked.