US officials say they’re not conducting ‘presence patrols’ in Manbij, Syria, but new photos show oth

[TomSea]

Excerpt:

US officials say they’re not conducting ‘presence patrols’ in Manbij, Syria, but new photos show otherwise
Kyle Rempfer

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 But according to Jennifer Cafarella, a senior intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War, Inherent Resolve is obscuring the purpose of these patrols by using ambiguous language.

“They’re trying to use terminology to manage the Turkish reaction,” she said. “The intended effect — regardless of the framing — is to deter Turkey from attacking.”

A big part of deterrence is ensuring a message has clarity, and by obscuring the point of a patrol, U.S. officials might not be ensuring their Turkish counterparts understand the point, she said. In this way, OIR’s shift in language could be poor messaging.

Read more: https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2018/03/29/us-officials-say-theyre-not-conducting-presence-patrols-in-manbij-syria-but-new-photos-show-otherwise/