The president signed a presidential memorandum requiring the joint chiefs of staff to give him a plan within the next 30 days for defeating the terrorist group.
“It is going to be very successful,” Trump said, according to Reuters.
According to the memorandum, the plan to tackle the terrorist group will include new public diplomacy, information operations and cyber strategies, as well as identify possible new coalition partners and mechanisms to cut off or seize ISIS’ financial support.
The White House calls “defeating ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups” its top priority. On the campaign trail, Trump slammed his predecessor’s approach to the fight against ISIS, saying the Obama administration was hamstrung by political correctness and public discussion about its plans. He claimed he knew more than US generals and had a secret plan to fight the group.
But the new president’s push for more aggressive rhetoric and actions will only strengthen ISIS and other militants, experts warn, while alienating Muslim-majority US allies who play a key role in counter-terror cooperation. And Trump’s talk of creating “safe zones” for refugees and his apparent openness to a stronger US ground presence in Syria, directly conflict with his talk of reducing American efforts to engage in nation-building abroad.
In addition, he might be surprised by what his generals come back with ― just as he was when retired Gen. James Mattis, now the secretary of defense, told him that torture is ineffective. While President Barack Obama’s ISIS strategy presented major risks in the long run by ignoring political solutions to the conflicts that gave birth to the group.
التعليقات (0)