Rebel fighters, graduates of a training program, displayed their rifle skills in July in a camp near Damascus, Syria. Credit Bassam Khabieh/Reuters
The United States is rethinking its strategy for battling the Islamic State in Syria, the New York Times reported on Monday, with the Pentagon looking into moving more fighters into safer zones, providing better intelligence and improving the skills of trained rebels.
The options, which are classified, are circulating among top officials at the Department of Defense, the newspaper reported, citing sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
They include enlarging the size of the groups of trained rebels sent back into Syria and shifting the location of the deployments to places where there is more local support, the Times reported.
WNU Editor: I responded to this New York Times post earlier today .... Is The U.S. Really Revamping Its Rebel Force To Fight The Islamic State In Syria? But I would add one more point .... Russia`s growing involvement in Syria will impact U.S. air and military operations in that country. The last thing that the U.S. needs right now is a U.S. - Russian air confrontation over the skies of Syria ... but unless someone backs down (and I do not see the Russians backing down), such an air confrontation will be more likely than not. My guess is that this is why the U.S. has announced a rethink on how to wage war against the Islamic State in Syria .... they are acknowledging that U.S. rules of engagement can no longer apply with Russian aircraft in the sky.
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