Posted on Dec 2, 2015
Do you believe the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may have committed career suicide by contradicting President Obama?
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http://thehill.com/policy/defense/261644-general-we-have-not-contained-isis
The United States has "not contained" the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the nation's top military officer said Tuesday, contradicting President Obama's remarks last month about the terror group.
"We have not contained" ISIS, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
The comment runs counter to what the president said days before ISIS launched a string of attacks across Paris.
"I don't think they're gaining strength. What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them," Obama told ABC News.
Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, later said the president's remarks applied specifically to Iraq and Syria.
Dunford said ISIS has been "tactically" contained in areas they have been since 2010 but added, "Strategically they have spread since 2010."
His remarks were in response to questioning by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) on whether ISIS has been contained at any time since 2010.
Dunford added that ISIS posed a threat beyond Iraq and Syria to countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Jordan.
Forbes also got Dunford to disagree with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who testified alongside him.
Carter had declared during his opening statement that "we're at war" with ISIS.
Forbes pressed Dunford whether the U.S. was at war with ISIS, and who declared that war.
"We are technically not at war," Dunford replied.
An academic report released Tuesday said that American support for radical Islamism has reached “unprecedented” levels.
“What we do see in the United States is an unprecedented mobilization” that is “bigger than any other mobilization we have seen since 9/11,” Lorenzo Vidino, the director of George Washington University’s program on extremism, said during an event releasing the report.
The report found that the types of Americans drawn to ISIS vary widely in terms of race, age, education and family background. Yet they are largely all united by their use of social media, which ISIS has been able to master as its reach has grown.
FBI Director James Comey has said that federal officials have launched ISIS-related investigations in all 50 states.
Obama, who is in Paris for talks on an international climate change agreement, has also used the trip to meet with world leaders about the threat from ISIS.
The United States has "not contained" the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the nation's top military officer said Tuesday, contradicting President Obama's remarks last month about the terror group.
"We have not contained" ISIS, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
The comment runs counter to what the president said days before ISIS launched a string of attacks across Paris.
"I don't think they're gaining strength. What is true is that from the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them," Obama told ABC News.
Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, later said the president's remarks applied specifically to Iraq and Syria.
Dunford said ISIS has been "tactically" contained in areas they have been since 2010 but added, "Strategically they have spread since 2010."
His remarks were in response to questioning by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) on whether ISIS has been contained at any time since 2010.
Dunford added that ISIS posed a threat beyond Iraq and Syria to countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Jordan.
Forbes also got Dunford to disagree with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who testified alongside him.
Carter had declared during his opening statement that "we're at war" with ISIS.
Forbes pressed Dunford whether the U.S. was at war with ISIS, and who declared that war.
"We are technically not at war," Dunford replied.
An academic report released Tuesday said that American support for radical Islamism has reached “unprecedented” levels.
“What we do see in the United States is an unprecedented mobilization” that is “bigger than any other mobilization we have seen since 9/11,” Lorenzo Vidino, the director of George Washington University’s program on extremism, said during an event releasing the report.
The report found that the types of Americans drawn to ISIS vary widely in terms of race, age, education and family background. Yet they are largely all united by their use of social media, which ISIS has been able to master as its reach has grown.
FBI Director James Comey has said that federal officials have launched ISIS-related investigations in all 50 states.
Obama, who is in Paris for talks on an international climate change agreement, has also used the trip to meet with world leaders about the threat from ISIS.
ISIS
Terrorism
Office of the President (POTUS)
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 29
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Barring an an all out war, which I am sure he does not want, he has reached the very top. How could his career be killed.
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I sat across the table and briefed Gen Dunford back in 2013 on the status of training for the Afghan Air Force at the time. We recommended three more years to complete our work to which he agreed was the right amount of time. Not only did he agree, he had very thoughtful insight into our perspectives, noting the ongoing progress and what was still required. You could tell he understood what we were talking about and he was also well versed on the issues. Unfortunately, the President pull the rug from under him and cut our mission short by a two years. I'm getting first hand accounts from the Afghans I knew out there how bad things are becoming. I know I can trust Gen Dunford's assessment when he tells us ISIS is not contained. But it really didn't take his assessment to know that. It was already pretty obvious, despite the President's efforts to say otherwise, starting with the first point the American people were learning about ISIS and how they were the JV team. This President has been so wrong on so many fronts when it comes to his foreign policy, most especially in the CENTCOM region. I'm becoming impatient for Jan 2017.
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He might have but the problem is that the president shouldn't have made that statement in the first place. It put the Chairman of the JCS in a tough position of continuing to say something he didn't believe was true, or to be honest. I think he chose the "right" path but he may suffer from it.
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Its a good thing he was just confirmed, or he would be shown the door. Now it will be an interesting trip to the woodshed. I really like this guy.
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LTC David Brown
The problem is that the Intel Reports to the President from Cent Com have been doctored. 50 Intell analysts have stepped forward to report this abuse. Obama seems to have a Gobelesque filter on what he gets. How else will one penetrate that cloak to insure Obama gets the info he needs and the public to know he gets the info? ISIS is in Libya fighting with Boko Haram. Isis downed a Russian airliner from Egypt. ISIS launched a coordinated attack against France. ISID
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MCPO Roger Collins
I have heard about the "cooked" books, but what I recall from years past that a subordinate should intuit the senior's command and act on it. IMV, that was to be more efficient and show willingness to take risk, but I believe plausible deniability is another facts to that process. In this instance, even if the POTUS was unaware, someone was acting as he wished.
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I imagine that General Dunford will get a phone call, but his obligation is to give an unvarnished assessment.
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I certainly hope that Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford will continue to serve as CJCS SSgt Alex Robinson. POTUS Obama has far too many yes men and women as advisors hopefully he will recognize the wisdom in realistic appraisals of his policy and operational proposals.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
As there are no higher pay grades or promotions for him to aspire to, I don't see that USMC General Dunford would want any further opportunities to serve under this CinC.
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