(08-25-2015 04:35 PM)Redwingtom Wrote: (08-25-2015 04:20 PM)200yrs2late Wrote: So where is Obama's red line on this one? My guess is instead of a line it looks more like this
Nice Trumpism. Now how about proposing an actual solution or policy path to pursue?
Well, here's the current strategy. We train the Syrian opposition in Turkey (note that through about 3-4 years into the administration, Obama spent more time talking to Erdogan than any other foreign leader, if not all other foreign leaders combined). We beg and plead with Turkey to enter the fight against ISIS, Turkey demurs, purportedly because they think the Kurds in Syria are terrorists, but also because they share the same general worldview as ISIS, differing in tactics as well as fanaticism. After 2-3 years, Turkey enters the fray and allows the US to launch strikes from Turkish basis... seemingly a big win for the administration. Then
ISIS al Nusra slaughters the Syrian opposition trained by the US and Turkey... how did that happen? Because Turkish Intelligence sold out the opposition to
ISIS al Nusra.
Obama thinks he has a friend in Erdogan and hopes to cultivate similar friendships with Iran. With Obama in office, the best move is probably to remove as many US soldiers as possible from harms way. I don't trust him to keep manage the situation without a disaster. Aside from that, take Obama's phone away and stay out of the conflict in Syria. We don't belong in it until we really do belong in it. The US would've been better off if we let Assad use chemical weapons on his own people and either he came out victorious or until he was definitively overthrown.
Drones can be an effective tool against a decentralized organization like al Qaeda where massive force may not be possible or effective. Against an opponent that holds major cities and is the controlling power, air power alone is an absolute farce, mostly good for helping people that we share very little in common with settle parochial scores.
edit: correction that Turky sold rebels out to al Nusra, not ISIS, and added link porn for Redwingtom...
Why President Obama stopped calling Turkish leader Erdogan - CSMonitor.com
US-Turkey priorities in Syria - Business Insider