In a news conference Thursday, Gen. Martin Dempsey said the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria can't be defeated unless the U.S. and its partners attacked the militants in Syria.Quotes: "The lesson President George W. Bush learned from 9/11 is that it is better to confront sooner rather than wait until threats gather, by which time they could pose even bigger problems. This led to Iraq," Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University and a former national security adviser to Bush, wrote in a blog for Shadow Government. "The lesson Obama learned from Iraq is that acting sooner can mean you act on uncertain or even inaccurate information. Better to wait until you have unambiguous and unimpeachable evidence, even if this means missing crucial windows of opportunity. This led to Syria. Which lesson is best suited to IS?""Which lesson depends on what is your strategic objective," Feaver added. "So far, the Obama administration has not been clear on this. Is the goal to 'halt' and 'contain' ISIL's advances in Iraq? Is it to 'degrade' ISIL's strength? Is it to 'defeat' ISIL? Or is it to 'destroy' ISIL? The administration has referenced all of those goals at one point or other and they mean very different things to the military."In response to Dempsey's comment, Feaver said Friday:"Gen. Dempsey made clear that the more demanding task of 'defeat' would require attacking ISIL's Syria sanctuaries. That objective would certainly be proportional to the threat the administration says ISIL poses, but that is a far more demanding military task than Obama has been willing to embrace until now. And so far, there is little indication the president himself is willing right now to commit the country to that task."Bio:Peter Feaver is a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University. He also directs the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and is director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. From 2005 to 2007, Feaver served as a special adviser for Strategic Planning and Institutional Reform on the National Security Council Staff at the White House. pfeaver@duke.eduBio: http://tinyurl.com/5uz3ptjVideo: http://ondemand.duke.edu/video/20315/peter-feaver-on-obama-afghanisArchive video samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jEfu74jU2YFor additional comment, contact Peter Feaver at:pfeaver@duke.edu
