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Tags: ISIS | Obamacare | Rollout | Obama administration

David Gergen: ISIS War Rollout Akin to Obamacare Rollout

By    |   Monday, 22 September 2014 10:59 AM EDT

The rollout of President Barack Obama's strategy to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) has been dogged by problems comparable to the bungled rollout of Obamacare, said David Gergen, the CNN Senior Political Analyst.

"Someone in the Obama White House clearly has a good book to write one day: 'How Not to Do Rollouts,'" Gergen wrote in a commentary for CNN.

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"With one hapless episode after another, the rollout of the President's plan to destroy ISIS is beginning to rival the less-than-splendid debut of the Obamacare website."

Gergen said, like any war effort, the stakes are high and it is critical for the Obama administration to get on the offensive with a firm strategy and take clear international leadership.

"Ever since the president went on prime-time television to announce his new strategy to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS, he and his team have slipped on one banana peel after another," Gergen wrote.

He cited a list of muddled messages about the terminology of the conflict, including numerous contradictions emerging from the administration. There also continues to be a lack of clarity about whether there will be "boots on the ground," he said.

Meanwhile, it continues to remain unclear as to what role the international coalition will play in supporting the mission.

Gergen also notes there has been a chorus of doubts among experts and those in the media about the likely effectiveness of the president's chosen strategy of combining American air power with a reliance on local ground forces. Doubts are being amplified by reports of rifts between the White House and military officials.

"In coming days, through his time at the United Nations and back in the White House, the president must dramatically seize the reins of leadership. He must form a strong, bipartisan advisory team around him with leaders from the past," Gergen said. "He has to work in close harness with his military commanders, ending talk of rifts. And he must mobilize a coalition of nations that takes the fight to the enemy with great urgency."

He concluded by saying, "It is inconceivable that the United States, with the best trained and equipped military in the world, can't clear the battlefield of a band of thugs. We must not lose heart just because this war is off to a rocky start. After all and let's admit it: when the administration finally fixed up Obamacare, it started to work better than many of us expected."

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The rollout of President Barack Obama's strategy to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) has been dogged by problems comparable to the bungled rollout of Obamacare, said David Gergen, the CNN Senior Political Analyst.
ISIS, Obamacare, Rollout, Obama administration
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2014-59-22
Monday, 22 September 2014 10:59 AM
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