Green Arrow
09-17-2014, 03:52 PM
Via New York Times (http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/world/middleeast/isis-airstrikes-united-states-coalition.html?_r=0&referrer=):
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s top military adviser said Tuesday that he would recommend deploying United States forces in ground operations against Islamic extremists in Iraq if airstrikes proved insufficient, opening the door to a riskier, more expansive American combat role than the president has publicly outlined.
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that while he was confident that an American-led coalition would defeat the Islamic State, he would not foreclose the possibility of asking Mr. Obama to send American troops to fight the militants on the ground — something Mr. Obama has ruled out.
“My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true,” General Dempsey said. “But if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the United States, then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.”
I said many times before this all started that we would end up with boots on the ground in Iraq and another 10 year plus war. We already knew some Senators favored boots on the ground, and now we have SecState John Kerry (http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-syria-senate-testimony-boots-on-ground-2013-9) and Gen. Martin Dempsey suggesting boots on the ground, not just in Iraq, but in Syria as well. President Obama refuses to consider it before the November elections because he knows it would be disastrous for the Democrats' chances of keeping the Senate, but either way, we will eventually have boots on the ground, now that we have committed to the destruction of ISIL.
The only question now, is whether we'll have boots on the ground before November, or after.
(Note to the uninformed: Yes, I realize that around 2,000 troops are already on the ground in Iraq. "Boots on the ground" is a term of art (http://i.word.com/idictionary/term%20of%20art) that refers specifically to combat troops. The 2,000 currently in Iraq are not, officially, combat troops.)
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s top military adviser said Tuesday that he would recommend deploying United States forces in ground operations against Islamic extremists in Iraq if airstrikes proved insufficient, opening the door to a riskier, more expansive American combat role than the president has publicly outlined.
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that while he was confident that an American-led coalition would defeat the Islamic State, he would not foreclose the possibility of asking Mr. Obama to send American troops to fight the militants on the ground — something Mr. Obama has ruled out.
“My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true,” General Dempsey said. “But if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the United States, then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.”
I said many times before this all started that we would end up with boots on the ground in Iraq and another 10 year plus war. We already knew some Senators favored boots on the ground, and now we have SecState John Kerry (http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-syria-senate-testimony-boots-on-ground-2013-9) and Gen. Martin Dempsey suggesting boots on the ground, not just in Iraq, but in Syria as well. President Obama refuses to consider it before the November elections because he knows it would be disastrous for the Democrats' chances of keeping the Senate, but either way, we will eventually have boots on the ground, now that we have committed to the destruction of ISIL.
The only question now, is whether we'll have boots on the ground before November, or after.
(Note to the uninformed: Yes, I realize that around 2,000 troops are already on the ground in Iraq. "Boots on the ground" is a term of art (http://i.word.com/idictionary/term%20of%20art) that refers specifically to combat troops. The 2,000 currently in Iraq are not, officially, combat troops.)