Whenever Obama is asked about his strategy to fight ISIS, he brags of the 66 nation coalition he’s put together to fight the terror group. Unfortunately, that’s not entirely accurate.
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, sometimes referred to in conservative circles as President Ash Carter for dealing with real problems while Obama does puff interviews with YouTube personalities, is now complaining that our coalition partners aren’t stepping up to the fight.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
U.S. calls on slackers to do more in Islamic State warTo doubters of its strategy for defeating the Islamic State, the Obama administration likes to tout its coalition of 66 nations and claim strength in numbers. But a year and a half into the war, some administration officials are acknowledging that this supposed source of strength has its own weaknesses.Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered a glimpse of his own apparent frustration last week when he referred to “our so-called coalition” and suggested the slackers need to step up.”We need everybody, and that’s all the Europeans, the [Persian] Gulf states … Turkey, which is right there on the border. So there are a lot that need to make more contributions,” he said.So Carter is leaving Tuesday for Brussels, where he will convene a meeting Thursday of defense chiefs from about two dozen coalition countries, including most NATO members, Iraq and the Gulf states. He indicated he will, behind closed doors, share with them details of the U.S. strategy for recapturing the main Islamic State strongholds in Syria and Iraq.”What I’m going to do is sit down and say, here is the campaign plan … If you’re thinking World War II newsreel pictures, you think of an arrow going north to take Mosul and another arrow coming south to take Raqqa,” he said last week. Then he will run through a list of military capabilities that will be needed to achieve victory.
This isn’t a new development. While most Americans have been focused on the 2016 election, Carter has been trying in vain to bring our allies to the table.
Here’s a January 25th report from the FOX Business Network:
As an aside, it’s important to note that this is the exact same strategy Bernie Sanders wants to use to fight ISIS. If you’ve listened to him in Democratic Party debates, he has repeatedly said that this is the best way to fight ISIS, as if it’s somehow going to work when he’s commander in chief.
Here’s more from the Washington Post:
What We Know: US looking for more help in fight against ISDefense Secretary Ash Carter heads to Brussels this week to try to persuade partners in the 66-nation coalition against the Islamic State group to take on a bigger share of the load.Some key takeaways about that effort:—The U.S. believes many members of the coalition aren’t doing their share to defeat IS, particularly European nations and Gulf states. “There are a lot that need to make more contributions,” Carter said.—Carter wants other nations to listen to the U.S. strategy for recapturing IS strongholds in Syria and Iraq and then “make an assignment for themselves.”—The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia have promised increased support in recent days. Canada plans to quit airstrikes in Syria and Iraq but expand training of local forces and provide more humanitarian and developmental aid.
The Obama administration can spin this any way they want but one thing is clear.
Their strategy isn’t working.
Featured image via YouTube.
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