United States to send special forces to Iraq to fight ISIS: Carter

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that over time, these special operators will be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture IS leaders.

The Obama administration has stressed it won’t commit to putting thousands of American troops there, but Murphy said what the U.S.is now doing in the region is still problematic.

The militants also hold territory in Syria and have carried out major attacks in the Middle East and also Europe.

Russia, which has publicly committed to defeating ISIL, has instead largely attacked opposition forces, not ISIL, he said, adding that it is time for Russia to focus on the right side of this fight.

Carter, who testified alongside Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, updated lawmakers about USA actions in Iraq and Syria and the goal of helping local forces take the fight to IS. He called it a “new way of achieving our objective” of defeating the Islamic State.

But despite Abadi’s rejection of ground troops, the United States continued to push for the deployment of a special force that is expected to number only about 200. The troops will also be ready to conduct unilateral operations into Syria.

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee today that “we’re deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and to put even more pressure on ISIL”. “You don’t know at night who is going to be coming in the window”, Carter said.

Polling after the attacks in Paris and Beirut found Americans divided over sending USA ground troops to fight IS.

“As we further develop plans for these limited forces, we will continue to work closely with our Iraqi partners on where they will be deployed, what kind of missions they will undertake, and how they will support Iraqi efforts”, one USA official said. He said the new force would conduct operations similar to ones executed earlier this year. Now, a week after the video’s release, the Chicago mayor fires the police superintendent, created a new task force for police accountability and expanded the use of body cameras. A Gallup survey said that 47 percent of Americans favored sending more ground troops to Iraq and Syria and 46 percent were opposed.

According to a USA official, the new US step against IS could involve up to a couple hundred troops, including the assault teams, aviation units and other support units.

“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 militant group controls a wide swath of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

“I do not believe we are limited by the number 3,500”.