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U.S. Weighing More Military Bases in Iraq to Fight ISIS, Top General Says Obama Looks at Adding Bases and Troops in Iraq, to Fight ISIS
(about 7 hours later)
NAPLES, Italy — The United States is considering establishing a new network of American military bases in Iraq to aid in the fight against the Islamic State, senior military and administration officials said Thursday, potentially deepening American involvement in the country amid setbacks for Iraqi forces on the battlefield. WASHINGTON — President Obama is open to expanding the American military footprint in Iraq with a network of bases and possibly hundreds of additional troops to support Iraqi security forces in their fight against the Islamic State, White House officials said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane during a trip to Italy, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, described a possible future campaign entailing the establishment of what he called “lily pads” — American military bases around the country from which trainers would work with Iraqi security forces and local tribesmen in the fight against the Islamic State. As Iraqi forces struggle on the battlefield, aides said Mr. Obama would consider establishing a series of outposts where American advisers would work with Iraqi troops and local tribesmen. The bases would be run by Iraqis, and Americans would still not engage in ground combat, but they would play a more active role closer to the front lines.
General Dempsey’s framework was confirmed by senior Obama administration officials, and comes after an earlier decision this week to send 450 trainers to establish a new military base to help Iraqi forces retake the city of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province. The general said that base could be the model for a new network of American training bases in other parts of the country. White House officials stressed that no proposal has been presented to Mr. Obama and added that they anticipated no decision in the next few weeks. But the prospect of further escalation came a day after the administration announced the opening of a new base in Anbar Province, an Islamic State stronghold, with an additional 450 American troops, bringing the total in Iraq to 3,550 — the size of a typical Army brigade.
“You could see one in the corridor from Baghdad to Tikrit to Kirkuk to Mosul,” General Dempsey said. Such sites, he said, could require troops in addition to the 3,550 that the president has authorized so far in the latest Iraq campaign, although he said later some of the troops at the new bases could come from forces already in Iraq. Administration officials said they would evaluate whether that new Anbar base makes a difference in coordinating the war effort and, if it does, would consider replicating the approach in other parts of the country. Although officials said it was possible other bases could be opened without again sending more American troops, they acknowledged that more bases could require additional deployments.
For President Obama, who spent much of his first term orchestrating the total withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq and for the past year has publicly resisted making major troop commitments there, establishing new American bases within Iraq would be another step toward deeper entanglement in the country. For Mr. Obama, who has long resisted being drawn into another ground war since pulling out all forces in 2011, the latest developments represented another incremental step back into a sectarian conflict he had once hoped to be done with by the time he left office. Supporters of a more robust effort against the Islamic State called it a welcome if inadequate step to make good on the White House’s vow to defeat the Islamic State, while critics warned of sliding into a broader, bloodier and ultimately ineffective campaign.
Further, the creation of persistent American-staffed bases in the Iraqi countryside would give the Islamic State obvious new targets, allowing it to expand its fight directly against American forces — a possibility the group’s propaganda operation has publicly reveled in. “The reason that we would consider expanding the training operation and the advise-and-assist operation that’s underway will be because it’s been an effective element of our strategy,” said Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary. But Mr. Earnest emphasized that it was still “very hypothetical” and that “there are no immediate or specific plans to do that.”
Military officials acknowledge that the more Americans troops there are on the ground in Iraq, the greater the incentive for Islamic State militants to attack them. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly raised the idea of establishing a network of what he called “lily pads” in Iraq while on a trip to Italy on Thursday. He said he did not envision another military base in Anbar, but Pentagon planners were looking at more northern areas for additional sites.
There is already precedent: In February, eight suicide bombers who Defense Department officials said were with the Islamic State managed to get into an air base west of Baghdad where hundreds of American Marines were training Iraqi counterparts. Though officials said the bombers were killed almost immediately by Iraqi forces, the assault was a reminder that even circumscribed training missions create a risk for American casualties. “You could see one in the corridor from Baghdad to Tikrit to Kirkuk to Mosul,” General Dempsey told reporters aboard his plane.
One Obama administration official, who would discuss the issue only on the condition of anonymity, called General Dempsey’s description “entirely consistent” with the president’s strategy in Iraq, but noted that Iraqi officials would have to sign off. The model would be the new base already being built at Al Taqqadum, an Iraqi post near the town of Habbaniya in eastern Anbar. The American troops being sent there are to set up the hub primarily to advise and assist Iraqi forces and to engage and reach out to Sunni tribes in Anbar, officials said. One focus for the Americans will be to try to accelerate the integration of Sunni fighters into the Iraqi Army, which is dominated by Shiites.
“If there is a request from the Iraqi government and the president’s military advisers recommend additional venues to further the train, advice and assist mission, the president would certainly consider that,” the official said. As the arrangements at Al Taqqadum show, even deploying small teams of advisers at a new base can involve much greater troop commitments. The number of Americans actually involved in advising the Iraqis at the base would be just a small fraction of the 450 announced by the administration.
The model for a potential new network of American bases in Iraq is already being built: at Taqqadum, an Iraqi base near the town of Habbaniya in eastern Anbar. The American troops being sent are to set up the hub primarily to advise and assist Iraqi forces and to engage and reach out to Sunni tribes in Anbar, officials said. One focus for the Americans will be to try to accelerate the integration of Sunni fighters into the Iraqi Army, which is dominated by Shiites. While American officials said earlier this week that 110 would be directly involved in training and advising, on Thursday they said there would be just 50 advisers. They will be split into two teams, Special Operations forces who will work with Sunni tribes, and advisers who will work with the 8th Iraqi Army Division. The rest are to provide support, logistics and force protection.
