Military Monday with John D. Gresham With Maj. Gen. David Burford, USA (Ret.)

Thus far, the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIL has not been producing anything like the results that have been projected and hoped for when it began two months ago. Despite an increased operations tempo and the addition of Allied bombing missions from nations in NATO and the GCC, the bombing is not doing what it can and should. Credible analysts have clearly stated that the lack of ground-based targeting support has been a major bottleneck to successfully slowing ISIL in strategic locations like Khboani along the Turkish/Syrian border. And given the Obama administration's hard limitation of, "No U.S. Boots on the Ground," there is virtually no chance of any substantial ground forces being committed to the fight. And with battalions/brigades of soldiers and Marines completely out of the question, are there other options open to the Obama administration? The answer is "Yes!" The answer however does involve some "Boots on the Ground." A few, very "special" boots drawn from the ranks of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). These highly trained and skilled Special Operations Force (SOF) personnel can overcome the limitations of the present targeting problems, and help accelerate the destruction of ISIL forces on the battlefield.

 To learn more about SOCOM's SOF warriors and how they might turn the tide against ISIL, join military historian, author and journalist John D. Gresham for Military Monday (#MilitaryMonday on @Writestream) at 1 p.m. Eastern. His guest this week is MGEN David Burford, USA (Ret.), a senior leader in the Army Special Forces (the Green Berets) following 9/11. MGEN Burford, A career soldier in the Army National Guard, was a key leader in the development of SOF campaign plans and operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines. Together they will explain viable alternatives against ISIL, based on proven results since 9/11, for the Allied effort.