>>>>This is what the complete collapse of a foreign policy doctrine looks like. In the absence of stabilizing American leadership, the Middle East has become a regional Sunni-Shiite proxy war in which the most radical and ruthless thrive. The Obama administration seems gobsmacked by the speed and extent of this unraveling. The possible collapse of Kurdistan (one of our most reliable friends in the region) was something that even the worst-case American analyses during the grimmest days of the Iraq War did not contemplate. This is what shocked the administration into (limited) action and accelerated the rethinking of American policy. The options are few. The administration could seek the eventual destruction of the IS safe haven. This would involve encouraging a political accommodation to increase the legitimacy of Iraqs central government; stabilizing the defense of Erbil and Baghdad with immediate military aid (which the administration has tentatively begun); targeting the extremists on both sides of the (nonexistent) Iraq/Syria border; attempting to peel off support among Sunni tribes sickened by the Islamic States brutality; and dramatically strengthening the Iraqi government and the Kurds so they can regain the offensive over time. Thousands of American troops would be necessary to advise Iraqi units, collect intelligence, conduct airstrikes and carry out special operations raids. This approach would require presidential leadership to mobilize American national will for a difficult fight against a determined enemy. Read more: realclearpolitics/articles/2014/08/12/smacked_by_reality_in_the_middle_east_123636.html#ixzz3A9Uzyagg Follow us: @RCP_Articles on Twitter
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 05:20:39 +0000
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