U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend
Time: Military Under Trump 'More Aggressive' in Fight Against ISIS, U.S. Commander Says
President Donald Trump's decision to grant his military "total authorization" to make combat decisions has allowed the armed forces to be "more aggressive" in the fight against the Islamic State, according to the outgoing commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.
“It has freed us up a bit to prosecute the war in a more aggressive manner, I think,” said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of Operation Inherent Resolve, in an interview with TIME coinciding with his departure from the role he has held since August 2016.
Under Townsend, the American-led military coalition has seen a critical phase of the war against the Islamic State that included the liberation by Iraqi forces of the city of Mosul and the launch of the operation on ISIS’ capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa. In July, Iraqi troops backed by U.S. airpower reconquered Mosul following a nine-month battle including long periods of intense street-to-street fighting. The twin battles for Mosul and Raqqa have proved a turning point, milestones on the road to the Islamic State’s eventual loss of its territorial empire.
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WNU Editor: The new General to head the anti-IS coalition is Lieutenant General Paul Funk .... New US commander takes control of anti-IS coalition (AFP).
2 comments:
"Aggression" is the only thing ISIS and like minded groups understand. When this entity first arose, it captured and held territory faster and more efficiently than even the US military could have when it was at its strongest point before it was worn down to the breaking point by continuous and fruitless operations around the world. While this was once one of the strongest fighting forces the world has ever known, it was unable to adjust to behaving like a normal state within the territory it captured. Had it been able to adjust to behaving like a normal state it would have been able to keep the territory it had and would have been able to expand from there as well.
While more "aggression" against a force like ISIS is definitely a step in the right direction, POTUS needs to be very careful here. If things go wrong, POTUS can face war crimes charges in a UN Tribunal. "I deferred to my generals" will not be a valid answer for them. If this happens, will the military brass have POTUS's back in such a situation. While I would hope they would, given the track record I'm skeptical that they would. They would more than likely make POTUS the scapegoat. Again, while more aggression against ISIS is proper and necessary, POTUS needs to be very careful here.
Not to worry. The UN needs funding and so they would never accuse an American president of anything other than not sending in the rent on time
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