After President Obama’s speech to the nation on Wednesday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow asked NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel what he thought of President Obama’s analogy that the U.S. strategy in fighting terrorism in Yemen and Somalia would carry over to dealing with the Islamic terrorist group ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.
Needless to say, Engel was not at all pleased with the comparison the President made, telling Maddow immediately that “I think it is wildly off base, frankly” and “[i]t's an oversimplification of the problem.”
He went on to describe the situation in both Yemen and Somalia with Yemen having:
[A] partnered government that doesn't have the force to reach some parts in the desert where al-Qaeda is hiding out, so it relies on the United States to lend a hand, to do some observation missions over Yemen.
Engel also added that when terrorists are identified in Yemen, Yemeni forces first try to capture them, but if they are unable to carry out a mission, the U.S. steps in with air strikes.
Over in Somalia, Engel told viewers that “you have a similar group to al-Qaeda, the same mentality that's operating in a remote corner of Africa” whom the U.S. engages in only “when the U.S. special operations forces see an opportunity and target them.”
With all that in mind, Engel turned back to criticizing Obama’s speech:
That's not at all the situation we are seeing in Iraq and Syria. Here, we have a large group, tens of thousands of fighters. They control an area the size of Maryland. They control an area that has 8 million people living inside of it. It's much more akin to regime change than it is to waiting back, picking targets with allied forces. They are not comparable at all.
In addition, he blasted the President’s strategy to further train and empower the Iraqi military that had been largely on the ropes after ISIS forces moved in. Engel said that:
The problem is the Iraqi army, over the last several months, has collapsed. It has been reconstituted already by many Iranian advisers and sometimes regular Iranian ground forces that have been witnessed on many occasions and these Sunni villages that are now with ISIS are afraid of the Iraqi army. They don't want the Iraqi army to come into their villages.
Engel ended his scathing reaction to the President’s prime-time address by suggesting that the actions of the Iraqi military “that we are going to link up with to rid Iraq of ISIS” has provided “a reason that people support ISIS in this country.”
(h/t: Mediaite [1])
The complete portion of the transcript from the special program MSNBC Presidential Speech that included NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel on September 10 can be found below.
MSNBC Presidential Speech
September 10, 2014
9:18 p.m. Eastern
RACHEL MADDOW: Let's put that to Richard Engel, NBC's chief foreign correspondent is in northern Iraq, is in Erbil. Richard, the President talked about – that “the United States is not being able to take the place of Arab partners in securing their region.” He also said that “this strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us while supporting partners on the front lines is a strategy that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.” Essentially saying he wants to do to ISIS what the United States has been doing to Al Qaeda and its affiliates in Yemen and Somalia. What do you make of that analogy?
RICHARD ENGEL: I think it is wildly off base, frankly. It's an oversimplification of the problem. In Yemen, there is a partnered government that doesn't have the force to reach some parts in the desert where Al Qaeda is hiding out, so it relies on the United States to lend a hand, to do some observation missions over Yemen and generally what happens is the U.S. will tell the Yemenis, hey, there are some terrorists hiding in this particular village or in this particular oasis, go and find them and if the Yemeni forces can't get there, the U.S. strikes by air. In Somalia, you have a similar group to Al Qaeda, the same mentality that's operating in a remote corner of Africa that is generally ignored except when the U.S. special operations forces see an opportunity and target them. That's not at all the situation we are seeing in Iraq and Syria. Here, we have a large group, tens of thousands of fighters. They control an area the size of Maryland. They control an area that has 8 million people living inside of it. It's much more akin to regime change than it is to waiting back, picking targets with allied forces. They are not comparable at all.
MADDOW: Richard, when the President talked about not taking the place of Arab partners and securing their region he said “American power can make a decisive difference but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves.” Does that strike you as congruent with what he's describing in terms of actual kinetic activity toward ISIS? Does that make sense to use strategically?
ENGEL: In principle, of course. The U.S. can't secure Iraq unless it wants to send back several hundred thousand troops to this country and start over again and push the reset button, which I don't think anyone is talking about right now, but he's talking about having the Iraqi army reconstituted and using that Iraqi army to secure this country. The problem is the Iraqi army, over the last several months, has collapsed. It has been reconstituted already by many Iranian advisers and sometimes regular Iranian ground forces that have been witnessed on many occasions and these Sunni villages that are now with ISIS are afraid of the Iraqi army. They don't want the Iraqi army to come into their villages. So, we talk about a partner on the ground that we are going to link up with to rid Iraq of ISIS. Well, that partner on the ground, in many cases, is a reason that people support ISIS in this country.
MADDOW: NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel joining us live from Iraq, from Erbil in northern Iraq. Richard, invaluable to have you here. Thank you so much.
— Curtis Houck is News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Curtis Houck on Twitter. [2]