“We’re at war. We’re using the might of the finest fighting force the world has ever known”, Carter told the House Armed Services Committee.
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Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the chairman of the committee, said the us military effort must be bolstered and directed by the military and not “White House aides micromanaging” military operations.
Fred Hof, formerly a top State Department advisor on Syria, said the planned deployment of special forces to Iraq to conduct raids and gather intelligence represented a shift by Obama. It will primarily operate as a joint force with other countries, but could also conduct missions with only Americans. No timetable was given on when the exceptional operations powers will start to touch base in Iraq.
“The Iraqi government stresses that any military operation or the deployment of any foreign forces – special or not – in any place in Iraq can not happen without its approval and coordination and full respect of Iraqi sovereignty”.
The force could consist of up to 200 troops, a defense official said, and would augment a 50-man special operations force deployed earlier this year. Senator Chris Murphy said increasing the number of USA military personnel in Iraq “is a mistake”.
“I think, ultimately, it probably will be necessary to maintain some kind of a safe zone or buffer zone to really affect that holding that ISIS has from which they can plan, plot, derive resources and ultimately attack us here in the homeland”, said Schiff. “It would go in, conduct raids and go out”.
Any deployment of official U.S. combat troops in Iraq would face opposition from Shia militias aligned to the Iraqi government, who have warned they would resist a significant American presence in the country.
The announcement of the new special operations force to Iraq comes as Republicans have called for more US boots on the ground, while war-weary Americans stand divided about the prospect of greater military involvement. “The Iraqi government wants USA troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory”.
Months ago, President Obama assured the nation that there would not be troops in Syria, saying soldiers would strictly be training forces there.
President Obama was harshly criticized for claiming that ISIS was “contained” shortly before the deadly Paris terrorist attacks.
The coalition announced Wednesday that it carried out 15 strikes against jihadists in Iraq the day before, nine of them in the area of the IS-held city of Ramadi, which Baghdad’s troops are fighting to retake.
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After Wheeler’s death, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said, “This is someone who saw the team that he was advising and assisting coming under attack”. “That’s not a declaration of victory”. Yet, as Secretary Carter said, the administration has only been willing to make “adaptations”.
