More Boots on the Ground? Pentagon on the ‘Escalation Path’ in Iraq, Syria
SputnikNews.com
24.01.2016
The Pentagon ostensibly wants to put more effort into its anti-Daesh campaign, but if this requires sending additional boots on the ground, the US could be dragged into another protracted war that could last for years, Ivan Eland, US senior defense analyst from the Independent Institute, told RT.
“I think we’re on the escalation path back into Iraq and now Syria,” he noted, referring to a recent comment made by US defense chief Ashton Carter.
Carter promised to “do more because we need to defeat ISIL.” The US defense secretary also said that “there will be boots on the ground,” but did not specify whether he was talking about conventional US troops, special forces or allied militaries.
“Unfortunately that’s how countries get bogged down in places. They put in a few troops, get their prestige on the line, and if that doesn’t work in solving the problem, people ask: Well, what’s next? Of course, there’s always more troops, and I think this is just another step in a series of escalations,” Eland observed.
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