Defense News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the effectiveness of sending US special operations forces to Syria to advise anti-ISIS groups:
To destroy the Islamic State group, the president would need a ground combat force large, capable and motivated enough to seize and control significant amounts of territory — and “deploying a handful of special operations forces to Syria cannot make a decisive difference,” said Frederic Hof, a former senior adviser on Syria for the Obama administration, now with the Atlantic Council.
Yet these special operators can be of real assistance to local anti-ISIL forces, and they represent Washington’s “skin in the game” if it tries 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.