Would Send 'Many Times' More Troops Pentagon officials have repeatedly made clear in recent weeks that they are pushing the Obama Administration for further escalations of the ISIS war in Iraq, envisioning a significant increase in ground troops there. Apparently, this doesn’t stop at Iraq.
Officials today confirmed the administration is also considering a massive increase in US ground troops in neighboring Syria as part of the plan, in the form of a large contingent of special forces to be sent to Syria’s northeast.
Exact details are scant, and officials wouldn’t offer any amounts for the number of troops to be sent, beyond saying that there would be “many times” more troops being sent to Syria than are presently there now. Official figures on current numbers are “around 50.”
While the US has had a relatively free hand in sending troops to Iraq, the troops they have in Syria are confined to Kurdish territory, and are not welcomed by the Syrian government. The Kurdish region continues to grow, however, and with the US and Russia talking about a coordinated attack on the ISIS capital of Raqqa, it’s likely these new US troops will be taking part in that.