America’s Top Military Officer Just Opened The Door To A Bigger Role For US Ground Troops Against ISIS
Brett LoGiurato
BusinessInsider.com
Sept. 16, 2014
Martin Dempsey, the US’ top military officer, hinted Tuesday that he would consider recommending a more direct involvement of US ground troops in the military’s ongoing campaign against the extremist group calling itself the Islamic State (also ISIS or ISIL).
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, opened the door to US ground troops taking a more direct role in the conflict in a couple different situations.
First, he said if the situation escalated to the point where ISIS became a direct threat to the US homeland, he would recommend the use of ground forces on specific ISIS-held targets. And he speculated on certain missions in which ground troops might be necessary. For example, he said, he would recommend US military advisers currently in Iraq join Iraqi Security Forces in a theoretical mission to retake Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul.
“To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president,” Dempsey said.
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