Michael Morrell, a former acting director of the CIA under Barack Obama, says that the strategy his old boss is using to go after ISIS in Syria does not have a high chance of being successful:
“So on the Iraqi side of the border, Charlie, I’m confident that we’re going to be able to roll [ISIS] back. What gives me that confidence is a new political deal that the United States deserves a lot of credit for, putting advisers, military advisers in to assist the Iraqi army and the Kurdish army, and broader U.S. air strikes. I think all those together will make a big difference in Iraq,” said Morrell.
“It’s the Syria side of the border that I’m worried about. We are going to double down, we are going to go all in with the Syrian opposition and that’s how we’re going to try to win this thing. But the Syrian opposition is a very weak group. They’re much weaker than two years ago. This is the long pole in the tent. This is what’s going to be hard.”
CBS host Charlie Rose then asked, “Is that the only option we have on the ground in Syria, the Free Syrian Army?”
“I think so, unless you want to throw your lot in with Assad who has butchered his own people, which I don’t think we want to do. So I think going with the Syrian opposition is our best chance of success. The chance of success is not high, though. It will take a lot of work,” said Morrell.
