[CNN] While President Barack Obama
Jedi mind meld ...
addressed the nation on ISIS and terrorism Sunday night, a new CNN/ORC Poll finds Americans increasingly displeased with the President's handling of terrorism and more willing to send U.S. ground troops into the fight against ISIS.
For the first time in CNN/ORC polling, a majority of Americans (53%) say the U.S. should send ground troops to Iraq or Syria to fight ISIS. At the same time, 6-in-10 disapprove of the President's handling of terrorism and 68% say America's military response to the terrorist group thus far has not been aggressive enough.
The public's opinion is more sensible than the govt's. The qualifier would have to lie in the planning and in the ROE. Plan individual operations with fixed objectives, for instance taking Raqqa or Mosul (not both). Have the thing put together by a real general and his own staff, not the NSC or the White House glee club, a Schwartzkopf not a Westmoreland. Use sufficient force, probably two divisions, not Special Forces or some sort of other false economies. Execute the mission, which would be to cut all supply lines to Raqqa, then bomb/shell it to rubble, then send troops in to kill anybody wearing a turban, a beard, or an RPG.
Then leave. Let the Kurds worry about "nation building" if they want to be bothered. If they need money and arms provide them; they're the only real friends we've got in the area.
Rinse. Repeat if necessary. Eventually it won't be and the civilian casualties will be lower than they would be using the sanctimonious approach.
|