ISIS militants enter key border city

Editor's note: Oubai Shahbandar is a former Pentagon analyst and an adviser to the Syrian Opposition Coalition. Michael Pregent is an adjunct lecturer at National Defense University. The views expressed are their own.

(CNN) -- The U.S. and Arab allies' campaign of airstrikes against al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a necessary step, but airpower on its own won't be enough to ensure a military victory. To beat ISIS and extremist affiliates, the United States and its allies must work more closely with the groups that these terrorists most fear: the Free Syrian Army and Sunni Arab tribes.

The effectiveness of the air campaign will hinge on how well the United States can exploit the local vulnerabilities of the asymmetric threat it faces in ISIS. With this in mind, it makes sense to coordinate with Free Syrian Army commanders, who have on-the-ground experience identifying ISIS' weak points and can ensure that airstrikes hit the right targets. Indeed, unless the U.S.-led coalition moves fast to better integrate the Free Syrian Army into military operations, it will simply be hacking at ISIS' branches rather than getting down to its roots.

 

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ISIS' concern was evident in a sleek, hourlong documentary the group produced, called "Flames of War." After touting a series of victories in Syria and Iraq, ISIS lamented its "temporary withdrawal" from large swaths of northern Syria, which was forced by the Free Syrian Army (which ISIS derisively describes as the "awakening forces"). The setback referred to was the surprise counterattack launched by the Free Syrian Army in January against ISIS positions in three provinces in northern and eastern Syria. At the height of the fighting, ISIS was forced to defend its headquarters in heavy street fighting in the eastern city of Raqqa.

The extremists were taken by surprise, and the Free Syrian Army and tribal backers' assault offers a useful primer on how to beat al Qaeda and its offspring.

For a start, a joint operations center should be established to serve as a clearinghouse for targeting data and intelligence sharing with Syrian opposition and tribal forces fighting ISIS. Jordanian and United Arab Emirates special forces, both of whom have worked with U.S. special forces in other theaters of war, could be deployed in very limited numbers to provide forward air support to guide pinpoint airstrikes. Meanwhile, American Joint Tactical Air Controllers, who have played a key role in supporting Kurdish security forces in Iraq against ISIS, should be deployed to the border regions so that they can support Free Syrian Army ground operations.

In addition, the United States should deploy a special operations team in neighboring Iraq focused on developing a relationship with Sunni Arab anti-ISIS guerrilla forces and tribal leaders that continue to resist ISIS along the Syria-Iraq border. This team could be empowered to establish a special fund (of which Gulf allies can serve as the main contributors) for recruiting and empowering tribal elements in eastern Syria like the Shammar confederation that have already begun to rise up against ISIS. American investment on this front would enable airstrikes to truly tip the balance of the conflict.

Finally, the transfer of excess U.S. military equipment to anti-ISIS forces in the field should be accelerated to ensure that the Free Syrian Army and the tribes not only have enough ammunition to sustain a defensive posture against ISIS, but also enough for a multipronged assault into ISIS' core territory.

If airstrikes are to have a lasting impact, they must cut off ISIS' land bridge between Syria and Iraq and ultimately decapitate its command structure. Doing so will mean the United States will have to work with, and through, a fast moving and relatively lightly armed counterforce, the groundwork for which may already have been laid with the announcement of U.S. plans to train an initial force of 5,000 Syrian fighters.

ISIS appears to be gambling that by concentrating its forces in the relatively exposed terrain of the northern Raqqa steppe that it can overrun positions in the city of Ayn al-Arab and in the northern Aleppo countryside before the airstrikes can have a real impact. But it can also be expected to prioritize the targeting of capable Sunni Arab commanders and tribal leaders who it views as its principal threat, particularly because of their experience engaging ISIS on the ground.

The fact is that ISIS has made it abundantly obvious that it sees its Achilles heel in both Iraq and Syria as the local populace. As airstrikes intensify, U.S. and regional military planners should take note.

