The Obama Administration’s deadline to present a plan to defeat Islamic State to Congress by Feb. 15 has come and gone, with no strategy presented.
The report, which is required by law, is officially passed due, according to a press release by House Committee on Armed Services Chairman [crscore]Mac Thornberry[/crscore]. When contacted by The Daily Caller News Foundation about the delivery of the report, committee communications director Claude Chafin actually said he triple checked, and the report had not been delivered.
“Unsurprisingly the Administration cannot articulate a strategy for countering violent extremists in the Middle East,” said Thornberry’s press release. “Time and again, the President has told us his strategy to defeat extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaida is well underway; yet, months after the legal requirement was established, his Administration cannot deliver that strategy to Congress.”
@HASCRepublicans reports that the WH failed to meet its deadline to present a strategy to counter Islamic extremism. https://t.co/DMa5XIEPEH
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) February 16, 2016
“I fear the President’s failure to deliver this report says far more about the state of his strategy to defeat terrorists than any empty reassurance he may offer from the podium,” noted the release.
Speaker of the House [crscore]Paul Ryan[/crscore] sent the White House a deadline reminder Feb. 10. The email said the administration is “required to submit to Congress a real, comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS” Feb. 15 in order to comply with the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“I guess President Obama takes his deadlines as seriously as he does his red line,” said Rep. Peter J. Roskam to TheDCNF via email. “I can’t say I’m surprised President Obama still underestimates ISIS or, as he likes to call them, the ‘JV squad.'”
“This is a president who claimed ISIS was ‘contained’ just nine hours before Paris and blamed NRA for the horrific terrorist attack in San Bernardino,” continued Roskam.
When contacted, Rep. [crscore]Adam Smith[/crscore]’s office, the Democratic ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, respectfully declined to comment on the administration’s failure to deliver the strategy.
TheDCNF made an inquiry to the White House press office to ask about the status of the plan, but was directed to the Department of State and the Department of Defense, the two agencies responsible for formulating the strategy, as outlined in the NDAA.
When contacted, a State Department spokesperson then redirected back to the White House.
“Without a strategy, this amounts to leaving our troops in the wilderness with a compass, but no map,” noted Thornberry’s statement. “Failing to comply with the report deadline represents more than a failure of strategic vision for the White House. It is a lost opportunity for the Administration and Congress to work together on a common approach to face this threat.”
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