ISIS war rollout resembles launch of Obamacare site
By David Gergen, CNN Senior Political Analyst
updated 5:32 PM EDT, Sun September 21, 2014
Syrian Kurds fleeing the violence from ISIS wait to cross on Saturday, September 20 at the border from Syria into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province. The United Nations estimates more than 190,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war. Syrian Kurds fleeing the violence from ISIS wait to cross on Saturday, September 20 at the border from Syria into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province. The United Nations estimates more than 190,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war.
A Syrian Kurdish refugee woman at the border in Suruc, Turkey, on September 20.
Syrian pro-government forces inspect the ground near a damaged building on the outskirts of the city of Hama on September 20. Syrian troops have regained control of villages near a military air base in the central province of Hama earlier this month, pushing back rebel fighters in the area.
People in Raqqa, Syria, stand where a Syrian government aircraft was shot down by ISIS militants on Tuesday, September 16.
Syrian government forces walk down a street in Halfaya, Syria, after taking the city from rebel forces on Friday, September 12.
Al-Qaeda-linked rebels from Syria gather around vehicles carrying U.N. peacekeepers from Fiji before releasing them Thursday, September 11, in the Golan Heights. The 45 <a href='
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/01/world/meast/syria-crisis/index.html' target='_blank'>peacekeepers were captured </a>in the Golan Heights after rebels seized control of a border crossing between Syria and the Israeli-occupied territory.
Syrian opposition fighters take position behind sandbags in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, September 11.
Syrians fleeing the violence stand next to their belongings near the Syrian-Turkish border as they attempt to cross into Turkey on Sunday, September 7.
A boy looks at bodies lying outside a hospital after a barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Friday, September 5.
A U.N. convoy moves in the buffer zone near the Golan Heights as they are escorted by Syrian rebel fighters near the Syrian village of Jubata Al Khashab on Tuesday, September 2.
Residents of Aleppo remove a body from debris on Friday, August 29, after what activists claim was shelling by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Druze men watch from the Golan Heights side of the Quneitra border with Syria as smoke rises during fighting between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels on Wednesday, August 27.
This image was taken during a government guided tour in Mleiha, Syria, one day after Syrian government forces retook the town after a months-long battle with rebels, according to a military source and state television on Friday, August 15.
Residents inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo after Syrian regime helicopters allegedly dropped barrel bombs there on Wednesday, August 13.
Smoke trails over Aleppo following barrel bombs that were allegedly dropped by the Syrian regime on an opposition-controlled area on Monday, August 11.
Photographs of victims of the Bashar al-Assad regime are displayed as a Syrian Army defector known as "Caesar," center, appears in disguise to speak before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington. The briefing on Thursday, July 31, was called "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy." Caesar was apparently a witness to al-Assad's brutality and has <a href='
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/world/meast/syria-crisis-remember/index.html'>smuggled more than 50,000 photographs</a> depicting the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents.
Syrian rebel fighters take up positions behind sandbags in Aleppo on Wednesday, July 30.
People carry an injured man away from the site of an airstrike, reportedly carried out by Syrian government forces, in Aleppo on Sunday, July 27.
Rebel fighters execute two men Friday, July 25, in Binnish, Syria. The men reportedly were charged by an Islamic religious court with detonating several car bombs.
A rebel fighter stands on a dust-covered street in Aleppo on Monday, July 21.
A man clears debris at the site of an alleged barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Tuesday, July 15.
A woman walks amid debris after an airstrike by government forces July 15 in Aleppo.
People walk on a dust-filled street after a reported barrel-bomb attack in Aleppo on Monday, July 7.
Apartments and other buildings lie in ruins on Tuesday, June 3, in <a href='
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/meast/syria-aleppo-reporters-notebook/'>Aleppo, a city that "has had the life bombed out of it,"</a> according to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
A man carries a girl injured in a reported barrel-bomb attack by government forces June 3 in Aleppo.
A rebel fighter loads an anti-tank cannon outside Latakia, Syria, on Sunday, June 1.
A rescue worker pulls a girl from rubble in Aleppo on June 1 after reported bombing by government forces.
A giant poster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, May 31, as the capital prepares for presidential elections.
Portraits of al-Assad dominate the cityscape in central Damascus on Tuesday, May 27. Al-Assad is firmly in power three years into the civil war, while the opposition remains weak and fragmented and extremists grow in numbers and influence.
