“The reality is, we’re at war”, said Carter.
Advertisement
Such a policy would require “substantial” ground forces and would put the USA military at risk of a direct confrontation with Syrian regime and Russian forces, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said.
“We’re just asking the question, what’s the endgame this time?” asked Sen.
“We have not recommended it because the political situation on the ground and the potential for miscalculation and loss of American life in the air in an attempt to defend the no-fly zone don’t warrant the no-fly zone”.
When critics say President Barack Obama isn’t doing enough against the Islamic State, he often notes that he follows the advice of his military advisers.
Under questioning from McCain, Carter backed Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, who disagreed last month with Obama’s assessment that ISIS had been “contained”.
“…There’s 20 to 30,000 of them”.
The comments by Selva, the new vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing drew a stinging rebuke from Sen.
McCain said he was “depressed” by the hearing.
The heated exchange represents the core of criticisms against the Obama administration’s handling of the civil war, which began in 2011, and the subsequent war against the Islamic State group, which capitalized on regional unrest a year ago to establish its so-called caliphate now spanning the Syria-Iraq border.
The idea of putting a no-fly zone into effect has received bipartisan support from many analysts and politicians, and Republican presidential candidates and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton have both called for such a move.
“The worldwide community – including allies and the coalition – has to step up before another attack like Paris”, he said.
Carter steered clear of saying that the US was winning against ISIS, saying only that the strategy was “building momentum” against the terrorist group.
“I too wish that particularly the Sunni Arab nations of the Gulf would do more”, Carter said. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas.
“We have to be careful about how we prosecute a campaign that appears to be an indiscriminate attempt to attack ISIL and the population around”, Selva said.
If not for the caution, there could potentially be a consensus approach to the Islamic State involving safe zones and more USA ground troops – not enough to give Islamic State propaganda value but enough to induce potential allies to cough up ground troops of their own.
In Syria, US commandos are preparing to orchestrate an offensive against Raqqa by US proxy forces, including Sunni and Kurdish elements, with the aim of “collapsing ISIS control over the city”, Carter said.
“The types of things I’ve requested from our partners include special operations forces, strike and reconnaissance aircraft, and weapons and munitions”, Carter said.
Advertisement
As the resources at America’s disposal increasingly creep into Iraq and Syria, it remains unclear how much more of the weight Carter referenced may deploy back into the Middle East.
