Small Wars Journal

Obama Rejects Calls for U.S. Troops to Fight Islamic State

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 2:08pm

Obama Rejects Calls for U.S. Troops to Fight Islamic State by Toluse Olorunnipa, Bloomberg News

President Barack Obama ruled out dispatching a major U.S. ground force against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, saying it would be a “serious mistake” that would lead the nation into an unsustainable strategy requiring a long-term occupation in the region.

Obama called the Islamic State terror organization “the face of evil” and insisted the U.S. and its allies are shrinking its hold in Syria and Iraq even as the extremist group has demonstrated its ability to commit violence beyond the region…

The U.S. will continue a strategy that concentrates on military power, in the form of air strikes and working with local forces, economic pressure and attempts to stabilize failed states where the group has thrived, Obama said. He also said the U.S. would streamline intelligence sharing with France to give French authorities more timely information…

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