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US Special Forces Commandos
The US is set to deploy an
expeditionary targeting force to help Iraq put additional pressure on Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL), Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. The special forces will be positioned to conduct
unilateral operations into Syria.
"These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture ISIL leaders," Carter told the House Armed Services Committee in prepared remarks, using an abbreviation for Islamic State. "That creates a
virtuous cycle of better intelligence, which generates more targets, more raids, and more momentum," he added.
There are currently about 3,400 American troops in Iraq. In November, the US announced that
50 commandos will be sent to northern Syria to advise anti-IS forces there. The Pentagon would not comment on whether those special operations troops had already arrived in the embattled country.
"Over time," the 50 forces will conduct raids in both Iraq and Syria "to put even more pressure" on IS, Carter told the committee.
"The raids in Iraq will be done at the invitation of the Iraqi government and focused on defending its borders and building the [Iraqi Security Forces'] own capacity," Carter said in his prepared testimony."This force will also be
in a position to conduct unilateral operations into Syria."
Unilateral raids, which would not be sanctioned by Syrian President Bashar Assad, would represent a split from President Barack Obama's commitment to avoid ground troops in the fight against IS.
Comment: The US probably knows the evidence is clear but desperately wants to keep Turkey in the great game.