Obama’s strategy to fight ISIL is just wrong

June 10, 2015

John Nagl co-wrote the US military’s counterinsurgency manual and he has very different advice for Obama

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Obama’s strategy to fight ISIL is just wrong

President Obama once referred to ISIL as the Junior Varsity, shortly after it had captured the Iraqi city of Falluja. Well, Anyone who thought defeating ISIL was going to be easy didn't listen to John Nagl. Nagl was a tank platoon leader in the 1991 invasion of Iraq. Even back then he predicted the United States would start to face more guerrilla insurgencies rather than traditional armies. And he wasn't sure the U.S. was prepared for it. With no end in sight to the fight against ISIL, Nagl's foresight is proving prophetic. He's the author of "Knife Fight: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice." He also co-wote the Army and Marine Counterinsurgency field manual. He spoke to Ali Velshi.


 

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