President Obama would “consider” sending even more special operations forces to fight the Islamic State and other terrorists if he and the Pentagon determine that they can make a significant difference, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday.
When Obama deployed the first 50 troops last fall, it was a bit of an experiment to see if they could “deepen coordination” with forces inside Syria fighting the Islamic State, said Josh Earnest, the presidential press secretary.
The Pentagon found they contributed to Kurdish and rebel forces performing better on the battlefield against the Islamic State, Earnest said. That led the Pentagon to recommend sending more forces, which is why Obama approved dispatching another 250 special operation fighters to Syria on Monday, Earnest said.
If the Defense Department later determines that additional forces “would advance that coordination and cooperation even further and would yield even more progress on the ground,” Obama would “consider” requests for more troops, Earnest said.
Earnest stressed that Obama weighs such requests carefully, given “the significant risk” those troops face in being deployed to the area.
