{"id":89525,"date":"2019-10-25T08:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T08:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/25\/us-failed-to-set-attainable-military-objectives-in-syria\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:38:48","slug":"us-failed-to-set-attainable-military-objectives-in-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/commentary\/2019\/10\/25\/us-failed-to-set-attainable-military-objectives-in-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"US failed to set attainable military objectives in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The angst over President Donald Trump\u2019s reshuffling of U.S. troops from northern Syria exposes a dearth of understanding of our self-inflicted predicament in the Middle East. For those willing to see it, this situation highlights the absurdity of the many permanent combat deployments Washington maintains throughout the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. intervention in Syria was fraught with risk from the beginning. When then-President Barack Obama launched the initial U.S. military offensive in 2014, the Syrian civil war had been raging for three years, pitting Assad-regime forces against scores of Islamic rebel groups opposed to his rule, many of whom were tied to al-Qaida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before fighting the Islamic State, Obama tried to tilt the civil war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by secretly arming various anti-regime groups<\/a>. The anti-Assad effort proved disastrous \u2014 weapons provided to CIA-backed groups<\/a> ended up being used against other Pentagon-backed groups \u2014 and the cumulative opposition to Assad was both militarily ineffective and rife with links to anti-American forces. It was not the U.S. government\u2019s finest hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, Obama tried to arm and train so-called \u201cmoderate rebels\u201d to fight Assad. This was never a good idea, as there was never a credible alternative to Assad, let alone someone palatable to U.S. interests and values. Regardless, the policy moved forward and proved to be an even greater failure. More than $500 million was spent and virtually no fighters were effectively trained. Undeterred, Obama then chose to directly insert U.S. military personnel into Syria\u2019s<\/a> internal chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first he sent only a small number of troops to be \u201cadvisers\u201d in the fight against ISIS \u2014 even though the ISIS \u201ccaliphate\u201d in Iraq and Syria always posed a far greater threat to the region than the United States. Had Obama shown restraint, regional powers would have been forced to defeat the terrorist organization on their own. It would have taken longer, but it also would spared American lives and taxpayer dollars. Instead, without congressional authorization to send combat troops to fight in a sovereign nation, Obama plunged America into yet another long-term war.<\/p>\n\n\n\t