World
General Spurs Boots-on-Ground Debate in Islamic Fight
Tony Capaccio, BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
WASHINGTON (Businessweek.com)—Reaction was swift after a top Pentagon official’s testimony to Congress yesterday that he would support sending U.S. advisers to accompany Iraqi troops into battle against Islamic State if airstrikes fail.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “was referring to a hypothetical scenario” and the president does not believe “it would be in the best interest” of the U.S. After Dempsey’s comments, Islamic State militants released a 52-second video suggesting its fighters will kill U.S. troops in Iraq if sent, the Associated Press reported.
“So there will be boots on the ground, if there’s to be any hope of success in the strategy,” Gates said on “CBS This Morning.”
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