January 29, 2018
Obama’s ISIS policy is working for Trump
Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivered a speech that after a year in office finally laid out a new strategy for Syria. The part that’s getting the most attention is his unequivocal declaration that the United States would maintain an indefinite military presence in Syria, stating, “The United States will maintain a military presence in Syria focused on ensuring ISIS cannot reemerge.”
It doesn’t square with President Trump’s “America first” posture, but it’s the right call.
It also represents an acknowledgment that in Syria, Trump is using President Barack Obama’s playbook. So far, it’s working out pretty well for him.
President George W. Bush deployed hundreds of thousands of troops during the Iraq War. It was costly, took years to bear fruit and was politically unsustainable. Early in his presidency, Obama sought to disengage militarily from Iraq altogether, which backfired by contributing to the governance vacuum that facilitated the rise of the Islamic State.
Trump campaigned against both in 2016, deriding Bush as too eager for war — “Iraq was a big, fat mistake” — and casting Obama as weak, and the “founder of ISIS.”
Read the full article in The Washington Post.
More from CNAS
-
“The Ayatollah Has No Clothes” – with Rich Goldberg and Richard Fontaine
Podcast
Richard Fontaine is CEO of the Center for American Security, joins Call Me Back to assess the threat FROM Iran and the threat TO Iran. Listen to the full episode on Call Me ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
What Does Yahya Sinwar’s Death Mean for the War in Gaza?
Podcast
Jonathan Lord, Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security program, joins RN Drive to discuss the death of Sinwar who has long been viewed as one of the militant gr...
By Jonathan Lord
-
Russia in the Middle East with Jonathan Lord and Hanna Notte
Podcast
One year after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the crisis in the Middle East has grown more and more complex. With the region teetering on the brink of broader conflict, the B...
By Jonathan Lord, Hanna Notte, Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
A Year of Anguish for the Hostages in Gaza—and Their Families
Commentary
October 7 gave rise to unexpected bipartisan coalitions of D.C. experts and legislators who lent their knowledge to help U.S. hostage families and victims of the conflict navi...
By Daniel Silverberg
