The White House Is Not Being Serious About Defeating ISIS

Steven Bucci / June 16, 2015

Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, could be in for a rough ride when they go before the House Armed Services Committee this week to explain the Obama administration’s strategy toward Iraq.

There is a widespread and growing criticism that the “No Boots on the Ground Plus Light Airstrikes” approach has failed to drive ISIS back from its gains in Iraq and has enabled the radical Islamist terror group to achieve record recruiting.

The administration is under pressure to change its failing strategy for Iraq and to at least articulate a more effective approach. So far, President Obama has refused to go beyond the use of trainers (no combat role), some equipping and air support seemingly disconnected from the local actions on the ground.

There is a responsible middle ground between the fairly “thin” investment made by Obama and a full reinvasion of Iraq, and some in Congress are ready to explore that. The Heritage Foundation has outlined one such approach, modeled on the successful operations in Afghanistan from late 2001 through early 2002. Heritage has called for embedding American and allied Special Operations forces with local ground units (Iraqi, Kurdish, and eventually Syrian), supported by heavy airpower controlled by the Special Operations embeds. This model drove the Taliban from power and has the potential to do the same to ISIS.

Instead, ISIS continues to take territory, including Ramadi last month. The limited U.S. air campaign and the 3,100 non-combat advisers have done little to slow its march. The terrorists have been stopped in some areas, but not all, and very few towns have been “liberated.” They now recruit from across the Muslim World, including the West. And until America summons the will to defeat them, they will continue to win the propaganda war. Much more must be done.

Last week, the administration approved 450 more advisers, but it essentially doubled down on the current failed plan. The new advisors still are prohibited from combat operations or from being embedded with frontline units. This is not a game changer, and in fact only 50 of the 450 are advisors. The others will provide logistical support and security for the 50.

Clearly, the administration is not being serious about defeating ISIS. The White House spokesman even has tried to portray this fight as solely an Iraqi issue, rather than the threat to U.S. national interests it truly is. ISIS is pushing the entire region toward a potentially disastrous Sunni-vs.-Shia conflagration as well as greatly increasing transnational terrorism.

The U.S. needs to ease restrictions on use of forces to increase effectiveness of air power and include possible combat operations, especially for special operations forces. The administration should stop removing further use of American forces from the table of options. This self-imposed limitation is a huge hindrance that almost guarantees failure.

To excuse his unwillingness to consider stronger action, Obama has used the old saw that “if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” True enough, Mr. President. But if the problem is a “nail,” throwing the hammer away is simply unwise.