The top U.S. commander overseeing the fight against the Islamic State says he doesn’t expect the plan to speed the defeat of the terror group to require a substantial number of additional American forces.
“I don’t foresee us bringing in large numbers of coalition troops, mainly because what we’re doing is in fact working,” Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the senior U.S. military commander in Iraq, told reporters Wednesday.
Townsend should know since he’s the ground commander, whose recommendations to the Pentagon as part of the Islamic State strategy review likely carry weight.
“I’ve submitted some recommendations through my chain of command to the new administration,” Townsend said. “The new administration is weighing those recommendations and options.”
Townsend said the U.S. is still in discussions with Turkey about its desire to play a major role in the liberation of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-declared capital in Syria.
But the three-star general was adamant that it would be Syrians forces of one kind or another who would enter the city to finish off Islamic State fighters.
“As far as the makeup of the force that’s going to Raqqa, you know, here’s what I think. They’re Syrians. That’s who’s going to Raqqa,” Townsend said.
“I think probably most Syrians and most Iraqis are welcoming of anybody who’s coming to help liberate them from ISIS. That’s what I’ve seen. They’re not that picky.”
Turkey wants the U.S. to keep one faction of Syrian Kurds, the Peoples Protection Units or YPG, out of the final offensive because Turkey considers the YPG to be terrorists who will turn on Turkey once the Islamic State is defeated.
But Townsend insisted the YPG poses no threat to Turkey. “I’ve talked to their leaders, and we’ve watched them operate, and they continually reassure us that they have no desire to attack Turkey, that they’re not a threat to Turkey.”
While Townsend would not talk about what specific requests he’s sent to Washington, he conceded the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up of 40 percent YPG forces, are in the best position to conduct the assault on Raqqa.
And those Syrian fighters will need more advanced weaponry and firepower, which likely only the U.S. would be in a position to supply.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces are an irregular light infantry force mounted mostly in pickup trucks. So, they have very few heavy weapons,” Townsend said. “I think that they’ll probably need additional combat power. But those decisions have yet to be taken.
Townsend said the Islamic State is being pressed on multiple fronts, is in an increasingly desperate situation, and is down to between 12,000 and 15,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, with roughly 2,000 holding out in and around western Mosul.
While Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi remains at large, almost all of his inner circle has been killed in airstrikes by U.S. drones or coalition bombers.
“I don’t expect [the Islamic State] to suddenly collapse from a lack of morale,” Townsend said. “There’s a portion that will break and run. The rest of them will fight as ordered or fight to the death.”
