US forces will be ‘on the front lines’ in push to take Syrian town of Raqqa, considered the 'capital' of ISIS

A US-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters announced on Saturday “phase two” of its campaign for the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion of Raqqa, adding that US soldiers would be “on the front lines” of the push for the northern city.

ed note–there is no overstating the importance of the recapture of Aleppo by the cooperative and collaborative efforts of Christian and Islamic forces from Russia, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon (Hezbollah) and the damage that has been done to the plans which Israel, America, and the West had in store for the region and for the world.

However, as much as we are all inclined to smirk at this pathetic attempt on the part of those forces who have trained, funded, armed and supported the very un-Islamic group known as ISIS to try and save face, at the same time, all need to be wary of what could/can/might come out of it.

Borrowing a line from Tom Clancy’s Hunt for Red October in a conversation between National Security Adviser Jeffrey Pelt and the Russian Ambassador to the US–

‘It would be well for your government to consider that having your ships and ours, your aircraft and ours, in such proximity is inherently DANGEROUS. Wars have begun that way, Mr. Ambassador.’

And, lest we forget, on June 8th, 1967, as Israel was engaged in her 2 hour deliberate and premeditated attack on the USS LIBERTY, the US and then Soviet Union were only about 180 seconds away from open conflict, exactly as Israel desired. 

Times of Israel

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will “begin phase two of the campaign, which aims to liberate territory west of Raqqa and isolate the city,” spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed told reporters.

The announcement came after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a security forum in Bahrain that Washington was sending an additional 200 troops to join the 300 it has already deployed in support of the offensive.

Two SDF officials told AFP that US soldiers would be taking part in the offensive “on the front lines” alongside SDF fighters.

Speaking in the village of Aaliyah, north of Raqqa, Ahmed said the SDF had captured 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) of territory since it began its advance on the city on November 5.

The alliance had also grown in size, she said, with more than 1,500 local fighters joining forces with the SDF after being “trained and equipped by the international coalition.”

The SDF’s coordination with the US-led coalition “will be stronger and more effective during the second phase of the campaign,” Ahmed said.

“US forces were on the front lines of the first phase of this offensive, and one member of these forces was killed. Their participation will be even more effective alongside our forces in the second phase,” said SDF spokesman Talal Sello.

SDF adviser Nasser Hajj Mansour said: “American forces will be on the front lines of this phase.”

Backed by coalition air strikes, the SDF has been pushing south from areas near the Turkish border, seizing a string of villages and advancing to within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the city.

With a pre-war population of about 240,000, Raqqa is the de facto capital of the self-styled caliphate IS declared across Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The jihadist group still holds Al-Bab, to the west, and most of the city of Deir Ezzor, to the southeast.

US sending 200 more troops to Syria to battle ISIS

Special forces will join 300 soldiers already there to recruit, organize, train and advise local Syrian forces

ed note–remember, those ‘local Syrian forces’ are not Assad’s troops, but rather the ‘moderate rebels’–every bit as much terrorists as ISIS themselves–that the US wants to see overthrow the government of Bashar al Assad. This is a desperate push to introduce a ‘game changer’ in the few weeks that Obama is still CiC.

Times of Israel

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday that as many as 200 more American troops are being sent to Syria to help Kurdish and Arab fighters capture the Islamic State group’s key stronghold of Raqqa.

The extra troops will include special operations forces and are in addition to 300 US troops already authorized for the effort to recruit, organize, train and advise local Syrian forces to combat IS.

Addressing a security conference in Bahrain, Carter said the extra troops will help the local forces in their anticipated push to retake Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group’s self-styled caliphate, and to deny sanctuary to IS after Raqqa is captured.

He said President Barack Obama approved the troop additions last week.

“These uniquely skilled operators will join the 300 US special operations forces already in Syria, to continue organizing, training, equipping, and otherwise enabling capable, motivated, local forces to take the fight to ISIL,” Carter said in his address to the IISS Manama Dialogues in the Bahraini capital, Manama.

“By combining our capabilities with those of our local partners, we’ve been squeezing ISIL by applying simultaneous pressure from all sides and across domains, through a series of deliberate actions to continue to build momentum,” he said.

The military push in Syria is complicated by the predominant role played by local Kurdish fighters, who are the most effective US partner against IS in Syria but are viewed by Turkey — a key US ally — as a terrorist threat.

A senior defense official said the troop boost announced by Carter will give the US extra capability to train Arab volunteers who are joining the Raqqa push but are not well-trained or equipped. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of internal Pentagon planning.