Western Diplomats And Intelligence Officials Are Dismissing President Obama's Plan To Defeat The Islamic State

The Telegraph: Barack Obama plan to defeat Isil dismissed by US intelligence experts

Former and serving diplomats and intelligence officials tell the Telegraph that President Obama's hopes of defeating Islamic State are based on "smoke and mirrors".

President Barack Obama's attempts to destroy Isil have been derided by Western diplomats and his own former intelligence officials.

Mr Obama has insisted that the United States will not change the strategy that he said was already “containing” Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and would work eventually to “degrade and destroy” it.

But in a series of candid interviews with the Telegraph, Western diplomats and intelligence officials - current and former - have angrily dismissed the approach as a “smoke and mirrors” public relations exercise founded on little substantive or effective action.

“It’s smoke and mirrors and that is the dirty little secret,” said Derek Harvey, one of Mr Obama’s senior former intelligence officials, a Middle East specialist, who said he resigned from his job in frustration at the administration's handling of the conflict.

WNU Editor: The focus of the White House (since Day One of the Obama administration) has always been to pursue an exit strategy from the Middle East .... rather than an escalation in military/diplomatic/economic resources. But in all fairness to the President ....he has mirrored the sentiment of much of the American public who have grown tired of America's long military engagement in the Middle East, and who would not object to minimizing the U.S. role in its many conflicts. Is this a sound policy ... probably not .... but President Obama has addressed these public concerns and has won two elections because of it. Unfortunately .... the wars are not only continuing but are in fact escalating .... and  I do know one thing .... the next U.S. President is going to be facing some hard decisions on what to do in the Middle East when he (or she) assumes the assume in January 2017 .... and an exit strategy will not be on the table as an option.