U.S. Weighing More Military Bases in Iraq to Fight ISIS, Top General Says
Source: New York Times
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2:20 PM ET, Thu June 11, 2015
(CNN)Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey said Thursday that the U.S. military strategy in Iraq could require opening multiple bases near the front lines of battle, which would mean sending hundreds of additional troops to the region to help fight ISIS.
Dempsey told reporters aboard a plane with him in Italy that the plan the White House announced earlier this week to establish a base at Taqaddam could be replicated in other parts of Iraq. He said they are considering bases that he described as "lily pads" near the front lines that would support Iraqi troops.
The White House announced Wednesday plans to deploy up to 450 additional U.S. forces to Iraq, largely to train Sunni tribes' fighters, as well as plans to send weapons to Sunni tribes and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to help them combat ISIS. Officials are considering sending up to 1,000 troops to the area, according to the Associated Press.
A senior defense official told CNN on Thursday that three to four additional sites in Iraq are most likely to be the next locations, if military commanders make the case to the White House they are needed. The official said one advantage of the "lily pads" is, by having US troops closer to areas of combat, US personnel could also be used in specific circumstances to help get airstrikes on targets more quickly.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/world/middleeast/iraq-isis-us-military-bases-martin-e-dempsey.html?_r=1
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