In a Friday op-ed, syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer criticized President Obama’s plan vs. ISIS, saying even though he’s “begun effecting a workable strategy,” he’s been “late, hesitant, reluctant” and “driven…by public opinion” to act against the terrorist organization.
The conservative pundit believes Obama’s definition of success is overstated. Rather than Obama’s oft publicly spoken goal of “degrade and destroy” the terrorist group, the goal should be “containment-plus,” as it’s the only one feasible given the current state of affairs.
“Expel the Islamic State from Iraq, contain it in Syria. Because you can’t win from the air,” explains Krauthammer. “In Iraq, we have potential ground allies. In Syria, we don’t.”
Though we have a possibility for success in Iraq, “Syria is another matter,” he claims.
“Under the current strategy, the cancer will remain,” he said. “The air power there is unsupported by ground troops. Nor is anyone in Obama’s ‘broad coalition’ going to contribute any… As for what’s left of the Free Syrian Army, Obama has finally come around to training and arming it. But very late and very little.”
“Containment-plus. It’s the best of our available strategies. Obama must now demonstrate the steel to carry it through,” the commentator concluded.
Krauthammer has been a frequent critic from his nightly perch on Fox News’ “Special Report” with Bret Baier. He was especially critical of Obama’s Sept. 10 ISIS speech, saying the president was “living on the moon” comparing the ISIS campaign and actions vs. Somalia and Yemen and questioning whether our future actions against ISIS was a “serious campaign.”