Analysis: Syria Will Test No-Boots-On-Ground Strategy -- Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — President Obama's no-boots-on-the-ground strategy faces its biggest test in Syria: New U.S. airstrikes are damaging the Islamic State's forces, but the United States lacks reliable allies on the ground to defeat the enemy, according to analysts.
"It's going to be hard for it to work," said Andrew Tabler, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
The Pentagon is counting on so-called moderate rebels in Syria and the military in Iraq to repel the Islamic State militants. Neither force appears capable of taking on the Islamic State until it is better trained and equipped.
Iraqi forces will need a lot of time to train and rebuild to take on a potent enemy, based on their dismal performance against the militants, who easily seized large regions of Iraq in June.
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My Comment: Since Day One President Obama has been very insistent that there will be no "boots on the ground" .... Obama insists: No U.S. ground combat troops in Iraq (USA Today). But for there to be success .... others are saying that "boots on the ground will be necessary" .... Robert Gates Says Obama Will Need To Use Boots On The Ground To Defeat ISIS (Huffington Post). What is my take .... I suspect that Richard L. Russell (War On The Rocks) is probably right in his assessment .... The “No Boots on the Ground” Mantra is Strategic Foolishness.
Update: Why Obama’s assurance of ‘no boots on the ground’ isn’t so reassuring -- Rosa Brooks, Washington Post
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