Should The U.S. Deploy Combat Troops To Iraq?

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testify on U.S. policy regarding the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIL, before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., Sept. 16, 2014. DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton

Should The U.S. Deploy Ground Troops in Iraq? -- Rachel Brody, US News and World Report

Obama's top military adviser said he'd consider sending combat troops to fight the Islamic State group.



U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday he will consider sending ground troops to Iraq if airstrikes do not prove effective in combating the threat from the jihadist Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Dempsey told members of Congress he believes the current coalition of U.S. and allied forces would prove successful but left open the possibility of an expanded U.S. military presence. “[I]f [my view] fails to be true, and if there are threats to the United States, then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces,” he said.



President Barack Obama has repeatedly asserted that the U.S. will not send ground troops to Iraq. Speaking to members of the U.S. military at Central Command in Tampa, Florida, Obama said Wednesday, “I will not commit you, and the rest of our armed forces, to fighting another ground war in Iraq." In a speech last week, Obama stressed the difference between the current effort in Iraq and “the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,” saying “it will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.”



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My Comment: As I have said many times before .... religious/sectarian conflicts have been occurring in this region for centuries .... sending in a few warplanes will not change the dynamics on the ground at all .... and even if combat troops are sent .... unless you are willing to commit hundreds of thousands of soldiers and trillions of dollars with an occupation time period of a few decades .... do not get involved. Bottom line .... the people in the region will have to sort out their problems amongst themselves.