Re: [Marxism] CNN report: US reviews strategy to fight IS
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Hagel has immediately clarified that that was essentially CNN misinformation, though, to be fair to CNN, probably a large part of it is simply journalists there too thick to really get it: Hagel Discounts Targeting Assad Now in Islamic State Fight http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-13/hagel-discounts-expanding-islamic-state-fight-to-include-assad.html Highlights: U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Obama administration doesn’t plan to extend the fight against Islamic State to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime now, saying countering Islamic extremists in Iraq is the priority. “Because we do not have a partner government to work with, or regular military partners as we do in Iraq, in the near term, our military aims in Syria are limited to isolating and destroying ISIL’s safe havens,” he said in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. He referred to the militant group by an acronym of one of its former names. Hagel denied a CNN report yesterday that the administration is looking at a shift in tactics to include new actions against the Syrian regime. “There is no change, and there is no different direction,” Hagel said. In his testimony, Hagel rebuffed calls by some U.S. lawmakers and anti-Islamic State coalition partners such as Saudi Arabia and France to move more quickly to arm moderate Syrian opposition fighters and take other measures against the Assad regime, such as creating a no-fly zone to protect civilians and rebels. “Our strategy in Syria will demand time, patience, and perseverance to deliver results,” Hagel said. “We cannot accomplish our objectives in Syria all at once.” Hagel said it will take at least eight to 12 months for U.S. training and equipping of Syrian rebel fighters to “begin making a difference on the ground,” first against Islamic militants and later against Assad’s forces. “We know the opposition will continue to face intense pressure in a multi-front battle space, and we are considering options for how U.S. and coalition forces can further support these forces once they are trained and equipped,” he said. He urged Congress to approve the administration’s request for $5.6 billion to fight the extremist militants. The longer-term U.S. goal is a negotiated end to the Assad regime, not a military solution to Syria’s civil war, he said. “You can change Assad today, and that’s not gonna change all the dynamics quickly,” he said. “Who are you going to replace Assad with, and what kind of army will take on ISIL?” The threats Islamic State poses are “right now,” Hagel added. “That’s why we’re dealing with that component first because we must.” -Original Message- From: Marv Gandall via Marxism Below is a link to an interesting report from an unlikely source, CNN, about the contradictions and strategic choices facing the US as it scrambles to halt the rise of the Islamic State and other jihadist forces threatening to destabilize Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and other friendly regimes in the Middle East. The Obama administration has not had much success enlisting the Iraqi government and armed forces as its main bulwark against ISIS, which is forcing it to refocus on the Syrian theatre, where the left-wing Kurdish militias in the north of the country have been the most effective ground forces engaging the radical Islamists in combat. The administration's central objective, however, is to draw the Turkish army into the fight. This will necessarily require concessions to the Erdogan government which wants to eliminate both the Assad regime and the Kurdish independence movement. According to CNN, the Obama administration is stepping up diplomatic efforts with Russia, Iran, and the Gulf states to ease Assad from power, and, more ominously, is considering giving the Turks a free hand to invade the autonomous Kurdish regions inside Syria and establish a protectorate in the guise of a no-fly zone. http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/politics/obama-syria-strategy-review/index.html?utm_source=Sailthruutm_medium=emailutm_term=%2ASituation%20Reportutm_campaign=Sit%20Rep%20November%2013%2C%202014 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/mkaradjis%40gmail.com _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] CNN report: US reviews strategy to fight IS
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * On Nov 14, 2014, at 8:33 AM, Michael Karadjis mkarad...@gmail.com wrote: Hagel has immediately clarified that that was essentially CNN misinformation, though, to be fair to CNN, probably a large part of it is simply journalists there too thick to really get it: Hagel Discounts Targeting Assad Now in Islamic State Fight http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-13/hagel-discounts-expanding-islamic-state-fight-to-include-assad.html Hagel denied a CNN report yesterday that the administration is looking at a shift in tactics to include new actions against the Syrian regime. “There is no change, and there is no different direction,” Hagel said. I’ve reread the CNN report, and it doesn’t anywhere suggest a “change” in US policy is underway so much as a revival of the existing policy to remove Assad through a negotiated settlement which would be accompanied by the integration of some respectable pro-Western elements of the opposition into the regime. As the report states: “Now officials and diplomats said Kerry has in recent months intensified discussions with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Russia about the possibility of a diplomatic tract to transition al-Assad and his inner circle out of power, while maintaining large parts of the regime and institutions of the state.” I’m not surprised to see the defence secretary denying there has been a change. The Pentagon is very likely divided on where to concentrate the military effort because of the political and military complexities surrounding the intervention. Dempsey, for example, has publicly spoken out in favour of strengthening the Iraq front. I’m equally no fan of CNN, but its headline did refer to a strategy “review” and covered both sides of the debate in quite some detail. There may not be a “formal” review of the strategy underway, according to the deputy national security director, Ben Rhodes, but that leaves plenty of room for an informal consensus to have emerged about a shift in tactics, based on the testimony of most of those interviewed. The report rings true to me because ISIS has created more favourable conditions to bridge the differences between the outside powers, and made it more imperative for the US to get Turkish boots on the ground, which seems to require Assad’s removal or relegation to a figurehead as a precondition. This may not at all be possible because the situation is so fraught with contradictions, but this would not preclude the US from wishfully rethinking its presently stumbling strategy. _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
[Marxism] CNN report: US reviews strategy to fight IS
POSTING RULES NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. * Below is a link to an interesting report from an unlikely source, CNN, about the contradictions and strategic choices facing the US as it scrambles to halt the rise of the Islamic State and other jihadist forces threatening to destabilize Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and other friendly regimes in the Middle East. The Obama administration has not had much success enlisting the Iraqi government and armed forces as its main bulwark against ISIS, which is forcing it to refocus on the Syrian theatre, where the left-wing Kurdish militias in the north of the country have been the most effective ground forces engaging the radical Islamists in combat. The administration's central objective, however, is to draw the Turkish army into the fight. This will necessarily require concessions to the Erdogan government which wants to eliminate both the Assad regime and the Kurdish independence movement. According to CNN, the Obama administration is stepping up diplomatic efforts with Russia, Iran, and the Gulf states to ease Assad from power, and, more ominously, is considering giving the Turks a free hand to invade the autonomous Kurdish regions inside Syria and establish a protectorate in the guise of a no-fly zone. http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/politics/obama-syria-strategy-review/index.html?utm_source=Sailthruutm_medium=emailutm_term=%2ASituation%20Reportutm_campaign=Sit%20Rep%20November%2013%2C%202014 _ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
