The French army punishes an officer who criticized the methods of the international coalition’s operations against the Islamic state in eastern Syria

The French military said it would punish a senior officer who participated in the operations of the international coalition, Colonel Francois Reggie Legrillier, commander of the French artillery force in Iraq, which supports Kurdish forces against the organization of the Islamic State in Syria after a sharp attack on the methods of the coalition in battles in Syria and Iraq.

Colonel Francois Reggie Legrillier, who is responsible for directing the French artillery supporting Syria’s democratic forces in Syria, pointed out in an article he wrote in the National Defense Review that led to displeasure in the French military staff.

“The coalition has focused on reducing its losses … which has led to a significant increase in the number of civilian deaths and high levels of destruction”, Colonel Legrillier wrote.

“This raises the question of why we have an army that we dare not to use, and how many towns should face what had happened to the town of Hajin until we realize that we’re taking the wrong path?”.

“Yes, The Hajin battle has been won, at least on the ground, but we’re prolonging the conflict unnecessarily by refusing the ground engagement, and thus contributing to an increase in civilian casualties”, Legrillier wrote.

“We’ve destroyed the infrastructure in the region enormously, and people have given us a depressing picture of what might be the process of liberating a Western-style country, leaving behind the seeds of an impending advent for a new enemy”.

The French officer confirmed that “victory” was achieved in the last battle against the organization of the Islamic state that took place between September and December in Hajin town pocket, east of Syria, “but it was very slow and at a very high cost and cause great destruction”.

“Certainly, by refusing to send troops on the ground, Westerners have been able to reduce risks, especially when they have to explain this to public opinion”.

The article by a senior French officer who spoke with unusual freedom to a military field commander was an interesting, with his honesty in expressing his opinion that 1,000 fighters with the experience of war would “settle the fate the Hajin town pocket in weeks and spare the population months of war”.

“It took five months and an accumulation of destruction to eliminate 2,000 fighters who do not have air support, no electronic warfare, no special forces, no satellites”, he wrote.

The international coalition against the US-led Islamic State Organization has resorted mainly to air operations in support of Syria Democratic Forces, with the exception of some special forces on the ground, mainly American and French.

“Within six months, thousands of bombs fell on a few dozen square kilometers, the main result of which was the destruction of infrastructure, hospitals, roads, bridges and houses”, the French colonel reveals in his article.

He added that the coalition “gave up its freedom of movement and lost control over the pace of its strategic moves by delegating the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces to carry out operations on the ground.

After the article was published, the French military chiefs expressed their objection to what the colonel, who completed his mission in Iraq at the end of this month, wrote in a statement that “the article by Colonel Francois Reggie Legrillier is not a matter of freedom of expression, discretion and confidentiality associated with operations “.

The French military spokesman said in a text message that “the French officer is being considered for punishment, while the article was deleted from the French magazine’s website on Saturday.