Even as President Barack Obama prepares to lay out his strategy against the ISIS challenge on Wednesday, senior US officials have cautioned against expectations of quick results, suggesting that it could take as long as three years to achieve the goal of destroying this dangerous militant outfit.
Senior US officials cited by The New York Times have said that the sustained effort needed to finish off ISIS could outlast Obama’s second term, ending January 2017.
The ongoing airstrikes in Iraq in support of Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces battling the Islamic State militants is being described as the first stage in a three-phase American campaign.
The second phase is expected to be unrolled soon after Iraq forms an “inclusive” Government, scheduled for this week, and it would involve an intensified effort to train, advise and possibly equip the Iraqi military, Kurdish fighters and members of Sunni tribes.
The third phase, reckoned to be the toughest one, will involve going after ISIS in its safe havens inside Syria – a military campaign that could reportedly stretch to at least 36 months.
Given the growing clamour, predominantly from Republican lawmakers, for an immediate military offensive inside Syria, it remains to be seen precisely how Obama deals with this aspect as he meets the Congressional leaders on Tuesday and addresses the nation the next day.
Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger who lost to Obama in the 2012 presidential race, was among a host of Republicans to pile pressure on Obama on Sunday talk shows.
Accusing Obama of being indecisive in dealing with the crisis in Syria and other foreign policy challenges, Romney said on Fox News: “I think the President is really out of touch with reality when it comes to what’s happening in the world. He is so out of touch with reality that he hasn’t taken the action necessary to prevent very bad things from happening.”
Republican Senator Marco Rubio, another sharp critic of Obama and a potential contender for the 2016 White House race, said the President should announce airstrikes in Syria, targeting ISIS’ command and control structures.
Demanding a sustained air campaign involving every element of US air power, Rubio told CBS News’ “Face the Nation”: “I hope that will include their central command and control structures within Syria. I also hope he’s announcing that he’s going to target the refineries that they now control in Syria, revenues from which they’re using to fund their operations.”
“Our allies are watching this as well and they are concluding that American foreign policy is in the hands of someone who does not know what he’s doing,” Rubio commented.