A contingent of about 50 USA special forces was sent to Syria late past year to assist Kurdish-led forces in their ground offensive against Islamic State in northern Syria. Eight Apache helicopters were also being sent to Iraq for the first time to help fight against ISIS there. We want to be forward looking in this world of tomorrow..
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“Just as we remain relentless on the military front we’re not going to give up on diplomacy to end the civil war in Syria because the suffering of the people in Syria has to end and that requires an effective political transition”, he said.
Taking advantage of his German visit, President Barack Obama and top USA allies are gathering to discuss issues that he says are putting European unity “under strain”.
In the afternoon, the U.S. president held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, the newspaper said.
But speaking at a news conference with Merkel, Obama said it would be very hard to see how a so-called safe zone would work in Syria without a large military commitment.
The official said the president was persuaded to take this additional step because of recent successes against ISIS.
Mr Obama made the announcement after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hanover.
The president declined to say whether the Special Operations troops would be engaging in search-and-kill missions, saying, “As a general rule, their role is not to engage directly with the enemy but rather work with local forces”. But he has incrementally deepened USA involvement in both countries.
Contrasting the prosperity of Europe today with the wars and hardship of the last century, Obama called on Europeans reject the “us-versus-them” politics that has fuelled the rise of the far right in countries from Poland to France.
Mr Obama – who has previously railed against “free riders” among America’s allies on security – warned that Europe had sometimes been “complacent about its own defence”. We need more nations contributing trainers to help build up local forces in Iraq.
The European Union has grappled with the flood of about a million migrants past year, most fleeing the Syria crisis. Obama is on a two-day official visit to Germany.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came to the northern German city of Hanover on Monday afternoon to join German Chancellor Angela Merkel and visiting U.S. President Barack Obama for an informal meeting on a range of pressing global issues.
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“The President during his remarks at the Hannover Messe fairgrounds on Monday will speak to this additional step”.
