What was the official strategy in Syria?

[Knowing]

I was under the impression that the goal was to eradicate ISIS and then seek a peaceful resolution to the civil war hopefully including the ouster of Assad.

However, now that Russia has joined the fight against ISIS in a capacity that only Washington DC is confused about it seems that having a multinational coalition (Russia, our new pals Iran, and potentially China) fighting ISIS isn't according to plan.

Our government has spent so long trying to start a war (WMD) in Syria I'd think they'd welcome Russia's assistance. It seems like they're perfectly willing to do the heavy lifting. If we show some active involvement rather than loiter around pointing fingers then we could prevent any ill advised action like the ceding of Syria to the Russian Federation... which doesn't seem to really benefit Putin anyway but who knows what Washington is thinking anyway.

tl;dr - is or is not the whole goal of this exercise to destroy the foreign AQ fighters that were on the run in 2012? If that wasn't the goal, what was?

Spoiler

I have my theories, but I'd like to hear other people's input.

 

[cabri]

Obama's strategy was to provide lip service against Syria and pretend to support the rebels trying to oust Assad.

 

[Genx87]

Our Syria policy is all sorts of fucked up. The difference between Syria and Libya imo is Syria has direct access to Russian aid that is helping them survive. Libya didnt have such a luxury. The result of both interventions would end the same. With radicals controlling a country. That is why I cant think of why we are so hell bent on creating another power vacuum in Syria and hoping the 60 moderates we trained at a cost of a half billion dollars can retain power.

Watching Putins interview on 60 minutes last night was sad. The guy is clearly a sociopath. But he was also correct in his assessment of Syria. Preserving the only legitimate govt the country has is the better of all the shitty options. Just imagine if ISIS were to get hold of Syrian WMD?

 

[ivwshane]

I thought Syria intervention was a humanitarian one like it was in Libya.

 

[unokitty]

Washington Post
Putin trolls Obama

...We’ve come a long way since Obama drew that meaningless “red line” in August 2012...

In an interview with Charlie Rose that aired last night, the Russian pointedly mentioned embarrassing revelations about a costly three-year program to train and equip moderate rebels fighting Assad...

“The initial aim was to train 5,000 to 6,000 fighters, then 12,000, but it turns out that only 60 were trained and only four or five are actually fighting,” Putin said. “All the others simply ran away with their American weapons to Islamic State!”

US has official strategy?

Uno

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Piss poor leader has piss poor strategy and zero credibility.

 

[theeedude]

"Strategy" is we don't like Assad, and we don't like ISIS, so let's pretend there a viable none of the above option so we don't have to pick one over the other.
The other "strategy" is Wahabbi extremist supporting Saudis are our "friends" and we need to take cues from them who to support and who to topple in the Middle East.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

The strategy is not to get involved in Syria. Personally I think that is a great strategy however the constant facade of we have a strong Syria policy is stupid.

 

[feralkid]

Piss poor leader has piss poor strategy and zero credibility.

So true; when Obama tried to get rid of Assad early on, like before ISIL was in the mix, our Leaders in Congress utterly blocked all of his options.

Now the choices are even worse.

 

[Zstream]

"Strategy" is we don't like Assad, and we don't like ISIS, so let's pretend there a viable none of the above option so we don't have to pick one over the other.
The other "strategy" is Wahabbi extremist supporting Saudis are our "friends" and we need to take cues from them who to support and who to topple in the Middle East.

I'm not sure why we support Saudi Arabia, outside of the oil issue. That country is on par with Syria and Iraq (in terms of abuse).

 

[realibrad]

I'm not sure why we support Saudi Arabia, outside of the oil issue. That country is on par with Syria and Iraq (in terms of abuse).

We support SA because of OIL and the fact they were the nicest ones to us after during and after WW2. Many of the other OPEC countries are countered by SA in terms of oil production. The US gives SA wealth and thus power, and we gain oil. When IRAN production went down, SA pumped more. When other OPEC countries wanted to cut back on production to raise prices, SA pumped more.

SA knows where its money comes from, so it wants to sell OIL to the US. Many in SA hate the US, so they sell us oil and use that to fund things they want to destroy. Sometimes its the US, sometimes its a proxy war with Iran in Syria.

 

[JSt0rm]

Im glad we didnt bumble our way in there. Let Russia spend blood and treasure in the middle east. Who gives a fuck.

 

[JSt0rm]

the neocons thats who. We know you are stilll there deep down inside.

 

[werepossum]

We support SA because of OIL and the fact they were the nicest ones to us after during and after WW2. Many of the other OPEC countries are countered by SA in terms of oil production. The US gives SA wealth and thus power, and we gain oil. When IRAN production went down, SA pumped more. When other OPEC countries wanted to cut back on production to raise prices, SA pumped more.

SA knows where its money comes from, so it wants to sell OIL to the US. Many in SA hate the US, so they sell us oil and use that to fund things they want to destroy. Sometimes its the US, sometimes its a proxy war with Iran in Syria.

Well said.

Personally I'm glad the Republicans blocked Obama's little adventure and I care not that Obama has no strategy, because no American strategy works in that part of the world. Look at Iraq; we got exactly what we wanted, yet the region is no more hospitable to American interests than before. We could have the greatest policy ever and it would make no difference.

 

[sm625]

The policy is and has always been destablization.

 

[Ns1]

strategy? who needs that?

