U.S. military commanders do not plan to ask President Barack Obama for authority to deploy special forces on ground in or near Ramadi to help Iraqi forces locate ISIS targets, a Pentagon official told CNN on Tuesday.
Although there is always a possibility that decision could change, the official said top military commanders “don’t feel it’s necessary.”
The U.S. expects Iraq to deploy its forces, as well as Shia militias and Sunni tribes under its control to fight to take Ramadi back.
The White House says it will support the Popular Mobilization Forces — comprised of Shia militias and volunteers, along with Sunni fighters from Anbar — as long as they’re operating under the command and control of the central Iraqi government.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Gen. Lloyd Austin, commanding general of Central Command, have long said they would ask Obama for that authority if they felt Iraqi forces were in such a complex battle in an urban environment that they needed U.S. units on the ground to pick out targets to help avoid civilian casualties.
For now, the U.S. plans to stick with airstrikes when ISIS targets can be clearly identified and its ongoing work to train Iraqi units.
Aside from that support, the White House isn’t previewing a new strategy in combating ISIS, saying only it’s constantly evaluating what’s working and what’s not.
“We have to decide what our approach to these issues is going to be,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily press briefing.
“Are we going to light our hair on fire every time there is a setback in the campaign against ISIL?” he said. “Or are we going to take very seriously our responsibility to evaluate those areas where we succeed and evaluate where steps are necessary to change our strategy where we’ve seen setbacks?”