Despite the Critics, White House Insists it Has a Plan to Fight Islamic State
Despite the Critics, White House Insists it Has a Plan to Fight Islamic State by Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
To its critics, President Obama’s strategy to combat the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is weak and incoherent. Even some of the staunchest U.S. allies and partners in the fight worry that the time for what they see as the administration’s incremental approach has long since passed.
The White House maintains that its strategy is comprehensive, and that it’s working. Sharp increases in airstrikes and Obama’s recent decision to deploy Special Operations troops, officials say, are part of a fundamental change in the military’s mission developed this fall, along with a new diplomatic push to end the distraction of Syria’s civil war.
Last week’s San Bernardino shooting has abruptly shifted attention from the carnage in the Middle East to the threat at home. In his Sunday night address to the nation, Obama is expected to focus on domestic security, while assuring Americans that there is a viable plan underway to decimate the Islamic State where it lives…