The man chosen by U.S. President Barack Obama to organize the fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS and ISIL, is stepping down from the position, White House officials said Tuesday. Bloomberg reports that the White House disagreed with Allen’s attempts to place air control teams on the ground in Iraq to coordinate air strikes, as well as his desire to establish a civilian safe zone in northern Syria with Turkey.
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The report cites confirmation from four administration officials. Asked if Allen had told colleagues he planned to leave, State Department spokesman Mark Toner did not answer directly, telling reporters that he “remains focused on his duties”. His chief of staff, Karin von Hippel, will also depart, to join a British think tank.
Allen and the Obama administration have also been at an impasse over what they believe should be the ultimate goal in Syria. While Allen said in July that the terrorist group “is losing”, others like incoming Marine Corps Commandant Lt. Gen. Robert Neller have characterized the war as a “stalemate”.
Roughly 70 U.S.-trained and equipped rebels have returned to Syria to take up the fight against Daesh Central Command said Monday. Meanwhile, administration officials have portrayed his decision as one made out of concern for his wife’s poor health.
Derek Harvey, a former senior United States military intelligence official said that, Allen “was never empowered to bring the leadership necessary to achieve the mission”.
Allen is the public face of the administration’s effort to defend Obama’s loose strategy, recently conducting a series of interviews to promote the coalition’s efforts against ISIS after a full year of engagement.
Retired Gen. John Allen has been serving as the White House’s special envoy to the global coalition fighting against ISIS in Syria and Iraq since September 11, 2014. “In the intervening months, we’ve seen remarkable progress in many respects”.
As more Syrian refugees board rickety boats on the Turkish coast, the Islamic State is cranking up its propaganda campaign.
The Syrian civil war has raged for more than four years, creating a vacuum in Syria that the Islamic State militant group has exploited to seize territory there and in neighboring Iraq. “We are not where we should be at this point”. He agreed to stay on for another six at the request of Secretary of State John Kerry earlier this year. It is expected that his deputy, Amb.
General Allen speaking at the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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“He’s done a great job in pushing the ball forward in terms of the diplomatic effort in the fight against ISIL and building up a coalition”, Cook added of Allen.
