“No longer will our missions and initiatives be announced to the world before they take place.”
Before President Trump took office, the administration under Obama telegraphed almost every military and strategic move the US was taking. This stance was widely criticized and in the opinion of many, put our troops as well as our nation at risk.
The history of the Obama administration telling our enemies what we were going to do was part of their policy. When the Obama administration took office, one of the first things they did was announce the complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq. They advised the world of the date, and almost the time we would be leaving. Announcing a timeline allowed those fighting the US to sit back and wait until we left. Since they knew when and where it would happen, all they had to do was let the Obama administration hand them the tactical advantage.
In Afghanistan, the same pattern was followed. The Obama administration again let the world know the exact nature of our military plans. The Taliban just waited until we followed through on the commitment to withdraw from Afghanistan and turn the fight over to the Afghan government. Since then, the Taliban has once again gone on the offensive. These withdrawal dates had nothing to do with the tactical situation on the ground, rather they were political decisions to set an arbitrary date and meet it.
In Syria, Obama announced our military plans and troop levels. He also publicly announced what we as a nation would not do. In Iraq, the Obama administration announced the plans and timeline for the attack on Fallujah and later on Mosul. He once again telegraphed the intentions of the United States. He even announced a schedule for the operation. His free intel to ISIS allowed them to reposition many of their fighters out of the city before they could be engaged.
Furthermore, in the fight against ISIS, Obama informed the world what steps he would not take. Doing so is a terrible and detrimental action that harms military operations strategically. What Obama did was harm our military missions, and put our people as well as those of our allies at risk. Can you imagine Eisenhower telling the Axis forces when and where the invasion of Europe would be and on what day during WWII? Operational secrecy is the watchword of military operations. Obama and his advisors seemed to have missed that lesson.
Under the Trump administration, the policy and approach are completely different. Even during the Presidential campaign, Donald Trump was very vocal about the announcement of military operations by the Obama administration. He repeatedly criticized Obama for telling the world our plans and in turn giving the advantage to our enemies. President Trump knows that cards are best held close to the vest.
Now that Donald Trump has taken office he has put his belief in operational security and secrecy into practice. Recently, Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said,
“In order to maintain tactical surprise, ensure operational security, and force protection, the coalition will not routinely announce or confirm information about the capabilities, force numbers, locations, or movement of forces in or out of Iraq and Syria.”
This is now the official policy at the Pentagon, they will no longer confirm troop numbers that are participating in operations.
No longer will our missions and initiatives be announced to the world before they take place. That practice gave the advantage to our enemies and the organizations that we were fighting. As President Trump has repeatedly refused to limit his options when asked, the US will no longer telegraph military operations or the type of pressure they are contemplating to bring on a foreign power. President Trump will not risk their operational effectiveness by making a purely political statement about the operations he may or may not be undertaking.
His actions in this regard are correct and are a welcome change by those whose lives hang in the balance when their missions are exposed as they were under the Obama White House.