While retaking the city of Ramadi, which fell to the Islamic State last month, is the goal of the training hub at Taqqadum, General Dempsey indicated that that effort may be months away. While declining to put a timetable on when the battle to retake Ramadi will begin, he said that it would take several weeks for the initial command and control center at Taqqadum to be set up. Although the goal is to retake the city of Ramadi, which fell to the Islamic State last month, General Dempsey indicated that an effort may be months away. He said it would take several weeks for the initial command and control center to be set up at Al Taqqadum.
“Timetables are fragile,” General Dempsey said. “They are dependent on so many different factors.” “Timetables are fragile,” he said. “They are dependent on so many different factors.”
For the Pentagon, the timetable issue has been a tense one, as the United States Central Command and the Iraqi government have clashed in the past about the pace of efforts by the Iraqi security forces to retake areas captured by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. For the Pentagon, the timing has been a difficult issue as the United States Central Command and the Iraqi government have clashed over the pace of efforts by Iraqi security forces to retake areas captured by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. While the American military once forecast recapturing Mosul this spring, the fall of Ramadi less than 70 miles from Baghdad put that city much higher on the priority list.
An official from Central Command told reporters in February that an assault to capture Mosul, which fell to the Islamic State a year ago, was planned for this spring. But some Iraqi officials bridled at that, and plans to mount an offensive on the city have been delayed indefinitely. The fall of Ramadi, about 70 miles from Baghdad, put that city higher on the priority list.
Mr. Obama has been loath to commit a large number of American ground troops to Iraq. Administration officials say that it is up to the Iraqi government to lead the way in reclaiming its territory and cities from the extremists, and that the Shiite-dominated government can do so only by being more inclusive toward the country’s Sunni minority.
General Dempsey said the United States was still hoping the Iraqi government would find a way to engage Sunnis to beat back the Islamic State, but he also talked of what he called a “Plan B” in case that never happens.General Dempsey said the United States was still hoping the Iraqi government would find a way to engage Sunnis to beat back the Islamic State, but he also talked of what he called a “Plan B” in case that never happens.
“We have not given up on the possibility that the Iraqi government could absolutely be whole,” he said, but added that “the game changers are going to have to come from the Iraqi government itself.”“We have not given up on the possibility that the Iraqi government could absolutely be whole,” he said, but added that “the game changers are going to have to come from the Iraqi government itself.”
“If we reach a point where we don’t think those game changers are successful, then we will have to look for other avenues to maintain pressure on ISIL, and we will have to look at other partners,” he said. “If we reach a point where we don’t think those game changers are successful,” he added, “then we will have to look for other avenues to maintain pressure on ISIL, and we will have to look at other partners.”
General Dempsey said that he did not envision another military base in Anbar, but that Pentagon planners were already looking at more northern areas for additional sites. Mr. Obama discussed the Taqqadum plan with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq during a meeting in Germany earlier this month. But other Americans and Iraqi officials said they have also talked about expanding the concept beyond Al Taqqadum to other locations.
The Obama administration is hoping that reaching out to Sunnis will reduce the Iraqi military’s reliance on Shiite militias to take back territory lost to the Islamic State. Both sides have been deliberate about the idea. Sensitive to their own domestic politics, the Iraqis have said that any new American footholds in Iraq should be determined on a case- by-case basis. As a general rule, the Obama administration has conditioned American support on steps toward political inclusiveness and reform in Iraq.
To that end, the Americans will be sending arms and equipment — including AK-47s and communications equipment — directly to Taqqadum. The supplies are to be transferred to Iraqi Army units, who are then supposed to give them to Sunni fighters. United States military officials said American soldiers would be there to ensure the transfer to Sunni fighters. Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Mr. Obama, noted that with Al Taqqadum the president has already approved five hubs for American troops in Iraq, but has no specific plans for others at this point. “It’s more like notionally we may want to do more of that,” he said.
Officials said the Iraqi Security Forces were expected to do the bulk of the work to retake Ramadi once that campaign gets going. But once the city is reclaimed, it will probably be the Sunni fighters who will have to hold them. Mr. Rhodes acknowledged what he called the concern of “a steady drip, drip, drip of personnel,” but added that it was possible new bases could be established by moving troops around rather than sending more. Mr. Obama, he said, was not especially concerned about specific numbers of troops.
“What the tribes are going to provide is not only thickening of the ranks of those fighting ISIL, but at some point the I.S.F. will want to protect” the cities that have been liberated, General Dempsey said. “The responsibility of defending the cities that are liberated — that will fall to the local tribes. “What he’s been more focused on is what they are doing,” Mr.Rhodes said. “He’s been more focused on not getting drawn into a combat role for U.S. forces.”
The so-called lily pad bases could provide the American military with a way to advise and support Iraqi troops charged with protecting supply lines, towns and infrastructure if they do try to reclaim Mosul. And they could signal increased focus on supporting local tribes and fighters, as urged by the State Department.
“The closer the U.S. military is to the action on the ground, the better the chances of influencing positive outcomes, especially in building trusted relationships with the Sunni again,” said Richard D. Welch, a retired special forces colonel who spent more than six years in Iraq.
At the same time, it is not clear the approach can be effective if advisers stay on bases. Many former American military officers argue the best way to help the Iraqis retake Ramadi and other cities is to have small American teams advise Iraqis on the battlefield and call in airstrikes.
Even keeping troops on base may have risks. In February, eight suicide bombers tried to get into an air base west of Baghdad where hundreds of American Marines were training Iraqi counterparts. Officials said the bombers were killed almost immediately by Iraqi forces.
Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the latest moves may have some merit. “But creeping incrementalism is rarely a way of correcting a failed or inadequate strategy,” he said, “and this approach certainly is not a new strategy or a way of addressing the problems that the existing strategy does not address.”