The father of a 3-month-old girl weeps Monday, May 26, after she was pulled from rubble following a barrel-bomb strike in Aleppo.
A woman stands in a heavily damaged building in Aleppo on May 26.
An injured man lies in a hospital bed after alleged airstrikes by government forces in Aleppo on Sunday, May 18.
Buildings in Homs, Syria, lie in ruins Saturday, May 10, days after an evacuation truce went into effect. Thousands of displaced residents returned to the city.
Rescuers carry a man wounded by a mine in the Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood of Homs on May 10.
A Syrian woman carries a suitcase along a street in the Juret al-Shayah district of Homs on May 10.
Residents carry their belongings in the al-Hamidieh neighborhood of Homs on May 10.
A woman injured when a mine went off is carried in Homs on May 10.
Residents return to damaged dwellings in Homs on May 10.
Debris lies on a deserted street in Homs on Thursday, May 8.
A mosque is seen through shattered glass in Homs, where an evacuation truce went into effect on Wednesday, May 7.
A wounded man is treated at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on Sunday, May 4.
Debris rises in what Free Syrian Army fighters said was an operation to strike a checkpoint and remove government forces in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, on Monday, May 5.
A man helps a woman through debris after reported airstrikes by government forces on Thursday, May 1, in the Halak neighborhood of Aleppo.
Syrians gather at the site of reported airstrikes in Aleppo on May 1. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 civilians were killed in the attack.
A woman runs after two barrel bombs were thrown, reportedly by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on May 1.
A boy runs in Aleppo on Sunday, April 27, after what activists said were explosive barrels thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad.
Security and emergency medical personnel work at the site of a car bomb explosion Monday, April 14, in the Ekremah neighborhood of Homs.
In this photo released by the state-run SANA news agency, Syrian forces take positions during clashes with rebels near the town of Rankous, Syria, on Sunday, April 13.
Flames engulf a vehicle following a car bomb Wednesday, April 9, in the Karm al-Loz neighborhood of Homs.
A man carries a child who was found in the rubble of an Aleppo building after it was reportedly bombed by government forces on Monday, March 18.
An elderly man and a child walk among debris in a residential block of Aleppo on March 18.
A woman with blood on her face carries a child following a reported airstrike by government forces Saturday, March 15, in Aleppo.
People attempt to comfort a man in Aleppo after a reported airstrike by government forces on Sunday, March 9.
Buildings in Homs lay in ruins on March 9.
Syrian forces fire a cannon and a heavy machine gun loaded on a truck as they fight rebels in the Syrian town of Zara on Saturday, March 8.
A handout photo released by SANA shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking March 8 during a meeting in Damascus to mark the 51st anniversary of the 1963 revolution, when Baath Party supporters in the Syrian army seized power. Al-Assad said the country will go on with reconciliation efforts along with its fight against terrorism.
Syrians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces on Friday, March 7.
People dig through the rubble of a building in Damascus that was allegedly hit by government airstrikes on Thursday, February 27.
A boy walks ahead of men carrying the body of his mother in Aleppo on Saturday, February 22. According to activists, the woman was killed when explosive barrels were thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad.
A man holds a baby who survived what activists say was an airstrike by al-Assad loyalists Friday, February 14, in Aleppo.
In this photo provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center, Syrian men help survivors out of a building in Aleppo after it was bombed, allegedly by a Syrian regime warplane on Saturday, February 8.
Syrians gather at a site hit by barrel bombs, allegedly dropped by a regime helicopter on the opposition-controlled Mesekin Hananu district of Aleppo on February 8.
In this handout photo released by the state-run SANA news agency on February 8, civilians wave national flags in Damascus as they take part in a rally in support of President al-Assad.
A man stands next to debris in the road following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 8.
Medical personnel look for survivors after a reported airstrike in Aleppo on Saturday, February 1.
Syrians carry a dead body following an airstrike on February 1.
A man walks amid debris and dust on January 31.
An injured man is covered in dust after an airstrike on January 29.
A man tries to fix electrical wires in Aleppo on January 27.
Rebels and civilians check out a crater that activists say resulted from a Syrian government airstrike on an Aleppo bus station on Tuesday, January 21.
Men rush to a site that Syrian government forces reportedly hit in Aleppo on January 21.
Buildings lie in ruins in Aleppo on Sunday, January 19, after reported air raids by Syrian government planes.
A child collects items from a garbage pile in Douma, Syria, northeast of the capital, on Saturday, January 18.
