Special Forces Raid In Syria Fails To Locate Lost American Credibility

American credibility had been lost in the air over Syria more than a year and a half ago.

Raqqa, Islamic State, Eastern Syria, March 31 – A covert military operation involving Green Berets and Navy SEALS deep inside Islamic State-controlled territory to retrieve American credibility that had been lost there more than a year ago has failed, military sources said today.

Late last week a team of commandos parachuted into the de facto capital of the Islamic State to locate and obtain the credibility, which intelligence reports indicated was being concealed in an underground bunker in the center of the city. However, the lightly armed soldiers were unable to penetrate the facility without provoking a major firefight, for which they were not prepared, and were forced to abort the mission without firing a shot.

A US military official with knowledge of the operation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that American credibility had been lost in the air over Syria more than a year and a half ago, following an abortive attempt to repaint red lines the Obama administration had established, and that the Assad regime had continually violated, regarding the use of chemical and biological weapons against the Syrian opposition. Fearing that the credibility would be completely eroded if any more time elapsed, Pentagon officials ordered the special forces to attempt to seize it.

“Precise intelligence information was available to us thanks to advanced technology, but we needed to have our men get in and retrieve the credibility,” said the official. “But the resources available to the special forces for the operation did not enable a prolonged stay in the theater, as the men were only able to carry limited armaments and ammunition. When reconnaissance on the ground determined that penetrating the target facility, finding the credibility, safely removing it intact, and rendezvousing with the extraction team would require more fire support than they had at their disposal, given the defenses, the mission commander decided not to jeopardize the men’s lives any further, and withdrew.”

The official declined to say whether the commandos were detected by Islamic State fighters, or whether the American credibility is still kept in the same location in Raqqa, in which case another attempt to retrieve and restore it might be possible. However, experts believe at this point the credibility has eroded beyond repair, and another mission to get it back will achieve nothing.

“It’s too far gone,” asserted military analyst John Shalikashvili, a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Maybe six months ago there was hope of restoring American credibility, but it’s no longer possible with a simple raid. That will only make things worse at this point.”

He added that in all likelihood, the credibility has now been taken by the Russians and relabeled as theirs.