Drumbeat grows for US troops in Middle East war

[unhappycamper]

http://www.herald.co.zw/drumbeat-grows-for-us-troops-in-middle-east-war/

Drumbeat grows for US troops in Middle East war
October 14, 2014 Features, Opinion & Analysis
Peter Symonds

Despite denials from the White House, pressure is mounting for the United States to commit ground troops to Iraq and Syria, ostensibly to stem the advances of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militias. Over the weekend, ISIS fighters reportedly made further inroads in the Kurdish Syrian city of Kobani and tightened their control over the Iraqi province of Anbar, putting them on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Speaking on the ABC’s “This Week” programme yesterday, US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey suggested US troops would be needed on the frontline in Iraq. He pointed in particular to the likelihood of a “decisive battle” to recapture the northern city of Mosul, which fell to ISIS militias in June. “My instinct at this point is that we will require a different kind of advising and assisting because of the complexity of that fight,” he said.

Dempsey made similar comments last month, declaring that if he believed US military advisers needed to accompany Iraqi troops into combat, he would advise President Obama accordingly.

The statements put the top US general at odds with the White House.