President Barack Obama's
announcement that he will be sending another 250 American special operations troops to Syria is an effort at playing catch-up after not acting soon enough earlier, retired Army Gen. Paul E. Vallely tells
Newsmax TV.
When asked by "Newsmax Now" host J.D. Hayworth how we can tell the good guys from the bad, Vallely said, they have to be vetted, just as was done in 2013. Those reports were never used, he said.
"What we have going here is amateur hour again," Vallely said. "That was my reaction to the [first] 50 Special Ops going in. No. 1, you never broadcast that you deploy your troops for an operational mission."
The troops likely will be used in air ground operations, he said.
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Vallely also was asked about Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper's comment to Newsmax on Monday that a terror attack could happen in the United States before the November presidential election.
"They're already filling the ranks coming across the Mexican border and filling out cells across America, so this is already happening, and we saw an example of that probably in San Bernardino," Vallely said. "So Clapper's usually late coming to the ball when he comes out with these kinds of reports, but there again, intelligence reports are telling us that we're already being invaded across our borders with expanded ISIS activity."
There are likely several attacks being planned, Vallely said. Targets might include office buildings, shopping centers or the transit system.
"There's going to be escalation, there's no doubt in my mind," he said.
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