US Military Proposes Sending More Special Forces to Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US president Barack Obama's administration is considering sending 250 additional US special forces to Syria, a US defense official said.
The goal is allegedly to lay the groundwork for local forces to retake both Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, and eliminate Daesh (ISIL) ability to use them as areas from which to plan external attacks.
US President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of that goal after a meeting with top commanders at the White House earlier this week.
An increased level of special forces is just one of a number of possibilities, CNN reported late on Friday.
If approved, these troops would grow the current US Special Operations effort of up to 50 troops authorized to be in Syria. US administration claims they are there to provide advice and assistance to moderate Syrian forces fighting Daesh (ISIL).
"We are considering a number of different proposals to accelerate the defeat of ISIL by better enabling local forces, but no decisions have been made," said Navy spokesman Capt. Jeff A. Davis, using a different acronym for the terror group.
US officials had originally told CNN the proposed increase would be just a few dozen because of the need to provide additional support forces such as aviation and intelligence. But another emerging line of thinking is to agree to an overall significant increase, publicly announce it and then send in the forces gradually over time.
There will be an increased risk if the number of Special Operations forces rises. Their work is highly dangerous, as they operate in small teams potentially far from their base in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
The number of Special Operations forces inside Syria ebbs and flows, with perhaps less than half the authorized amount inside Syria at any one time, one official said.
One of the major tasks ahead is trying to get opposition forces geared up in the coming months to fight to retake Raqqa, Daesh's self-declared capital in Syria. The US hopes Syrian Arab forces, as well as some members of the Syrian Democratic Front, which includes non-Arab fighters, will be in a position to do that with US advice and assistance, the officials said.
