U.S. ground operations possible in fight against ISIS
President Obama is reportedly considering ground operations in the fight against ISIS in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S., at the least, will begin to increase the tempo of an air campaign against Islamic State targets.
“We won’t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL, or conducting such missions directly whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground,” Carter said during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S. would focus mostly on the fight in Raqqa, the Islamic State-declared capital in Syria; and Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province in western Iraq.
It’s a plan Andy Cain, a Navy veteran, said needed to happen.
“Every generation has been involved in warfare, in one shape or another. Until nations come together that’s going to take place,” Cain said. “Do I want people to do that? No. I lost a brother in Vietnam, I nearly lost my own life in Vietnam.”
The executive director of UCCS Center for Human Security, Steve Recca, said it was just a matter of time.
“Al Qaeda more or less went away, at least from our visual in the United States. Where did they go? They became part of, more or less, the Islamic State.”
He, too, believes some action is necessary, though he doesn’t think the U.S. should do it alone.
“It impacts our European allies as much as it does the United States. Rather than going it alone, it might be best to form a larger coalition. But we’re steps away from doing that,” he said.
The plan would need approval from President Obama, who reportedly could make a decision on the move as early as this week. It remains unclear how many troops would be required for any operations.
