US To Send 200 More Troops To Syria Ahead Of Raqqa Assault
Extra troops will include special operations forces and are in addition to the 300 US troops already working in region.
The US is to increase its troop presence in
Syria by as many as 200 to help Kurdish and Arab fighters launch an assault on Islamic State’s key stronghold of Raqqa, the country’s defence secretary has confirmed.
Ash Carter said extra troops would include special operations forces and are in addition to the 300 US troops already working in the region to recruit, organise, train and advise local Syrian forces to combat Isis.
Addressing a security conference in Bahrain, Carter also took aim at US Middle East partners for failing to provide more military muscle in the broader campaign to defeat the group and counter extremism.
Without mentioning any by name, Carter suggested the US has been the target of disingenuous criticism from “regional powers here in the Middle East” for not doing more to help fight extremism.
“I would ask you to imagine what US military and defence leaders think when they have to listen to complaints sometimes that we should do more, when it’s plain to see that all too often, the ones complaining aren’t doing enough themselves,” he said.
He added that it was not unreasonable for Washington to expect regional powers who oppose extremism in the Middle East to do more to help fight it, “particularly in the political and economic aspects of the campaign”.
Carter noted that many Sunni-led Gulf countries have expressed concern about the spread of Iranian influence in the region.
“The fact is, if countries in the region are worried about Iran’s destabilising activities – a concern the United States shares – they need to get in the game.
That means getting serious about starting to partner more with each other, and investing in the right capabilities for the threat.”
Carter said the 200 extra troops would help local forces in their anticipated push to retake Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group’s self-styled caliphate, and deny sanctuary to Isis after Raqqa is captured. He said the US president, Barack Obama, approved the troop additions last week.
“These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 US special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organising, training, equipping, and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to Isil [Isis],” Carter said in his address to the IISS Manama Dialogues in the Bahraini capital.
“By combining our capabilities with those of our local partners, we’ve been squeezing Isis by applying simultaneous pressure from all sides and across domains, through a series of deliberate actions to continue to build momentum,” he said.
The military push is complicated by the predominant role played by local Kurdish fighters, who are the most effective US partner against Isis in Syria but are viewed by Turkey – a key U.S. ally – as a terrorist threat.
A senior defence official said the troop boost announced by Carter would give the US extra capability to train Arab volunteers who are joining the Raqqa push but are not well trained or equipped.
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