Senior US commander hints war on ISIL will take 5 decades
A top US special operations commander suggests that the war to eradicate the ISIL Takfiri terrorists may take 50 years.
Comparing the struggle against the terror group to what he described as the 50-year-long anti-terrorism campaign in Colombia, Head of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Army General Joseph Votel argued Friday before the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that when the ISIL militants face strong resistance in one theater of operations, they turn attention to another.
“I don’t believe there’s any one strategy that we are going to apply that is immediately going to change this,” Votel said. “It’s going to take a long-term approach, understanding what is happening, making smart decisions and continuing to apply pressure -- whether that is military pressure, diplomatic pressure, economic pressure, (or) informational pressure against violent extremists.”
He further asserted that the ISIL aimed to create “a new Caliphate” extending from Spain to India.
According to the US general, most of SOCOM's resources are now focused on Middle East and Central Asia and the priority is to deal with the Takfiri terror group’s efforts to establish itself and extend its power and influence throughout those regions.
“I don’t know if they have a plan, as such,” he added, “but what they are trying to do is re-establish that (so-called) Caliphate by looking for opportunities they can exploit.”
This is while the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter praised the Special Operations Command earlier in July as the “tip of the spear” of the armed forces.
Washington has been among the chief sponsors and proponents of the foreign-backed Takfiri militancy in Syria in the bid to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
The conflict in Syria, which started in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 230,000 lives up until now.
The violence has also forced over 3.8 million Syrians to take refuge in neighboring countries, namely Jordan and Lebanon. More than 7.2 million others have been displaced within Syria, according to the United Nations.
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