![]() ![]() “If you’re talking about underground dwellings, satellite imagery won’t be of much help,” Eisenstadt said. Of course, ISIS proved more resilient and determined in the end than many Westerners can imagine.Īnd urban areas complicate counting enemy manpower even further, according to Michael Eisenstadt, director of the Washington Institute’s Military and Security Studies Program.Ī lot of intelligence during the ISIS fight was likely gathered by a combination of drones, satellites and fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft. Part of the military’s estimate could have come from looking at the total area under ISIS’ control and then utilizing a land-per-person formula to understand how many people that territory could support. In conjunction with partner forces, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve defeats ISIS and sets conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability. The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, supporting the Iraqi Security Forces as they clear the last remaining pockets of ISIS. campaign in Syria,” he wrote.A CH-47 Chinook delivers an M777 howitzer to Soldiers training for a gun raid at Qayyara West Airfield, Iraq, Jan. “Rejecting an operation name and then reversing that decision without explanation is really the perfect metaphor for the U.S. And the Pentagon can offer letter groups to commanders to inform operation names, the official said, such as UR, which in 1983 prompted a staff officer to recommend Urgent Fury for that year’s attack on Grenada.īeltway commentators were puzzled by Wednesday’s announcement of Inherent Resolve, especially since The Wall Street Journal quoted one military officer criticizing the name as “kind of bleh.” On Wednesday, Kirby told reporters that although “anonymous sources” may have criticized the name, Defense Department leaders never rejected it.įoreign Policy magazine’s Middle East editor, David Kenner, wrote on Twitter that he thought the back-and-forth was emblematic of the Obama administration’s handling of the wider Iraq and Syria crises. The Joint Staff at the Pentagon runs a computer system that helps “validate” names. The Central Command and the military’s other combatant commands have the authority to name their operations, a defense official told POLITICO. ( Also on POLITICO: Poll: Obama hits lowest approval) The persistent lack of one, however, attracted attention inside Washington - especially when the Pentagon quickly branded its response to West Africa’s Ebola outbreak Operation United Assistance. Inherent Resolve had first been mentioned in a Wall Street Journal report about Pentagon and White House discussions about what to name the campaign against ISIL, or whether to give it a name at all.ĭefense officials have downplayed the significance of an operational name, saying such code names have no legal or formal significance. ![]() 8 airstrikes in Iraq ordered by President Barack Obama and expanded last month to targets in Syria. Central Command, which is running the campaign in Iraq and Syria, says the new code name applies to military operations that began with the Aug. ![]() And the message is, “We are going to stay resolved and determined to get at this threat,” Kirby said. ( Also on POLITICO: Why the Islamic State Is Losing)ĭefense officials wanted a name that would send a message, he said. John Kirby told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Later, the Joint Staff posted this message on its Twitter account: “Ongoing actions in Iraq & Syria designated as Operation Inherent Resolve.”Īmerican commanders discussed the name with the allies in the campaign against ISIL and got their buy-in before announcing it, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. Martin Dempsey, walked into the Pentagon press room on Wednesday morning and made the brief announcement. Ed Thomas, a spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. ![]()
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