The United States deployed 50 special operations members last year, some assigned to train. To begin to consolidate some advances against Islamic State, another 250 received their orders. Obama made the announcement officially during his visit in Germany. The concern of record is Aleppo falling to Islamic State and it is argued now, how will the coordination work with the ground operations of Russia.
Obama announces an additional 250 special operations forces to Syria
(CNN) U.S. President Barack Obama has announced an additional 250 special operations forces will be sent to Syria in the coming weeks in a speech in Hannover, Germany in an effort to stem the influence and spread of ISIS.
“Just as I approved additional support for Iraqi forces against ISIL I’ve decided to increase US support for local forces fighting ISIL in Syria, a small number of special operations forces are already on the ground in Syria and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key areas,” Obama said, using another acronym for the jihadist group.“So given their success I’ve approved the deployment of up to 250 additional US personnel in Syria including special forces to keep up this momentum.”He stressed that U.S. troops will not be leading the fight on the ground but they will be essential in training and assisting local forces.“So make no mistake these terrorists will learn the same lesson as others before them have, which is ‘your hatred is no match for our nations united in the defense of our way of life,'” he said.He said the increase would bring the number of U.S. special forces in the country to as many as 300 troops, including special forces.Obama added that his administration would continue to pursue diplomatic solutions to ending the Syrian civil war.“Just as we remain relentless on the military front we’re not going to give up on diplomacy to end the civil war in Syria because the suffering of the people in Syria has to end and that requires an effective political transition,” he said.Supporting Syrian allies
The troops will be expanding the ongoing U.S. effort to bring more Syrian Arab fighters into units the U.S. supports in northern Syria that have largely been manned by the Kurds, an official told CNN earlier.The plan calls for the additional U.S. forces to “advise and assist” forces in the area whom the U.S. hopes may eventually grow strong enough to take back territory around Raqqa, Syria, where ISIS is based.These troops are not expected to engage in combat operations or to participate in target-to-kill teams but will be armed to defend themselves, one official said.“As we have noted in recent days, the President has authorized a series of steps to increase support for our partners in the region, including Iraqi security forces as well as local Syrian forces who are taking the fight to ISIL,” a senior administration official CNN, using a different acronym for ISIS.“The President during his remarks at the Hannover Messe fairgrounds on Monday will speak to this additional step.”The official said the president was persuaded to take this additional step because of recent successes against ISIS.
FNC: Islamic State oil man Abu Sayyaf was riding high a year ago. With little industry experience, he had built a network of traders and wholesalers of Syrian oil that at one point helped triple energy revenues for his terrorist bosses.
His days carried challenges familiar to all oil executives—increasing production, improving client relations and dodging directives from headquarters. He also had duties unique to the extremist group, including approving expenses to cover the upkeep of slaves, rebuilding oil facilities damaged by U.S. airstrikes and counting towers of cash.
Last May, U.S. Special Forces killed Abu Sayyaf, a nom de guerre, at his compound in Syria’s Deir Ezzour province. The raid also captured a trove of proprietary data that explains how Islamic State became the world’s wealthiest terror group.
Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal describe the terror group’s construction of a multinational oil operation with help from officious terror-group executives obsessed with maximizing profits. They show how the organization deals with the Syrian regime, handles corruption allegations among top officials, and, most critically, how international coalition strikes have dented but not destroyed Islamic State’s income.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter called the May 16, 2015, raid a “significant blow” against Islamic State and heralded the death of Abu Sayyaf, the terror group’s No. 2 oil executive.
