Republicans harshly criticized the Obama administration’s strategy in Syria and Iraq, where IS militants have captured large swaths of territory and have largely fought the U.S.-led coalition to a stalemate.
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At a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carter told the lawmakers U.S. forces aimed to intensify pressure on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria and the Iraqi city of Ramadi.
He also said “of course” Delta Force commando Sgt. Master Joshua Wheeler died in combat last week during a US special operations raid with Kurdish Peshmerga to rescue Iraqi hostages.
But speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Carter indicated that not only would be U.S. forces be deployed in Iraq to fight the terrorist group, but also in Syria.
In Syria, Carter said the US will support moderate Syrian forces fighting Islamic State fighters, who have made territorial gains near Raqqa.
Carter said the United States would intensify the air campaign against ISIS with additional aircraft and heavier airstrikes.
The USA and Europe have insisted on a political transition that ends with Assad’s departure, a condition of previous diplomatic agreements to bring the conflict to an end.
The United Stated announced on Tuesday that it would not hold back from carrying out “direct action” on the ground against Daesh in Iraq and Syria if necessary, Anadolu reported.
Islamic State’s advance through Iraq may well have been contained, but in their heartlands they’re not exactly on the back foot.
McCain said, “Our policy of ISIL (an acronym for the Islamic State) first fails to understand that ISIL, for all of the threat it poses, is actually just a symptom of a deeper problem, the struggle for power and sectarian identity now raging across the Middle East, the epicenter of which is Iraq and Syria”.
Carter testified alongside General Joe Dunford, who is America’s top officer and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
These troops have a “train and advise” role to help Iraqi forces battling the extremist group but were recently drawn into fighting in northern Iraq.
“The (US) strategy has completely fallen apart”, Senator Lyndsey Graham said.
“This will include more strikes against ISIL high-value targets as our intelligence improves”, he added. There are now no troops stationed in Syria.
Carter said he intends to realize this goal through train-and-equip programs for Syrian rebels and Kurdish groups, as well as increased airstrikes, according to The Hill.
“It looks like they are proceeding or moving in that direction, where Secretary Carter and the president are prepared to take more risks in ensuring that we can actively… degrade ISIS”, he said.
It remains highly unlikely that Russian Federation, Syria’s ally, would allow such a measure, which comes amid Western criticism of Moscow’s dramatic intervention in the war to support Assad.
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“I promise you they have”.
