Air Force Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on what would be effective in fighting ISIS in Syria:
Frederic Hof, a former senior adviser on Syria for the Obama administration who is now with the Atlantic Council, said that in order to destroy the Islamic State, Obama would need a ground combat force large, capable and motivated enough to seize and control significant amounts of territory.
In that context, “deploying a handful of special operations forces to Syria cannot make a decisive difference,” Hof said.
Still, these special operators can be of real assistance to local anti-ISIL forces, and they represent “skin in the game” as the U.S. seeks to persuade regional powers to contribute ground combat forces to sweep ISIL from eastern Syria.
“Even as a Band-Aid, it has potential uses,” Hof said of the spec-ops deployment.