U.S. Pledges ISIS Progress in Weeks; Russia Thinks Otherwise

U.S. News & World Report
By: Paul D. Shinkman

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Defense Secretary Ash Carter has set an ambitious timeline for shifting momentum against the Islamic State group, saying the outcome of the first meeting of defense ministers participating in a U.S.-led coalition he convened in Brussels Thursday could yield results in a matter of weeks.

Ultimate victory, however, will elude the coalition for months if not years, other senior U.S. military officials said this week. And a renewed Russian offensive in support of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad…

“As desperate as the humanitarian situation is, maintaining support for the rebels while avoiding direct conflict with Russia is equally pressing,” according to a Thursday morning analysis from New York-based intelligence firm The Soufan Group. “The closer the regime forces come to securing the border—and the more Russia achieves its own version of a no-fly zone for those trying to support the rebels from the north—the greater the chances of rebel collapse or dramatic escalation…”

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www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-02-11/us-pledges-isis-progress-in-weeks-russia-thinks-otherwise

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