The war against the Islamic State now has a name: "Operation Inherent Resolve."

That announcement by the Joint Staff comes almost 10 weeks after the U.S. began airstrikes in Iraq and later Syria to blunt the Islamic State, which has carved out a Taliban-like caliphate in both countries.

The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 3 that U.S. military leaders had rejected the name "Operation Inherent Resolve" because of a feeling that it was "just kind of 'bleh,' " one unidentified military office told the newspaper.

Air Force Col. Ed Thomas, a spokesman for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment on whether the top brass initially had rejected the name and then reconsidered it.

According to CENTCOM, the name "is intended to reflect the unwavering resolve and deep commitment of the U.S. and partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the terrorist group ISIL and the threat they pose to Iraq, the region and the wider international community. It also symbolizes the willingness and dedication of coalition members to work closely with our friends in the region and apply all available dimensions of national power necessary — diplomatic, informational, military, economic — to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL."

The Islamic State is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

As of Wednesday morning, the U.S.-led coalition had launched a total of 510 airstrikes: 294 in Iraq and 216 in Syria, said Navy Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Defense Department spokeswoman. The U.S. has carried out 445 of those airstrikes: 274 in Iraq and 171 in Syria. Meanwhile, allied nations have launched 65 airstrikes: 20 in Iraq and 45 in Syria.

Recently, the U.S.-led effort has focused on the Kurdish town of Kobani on Syria's border with Turkey, where Kurdish People's Protection Unit fighters have struggled to fend off an onslaught from the Islamic State. Even though U.S. officials have warned that Kobani may fall, the U.S. has upped the ante by using B-1 bombers to pound the militants' positions near the town.

On Tuesday, U.S. fighters and bombers struck 18 targets near Kobani, including 16 buildings occupied by Islamic State fighters, according to U.S. Central Command. Separately, the U.S. carried out five airstrikes in Iraq, including one near the Haditha Dam.

Yet despite the fusillade of bombs and cruise missiles from the U.S. and partner nations, the Islamic State has overrun most of Anbar province in western Iraq and is now poised on Baghdad's doorstep.

Still, retired Air Force Gen. Charles Wald said he believes the current air campaign is doing as well as should be expected.

Wald said it will take time for the air campaign to wear down the Islamic State to the point where it does not control territory from which it can plan attacks against the U.S., said Wald, who oversaw air operations in Afghanistan in the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"If we think all of a sudden we're going to have ISIS [the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham] put up a white flag and say, 'We're not ISIS anymore,' that ain't gonna happen in this case," Wald told Military Times in an Oct. 7 interview.

Other than having special operations forces on the ground to coordinate airstrikes, Wald opposes using ground forces to fight the Islamic State.

"The argument that, 'Well, we need boots on the ground,' is the totally wrong argument because 'boots on the ground' is a euphemism for: 'We need a ground to campaign to have something like regime change.' First of all, there isn't any regime. Two is: There isn't any legal concept whatsoever for the type of people we're fighting against.

"Three is: If we need people on the ground — 'boots,' let's say — it's not a division of Army people, necessarily; it would be JFACs [Joint Forward Air Controllers] or JTACs [Joint Terminal Attack Controllers]. They could be Army; they could be special ops; they certainly could be Air Force, or CIA — just enough that they would be able to survive themselves there with some protection."

Share:
In Other News
Load More