President Donald Trump does not envision dispatching many more troops to the Middle East to defeat the Islamic State, he told the Associated Press Friday.
Trump conceded a small increase in troops may be needed, “but not many more.” The Trump administration has already dispatched hundreds more troops into Syria for shaping operations against ISIS, deployed an additional 200 troops to Iraq, and sent 2,500 troops to Kuwait to serve in reserve for possible anti-ISIS operations.
Trump confirmed that he and his generals had formulated a plan to defeat the terrorist group, but refused to provide details on it. Pressed to provide an outline of the plan, all Trump would offer is that “generally is we have got to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice. And other terrorist organizations.”
The administration’s anti-ISIS plan appears to be an amplified version of the Obama administration’s plan to rely on local forces, with U.S. support. This support includes special operators training locals, U.S. air support, and weapons.
More troops may be sent into Syria as operations to retake ISIS’s capital of Raqqa escalate. The U.S. relies on the Syrian Democratic Forces, a local group largely focused on defeating ISIS. In Iraq, the U.S. is partnering with the Iraqi Security Forces, which is engaged in a brutal battle for Mosul with a resilient ISIS.
The Pentagon has also indicated they will not announce exact troop numbers headed into warzones, in a major departure from the Obama administration. “It’s about capabilities not numbers,”CENTCOM spokesman Army Col. John Thomas told reporters in late March justifying the policy.
Trump’s lack of detail stems from his annoyance with the Obama administration for telegraphing its intent to retake Mosul from ISIS months before the operation began. “We are still fighting Mosul. You know why? Because they were prepared. If we would have gone in and just done it, it would have been over three months ago,” Trump said.
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