President Obama‘s top military adviser said Tuesday he would recommend sending U.S. combat troops back into Iraq if the administration’s coalition-building strategy fails to curb the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Obama had pledged in his Sept. 10 speech that “we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.” But Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that possibility remains open.
“My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true,” 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. ground forces.”
Some 1,600 U.S. troops are either in Iraq or en route, advising Iraqi forces, providing security and coordinating U.S. airstrikes, which now are being used to help Iraqi forces attack Islamic State targets.
Obama’s strategy depends heavily on the commitment of Arab and Muslim ground forces to combat the Islamist extremist group. Though some countries — notably Turkey — have been reluctant to specify what they would do, Dempsey said Iraqi forces that were left in disarray by the Islamic State’s sudden assault over the past few months had begun to regroup and go on the offensive.
Meanwhile, Congress is expected to act quickly this week to give the administration the authority to train and equip Syrian rebels in Saudi Arabia. Though the measure being considered in the House does not include funding, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the panel that Saudi Arabia “has offered financial and other support as well.”
Hagel said more than 40 countries have made specific commitments to fighting the Islamic State and 30 others “have indicated their readiness to offer military support.” But experts have expressed skepticism about the ability of the coalition to hang together because of divergent interests among its members.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of Congress’ strongest proponents of arming the Syrian opposition to fight against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, noted, for example, his doubts that U.S. backing would redirect those rebels against the Islamic State.
“You think that these people you’re training will only go back to fight against [the Islamic State]? Do you really believe that, general?” McCain asked Dempsey.
Dempsey said that challenge can be deferred to the future. “We do not have to deal with it now,” he told McCain.
“That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the entire concept and the motivation of the Free Syrian Army,” McCain replied.
If the coalition does fail, the threat from the Islamic State is likely to engulf U.S. allies such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and spark a war with Iran that could drag the entire world into conflict, Hagel and Dempsey told lawmakers.
“Everywhere you look in the Middle East, there is trouble,” Hagel said.
This article, originally posted at 11:04 a.m., has been updated.
