Is it time for a surge in Syria?
A group of current and former US officials concludes that current US policy toward the Islamic State is not working, and that more needs to be done in both the diplomatic and military spheres to end the Syrian civil war.
WASHINGTON — A gathering of 50 current and former US officials plus regional and security experts concluded Oct. 14 that the United States should intensify both its diplomatic and military involvement in Syria to degrade and ultimately defeat the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS).
The third and final phase of a war game, organized by the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, examined three scenarios for dealing with IS: stay the course, diplomatic surge and heavy military intervention. The consensus was that the United States should adopt a hybrid of the last two options, including an effort to revive the stalled Geneva process, this time with Iranian participation.
