The new policy would mean additional air strikes and even “direct action” on the ground, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Tuesday, outlining a strategy shift that still needed approval from the president.
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That word comes from Defense Secretary Ash Carter, testifying before a Senate panel today.
Carter said he expected the coalition air campaign to intensify, with more aircraft and a higher tempo of operations.
Carter and Dunford said the United States will protect forces it trains and equips in Syria, but stopped short of saying what the administration would do about protecting other forces fighting Assad and ISIL.
A third class from the Pentagon’s original program to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has graduated and “remain active”, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
As for the Iraq side of the border, the president’s top advisers have recommended embedding USA advisers at the brigade level for specific operations such as the attack to retake Ramadi, a key western Iraqi city that Islamic State forces seized this summer.
Carter said he was disappointed that the USA effort to form new moderate Syrian rebel forces to fight IS had failed. “We’ve already begun to ramp up these deliberate strikes”.
The White House may be launching a new strategy in its fight against the terror group ISIS.
“However, the Iraqi government and security forces will have to take certain steps militarily to make sure progress sticks”, he said. “They say they’re doing one thing and they’re actually doing another”, Carter said in response to a question. Officials no longer denounced Assad as a dictator or tyrant.
The sooner a political transition can take place in Syria, the better, he said.
No-fly zones have only gotten more complex as a concept since Russian Federation entered Syria’s war a month ago.
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“Friday obviously will be an important day”, said Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the foreign relations panel. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. “The people of Syria are not going to accept this”.
