Ads by Google Ads by Google

Pentagon says US troops' role in Iraq could expand

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon warned Congress on Thursday that the long, drawn-out military campaign against Islamic State militants is just beginning and could expand to include modest numbers of U.S. forces fighting alongside Iraqi troops.Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a cautious assessment of the progress in the three-month-old war against Islamic extremists who brutally rule large sections of Iraq and Syria.It was more than a status report. President Barack Obama is seeking congressional approval for $5.6 billion to expand the U.S. mission in Iraq and send up to 1,500 more American troops. The administration is also pressing for reauthorization of its plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, with that mandate expiring Dec. 11.Hagel said the coalition, which has grown with 16 new members since September, has made progress, with the militants' advances stalling and in some instances, reversed by air strikes and other military operations.But he maintained that the struggle will be long and difficult in what could be a multiyear campaign.Dempsey said the Iraqi forces are doing a better job, but he said an effort to move into Mosul, now held by IS, or to restore the border with Syria would require more complex operations.\I'm not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by U.S. forces