A piece of exploded mortar lies in a street in Daraya, a Syrian city southwest of Damascus, on Friday, January 17.
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Syrian civil war in 2014
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
David Gergen: Rollout of President's fight vs. ISIS has been dogged by problems
There's been uncertainty about whether this is a war and if ground troops may go, he says
This war is too important to have it shrouded in confusion, Gergen says
Gergen: Administration can rescue the situation, as it did with Obamacare website
Editor's note: David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN and has been an adviser to four presidents. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Follow him on Twitter at @david_gergen. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.
(CNN) -- Someone in the Obama White House clearly has a good book to write one day: "How Not to Do Rollouts."
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.
President Barack Obama's critics may take some glee from the recent missteps, but they shouldn't. Going to war is serious business, especially when the conflict promises to be long and messy.
For the nation's sake, our dysfunctional politics needs to become functional on this one or we put too much at risk, starting with the lives of our men and women in uniform.
That's why it is imperative and urgent that the Obama team and their allies take a deep breath, pull themselves together and get this war effort on solid footing. Instead of becoming defensive, they need to go on offense, showing the world they are firmly in charge and on a winning path.
David Gergen
David Gergen
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.
First came the series of muddled messages. Was this to be called a war or something else like a counterterrorism campaign? Who knew after so many contradictions from the administration? Is the threat from ISIS something we are trying to prevent from happening one day or is it imminent? Again, contradictions. Crucially: Still we put boots on the ground or will we leave all the ground fighting to surrogates? No one can be sure yet.
Even as a coalition grows of nations proclaiming their support, questions also rise of just how much -- or how little -- they will actually do.
Meanwhile, the media has been jammed with news analyses and comments from respected former officials calling into question the whole enterprise. The administration expresses confidence that a reconstituted Iraqi military along with Kurdish forces, working with American air power, can destroy ISIS in Iraq, but so far, press reports are skeptical. And experts point out that the best Iraqi fighters are Shia militia allied with Iran.
There is even more skepticism about our capacity to mobilize "moderates" in Syria. And listening to two of Obama's former defense chiefs, Bob Gates and Leon Panetta, one suspects they would have strongly opposed the plan if they were still in government.
As if the gnawing doubts weren't filling enough air time, now comes a new round of stories in The Washington Post, The New York Times and Financial Times reporting on a growing rift between the President and his military generals.
One can easily read too much into these tensions. In truth, Obama and the military have been able to work together in a professional way through most of his administration. And certainly the collaboration within the government in pursuit of Osama bin Laden was masterful.
But it is also true that underneath the surface, there has been an unhealthy atmosphere of mistrust between this White House and some of its military chieftains. The Obama team has doubted the loyalty of several of its generals, while the military has doubted the competence of the President and his national security team, especially in the second term.
Soon after he took office, Obama felt that through leaks to the press, his generals were trying to box him in on how many additional troops he would send to Afghanistan, trying to push him to higher numbers.
He felt excessive pressure as well on keeping a sizable number of troops in Iraq. And his political advisers were deeply suspicious that Gen. David Petraeus would run against Obama in 2012 the way Gen. George McClellan ran against Lincoln in 1864. These fears and anxieties were overwrought, but they have left scars that remain today.
In both the Pentagon and White House, there is now concern about management of the war from here on out. The military worries that Obama and his team will micromanage, especially in Syria -- something that President Lyndon Johnson did with disastrous results in Vietnam. And they worry that a nervous White House will tie their hands in the fight, ruling out the force necessary to win.
The White House worries that the military, hellbent upon victory, will accidentally drop bombs on too many innocents, inflaming opinion and making it harder to keep a coalition together. They point to what has happened in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Syria, they worry an imprecise approach could further drag the United States into the chaotic civil war. Presumably, these are adults on both sides who can work things out but if suspicions and rifts grow, that will definitely handicap prosecution of the war -- and risk a national security debacle.
An additional challenge the administration faces is that the President has now announced America is going to war, but there are virtually no signs of mobilization on television. This is very different from most recent conflicts when a President takes to prime time and within hours screens are filled with pictures of military mobilization or of rockets and bombs flying and the public is rallying round the flag. What is left now is a virtual news vacuum that is being largely filled with arguments and counterarguments about the wisdom and competence of the administration.
All of this is no way to galvanize a nation or build a vibrant coalition.
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 such as Colin Powell, James Baker, Madeleine Albright, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and yes, Gates and Panetta. 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.
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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