Today, President Obama has ordered U.S. special forces sent to Syria to assist “moderate, vetted” Syrian rebel groups in their fight against ISIS. This is change from U.S. strategy that avoided the deployment of U.S. forces in the war torn country.
CNN reports that the U.S. troops will help both local Kurdish and Arab forces.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the U.S. would be deploying “less than 50” Special Operations forces, who will be sent to Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria. The American troops will help local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS with logistics and are planning to bolster their efforts.
The deployment of U.S. Special Operations forces is the most significant escalation of the American military campaign against ISIS to date.
The Special Ops troops will first be deployed to northern Syria to help coordinate local ground forces and U.S.-led coalition efforts to fight ISIS, the senior administration official said. The local forces in that area have been the most effective U.S. partners in confronting ISIS.
In 2013, the White House’s official Twitter account tweeted this:
President Obama: “I will not put American boots on the ground in #Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan.”
For over a year, the U.S. and its allies have been waging a war against ISIS. The campaign has had mixed results with the group continuing to hold most of its territory in Iraq and has actually gained territory in Syria.
The U.S. troops will be entering a dicey situation in Syria. Russian and Iranian troops are on the ground helping the government of Bashar al-Assad hold power. There could be a risk of Americans being captured or killed by Syrian government forces or by their Iranian or Russian allies.
There are also questions about both Arab and Kurdish allies in Syria. The Syrian rebels are known to have ties the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and even to ISIS itself. The Kurdish parties in Syria have ties to the Kurdish Worker’s Party or PKK. The PKK is on the U.S. designated list of terrorist organizations.
The special forces are being deployed on the authority of the Authorization of the Use of Military Force that was passed in September 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.
AAN Staff
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