U.S. Ditches FSA – Building New Local Force in Syria

Retired Gen. John Allen, coordinating the U.S.-led alliance against the Islamic State, said on Wednesday that the United States is not coordinating operations in Syria with the Free Syrian Army.

“At this point, there is no formal coordination with the FSA,” Allen told reporters at the State Department. (McClatchy DC, 15 October)

Allen’s comments confirmed what the FSA commanders have complained for months that the U.S. is discarding the Free Syrian Army and building a new local ground force to fight ISIL in Syria. Allen told reporters that the United States’ intent is to start from scratch in creating a homegrown counterweight to the Islamic State.

“It’s not going to happen immediately,” Allen said. “We’re working to establish the training sites now, and we’ll ultimately go through a vetting process and beginning to bring the trainers and the fighters in to begin to build that force out.”

Allen added that as important as the Syrian arena is, the emergency in Iraq right now is “foremost in our mind.” There will also be a simultaneous training-and-equipping campaign for Iraq.

“We have the capacity to do both, and there is significant coalition interest in participating in both… But it’s going to take a while,” Allen said.   

File photo: A 2012 photo of Free Syrian Army fighters (vice.com)

Allen to Spearhead Recreation of ‘Awakening’

U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that retired Marine Gen. John Allen, who is coordinating the international coalition efforts against the Islamic State, was en route to the region to engage Sunni tribal leaders in the fight.

The Washington Times, quoting unnamed sources, reports that the plan is to recreate the “Sunni Awakening” that saw Iraqi tribal leaders take the fight to Islamic State predecessor group, Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), between 2005 and 2007. Gen. Allen helped organize the Awakening uprising while serving in Anbar at the time.

Creating a new Awakening is essential to sustaining gains made by recent U.S.-led airstrikes. The effort will also involve building a provincial guard force in western Iraq that could enlist local residents, dominated by Sunni Arabs. (The Washington Times, 2 October)

Meanwhile on Syria, Gen. Allen told CNN that it will take years to train moderate Syrian rebel forces to fight effectively against the Islamic State.

“It is going to take a while. It could take years, actually… And so we have to manage our expectations,” Allan said on training Syrian rebels. (CNN/The Hill, 2 October)

File photo: Marine Gen. John Allen, 2012 (ISAF)

Gen. Allen to Coordinate International Alliance against ISIL

Retired Marine General John Allen, former commander in Afghanistan, will coordinate the emerging international alliance against the Islamic State, AP reported today. (AP/The Military Times, 11 September)

Allen will work with nearly 40 nations around the world that have so far joined the alliance in the fight against ISIL, coordinating what each contribute to the fight.

Gen. Allen comes to the job with vast experience coordinating international allies on the warfront. He was in Anbar province from 2006 to 2008, working with Arab partners in organizing the Sunni uprising against al-Qaida in Iraq, the forerunner to today’s ISIL. He has also served as deputy commander at CENTCOM, and from 2011 to 2013 as commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan. He has also worked closely with key military leaders, including General Lloyd Austin, the commander of CENTCOM, who will oversee the U.S. military campaign.

File photo: General John Allen during an interview with AP in Kabul; 22 July 2012 (Musadeq Sadeq/The Associated Press)