British Special Forces have already formed a series of “hunter-killer” teams with U.S. counterparts, including Delta Force and Seal Team 6.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi praised his forces in a statement Tuesday, and said that while Iraq welcomes support from its global partners, it does not need foreign combat troops on the ground.
Carter’s comments come as the British parliament prepares to debate whether the Royal Air Force should start bombing in Syria. “You don’t know at night who is going to be coming in the window”, Carter said.
Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that over time, these special operators will be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture Islamic State leaders.
“That creates a virtuous cycle of better intelligence, which generates more targets, more raids, more momentum”.
There now are about 3,300 United States troops in Iraq, and President Obama had previously announced he was sending fewer than 50 special operations forces to Syria.
The top USA military officer, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, said the new force would greatly accelerate the collection of intelligence, which “will make our operations much more effective”.
The use of what is now being called an ETF [expeditionary targeting force] is not without precedence in the US effort against IS. He said the new force would conduct operations similar to two conducted earlier this year. One U.S. service member was killed in the raid, the first American combat death in Iraq since the U.S. began its campaign against IS in August 2014.
Obama recently authorised the deployment of 50 special forces troops to Syria, but promised they were expected to work mainly alongside rebels on that side of the border.
FILE – U.S. airstrikes damaged an Islamic State military base in the center of Sinjar.
Kurdish fighters have told the Guardian that USA forces in Iraq have secretly been blurring this line for months by taking an increasingly active role on the frontline, but the creeping ground mission once expressly ruled out by Barack Obama now seems to be spreading to Syria. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., warned that “the slow buildup of US combat soldiers inside Syria and Iraq risks repeating the mistake of the Iraq war: believing that extremism can be defeated by USA troops absent local political and military capacity”.
Diplomats familiar with the plans have said cutting off one of Islamic State’s lifelines could be a game-changer in that corner of Syria’s complex war, although not all share Kerry’s optimism on the pace of progress.
The ability of Islamic State to survive concerns critics and analysts, who wonder whether the additional US special forces will do much to further the terror group’s demise. He said the Islamic State gains strength by claiming to be fighting against Western aggression.
Russia, which has publicly committed to defeating ISIS, has instead largely attacked opposition forces, not ISIS, Mr Carter said, adding that it is time for Russia to focus on the right side of this fight. In southern Syria, the U.S.is enabling fighters to conduct strikes and is enhancing the border control and defenses of Jordan, a key ally.
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Carter said the new unit would be mobilized “in full coordination with the government of Iraq”, but Baghdad quickly pushed back against that idea.
