The nation’s most senior military officer said President Trump will be presented with a wide range of options for accelerating the campaign to defeat ISIS, along with an assessment of the risks and costs of each one.
In an appearance at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said in response to President Trump’s call for a new counter-ISIS strategy the president will be presented will a full range of options, along with the risks associated with each one.
Dunford said the plan will “clearly outline for him to the consequences, the opportunity, the risk associated with each one of the options that we presented.
“What we don’t want to do is bring him options … that would solve one problem only to create a second problem.”
Asked if that would include an option for more U.S. troops, Dunford refused to say, instead repeating his standard answer: “I’ll go to the president with options.”
One particularly complex challenge is how to navigate the animosity between the two key U.S. allies in Syria: Turkey and the Syrian Kurds.
“I think it is fair to say that we will provide a full range of options,” Dunford said. “We will talk about the importance of our Turkish ally and making sure our plans are consistent in maintaining a strong alliance with Turkey. We will talk about the implications of the Kurdish challenge in the region.”
Dunford said in the end Trump will be “the decider” who will have to consider the ramifications of each option.
“This is an incredibly complex environment. Everything we do or failed to do will have second and third effects,” Dunford said. “At the end of the day, we cannot be paralyzed by tough choices.”
