More U.S. troops may go to Syria

AMMAN, Jordan — More U.S. troops may be needed in Syria to speed the campaign against the Islamic State group, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East said Wednesday.

“I am very concerned about maintaining momentum,” Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of the U.S. Central Command, told reporters accompanying him on a trip to the region.

“It could be that we take on a larger burden ourselves,” he added. “That’s an option.”

The current U.S. strategy is to press the Islamic State group from multiple directions by moving ahead with the offensive to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa even as Iraqi forces carry on their operation to take western Mosul.

Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters backed by the United States are to play the principal role in seizing Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group’s professed caliphate.

But one option being considered is for U.S. troops to step up their support of the fighters by firing artillery, shooting mortars, helping with logistics and significantly expanding efforts to advise them, much as the United States is doing for Iraqi forces in the battle for Mosul.

In late January, President Trump gave the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, 30 days to develop a “preliminary plan” to defeat the Islamic State group. That deadline is fast approaching.

Trump has not said what steps he is prepared to take to make good on his campaign vow to hasten the defeat of the Islamic State group. But he has a high regard for U.S. generals and for Mattis, and he is likely to be receptive to their recommendations.