Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he believes the US and its allies can defeat the Islamic State (IS, formally ISIS) terror militia with airstrikes and by training and equipping local forces. He warned however, that if this fails, American ground troops will have to be inserted into northern Iraq to defeat IS. The White House has consistently declared that US ground forces will not be employed in the fight against IS, but a program of funding for the arming and training of anti-IS forces in both Iraq and Syria, which would necessitate a massive increase in the already 1,600 strong presence of US troops in Iraq, has been making steady progress in Congress. Meanwhile, polls show that most Americans support the President’s plan but have little confidence it will succeed. Read More
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