Bloomberg quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on President Obama’s efforts to regroup with allies as airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham fail to deter the terrorist organization:
Frederic Hof, who served as the State Department’s special representative on Syria in 2012, said the administration should use today’s meeting with allies to consider revising its strategy against Islamic State.
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What we’re witnessing is a textbook example of the shortcomings of air power minus a ground component, versus a mobile enemy,” Hof said by e-mail.
Hof, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, said the Kurdish Peshmerga need arms, the Iraqi army needs training and the administration’s yearlong plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels “seems leisurely” in the face of Islamic State’s onslaught.
“Obviously, there needs to be a crash program in both countries to develop ground components,” Hof said. “That, or members of the coalition may have to put some boots on the ground.”