US air force chief says war on IS ‘will need boots on the ground’

The air campaign against the Islamic State group has made progress in degrading the jihadist organisation but will not be enough without local boots on the ground, the US air force secretary said on Tuesday. The comments from Deborah Lee James come just days after Pentagon chief Ashton Carter raised the possibility of deploying additional US special forces personnel to Syria if more partners can be found among local forces on the ground. “Air power is extremely important. It can do a lot but it can’t do everything,” James said.

Ultimately it cannot occupy territory and very importantly it cannot govern territory.

Deborah Lee James, US air force secretary

A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria for more than a year in a campaign that has seen the jihadists lose some territory but also make new gains. The White House announced on October 30 that US President Barack Obama had authorised the first sustained deployment of “fewer than 50” special force personnel to Syria, reversing a longstanding refusal to put US boots on the ground. While US troops are believed to have carried out covert missions in Syria before, they had not previously been deployed there on a continuous basis.

This is where we need to have boots on the ground. We do need to have ground forces in this campaign.

Ms James

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