US Joint Chiefs of Staff Head Says Ground War Required to Battle ISIS/ISIL. ("We need a large ground force to counter ISIL")

12,000 to 15,000 is what we believe they would need to recapture lost territory in eastern Syria...
 
Ground force is crucial in fighting the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey has told the press.

“If you’re asking me would I would provide my best military advice at all times, the answer is absolutely. If you're suggesting that I might, at some point, recommend that we need a large ground force to counter ISIL, the answer to that is also absolutely,” Dempsey said Friday as quoted in the Department of Defense's press release.

The general, however, stressed that the ground force does not necessarily need to be a US one. Dempsey has supposed that Iraqi and Kurdish forces as well as Syrian “moderates” could handle such mission, underscoring that the consolidation of forces is largely a responsibility of the local governments.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff head also noted that training and equipping of “moderate opposition” in Syria by the United States is ongoing.

“We’ve had estimates anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000 is what we believe they would need to recapture lost territory in eastern Syria,” he said, adding that their training is going to take some time.

The IS has proclaimed a caliphate on the controlled areas in Iraq and Syria, making Washington resort to airstrikes in Iraq back in August. In the beginning of the week, the United States and its Arab allies started carrying out airstrikes against the IS and other insurgents on the Syrian territory – without Damascus’ permission. US President Barack Obama has vowed he would not commit US troops to fight a ground war in Iraq.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140927/193337461/US-Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff-Head-Says-Ground-War-Required-to-Battle.html
27/9/14
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Related:

• US pleased with British vote to join fight against Islamic State, White House says 

• Under U.S. Leadership, World Will Defeat ISIS (U.S. State Department)

• Newly launched airstrikes in Syria are only one piece of the puzzle in the war against the Islamic State, as the U.S. military prepares to launch a complex operation to train and arm Syrian rebels. 

Just how that operation, formally approved by Congress last week, will play out is largely an open question. But based on past operations including those the U.S. already is running, analysts say allies in the region would likely help in getting military aid to rebels -- whom the U.S. hopes will one day fight as a cohesive unit to rout the Islamic State in their Syria headquarters, aided by airstrikes. 
On Friday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. is now "setting up the vetting system" to determine which opposition fighters will get U.S. training. Hagel, while unable to say who the head of that opposition is, said that process would include "regional partners" as well as the State Department and intelligence agencies. 
Lt. Gen. William Mayville, head of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said earlier this week that the mission is in the "beginnings of implementation" and described it as "a multi-year program." ..............http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/09/26/us-looks-for-ways-to-get-western-weapons-into-hands-rebel-fighters-in-syria/
27/9/14
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