The Daily Star quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on whether the US air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has been successful:
Fred Hof is resident senior fellow at Washington’s for the Middle East, and was formerly the Obama administration’s point man on a transition in Syria.
Hof told The Daily Star that despite the “widespread opposition belief in a secret handshake” between the regime and the coalition over the airstrikes, the U.S. notification to Syria was likely along the lines of “this is coming, it’s going to be intense, stay the hell out of the way.”
Hof said the air campaign would fail to meet any significant objectives against ISIS since it was not being coupled with a ground component.
And, he continued, ISIS continued to distinguish itself from the other sides in the war because of its ability to maneuver on the ground, in stark contrast to the regime.
“The regime shows some movement on the ground, but essentially its forces are stationary, relying on things like artillery fire, and barrel bombs,” he said.