Pentagon Preparing Options That Would Result With U.S. Soldiers On The Ground Battling The Islamic State

An American military trainer instructs an Iraqi soldier at the Taji base complex on January 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

The Hill: Pentagon weighing deeper US involvement in Iraq

Top leaders at the Pentagon are considering a range of options to bolster the military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), including embedding some U.S. troops with Iraqi forces, according to two U.S. officials.

U.S. military commanders have forwarded several options to the Defense Department in the last several weeks, the officials told The Hill, as part of a mounting push within the administration to more aggressively target the terrorist group.

One of the options presented was embedding U.S. troops with Iraqi security forces; they would have the ability to call in airstrikes, a step that would bring American forces to the front lines.
But even without a role in direct combat, that option would skirt close to having “boots on the ground” in Iraq — something President Obama has vowed not to do in the military campaign against ISIS.

WNU Editor: If Russia was not actively engaged in Syria .... and Iraq opened to the idea of a Russian military participation in their war against the Islamic State .... Iraq Has Authorized Russia To Strike Islamic State Targets Inside The Country .... these Pentagon proposals/options would never have been floated. Bottom line .... President Obama made the commitment that U.S. forces will not be engaged on the ground in Iraq, unfortunately .... but while President Obama may want to avoid war, war is coming to him. I would not be surprised in the next or month or two we will start reading reports that the U.S. are embeding military advisers and spotters in Iraqi military units.