 

[Moonbeam]

What if we lived in a rain defective world where you have to have a strategy to count with the brain defective even in situations fraught with sufficient uncertainty and unkowability, such fluidity and unpredictability that no strategy is possible. Such a world would be full of morons who grouse and indulge in two year old gotcha. This must be the he Dalic sewers.

 

[realibrad]

Well said.

Personally I'm glad the Republicans blocked Obama's little adventure and I care not that Obama has no strategy, because no American strategy works in that part of the world. Look at Iraq; we got exactly what we wanted, yet the region is no more hospitable to American interests than before. We could have the greatest policy ever and it would make no difference.

I don't know if I would say the republicans blocked anything. I remember McCain pushing hard to get the US to back the rebels.

I just looked it up and yep, McCain and others were pushing to get arms and other support into Syria to fight Assad forces.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...ccain-says-barack-obama-went-against-nationa/

I agree with you though that we should just stay out of it for now. We need to stop letting the US be the scapegoats for the middle east. There is a lot of hatred of the groups that make up the region and they want to fight. If the US steps in, they will just fight the US first. Sad situation.

 

[TheGardener]

Looks like the strategy now is to bring millions of Syria's population to Europe and the US, where they will assimilate and adopt secular humanist values. How long before we go, well that didn't work?

 

[TheGardener]

So true; when Obama tried to get rid of Assad early on, like before ISIL was in the mix, our Leaders in Congress utterly blocked all of his options.

Now the choices are even worse.

Reinventing history are we? It was SOS John Kerry who thought that Putin had a good idea on Assad destroying the chemical weapons.

Obama thought he'd miss out on another peace prize if he didn't turn 180 degrees and give peace a chance.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Looks like the strategy now is to bring millions of Syria's population to Europe and the US, where they will assimilate and adopt secular humanist values. How long before we go, well that didn't work?

Ten of thousands

 

[IGBT]

your obama is dismal failure..the height of mediocrity. Putin is telling the obama to stick to his cooling / warming / sky is falling eco-KOOK hoax. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/28/w...-on-isis-with-russia-syria-and-iran.html?_r=0

Like Russia’s earlier move to bolster the government of President Bashar al-Assad by deploying warplanes and tanks to a base near Latakia, Syria, the intelligence-sharing arrangement was sealed without notice to the United States. American officials knew that a group of Russian military officers were in Baghdad, but they were clearly surprised when the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command announced the intelligence sharing accord on Sunday.


President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York before he addressed the chamber.
Vladimir Putin of Russia Calls for Coalition to Fight ISISSEPT. 27, 2015
News Analysis: On Syria, Putin Is Catering to an Audience at HomeSEPT. 26, 2015
Spanish police officers arrested an 18-year-old Moroccan woman this month who was suspected of recruiting volunteers for ISIS.
Thousands Enter Syria to Join ISIS Despite Global EffortsSEPT. 26, 2015
Syrians in a destroyed section of Douma, east of Damascus. Russia has offered to hold talks with the United States on Syria.

It was another sign that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was moving ahead with a sharply different tack from that of the Obama administration in battling the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, by assembling a rival coalition that includes Iran and the Syrian government.

 

[bshole]

What if we lived in a rain defective world where you have to have a strategy to count with the brain defective even in situations fraught with sufficient uncertainty and unkowability, such fluidity and unpredictability that no strategy is possible. Such a world would be full of morons who grouse and indulge in two year old gotcha. This must be the he Dalic sewers.

You apparently don't understand evolution. Brains are not defective, if they were, humans could not exist. You keep using the term "defective brain" over and over and over and over and over again, in an evolved world such a thing is an impossibility. If you believe in science and reality, you would cease using such a ridiculous term.... leave that to the religionists.

 

[feralkid]

Reinventing history are we? It was SOS John Kerry who thought that Putin had a good idea on Assad destroying the chemical weapons.

Obama thought he'd miss out on another peace prize if he didn't turn 180 degrees and give peace a chance.

Whatever you say.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/09/obama-congress-syria-vote-in-doubt/2788597/

 

[JSt0rm]

your obama is dismal failure..the height of mediocrity. Putin is telling the obama to stick to his cooling / warming / sky is falling eco-KOOK hoax. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/28/w...-on-isis-with-russia-syria-and-iran.html?_r=0

Like Russia’s earlier move to bolster the government of President Bashar al-Assad by deploying warplanes and tanks to a base near Latakia, Syria, the intelligence-sharing arrangement was sealed without notice to the United States. American officials knew that a group of Russian military officers were in Baghdad, but they were clearly surprised when the Iraqi military’s Joint Operations Command announced the intelligence sharing accord on Sunday.


President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on Monday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York before he addressed the chamber.
Vladimir Putin of Russia Calls for Coalition to Fight ISISSEPT. 27, 2015
News Analysis: On Syria, Putin Is Catering to an Audience at HomeSEPT. 26, 2015
Spanish police officers arrested an 18-year-old Moroccan woman this month who was suspected of recruiting volunteers for ISIS.
Thousands Enter Syria to Join ISIS Despite Global EffortsSEPT. 26, 2015
Syrians in a destroyed section of Douma, east of Damascus. Russia has offered to hold talks with the United States on Syria.

It was another sign that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was moving ahead with a sharply different tack from that of the Obama administration in battling the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, by assembling a rival coalition that includes Iran and the Syrian government.

I can just hear your brains oozing out of your head.