U.S STRIKE ON SYRIAN FORCES. A 2016 VERSION OF FAIL SAFE?
Ok, my answer right up front, just in case you don’t have
time to read the whole post tonight.
A mistake? Tactically yes.
A mistake strategically? Well, what else should we expect?
Tactically, the miss identification of armored targets
inside an air, kill box, should almost be expected in a conflict such as Syria.
Syrian forces recognition processes are primitive compared
to the complex battlefields US forces are trained to work within.
Syrian units, armor are not going to have “Identification / Friend
/ Foe” electronics.
A fighter package at 20,000 ft, or higher, is most often
relying on ground support to validate targets.
If the Rebels /
Freedom fighters/ take your pick, whatever group the US is supporting, are not
providing this target information, then the odds of striking a location that
appears very similar to the “supported” location is more than just a concern.
It’s a distinct possibility.
Tactically, a poorly coordinated Kill Box area has a high likelihood
of disaster!
At the end of the day, the USAF assets in this event are
controlled by the finest Airforce in the world and if mistakes were made, they
will be reviewed in mindboggling detail and documented. You can bank on that.
Ok, now for the strategic analysis of this event and that is
a far more complex issue than the tactical mistake.
From the very beginning of the Syrian phase of the Middle
Eastern Crisis, yes it’s not just about Syria, the US has been more than just “lost”
in its policy on the subject. The US has been both wrong and bullheaded!
Now, I will be the first one to admit, the US has had a dismal
vision and attitude towards that part of the world for far longer than the rule
of the current administration. But, just when you might think I was letting the
current administration off the hook, sorry, they have made the issue far worse.
The US may have had an archaic approach to the region for decades, but the
current administration has been a complete disaster and at just the most
critical moment in time! But,
Not only has the Tsar chosen to take the center stage of
issues in the region, the US handed that stage over to him long before this
latest so called “Ceasefire” was “agreed to”!
Rumors have flown for some time now over the issue of the “disconnect”
between the US Defense Department and the US State Department. Let me stop here
just long enough to recognize one of the key figures in the US amateur hour “leadership
Team”. John Kerry! I could address his actions for pages, but let me just leave
it at this. He’s an idiot…..period!!!!
So, what was this so called ceasefire to be based upon? What
was the core issue the Russian’s wanted as we remind ourselves they had and
have everything going the Tsar’s way!
Information. Information on the locations and operational actions
of the US backed “Rebel / Freedom fighters”.
Information the US department of defense knows would lead to a treasure
trove of how the US conducts both overt and covert, clandestine support
operations. Simply put, the baseline for the ceasefire was data that would have
severely damaging consequences for the US military and the nation as a whole.
The level of information required by the Russians was and is so critical to the
US, the entire gambit of data is surly conducted at the Top Secret,
compartmentalized / SCI / level. Now, you may remember another US Department of
Sate senior office who seemed to unconcerned about this level of data……. You know………….the
one running for President!
Ok, this is getting too complicated and my mind is running down
paths that will make this whole post somewhat boring. Let me stick to what
matters here.
The bottom line is, the US Department of Defense and the US
Department of State are at odds over what should take place in Syria. Not a new
phenomenon, but that is no excuse for what is taking place.
The US President seems more than conflicted on how to solve
this debate. Perhaps he is too concentrated on helping his parties’ candidate
than on his own administration crumbling at the feet of the Tsar. Remember, he
has Kerry to work these matters. Never mind Carter is one of the most
technically proficient people to have worn the title of Secretary of Defense in
decades.
The fact of the matter is the US has gone so long without
having a working policy for the region, another failed pipedream for Syria is
just what the pubic expected!
So, what happened today? What brought about this “mistake”
the Whitehouse has already taken a knee on?
Reluctance!
Here is my hunch. The US Department of State informs the US
Department of Defense to “ cooperate” with the Russians. The US Department of
Defense, being run by true professionals, carries out the order of their Commander
in Chief and “works” to some level the Russians. In the process of doing so,
the US Defense Department expresses it’s “concerns” on certain issues to their
Commander in Chief. The US Commander in Chief, not having an idea of the
complexity of the military’s concerns, agrees to let the Department of Defense “figure
out what is the correct level of cooperation”.
Why do I believe this is the true? Look at the reaction of
the Russians over the past week. What have they been ranting about? “The US is
not living up to its commitments for the ceasefire”!
Are the Russians telling the truth? Yes.
Why is the US not “living up to its commitments”? Because those
commitments were agreed upon by the US Department of State, not the US
Department of Defense, the two agencies that have not been on the same page for
the past several years!
One team, one fight? Not lately!
Today was yet another amateur hour event for the US
administration when it comes to Syria, but the real bad news is, it’s just what
the Tsar was looking for.