Le Figaro says US special forces and CIA operatives have entered Syria to help anti-Syria militants.Alalam
The Pros of Putting Special Forces On the Ground in Syria -- Andrew Slater, Daily Beast
Airpower alone will be bloody and ineffective in Syria. To stop Assad and protect civilian life, we need Special Ops on the ground, writes Andrew Slater, former Special Forces officer.
Amidst all the recent discussion of an American military response to the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against rebel forces, there lies a second, less-discussed red line: under what conditions would the White House employ U.S. ground forces, as opposed to a purely airpower-based campaign, in Syria, and what role would they play?
Putting aside political considerations for the moment, it is still reasonable to presume that the scale and nature of our involvement in Syria would less resemble Iraq or Afghanistan than Libya or Kosovo. But while a colossal operation like the invasion of Iraq is thankfully unimaginable, it is possible that the White House may decide to place special operations forces (SOF) on the ground in Syria. Conventional wisdom would view this as an escalation over a "bombs only" approach to U.S. involvement, but considering a limited, special operations ground force could inject sanity, clarity, and urgency to the policy debate and serve as a counterweight to the prevailing drone war logic and its false sterility.
Read more ....
My Comment: The prospect of a captured U.S. soldier (or soldiers) appearing on Syrian TV is something that I suspect the White House does not want to see. Hence .... I do not expect to see US special forces on the ground in Syria. But special forces from other countries .... including CIA contractors with no direct connection to the U.S. government .... that is a possibility that I will not discount.
Update: Some are reporting that US Special Ops are already positioned in Syria.
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