To enable military success against the Islamic State, we must first have in place a political strategy to mobilize significant Sunni Arab opposition to this terrorist group, both within Syria and Iraq and in the broader region. The biggest impediment to such a strategy is the administration’s ill-considered and unreciprocated outreach to Iran.
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It’s Not Too Late to Save Iraq and Syria
Posted August 26th, 2015 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
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Time is Running Out to Defeat ISIS
Posted August 21st, 2015 at 1:07 pm (UTC-5)
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While the United States can’t fight the ideological battle directly, by using military and diplomatic means it can buy the time necessary for regional leaders to marshal a response and launch a more effective ideological counterattack. If this doesn’t occur, it is possible that the ideological damage inflicted by ISIS could become permanent
If Barack Obama Ever Had a Strategy for Syria, it’s Been Turned on its Head
Posted August 11th, 2015 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
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Faced with a crisis of such magnitude, the choice for an American president tends to be between a bad option and a worse one. But whatever Obama has chosen to do or not to do, the outcome has been far from convincing: there seems to be no end to this war.
Suspicions Surround Turkey’s Escalation Against Islamic State
Posted July 28th, 2015 at 3:20 pm (UTC-5)
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A day after reaching a deal with the United States to step up its military campaign against ISIS, Turkey pounded Kurdish and Islamic State targets. The move immediately prompted skepticism about Ankara’s true intention in signing the pact, which allows the US to use its bases in Turkey against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria. Critics of Prime Minister Erdogan say it’s all a ruse to conduct raids on Kurdish separatists, who observers agree are critical to ousting IS militants in the region. Obama pushed hard to get Turkish involvement, but it remains to be seen if the new cooperation will bear fruit over the long-term.
In Iraq, I Raided Insurgents. In Virginia, Police Raided Me.
Posted July 27th, 2015 at 9:17 am (UTC-5)
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The culture that encourages police officers to engage their weapons before gathering information promotes the mind-set that nothing, including citizen safety, is more important than officers’ personal security. That approach has caused public trust in law enforcement to deteriorate.
A Sunni Solution to ISIS
Posted July 9th, 2015 at 3:28 pm (UTC-5)
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Increasingly, the Iraqi Sunnis are demanding their rights. They want a Sunni Regional Government, similar to the Kurdish Regional Government, with a Sunni militia, like the Peshmerga, to protect the population. Why should Washington support such a solution?
The U.S. Military Should “Go Small” to Defeat ISIS
Posted July 2nd, 2015 at 2:51 pm (UTC-5)
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Static, fortified bases cede the initiative to the enemy. In modern warfare, being static means being vulnerable to both precision and asymmetric attack. Unconventional and light is the better approach—even if it carries a higher degree of tactical risk.
Deconstructing Syria: A New Strategy for America’s Most Hopeless War
Posted June 30th, 2015 at 9:36 am (UTC-5)
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While the Obama administration’s strategy for Iraq requires substantial upgrading in light of recent Islamic State (or ISIL) successes in and around Ramadi in particular, the plan for Syria is in much worse shape.
US Ratchets Up Fight Against Islamic State
Posted June 11th, 2015 at 1:47 pm (UTC-5)
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With Obama’s decision to deploy an additional 450 US troops to help Iraq defeat Islamic State militants comes the inevitable question.
Are we back in Iraq?
Obama’s Tacit Alliance with Iran Against ISIS Is Doomed to Failure
Posted June 9th, 2015 at 12:20 pm (UTC-5)
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Rather than revamp a failed strategy, U.S. officials now appear ready to rely (at least tacitly) on Iran to help roll back the jihadis.
No Easy Fix for the Middle East
Posted June 8th, 2015 at 2:19 pm (UTC-5)
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The Islamic State. Iraq. Syria. The words speak for themselves: the Middle East is unraveling. US policy has been faulted – from conservatives and liberals alike – for allowing the chaos – and failing to secure a deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But there’s another narrative gaining steam, one that says Obama isn’t to blame. There’s no easy fix.
For Obama, No Middle Ground in the Mideast
Posted June 8th, 2015 at 8:42 am (UTC-5)
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No Easy Choice on ISIS
Posted June 5th, 2015 at 2:50 pm (UTC-5)
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The question is as stark as it is simple: What shall we do if ISIS threatens to take Baghdad or Damascus?
Why Has America Stopped Winning Wars?
Posted June 2nd, 2015 at 3:15 pm (UTC-5)
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American culture is a victory culture. Coded into the American DNA are the fear of failure and the celebration of winning.
Petraeus’ Plan to Defeat Islamic State Won’t Work
The key problem with Petraeus’s idea is that the U.S. may no longer have any chance of being “credible” in Syria. Four years after the crisis began, U.S. support for groups fighting the Assad regime has slowed. Those moderate groups that haven’t been crushed or coopted by Islamic groups feel abandoned by Washington.