Obama Nixed CIA Plan That Could Have Stopped ISIS: Officials

[bemildred]

The CIA in 2012 proposed a detailed covert action plan designed to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, but President Obama declined to approve it, current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.

It's long been known that then-CIA Director David Petraeus recommended a program to secretly arm and train moderate Syrian rebels in 2012 to pressure Assad. But a book to be published Tuesday by a former CIA operative goes further, revealing that senior CIA officials were pushing a multi-tiered plan to engineer the dictator's ouster. Former American officials involved in the discussions confirmed that to NBC News.

It's long been known that then-CIA Director David Petraeus recommended a program to secretly arm and train moderate Syrian rebels in 2012 to pressure Assad. But a book to be published Tuesday by a former CIA operative goes further, revealing that senior CIA officials were pushing a multi-tiered plan to engineer the dictator's ouster. Former American officials involved in the discussions confirmed that to NBC News.

In an exclusive television interview with NBC News, the former officer, Doug Laux, describes spending a year in the Middle East meeting with Syrian rebels and intelligence officers from various partner countries. Laux, who spoke some Arabic, was the eyes and ears on the ground for the CIA's Syria task force, he says.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-nixed-cia-plan-could-have-stopped-isis-officials-n549111

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. More regime change!

What could possibly go wrong? It has always worked perfectly in the past! Well, except for Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Haiti, Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Honduras... Am I forgetting any?

Anyway, yeah, nothing could possibly have gone wrong with this plan.

[bemildred]

2. I thought it was interesting that NBC thought we needed to know about the "ops plan".

He's dumb ass, and he was smack in the middle of our "intelligence" apparatus with his stupid plan. Petraeus is lucky he is not in jail.

[AngryAmish]

4. Colombia, Congo, Eukraine, Georgia...

[mainer]

3. We could have stopped ISIS by toppling Assad?

The way we stopped ISIS by toppling Khaddafi?

[edhopper]

5. Yeah

because those CIA plans always work so well.

Didn't Obama just go to Cuba to celebrate the anniversary of the successful Bay of Pigs operation?

[IDemo]

6. CIA motto: "Who needs economic hitmen when you have the real thing?"

Their entire raison d'être is about making the planet safe for neoliberalists.

[virtualobserver]

7. This looks like a "Throw Obama under the bus, Hillary was right" hit piece headline......

with the truth, that there were actually no moderate rebels, buried within the article.

[Ford_Prefect]

8. I can hardly wait for the Movie:"Revenge in Damascus". Sounds like more bad Steven Seagal.

A pathetic attempt at Regime Change goes horribly wrong. Retired Military Hit Team Specialist returns to glory in attack on evil middle eastern despot. Mega-color techno-action thriller.

[Albertoo]

9. Nothing could have stopped ISIA after Afghanistan and Iraq 2003

Only the place and scope of their operations would have been modified somewhat.

[killbotfactory]

10. How would toppling a secular authoritarian regime hurt ISIS?

"moderate rebels".

fuck off.

[sendero]

11. Every weapon we give the "moderates"...

.... winds up in the hands of the extremists. No f*cking thanks.

[kentuck]

12. I remember McCain and Graham were supportive of those Syrian rebels also....

All eight of them.

[JHB]

13. Winner of "Today's Most Misleading Headline"

Congrats NBC, you beat out FOX today!

Sheesh. Obama doesn't ham-handedly ouster Assad, therefore ISIS! The logic is impeccable.

[TwilightGardener]

14. Obama made some disastrous cabinet/personnel decisions.

[Democat]

15. This headline is a lie if you read the article

It's like the headline was written just to bash Obama.

[Bradical79]

16. I'm not seeing how ISIS would've been stopped

Also, aren't CIA backed rebels fighting Pentagon backed rebels? I'm not sure their plan was sound to begin with.

[jakeXT]

17. A cunning plan