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The Plan to Defeat ISIS: Key Decisions and Considerations
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) James F. Jeffrey - While ISIS is the most urgent priority in the Middle East, it is not the only, or even the most dangerous, one. Iranian expansionist activity, at times partnered with Russia, poses at least an equal security risk to the region and key U.S. interests. Defeating ISIS, while worthy in itself, must be done in a manner to reinforce regional stability and U.S. interests. Considerations related to the defeat of ISIS itself include how, and with whom, we defeat ISIS. The U.S. interest is to advance a "day after" scenario that keeps the U.S. in the region, maintains our new (Syrian Kurdish YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and "manages" an inevitable Russian presence. The writer served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq as well as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor. This is from his Feb. 7 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.