We don't have a clear strategy for Iraq right now,said Major Ben Connable,US Marine Corps Retired,International Policy Senior Analyst at the Rand Corporation.We have an ongoing military campaign.Several Iraqi divisions have collapsed,and several are near collapse in Anbar.What is it that the President wants to accomplish at the end of the campaign?Clarity would be very helpful to the US officers who are designing and implementing the campaign.*
Most of the Gulf countries' troops are designed for internal security and would be resented by the Iraqi people.A lot of these countries are providing bases,trainers and aircraft.An advisor is someone who is going in to advise commanders on what decisions to make in logistics,communications or as air controlers.*
The US Navy has a strong presence in Bahrain.It's a very touchy relationship with Iran.We have had a difficult relationship with them.They may already have a Quds force there advising Iraqi troops.The Jordanians have been tremendously helpful.The Emirates and Saudi have been very helpful.I know a lot of Iraqis who risked their lives to build a democratic state.*
There has been progress recently that has degraded the Islamic State and forced them to act in small groups,but if you kill or destroy the Islamic State,there has to be something that fills that void that we leave behind.Irregular warfare is incredibly difficult.Every decision is a tradeoff not leading to a clear victory.It frankly exceeds the capacity of the human mind to fully and completely understand the complexity of this scenario and a US military campaign:not understanding the crisis,you can't count them,and you don't know where they are;the Islamic State broke away from al Qaida;al Nusra is affiliated with al Qaida,but somewhat separate.If we do want to defeat and destroy the Islamic State,I don't know how we can do that without large US ground forces.Just through air power and advisors is extremely difficult,MAJ Connable observed.
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