Staff officers of US Marine Corps, including General Joseph F. Dunford, do not want to include Salafi Jihad to the list of US enemies.
Photo: AP
The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) demands of staff officers of US Marine Corps and General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to include Salafi Jihad to the list of US enemies. However, the officers oppose the demand.
The Washington Times information website reported:
“US Special Operations Command has privately pressed the staff of the nation’s highest-ranking military officer to include in his upcoming National Military Strategy [NMS] a discussion of the Sunni Muslim ideology underpinning the brutality of the Islamic State group and al Qaeda… The 2015 public version does not mention Islamic ideology. It lists terrorists under the ambiguous category of ‘violent extremist organizations’ and singles out al Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
…Special Operations Command wants the National Military Strategy to specifically name Salafi jihadism as the doctrine that inspires violent Muslim extremists. Salafi jihadism is a branch within Sunni Islam. It is embraced by the Islamic State and used to justify its mass killings of nonbelievers, including Shiite Muslims, Sunnis and Kurds, as well as Christians. People knowledgeable about the discussion told The Washington Times that SOCOM has not been able to persuade Gen. Dunford’s staff to include Salafi jihadism in any strategy draft.”
The NMS will be a classified document, in which nation’s strategic goals and means of achieving of these goals will be listed, and will occupy a middle position in a cycle of obtaining the right means to the nation’s strategic ends. The military strategy follows the production of the National Security Strategy (NSS), issued by the US President. The NSS is more general and is also used by both as guidance for combatant commanders, such as the commander of USSOCOM, and also by Congress to identify military budget priorities. The NSS sets limits on what the NMS can say. Combatant commands like USSOCOM are deeply interested in the content of the document because the NMS will set similar limits on what they are allowed to direct subordinate units to say and do.
SOCOM faces resistance of the Pentagon because they are asking the NMS to push out into territory that the author of the NSS does not want to enter. The Pentagon’s orders on this issue come from the highest levels, including from the US President himself. For that reason it is no surprise that SOCOM’s pushback has not yet created any effect on the forthcoming strategy.
This is the problem! What I don’t get is why the Syrians just don’t tell the US to stop encroaching on their turf and then declare a NFZ. What are we going to do? Call Sam Powers and tell her to add weight to her combat boots so she can stomp around the UNSC harder?
It is a game of cat and mouse. Russia is the cat and needs to catch the US out in all of its’ deceit and double dealings. So far it has been a success but the US has to completely incriminate herself publically. If Syria tells the US to get out now, the US will draw NATO into the conflict. That is why Russia keeps calling for a diplomatic solution not a military one. At this stage Russia and China can veto anything the US and coalition want to try at the UNSC.
John…. NATO? John, the cat and mouse strategy I can understand to some degree. But there comes a time comes for the cat to eat the mouse. NATO? What the heck is NATO going do? Besides we (the US) are NATO. As you note Russia and China have veto power….
NATO is poised on Russian border just waiting for a mistake from Russia, any excuse, Syria could be it especially that Turkey, a NATO member, are in Syria. Russia is walking a tight rope and if she looses balance and falls then it may be the trigger for a major war.
John
We are pretty stupid. But we are not that stupid.There is no one in the puzzle palace that wants to take Russia on over a big black Ukie hole that we not only pumped some $5b USD but through NED overthrew a democratically elected gov. As far as Syria? Turkey for the time being is not going to act against Russia nor Syria.
Turkey is a NATO member and if by accident or such that Turkey is attacked, then under NATO rules and obligations of protecting each other, NATO then has the excuse it needs to have a go at Russia. This has been in prepared for some time, the Russian sanctions over Crimea and Ukraine, the constant ‘Russia did it’ rhetoric, the Clinton server hacking, Powers remarks at the UNSC blaming Russia for the Syrian crisis, Kerry blaming Russia because the US did not abide the agreement and the list goes on. Turkey has no UN mandate or Syria’s permission to be on Syrian territory nor has the US and coalition. Let us hope that the US is not that stupid.
“Let us hope that the US is not that stupid.”
Militarily? Yes.. Politically? Pray! This could make the 62′ Crisis look like a party.
Agree. Good chatting with you, so wherever you are, take care.
Indiana USA… Fair winds and following seas my friend!
Queensland Australia.
Then Cheers Mate!
Two of my favorite sites.. http://turcopolier.typepad.com http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog
I have been to the US quite a few times, have friends in NAS Fallon, Nevada and Miramar, California plus a few in NY, Texas and Louisiana. Great country but very poor politics. Found most people friendly.
Article 5 of the nato treaty only applies if turkish territory is attacked as far as I understand. They may try and use it if turkish troops get hit in Syria but it will be invalid. That doesn’t mean that they won’t use it as an excuse anyway though.
But Pentagon has big hopes for Syria project outcome – knock out Iran’s major ally and Hezbollah supply line/bridge, for US/Israel, whilst serving up required territory so that Qatar/Turkey can run Qatari gas lines up to Europe, thus undermining Russia’s primary economic control/ monopoly in Europe. Those neocons nutters are fantasy driven, they don’t accept reality until it mugs them, ie ‘victory’ in Iraq.
The war has already started, Russia is prepared and ready for it. This is why Russia has not committed massive troops to Syria. If NATO attempts a NFZ in Syria then Russia will retrench to its borders where it is incredibly well defended and destroy NATO piece by piece.
Russia has also gone back to the Iranian base it occupied before and have actually deploying a full functional base with weapons, machinery and aircraft plus a housing infrastructure.
Russia had dual economic and military strategy for Turkey – the economic sanctions have damaged Turkish economy severely so that Erdogan has been forced to apologise and come looking for diplomacy at trade level, but Russian MoD also sent squadrons of MiG29 fighters to their allied Armenian bases at Turkey’s immediate exposed rear. Turkey has lot less room to play silly buggers with Russia than others in NATO.
So it’s 1980’s Afghan mujahedin/ CIA reduxe. Seems that whole 9/11 blow-back mess was just a temporal hiccup, in the established Saudi jihadist/ USA proxy war business relationship, looks like they’ve kissed and made up, over waging war against Syria.