Friday brought the announcement by the White House that fewer than 50 Special Operations troops would deploy to Syria to provide “some training, some advice and some assistance.” Saturday, the White House anted up another $100-million ($500-million since 2012) for moderate Syrian opposition groups to keep schools open, restoring access to electricity and clean water and supporting an independent media. Monday, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes asserted the mission of the Special Forces is to be a force multiplier to help those fighting the Islamic State, not to take part in raids or combat. But he did say those troops “may have to engage the enemy.” The U.S. strategy in Syria has been questioned and criticized for nearly four years, and the latest moves have only raised more of the same.
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Partition Syria to Crush the Islamic State
… [R]epresentatives of all the Syrian factions should assemble under United Nations auspices to design the future Syrian state. Given the differences among these factions, this process could take years. In the interim, each faction should govern the territory it holds …
From Tunisia, a Voice of Hope in the Muslim World
“The only way to truly defeat ISIS is to offer a better product to the millions of young Muslims in the world. We do: Muslim democracy,” he said. “Young people don’t like ISIS — see how many millions flee from it — but they won’t accept life under tyrants either.”
Why the New ISIL Strategy is a Bad Idea
An American-led effort to impose a post-conflict settlement on the ground in Syria requires Washington to either return “liberated” territory to the Assad government or serve as an auxiliary peacekeeping force for the outgunned opposition.
To Combat the Lure of ISIL, the Muslim World Needs Its Own Peace Corps
Societies have long recognized that young people need ways to focus their idealism and energy, as well satisfy their hunger for new experiences, and to travel. If the Muslim world can harness all those youthful impulses for the greater good of their communities, it would help undermine the attraction of extremist groups like ISIS.
Russia, Kurdish Aspirations and Brutal Enemy Call for Deft US Moves in Syria
Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Syria, a messy situation that has helped fuel the growth of the Isamic State – and appears to be creating a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. The Obama administration is implementing its new “Syria First” policy, which relies on arming certain Kurdish factions to take the fight to the Islamic State coupled with U.S. air support. Add Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entry into the fray and his open support of Syria President Bashir al-Assad – who U.S. officials hold responsible for most of the misery – and the cocktail has become a lot more combustible. To make even modest progress, Syria requires the United States to avoid any number of policy and military landmines.
US Shifts Strategy Again. This Time in Syria
The Obama administration is pursuing a new tactic to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift to a “Syria First” strategy came after the United States ended its plan to train so-called “moderate Syrians,” an expensive strategy that produced few results. The idea goes something like this: by shifting America’s focus from Iraq to Syria first, Washington can battle IS independently of Iran, and hopefully set the stage for a post-Assad Syria. But there’s a hitch: Russia. President Vladimir Putin, a vocal supporter of the Syrian president, has made his presence known, complicating an already very complicated scenario for the United States.
Obama Rethinks Afghanistan
In what can only be seen as a dramatic reversal in policy, President Barack Obama has decided to delay the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, keeping the current force of nearly 10,000 in place past the end of his presidency, when they will shrink to 5,500. When Obama ran for the presidency in 2008, he pledged to end U.S. involvement in two costly wars: Iraq and Afghanistan. But with the Taliban’s brief but bold takeover of Kunduz province and the ongoing threat posed by the Islamic State, the president was forced to reconsider his initial plan to finally put an end to America’s longest war. While some say it’s too little too late, others are praising him for acting against his strong belief that the United States must not march into what he calls “open-ended military conflicts.”
Out of Afghanistan? Not yet
Leaving a significant troop presence in Afghanistan wasn’t part of the legacy Obama envisioned when he vowed to end two wars. But legacy has to take a back seat to facts on the ground. Given the unraveling in Iraq and the recent gains by the Taliban, the U.S. can’t leave Afghanistan yet.
Syria: Russian Quagmire? American Quandary
Three-dimensional military and diplomatic chess is being played out in the Middle East. Russian warplanes have forayed into Turkish, and by alliance, NATO airspace while flying sorties to support the beleaguered Syrian government. Turkey’s prime minister warns Russian jets could be shot down if they trespass again. Battle-tested Russian “volunteers” may soon put boots on the ground alongside Syrian forces, according to a top Russian official. Is Washington ceding influence in the Middle East to Moscow? Or, is Russia repeating its Afghan mistake? It will likely take years to get to checkmate.
What Checkhov Tells Us About Putin’s Syria Airstrikes
“I find it interesting that the language Moscow is using to justify and describe its military intervention in Syria borrows so much from the lexicon that the US used to talk about its invasion of Iraq,” says Alexander Kliment, a director specializing in Russia at the Eurasia Group.
US Confronts Islamic State Militants Online
Efforts to defeat the Islamic State involve more than military might, President Barack Obama said at Tuesday’s summit on countering violent extremism: “…This means defeating their ideology. Ideologies are not defeated with guns, they’re defeated by better ideas.” The stunning success of IS online recruitment via social media has resulted in a growing US operation to dilute the messaging that has inspired tens of thousands to drop everything and join IS in Syria. Anti-terrorism messaging is not a new tool, but it is a difficult one to get right. US officials are betting on telling the stories of IS defectors and reaching young minds on the Internet and elsewhere.