US Might Fight Ground War Against ISIS

The 2002 authorization said nothing about ISIS because at the time there was no ISIS, and likewise the 2001 authorization pertained to an al-Qaeda that did not exist in Iraq or Syria at the time.

“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against [the Islamic State] or conducting such missions directly, whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground”, he said.

He singled out last week’s raid by U.S. special forces soldiers and Kurdish fighters in Hawijah, Iraq, in which the US Defence Department said 70 hostages facing execution were rescued from an IS prison. The changes point toward the prospect of deeper USA military involvement, although President Obama has said he would not authorize a major commitment of ground combat forces.

Despite Parliament voting against action in Syria, he is able to deploy specialist soldiers without seeking parliamentary approval. “… We’re talking about raids, a very specific term – a combat action that is conducted to achieve a certain objective and then the forces are immediately removed”. It does not have an air force, or a navy or highly lethal special forces.

Marine Corp General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate hearing he would consider recommending putting more USA forces with Iraqi troops to support the Islamic State fight if it improved chances of defeating the militants.

If this is going to be a real war, one that America is committed to winning, civilians inevitably will be killed.

“We will soon announce zero hour for the beginning of the battle of liberation from oppression and persecution”, the group’s leader, Abu Issa, said in a YouTube announcement.

He wouldn’t be drawn on how or when United States forces might go in on the ground without assistance from rebels, Kurdish or Iraqi government forces.

He said the coalition should put more pressure on the Raqqa stronghold, the northeastern Syrian town which IS has declared its capital.

The key to northern Iraq is the city of Mosul, occupied by ISIS for more than a year. “We haven’t”, he said. Lindsey Graham, a Republican presidential candidate, said after a lengthy back-and-forth with Carter about how the U.S.is supporting fighters in Syria.

Additional raids and a focus on Raqqa are two components of an anti-ISIS strategy Mr Carter described as being centred on the “three Rs” – raids, Raqqa and Ramadi. Russia’s decision to intervene military in the conflicts calls into question the viability of this approach.

“Without taking Ramadi, forget about taking Anbar province, forget about Mosul”.

The painful defeat in May led to rancor among those engaged in the fight against ISIS, with Carter publicly criticizing the Iraqi army for lacking the will to fight. “It represents a continuation of our advise-and-assist mission” for Iraqi security forces, he told reporters.

Raqqa. The de facto capital of ISIS’ so-called caliphate is in north-eastern Syria.

“The Russians have forced their hand”, he said.

“The overall approach, I think, actually remains the same, which is the United States is doing a couple things”.