Army General Martin Dempsey, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured U.S. senators on Tuesday that he has no intention of sending American combat troops to fight the Islamic State in Iraq — but admitted that that could all change if air strikes fail to dislodge the jihadists from urban positions.
Senator Jack Reed (D., R.I.) singled out President Obama’s repeated pledge of “no boots on the ground” in Iraq or Syria, despite the well-known presence of hundreds of American military advisers. “You suggested that if the situation changes, you might recommend, or come to us with a recommendation that would enhance their mission or change their mission,” the senator noted. “Can you clarify what they’re doing?”
Dempsey explained that while the airmen bombarding Islamic State targets “are very much in a combat role . . . the folks on the ground are very much in a combat advisory role. They are not participating in direct combat. There is no intention for them to do so.”
“I’ve mentioned, though, that if I found that circumstances evolving, then I would, of course, change my recommendation,” the general admitted.
As an example, Dempsey described a possible offensive by Iraqi forces to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city which was captured by the Islamic State last June. “It could well be part of that particular mission to provide close-combat advising, or accompanying for that mission,” he said. “But for the day-to-day activities that I anticipate will evolve over time, I don’t see it to be necessary right now.”
Comments