Day: January 29, 2016

Pentagon to increase number of US troops in Iraq; Carter discusses ‘accelerating’ ISIS campaign


56a021fbc461885a6a8b4586

The object of today is to satisfy ourselves that the balance of the campaign is right…and that we can now capitalize on the setbacks Daesh has suffered in Iraq and move on to tighten the noose around the head of the snake in Syria in Raqqa,” British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told reporters.

The coalition’s major goal right now is to target and destroy IS headquarters in Iraq and Syria while also combating their supporters worldwide, “everywhere its metastasis have spread around the world,” the Pentagon stressed.

“We’re doing this by providing a plan, clear leadership and the power of a global coalition wielding a suite of capabilities [that include] airstrikes, special forces, cyber tools, intelligence, equipment, mobility and logistics, and training, advice and assistance,” Carter said.

https://www.rt.com/usa/329625-pentagon-iraq-troops-increase-isis/

We’ll probably see more American boots on the ground in Iraq’


56a36774c46188c6608b4581

ISIS guerrillas are going to go back into the Iraqi cities and fight guerrilla warfare, so it’s going to be a long slog and there are no local ground forces to adequately fight the terrorists, says Ivan Eland, US senior defense analyst from the Independent Institute.

 

There are currently about 3,600 US military staff in Iraq in training and military support roles. Earlier this week, US officials said “hundreds, not thousands” more will be dispatched shortly. However, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter himself vowed on Thursday that the numbers would “increase greatly as the momentum of the effort increases.”

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/329898-american-boots-iraq-isis/

 

Obama authorizes US troops to target new ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan


56a06d7ec46188316a8b459b

While the Afghan government sees the alleged Islamic State affiliate as a top priority, the US is downplaying its relative threat as compared to the official terrorist organization.

“We currently characterize [ISIS] as operationally emergent,” Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, spokesman for the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, told The Times.

“I’ll define that as not having the ability to orchestrate or control operations in more than one part of the country at a time. We’re not seeing [ISIS] elements in Iraq or Syria orchestrating events here in Afghanistan,” Shoffner said.

“They’ve [ISIL-K] largely been pushed back to the southern parts of Nangarhar province. That area is very, very rugged, it’s very mountainous. It’s on the border with Pakistan,” Shoffner said.

https://www.rt.com/usa/329638-obama-usa-troops-isis-afghanistan/