U.S. Leader In Fight Against ISIS Steps Down Over Frustrations

The pleas of John R. Allen – whose title you can read on the previous page – have been ignored by the Obama Administration, who picked him personally to lead the charge against ISIS. Administration officials are even lying about his reasons for stepping down, claiming that the decision was made out of concern for his wife’s poor health.

After originally committing to six months, Allen stayed in the position for an additional six months at the request of US Secretary of State John Kerry. In the near term, his deputy, Ambassador Brett McGurk, is expected to assume his duties.

Allen has defended the Obama administration’s IS strategy, including on one occasion earlier this month when he told ABC News that airstrikes have been successful in some areas of Iraq and Syria, where IS controls large swaths of territory.

“Where we were a year ago today, I wasn’t sure how it was going to unfold,” said Allen, who took the envoy post in September 2014. “It was not clear to me even that Iraq would survive this. In the intervening months, we’ve seen remarkable progress in many respects.”

 Allen’s departure comes amid comments made last month by the incoming Marine Corps Commandant, Lieutenant General Robert Neller, that the US-led coalition’s war on IS has hit a “stalemate.” Also in August, the New York Times reported that characterizations of the campaign against IS may have been skewed, as intelligence assessments have been presented in an increasingly optimistic light, while real success in defeating IS jihadists is still out of sight a year after constantly bombing IS targets.

After the operation has raked up a bill of nearly $4 billion, it’s proving that Obama’s plan for “dealing” with ISIS is proving to be a failure. When even a hand selected Marine general gives up on it, it might be time to try a new approach, which seems to be desperately needed.

Source: rt.com