如何利用ISIS的“最大的恐懼
由歐柏Shahbandar和邁克爾Pregent
2014年10月3日 - 更新2040 GMT（0440 HKT）
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ISIS的武裝分子進入關鍵的邊境城市
新聞提要
歐柏Shahbandar和邁克爾Pregent：要打敗ISIS，美國必須與團體也擔心
空中戰役的成效取決於利用本地漏洞，作家說
美國應該加快過剩的軍事裝備轉移到反ISIS的力量，他們認為
編者按：歐柏Shahbandar是前五角大樓分析師和顧問的敘利亞反對派聯盟。邁克爾Pregent是兼職講師國防大學。表達的觀點是他們自己的。
（CNN） -美國和反對空襲的阿拉伯盟友“活動的基地組織和伊拉克伊斯蘭國和敘利亞是一個必要的步驟，但空中力量自身是不夠的，以確保軍事上的勝利。擊敗ISIS和極端主義的附屬機構，美國及其盟國必須更密切地與群體，這些恐怖分子最害怕的：自由敘利亞軍隊和遜尼派阿拉伯部落。
空襲的效果將取決於美國如何能夠很好利用它面臨的ISIS不對稱威脅的地方的漏洞。考慮到這一點，這是有道理的與敘利亞自由軍指揮官，誰對實地體驗識別ISIS的“薄弱點，並能確保空襲擊中了正確的目標進行協調。事實上，除非以美國為首的聯軍出招快，以更好地整合敘利亞自由軍成軍事行動，這將僅僅是在ISIS的分行黑客，而不是越來越下降到它的根源。
ISIS壓上，儘管空襲 年輕的穆斯林：ISIS並不代表我們 美國的戰鬥ISIS在地上？
在一個圓滑的，ISIS的關注是顯而易見的長達一小時的紀錄片製作組，名為“戰火”。兜了一系列在敘利亞和伊拉克的勝利後，ISIS從敘利亞北部，這是被迫的敘利亞自由軍（其中ISIS的嘲笑描述為“覺醒的力量”）的大片感嘆其“暫時撤離”。所指的挫折是由自由敘利亞軍在一月份在北部和東部，敘利亞三個省份發動了ISIS的位置出人意料的反擊。在戰鬥的高度，ISIS被迫在東部城市Raqqa捍衛其總部設在沉重的巷戰。
在極端分子措手不及，和自由敘利亞軍隊和部落支持者“攻擊提供了關於如何擊敗基地組織及其後代一個有用的底漆。
一開始，聯合行動中心應當建立以服務為交換所針對的數據和情報共享與敘利亞反對派和部落勢力戰鬥的ISIS。約旦和阿聯酋特種部隊，他們兩人都與美國在戰爭中其他戰區工作的特殊力量，可以部署在非常有限的數字，以提供前進空中支援，引導精確空襲。與此同時，美國聯合戰術空中控制員，誰在反對Isis在伊拉克庫爾德人支持的安全部隊都發揮了關鍵的作用，應該部署到邊境地區，使他們能夠支持敘利亞自由軍的地面行動。

此外，美國應部署一個特別行動隊在鄰國伊拉克專注於開發與遜尼派阿拉伯反ISIS游擊隊和部落領導人說，繼續抵抗ISIS沿敘伊邊境的關係。這個團隊可以授權建立專項基金（其中海灣盟國可以作為主要貢獻者）招募並授權在敘利亞東部一樣，已經開始奮起反抗的ISIS的Shammar聯盟部落元素。美國在這​​方面的投資將使空襲真正小費衝突的平衡。
最後，美國過剩的軍事裝備領域轉移到反ISIS的力量應加快，以確保敘利亞自由軍和部落，不僅有足夠的彈藥，以維持對ISIS的防禦姿態，但也足以讓一個多管齊下的攻擊到ISIS的核心領地。
如果空襲是有持久的影響，就必須切斷敘利亞和伊拉克之間的ISIS'陸橋，最終斬首的指揮結構。這樣做將意味著美國將與合作，並通過一個快速移動和相對輕裝反作用力的基礎，為它可能已經奠定了美國宣布計劃培訓5000敘利亞戰機的初始力。
ISIS似乎是賭博，通過集中其部隊在北部Raqqa草原，它可以溢出的城市艾因人，阿拉伯人和北部阿勒頗農村陣地前的空襲可以有真正的影響相對暴露的地形。但它也可以預計到的優先可遜尼派阿拉伯指揮官和部落領袖誰是意見，特別是因為他們的經驗在地面上搞ISIS作為其主要威脅，瞄準。
事實是，ISIS取得更豐盛顯然，它認為它的軟肋在伊拉克和敘利亞的當地民眾。由於空襲加劇，美國和區域軍事策劃者應該注意。