Small Wars Journal

Pentagon Readies Aggressive ISIS Proposals for Trump

Tue, 01/17/2017 - 4:07pm

Pentagon Readies Aggressive ISIS Proposals for Trump by Barbara Starr, CNN

The Defense Department is prepared to provide the new administration with military options to accelerate the war against ISIS in Syria that could send additional US troops into direct combat, CNN has learned.

These options would inherently increase the risk for US troops compared to what President Barack Obama was willing to accept.

The options will be ready for President-elect Donald Trump to consider as soon as he takes office and would be presented by James Mattis as the new defense secretary and Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They would have the final say on any details being briefed to the new president for his approval.

Options to deal with other hotspots, including Iran, are also being prepared, according to the defense official.

The options had already been worked up by the military during the Obama administration, but the authorities to carry them out were never approved by President Barack Obama.

New authorizations by Trump, needed to act on any of the proposals, would mean the US is expanding both its military strategy on fighting ISIS and signal the Trump White House is willing to take on increased military risk. None of the options being discussed contradict positions taken by Mattis publicly at this point…

Read on.