After three months of airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria, the terrorist group has gained territory, according a report from the Wall Street Journal:
More than three months of U.S. airstrikes in Syria have failed to prevent Islamic State militants from expanding their control in that country, according to U.S. and independent assessments, raising new concerns about President Barack Obama ’s military strategy in the Middle East.
While hundreds of U.S. bombing runs and missile strikes have put Islamic State forces on the defensive in Iraq, they have not had the same kind of impact in Syria. Instead, Islamic State fighters have enlarged their hold on Syria since the U.S. started hitting the group’s Syrian strongholds in September, according to the new estimates by the Defense Department and independent analysts.
Speaking on WSJ Live, Dion Nissenbaum said, "It's really raising questions about the US strategy for the Middle East."
The United States has been able to hold off IS expansion in Iraq and senior defense officials want to keep it that way. The U.S. does not have a ground presence in Syria and is focusing its efforts on Iraq by arming and training civilians over the next few years. These newly trained Iraqis would then become the force on the ground in Syria to fight IS and take advantage of the airstrikes.
Sen. John McCain will likely question this strategy in early February during the hearing for Ashton Carter, who is President Obama's nominee for the next defense secretary.