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| Dempsey raises possibility of involving U.S. combat troops in fight against Islamic State | Dempsey raises possibility of involving U.S. combat troops in fight against Islamic State |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff raised the possibility Tuesday that U.S. troops could become involved in ground attacks against the Islamic State, despite repeated pledges to the contrary from President Obama. | The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff raised the possibility Tuesday that U.S. troops could become involved in ground attacks against the Islamic State, despite repeated pledges to the contrary from President Obama. |
| Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. military advisers are helping Iraqi government forces to prepare for a major offensive to reclaim territory seized by the Islamic State in recent months. Although the advisers have been assigned primarily to assist with planning and coordination, Dempsey for the first time suggested that they could eventually go into the field on combat missions. | Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. military advisers are helping Iraqi government forces to prepare for a major offensive to reclaim territory seized by the Islamic State in recent months. Although the advisers have been assigned primarily to assist with planning and coordination, Dempsey for the first time suggested that they could eventually go into the field on combat missions. |
| “If we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific [Islamic State] targets, I’ll recommend that to the president,” Dempsey testified. | |
| Obama has ordered the deployment of 1,600 U.S. troops to Iraq since June in an effort to bolster Iraq’s faltering army and stop the march of Islamic State across the country. | Obama has ordered the deployment of 1,600 U.S. troops to Iraq since June in an effort to bolster Iraq’s faltering army and stop the march of Islamic State across the country. |
| Even as the mission has gradually expanded in scope and the Pentagon has launched more than 160 airstrikes against the Islamic State, Obama and other White House officials have consistently promised that U.S. troops will not engage in ground combat. As recently as Wednesday, Obama stated that “American forces will not have a combat mission — we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.” | Even as the mission has gradually expanded in scope and the Pentagon has launched more than 160 airstrikes against the Islamic State, Obama and other White House officials have consistently promised that U.S. troops will not engage in ground combat. As recently as Wednesday, Obama stated that “American forces will not have a combat mission — we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.” |
| Some military commanders have pressed Obama to allow at least small teams of U.S. troops to join Iraqi forces on the front lines. | Some military commanders have pressed Obama to allow at least small teams of U.S. troops to join Iraqi forces on the front lines. |
| Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, recently presented a recommendation to Obama that he deploy small numbers of Special Operations forces with Iraqi units to advise and assist them during direct combat with Islamic State. | Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, recently presented a recommendation to Obama that he deploy small numbers of Special Operations forces with Iraqi units to advise and assist them during direct combat with Islamic State. |
| Obama rejected that advice, although he approved a plan to embed small teams of U.S. advisers with Iraqi commanders at the brigade or headquarters level — away from the front lines. | Obama rejected that advice, although he approved a plan to embed small teams of U.S. advisers with Iraqi commanders at the brigade or headquarters level — away from the front lines. |
| Obama is scheduled to meet with Austin on Wednesday at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Tampa to review the Pentagon’s military strategy for Iraq and Syria. | |
| The debate over whether to send U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq is sensitive politically but in some ways a matter of semantics. U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots are already firing missiles and dropping bombs on Islamic State fighters in Iraq. And while the 1,600 U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq have not engaged in firefights with the Islamic State, they are armed and authorized to defend themselves if necessary. | |
| But the issue also cuts to the heart of Obama’s military strategy for fighting the Islamic State and whether U.S. forces should take a leading and visible role on the ground, or leave the fighting to Iraqi and Kurdish troops, as well as proxy forces inside Syria. | |
| Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, asked Dempsey whether he supported Obama’s strategy and prohibition on U.S. ground combat missions. | |
| Dempsey replied that he did support and agree with the president’s strategy. But he added that if the current approach were to falter and if Islamic State came to represent an immediate threat to the United States, he might recommend a different approach, possibly including “the use of U.S. military ground forces.” Later, he said he might recommend that U.S. troops provide “close combat advising” to Iraqi forces if they were to attempt a complex mission, such as retaking the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State. | |
| Some lawmakers urged the Pentagon and White House to act more aggressively. Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said it was “foolhardy” for Obama to rule out ground troops to advise Iraqi forces in combat and help call in U.S. airstrikes. | |
| “His claim of ‘no boots on the ground’ is an insult to the men and women in Iraq today who are serving in harm’s way. We already have boots on the ground in Irbil and in Baghdad and throughout Iraq,” Inhofe said. “It sends the wrong message to our troops, to the enemy, and to partners.” |