Obama sending troops to Syria
The U.S. is also deploying A-10s and F-15s to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, and is working with Iraq to create a special forces task force to “enhance our ability to target ISIL leaders and networks,” the official said, using an alternative acronym for ISIS.
The decision comes as the administration ramps up its military campaign against ISIS, which controls large parts of both countries. It also comes the same day Secretary of State John Kerry is in Vienna for multilateral talks on Syria’s future, which prior to leaving he said would be like charting “a course of out hell.”
“Our intensified counter-ISIL campaign will support those efforts by continuing to strengthen opposition partners on the ground, while also coordinating the efforts of our coalition partners,” he said Friday.
Although the U.S. has already been advising local forces in Iraq, this would mark a new mission in Syria, where the U.S. has been conducting airstrikes and equipping moderate Syrian rebels.
“At the President’s direction, the Administration has been looking at ways to intensify our counter-ISIL campaign,” an administration official said. “In that effort, we have been focused on intensifying elements of our strategy that have been working, while also moving away from elements of our approach that have proven less effective.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said the “more serious effort” against ISIS was overdue, but questioned the effectiveness of the administration’s plan.
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told members of Congress that the U.S. expects to do more raids — either partnered or unilaterally, and defense officials indicated they would be increased in both Iraq and Syria.
A progressive group slammed the decision as a “broken promise” by the president.
“Putting boots on the ground in Syria is both a broken promise by the president and bad policy,” said Zack Malitz, campaign manager at CREDO Action.
“In 2013 President Obama stated unequivocally that he would ‘not put American boots on the ground in Syria,’” Malitz continued. “By breaking that promise today, President Obama is putting American lives at risk and drawing the United States further into a conflict that can not be resolved militarily.”
When he announced military action in Syria in 2013, Obama pledged U.S. ground forces would not be deployed there.
“I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria,” he said. “I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan.”
Rebecca Kheel contributed to this story.
This story was updated at 3:01 p.m.
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