You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Terror Networks
Gunning for Islamic State's leaders impractical; '€˜deep bench' can replace the dead.
2015-09-29
[Wash Times] Targeting the Islamic State's leaders will not defeat the expanding terrorist group because of a "deep bench" of trained operators who can quickly replace the dead, says a new report by a Pentagon-supported research group.

Released Monday, the report comes as the U.S. top brass has declared a "stalemate" in its war against the Islamic State in its Iraq and Syria stronghold, while the 25,000-strong terrorist army of jihadis continues to grow via new foreign recruits and now operates in nearly 20 nations.

"Any coherent plan against the Islamic State must aim to eliminate, not merely degrade, its leadership and potential leadership," according to the report compiled by the RAND Corp., a nonpartisan think tank. "The coalition has successfully targeted numerous senior leaders, but the organization's focus on creating a deep bench of personnel means that attacking individual leaders will not destroy the group. Replacements will rise, and any damaging effect will be temporary."
Posted by:Besoeker

#8  Gun the mullahs and the mosques.
Done!
Posted by: 3dc   2015-09-29 22:49  

#7  If it's impractical and futile, then of course we're all over it; 24/7/365. Nothing's too pointless for the US government.
Posted by: ed in texas   2015-09-29 17:48  

#6  "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost, and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost, and will never lose a war - because the very thought of losing is hateful, to Americans."

G. S. Patton, Jr., as voiced by G.C. Scott in the movie. Poor ol' Georgie must be getting tired of spinning in his grave.
Posted by: Bobby   2015-09-29 12:52  

#5  Well we aren't killing deep enough then.

A MOAB over the village of the local leadership would make sure there wasn't anyone left to take over the fucking leadership.
Posted by: DarthVader   2015-09-29 10:14  

#4  Yes, there are replacements, but some leaders are worthy of targeted assasination because they are truly difficult to replace. Bin Ladin of AQ and Mughniya of the Hizbollah are examples.
Posted by: Beldar Sloque3832   2015-09-29 09:56  

#3  Anybody we kill will welcome the chance to be a martyr. Bury them in an unmarked grave in a pigskin and the problem will solve itself.

Also, Obean has proven that all you need to do to win is to declare victory.
Posted by: gorb   2015-09-29 09:42  

#2  If you don't have the will to fight to win, you won't win (though 'will' is only a necessary condition, not a sufficient one.) Having superior firepower means nothing without the will to use it. And current 'leadership' is working hard to make sure we don't even have it in the future.
But right now, take out their leaders, the on-deck circle, the dugout, the bullpen and the fans in the stadium. Rinse and repeat. Then we would see how deep the bench is.
Posted by: Glenmore   2015-09-29 08:32  

#1  As I've been saying here for years: IDF eliminated 500% of Hamas leadership over the years. In fact, if anybody looked on Israeli experience with "Palestinians", you could save yourself a lot of trouble.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2015-09-29 03:10  

00:00