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It was former U.S. Marine Corps 34th Commandant General James T. Conway who stated President Obama’s strategy doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.
Now, as reported by the Washington Post, “The Syrian opposition force to be recruited by the U.S. military and its coalition partners will be trained to defend territory, rather than to seize it back from the Islamic State, according to senior U.S. and allied officials, some of whom are concerned that the approach is flawed.”
“Although moderate Syrian fighters are deemed essential to defeating the Islamic State under the Obama administration’s strategy, officials do not believe the newly assembled units will be capable of capturing key towns from militants without the help of forward-deployed U.S. combat teams, which President Obama has so far ruled out.
The Syrian rebel force will be tasked instead with trying to prevent the Islamic State from extending its reach beyond the large stretches of territory it already controls.”
Ok, so it seems to me that President Obama — instead of accepting exactly what General Conway stated and perhaps listening to professional military officers — is just changing the criteria. In other words, Obama’s strategy to “outsource our national security” to a Syrian rebel force to fight ISIS — without American combat forces on the ground — is no longer viable.
Therefore the rules of the road changed — the Syrian rebels will just defend their home turf. In other words, what ISIS has gained ISIS can keep — and I can bet t if ISIS wants more, Obama, as long as he is president, will just change the rules again. This is like Charlie Brown playing football with Lucy, the ball always moves.
“We have a big disconnect within our strategy. We need a credible, moderate Syrian force, but we have not been willing to commit what it takes to build that force,” said a senior U.S. official involved in Syria and Iraq operations who, like others cited in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the training program.”
Big disconnect? There is no and never has been any connection or a strategy – and I bet these officials are speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear retribution from the wicked one, Valerie Jarrett. We do not have a credible, moderate Syrian force.
While we sit back and ponder what to do next, ISIS continues to grow and its coffers increase. And with the continued success, comes the expansion in recruiting efforts — and the ability to market globally and provide compensation to wannabe fighters. So chances are by the time we get to the “defend territory” phase, ISIS will probably have already seized that terrain — and that means no attacking of ISIS to retake the territory.
The Post says, “military commanders are reluctant to push Syrian fighters into full-scale battles with well-armed militants if they cannot summon close air support and medical evacuations. Military officials also want U.S. and allied special operations troops to advise opposition forces if those forces are thrust into combat, helping them to fight effectively and reducing the chances that the new units will disintegrate in the heat of battle.
“You cannot field an effective force if you’re not on the ground to advise and assist them,” said a senior U.S. military officer with extensive experience in training the Iraqi and Afghan militaries.”
This is just another one of those “October surprises,” but of course you won’t be hearing many progressive socialist media outlets discussing this revelation, will you?
According to the Post, “Lt. Gen. William Mayville, the director of operations for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, said the opposition fighters would receive “basic training to secure their villages.” The force, he said, “will have some effect,” but he acknowledged that the fighters “won’t have the decisive effect” in the battle against the Islamic State.”
However, this fully contrasts with what President Obama and SecDef Hagel originally said. “In announcing the campaign to confront the Islamic State, the president said the United States would “strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists.”
The Pentagon subsequently announced that the U.S. military would seek to train as many as 5,000 Syrian fighters a year, aiming to build what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called an “effective opposition force, not just a hit-and-run group of rebels.”
I trust the words of LTG Mayville over those of Obama and Hagel. There will be no trained force of Syrian rebels. ISIS will not be degraded or destroyed — certainly not under the ineffective and disoriented guidance of Barack Hussein Obama.
It is rather pathetic that all these ads we see on TV are just the usual back and forth between two people — never a serious inquiry or discussion about the threat of ISIS which is growing, accumulating $1 million in black market oil revenues, and conducting multiple offensive operations across the Iraq and Syrian battle space.
No General Conway, it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding — another sad reflection on America.
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