HEAR I.S. PLAN
Peace, using IS’s Arabic acronym.
“We shouldn’t lose focus. We shouldn’t give Daesh a second chance.”
Shortly after taking office in late January, Trump gave the Pentagon 30 days to review progress in the anti-IS fight and develop a comprehensive plan to “totally obliterate” the group.
As a candidate, Trump frequently bemoaned how long then president Barack Obama was taking to get the job done — and claimed to have a secret plan to finish IS.
He never offered details and so far has largely stuck with Obama’s strategy, which centres on US-led or guided forces carrying out continual surveillance and strikes on jihadist targets, while training and equipping local forces to conduct ground combat and hold seized terrain.
Trump has made some notable tweaks, including granting commanders broader authority to make battlefield decisions.
Military officers had complained of micromanagement under Obama, but critics worry the military may now lean towards actions with a greater likelihood of civilian deaths, such as a botched January raid in Yemen that killed a Navy SEAL, women and children.
The Pentagon is investigating allegations that a strike it launched on a suspected al-Qaeda target near a mosque in northern Syria killed dozens of civilians.
Last month, the Pentagon gave Trump an initial draft of its revised anti-IS plan.
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said the document would “inform” yesterday’s diplomatic discussions, and feedback from coalition partners would be integrated. AFP