More special ops troops could go to Syria

Commandos serving as advisers in ISIL fight

The Pentagon will consider deploying more special operations troops to fight Islamic State militants if its pilot project in Syria shows signs of progress, a senior Defense official told USA TODAY on Monday.

The Pentagon last month announced that 50 commandos would be sent to northern Syria to advise forces battling the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.

Sending that initial force amounts to “breaking the seal” on inserting special operations forces in Syria and could lead to further deployments, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about planning. The Pentagon will not comment on whether those commandos have arrived in Syria.

The trigger for sending more special operations forces, the official said, is the ability of local forces to take ground from ISIL in Syria and hold it.

Adding more forces on the ground in Syria would represent a significant deepening of the U.S. commitment to the counter-ISIL effort, potentially requiring additional forces to support them.

The Pentagon’s counter-ISIL strategy will be the focus of a hearing Tuesday before the House Armed Services Committee; Defense Secretary Ash Carter is scheduled to testify.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Texas Republican who chairs the committee, said in an interview that he would support a greater commitment of U.S. ground forces to Syria and Iraq, including spotters for airstrikes, if they are part of more robust strategy to confront the Islamic State.

“The issue is OK, what would it take to really degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS?” Thornberry said. “Send however many guys or assemble whatever coalition is necessary to accomplish that goal.”

Thornberry dismissed the deployment of 50 commandos as a half measure that won’t work. “Fifty guys to be deployed is not going to turn the tide of this battle,” he said.

Thornberry advocated an even more muscular military approach to confronting ISIL, including the establishment of no-fly zones inside Syria, which has been racked by civil war that has killed 250,000 people and has seen the rise of ISIL.

On Sunday, Sens. John McCain, RAriz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called for the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops to fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria.