Syria warned the United States on Monday not to extend its air war against radical Islamist militants into Syria. Quote: “A shift to more assertive U.S. action in Syria is long overdue,” says Bruce Jentleson, a former senior adviser to the U.S. State Department. “ISIS likely would never have gotten as strong as it did if not for the Syrian conflict as fertile ground, a quasi-safe haven. ISIS cannot be contained -- let alone degraded or defeated -- without also going after it in Syria.”“The U.S. and allies -- and others must be involved, particularly the Gulf monarchies for whom the threat is more proximate --- can fight ISIS in Syria as anti-ISIS and not pro-Assad. And Assad can be anti-ISIS on his own without being more broadly pro-opposition. How this plays out for the broader Syrian civil war is uncertain.”Bio:Bruce Jentleson is a professor of the public policy and political science at Duke University and a former senior adviser to the U.S. State Department policy planning director. He studies post-Cold War American foreign policy, international security and particularly issues of force and diplomacy.Archive video interview (different subject): http://ondemand.duke.edu/video/25873/how-should-the-us-respond-to-m?play...For additional comment, contact Jentleson at: bwj7@duke.edu or http://fds.duke.edu/db/Sanford/bwj
