A day after the White House rolled out a carefully orchestrated announcement on the deployment of 450 extra U.S. troops to Iraq to advise and train Iraqi forces, the Pentagon confirmed that an even larger footprint is being considered, with small bases throughout the battlefield that may drive a need for even more U.S. forces.
The notion of potentially moving even more U.S. troops into Iraq beyond the 450 was revealed by outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who discussed the possibility with reporters traveling overseas with him.
“General Dempsey was very clear today, on the record, that what we have done here at al-Taqaddum is something we are considering doing elsewhere,” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren. “He used the term lilypad, … a lilypad inside of Anbar in this case, where we have enough force protection, enough security that we are very confident we can send personnel there.”
The smaller “lilypad” bases would be used to conduct advising and assisting missions and could evolve into additional training sites in the heart of Sunni-dominated Anbar to provide tribal fighters basic combat skills training.
Additionally the extra “lilypad” sites would be used to address a continuing criticism by the Iraqi government: U.S. and coalition airstrikes are taking too long to execute.
“As you are closer to where the battle is going on, your situational awareness will be increased and that situational awareness is what helps inform strikes,” Warren said. Importantly, he added, “by having advisers and assisters there where the planning for future operations is being conducted, you can integrate coalition airpower into that plan much more cleanly and much more effectively.”
Warren said certain locations, such as many of the former forward operating bases such as Balad, could be used as “lilypad” sites. Sending troops beyond the 450 additional forces identified Wednesday by the White House “has been under consideration since Day 1,” Warren said. “As we identify military requirements, we will bring those requirements to the president.”
