Pentagon to Launch ‘Direct Action’ in Syria and Iraq

Obama, after pledging to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has put troops back in ground combat in Iraq, is extending the American military presence in Afghanistan, and – outside the Middle East – just allowed a Navy ship to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

One option includes temporarily deploying a few United States special operations forces inside of Syria to advise moderate Syrian opposition fighters for the first time and, potentially, to help call in U.S. airstrikes, one official said.

Carter said the U.S. would intensify the air campaign against the Islamic State with additional USA and coalition aircraft and heavier airstrikes.

“The US Defense Minister Tuesday explicitly mentioned “…direct action on the ground” as well as, “supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL. The spokesperson added that Iraq wasn’t trying to get rid of the USA completely, as its efforts concerning “arming and training our forces” were still extremely useful.

Raids are the use of more direct ground actions against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, by special operations forces, such as the Delta Force team that joined with Kurdish fighters to free prisoners picked for another ISIL mass murder.

He also said the United States also wouldn’t hesitate to support local forces with “direct action”.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a frequent visitor to the region, pressed both Carter and Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on whether the USA has a military strategy to take out the Syrian president.

The White House would need to approve any US military expansion on the ground. This next iteration of combat in Iraq will largely be fought by men and women from our SOF forces, freshly motivated by their fallen brother-in-arms and highly experienced from the past 14 years of combat.

Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, said such raids are “specific missions [where] there is combat action conducted to achieve a certain objective and then the forces are removed”, the Hill reported. “According to The Washington Post, that’s not going smoothly either, with Turkey being very uneasy about the entire situation since we have tenuous relations with the Syrian Kurds, aka the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, who they think are tied to the Kurdistan Workers” Party (PKK), which is a terrorist group. The signing of the Iran nuclear deal paved the way for restoration of ties, with analysts who stated that the deal signals a dramatic change in USA policy being proven correct.

It remains highly unlikely that Russian Federation, Syria’s ally, would allow such a measure, which comes amid Western criticism of Moscow’s dramatic intervention in the war to support Assad. The Obama administration is “putting a lot of stock in Friday’s meetings”, he said.