By Rebecca L.

Schiff
December 28. 2015 2:01AM

Rebecca L. Schiff: Obama should delegate terror

policy
The president's primary responsibility is protecting the American people. Leadership often
means taking responsibility by delegating authority to those who possess more experience
and expertise.
Regarding global terrorism, the American people are hungry for a successful foreign policy.
Rather than keep Americans and allies waiting for possible successes against ISIS and other
terror groups, President Obama should consider delegating this critical objective to others
who can offer an effective strategy and reassure citizens of their national and international
security.
The inauguration of the next president is in one year. During that time, we may still be
conducting air campaigns over territory controlled by the Islamic State and reeling from
additional terrorist attacks in the U.S. and around the world.
We are in need of strategic gravitas to create a winning defense strategy with our NATO
allies. That strategy might include three key elements:
-Put enough NATO boots on the ground to arm and fight with the Kurdish Peshmerga and
wipe out ISIS in Iraq and Syria; this should also include more effective use of JTACs (joint
terminal attack controllers) and logistical support for Jordanian, Egyptian and Sunni forces
in the western Anbar Province.
-Leave a significant NATO ground force behind to protect and provide humanitarian
assistance to the Iraqi and Syrian populations.
-Provide NATO-led support for indigenous populations to rebuild their nations and civil
military relations by achieving concordance or agreement among legitimate political elites,
the military and the citizenry.
Previous NATO experience in Iraq has shown that installing Western-style democracy
simply won't work. This region has a cultural mosaic that will need both NATO support and
independence to craft its own forms of government. Western democracy may not be in the
cards, but NATO should respect that and encourage stable government and healthy civil
military relations that is in agreement with new political elites, the military and the citizenry.
This effort will require long-term planning and investment of NATO troops, an effective
counterinsurgency strategy, and international coordination with local allies to support the
evolution of positive state building in the region.

To achieve a comprehensive strategy that involves effective NATO participation, the

president can lead through delegation by creating a bipartisan team that might include John
McCain and Dianne Feinstein, who understand the current global terror threat. They also
have a longstanding track record of leadership and foreign policy experience in Congress. Let
this team work with our military leaders, NATO allies and Congress to articulate a specific
plan for how we will eliminate ISIS now so that the next U.S. president can work effectively
with our allies to help rebuild the Middle East.
For the next several months, a bipartisan team such as McCain and Feinstein also needs to
reassure the American people that we are augmenting airport security and international
border control and have disaster relief plans in place in case of a terrorist attack. Currently,
we lack coordination among local, state and national agencies in cities across America with
respect to terrorism or a lights out electrical grid scenario. The American people deserve to
know more about the issues affecting immediate national security, and so do our NATO allies
who are beset with domestic conditions not seen since the inception of NATO.
Leadership often means recognizing that delegation is necessary to carry out fundamental
responsibilities. This is not a good time to double down on a partially effective strategy when
domestic and international security is at stake. The advocacy of exclusionary immigration
policies might also be quelled if the American people felt personally safer and were given a
clear timetable for achieving a successful vetting process for immigrants and visitors.
Delegating this foreign and domestic policy crucible to those who have the experience, the
vision and the communication skills to protect the homeland while reinforcing our
commitment to our allies has never been more urgent.
Rebecca L. Schiff is an adjunct professor at the U.S. Naval War College, and author of "The
Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations." The
content and opinions in this commentary are her own and do not represent the Naval War
College.