US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insists that Washington will never send ground troops to Iraq and Syria ever again, insisting that allies on the ground will have to fight Islamic State (ISIS) while the US provides air support.
“They are not going to get ground troops,” she said. “We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again. And we’re not putting ground troops into Syria. We’re going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops,” she said in a US television interview.
“We have to defeat ISIS. That is my highest counterterrorism goal,” Clinton said, speaking to NBC’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday. “And we’ve got to do it with air power,” she insisted, adding that the US should give more support to the Arabs and Kurds on the ground in both Iraq and Syria.
Since the beginning of the US-led campaign against ISIS in August 2014 the Obama administration has been adamant in its insistence that the US would put no “boots on the ground” in the fight against ISIS.
However, since that time US Special Forces have taken part in operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In October of last year US commandos, fighting alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces, freed hostages from a prison in a raid on ISIS-occupied Hawija. One US commando was killed in that raid.
More recently, US Marines have given fire support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS on the Makhmour front. One Marine there was killed in an ISIS rocket attack on US firebase in March.
Following that incident, US officials admitted that the US had deployed approximately 5,000 service personnel to Iraq, far more than they had previously disclosed to the public.
In May, a Navy SEAL who was part of a “quick reaction force” was killed in the town of Tel Skuf while attempting to rescue American combat advisors who got caught up in a large ISIS raid on Peshmerga positions in that town.
US Special Forces in Syria, deployed as advisors, have also helped Syrian Kurdish-led troops coordinate their counter-ISIS campaigns with US air support.
“They are not going to get ground troops,” she said. “We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again. And we’re not putting ground troops into Syria. We’re going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops,” she said in a US television interview.
“We have to defeat ISIS. That is my highest counterterrorism goal,” Clinton said, speaking to NBC’s Matt Lauer on Wednesday. “And we’ve got to do it with air power,” she insisted, adding that the US should give more support to the Arabs and Kurds on the ground in both Iraq and Syria.
Since the beginning of the US-led campaign against ISIS in August 2014 the Obama administration has been adamant in its insistence that the US would put no “boots on the ground” in the fight against ISIS.
However, since that time US Special Forces have taken part in operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In October of last year US commandos, fighting alongside Kurdish Peshmerga forces, freed hostages from a prison in a raid on ISIS-occupied Hawija. One US commando was killed in that raid.
More recently, US Marines have given fire support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS on the Makhmour front. One Marine there was killed in an ISIS rocket attack on US firebase in March.
Following that incident, US officials admitted that the US had deployed approximately 5,000 service personnel to Iraq, far more than they had previously disclosed to the public.
In May, a Navy SEAL who was part of a “quick reaction force” was killed in the town of Tel Skuf while attempting to rescue American combat advisors who got caught up in a large ISIS raid on Peshmerga positions in that town.
US Special Forces in Syria, deployed as advisors, have also helped Syrian Kurdish-led troops coordinate their counter-ISIS campaigns with US air support.
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