Mission in Syria still uncertain
Direct action likely weeks off
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has not yet authorized the U. S. Central Command to conduct offensive combat operations in Syria, two senior defense officials told McClatchy Thursday, underscoring the uncertainty U. S. officials still have over how best to counter the rise of the Islamic State in that country.
Speaking anonymously to discuss sensitive military operations, the officials said that while U. S. Centcom commander Army Gen. Lloyd Austin has been granted authority to expand the U.S. effort in Iraq to offensive operations, that authority has yet to be extended to Syria.
Austin’s authority for Iraq operations was explicit in Obama’s address Wednesday, the officials said, and official written authority, called an execution order, is expected to reach Austin from the Joint Chiefs of Staff sometime next week, a defense official told McClatchy.
But despite the assertion by White House officials in background briefings that military action in Syria is a certainty, Pentagon officials said they believe direct military action there is at least weeks away. Wednesday, Obama said he would not hesitate to strike in Syria, but he gave no indication of what developments would lead to such an authorization, and other U.S. officials have acknowledged the U.S. is still determining what to do.
Several major issues remain unresolved regarding Syria, the Defense Department officials said. They include what weapons would be used, what targets would be hit, and how long an air campaign might last.
Of greatest concern is whether air strikes would end up strengthening the government of President Bashar Assad, whose ouster Obama called for in August 2011. The Islamic State currently controls about a third of Syrian territory.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Pentagon planners is their lack of intelligence on possible targets in Syria.