Look beyond military to reach peace in war-torn Middle East

On the first full day of the battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State, the former head of U.S. commando strike operations told a Tampa audience that removing ISIS alone won’t bring peace.

 

“It is certainly not the cause of” the region’s problems, said Stanley McChrystal, who once lead the secretive Joint Special Operations Command, the nation’s premier counterterror military organization. “Their disappearance is not going to solve it.”

 

McChrystal was in Tampa on Monday afternoon to speak to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a bipartistan organization that works to educate policymakers, business leaders and the public on the importance of using America’s civilian-led tools of development and diplomacy to make the world safer.

 

As JSOC commander, McChrystal helped revolutionize warfare by fusing intelligence with the military capabilities of commandos like Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, Green Beret and Delta Force members and Air Force and Marine special operators. He later became a key proponent of counterinsurgency warfare as head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, where building security, governance and stability were seen as the way ahead.

 

Read More: McChrystal: Look beyond military to reach peace in war-torn Middle East | Tampa Bay Times

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