Reaction to Obama Shift on Syria

Experts warned of mission creep after the president ordered US special forces to take a more active role but most White House hopefuls back greater intervention. Barack Obama’s announcement on Friday that American special forces will take a more active role in the war in Syria is for many critics of his foreign policy a confirmation that the US has inched deeper into a chaotic conflict.

It’s also an opportunity for presidential candidates to both praise and denounce him. And most Republican and Democratic presidential candidates propose doing even more...

President Obama’s decision to send a small team of United States commandos into Syria as part of the broader war against the Islamic State has raised new questions about his military strategy, its legal foundation and the way it has been sold to the American public.

After years in which Mr. Obama rejected “boots on the ground,” the deployment of up to 50 Special Operations troops to northern Syria is a relatively modest commitment. But coupled with the 3,500 troops now stationed next door in Iraq, it reflects continuing improvisation...