U.S. Mission Creep In Syria

The Hill: Pentagon official: Syria deployment 'is a start'

A senior defense official on Friday said the deployment of fewer than 50 U.S. special operations forces to Syria is only "a start" to doing more there against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"This is a start," said the official, speaking to defense reporters during a background brief. "You shouldn't rule out anything. We'll adjust once we get a better sense of who's on the ground, their capability and what's actually needed."

The White House on Friday announced the president's decision to send "several dozen" U.S. troops to Syria in a move that would mark U.S. "boots on the ground" for the first time.

The president had previously pledged that U.S. troops would not deploy to Syria, but White House officials said the president's comments were taken out of context, and that the troops would not have a "combat mission" in Syria.

WNU Editor: Even the Pentagon is admitting that 50 special ops soldiers in Syria is only a start. It is not hard for me to envision hundreds of U.S. special forces in Syria operating within the year ... if not sooner.

Update: Even former General and CIA Director Petraeus is predicting a major U.S. military presence in Syria .... US Heading Toward Large-Scale Military Presence in Syria (Sputnik)