South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al-Monitor on the ISIS War Game hosted by the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and quotes Vice President, Arnold Kanter Chair, and Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center Barry Pavel, Middle East Peace and Security Initiative Resident Senior Fellow Bilal Y. Saab, and Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on their participation in the war game:
A gathering of 50 current and former US officials plus regional and security experts concluded Oct. 14 that the United States should intensify both its diplomatic and military involvement in Syria to degrade and ultimately defeat the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS).
The third and final phase of a war game, organized by the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, examined three scenarios for dealing with IS: stay the course, diplomatic surge and heavy military intervention. The consensus was that the United States should adopt a hybrid of the last two options, including an effort to revive the stalled Geneva process, this time with Iranian participation.