Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of coalition forces in Iraq, is preparing to request more troops and equipment in an attempt to speed up the Islamic State’s demise, according to a report.
An official proposal hasn’t made it to the White House yet, as it awaits approval from top Defense Department officials. But traditionally, Defense Secretary Ash Carter only approves a troop-level increase if the U.S. has partners on the ground to enable the additional soldiers.
Seemingly arbitrary caps on troop-levels have frustrated several senior military leaders, congressional officials, and generals stationed in the Middle East, Josh Rogin wrote in a Washington Post column. The Obama administration’s policy regarding troop levels has discouraged military leaders from asking for what they need to complete the job.
The White House approved sending an additional 200 troops to Iraq in April, but MacFarland said he would ask for more if he needed to. According to Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff of the Army, generals “haven’t formally requested hundreds of troops due to pressure from their superiors.” Keane said generals need more tactical air controllers and advisers embedded with units closer to the fight.
Officially, the U.S. has under 4,100 troops in Iraq. However, roughly 900 more troops are either there unofficially, such as special operations forces, or are on temporary assignments.
Gen. Daniel Allyn, vice chief of staff of the Army, traveled to Baghdad last month to discuss troop levels with MacFarland. Generals there discussed a detailed troop plan if the battle of Fallujah succeeds, something that looks promising. Following Fallujah, the U.S. plans to help Iraqi forces take back Mosul.
Allyn told Rogin the White House’s troop caps have forced the Army to break up units and replace key military members with contractors. This harms operations and adds costs, according to Allyn.
Senior military leaders have told lawmakers that they need troops soon. House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornbery, R-Texas, told the Post, “Before [Congress approves a troop level increase], the feelers go back to the National Security Council and they find out what the reaction is going to be. They understand the White House wants to keep the numbers to a minimum.”
“More of everything is not a strategy,” said Derek Chollet, a former Obama administration official. “In every single military campaign in history, the military has wanted more.”
Fifteen years and two wars later, President Obama continues to keep his campaign promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “He doesn’t want his legacy to be that he went back into Iraq,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “The next president is going to have to finish the job and is going to have a mess on their hands.”
