The White House hasn't given a name to the battle against the Islamic State (ISIS), but retired Lt. Col. Oliver North has one: Operation Enduring Confusion.
A play on Operation Enduring Freedom, the name given to the war in Afghanistan, the fight against ISIS suffers from President Barack Obama's inability to make up his mind on a strategy, North said Wednesday on
Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File."
In a national address on Sept. 10, Obama announced his plan for U.S. airstrikes inside Syria, where ISIS has its base of operations. Secretary of State
John Kerry testified Wednesday before a Senate committee about the plan, but North said the coalition of partners mentioned by Kerry is "nonexistent."
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are the only force capable of fighting inside Iraq currently, North said.
"Arab air power is an oxymoron," he said. "They can't do this."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates all have said ISIS can't be defeated without ground troops from someone, but North said the current plan to train Syrian rebels isn't feasible.
It will take 8-12 months to train 5,000 Free Syrian Army troops, North said, and by that time ISIS will have grown to 45,000-50,000 members.
"I'm waiting for the general or admiral who will stand up on his hind feet and say, 'This is mission impossible,'" North said.
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