IS conflict: US sends Marines to support Raqqa assault

The US has sent 400 additional troops to Syria to support an allied local force aiming to capture the so-called Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.
They include Marines, who arrived in the past few days. US special forces are already in Syria.
Meanwhile, US-led coalition air strikes killed 20 civilians - including children - near Raqqa, reports say.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is to host a meeting of the coalition members on 22 March.
Foreign ministers and senior officials from 68 nations and international organisations had been invited to attend a two-day gathering in Washington, the state department said.
"Secretary Tillerson has been crystal clear that defeating Isis (IS) is the state department's top priority in the Middle East," acting state department spokesman Mark Toner said.
The coalition is expected to launch an assault on Raqqa in the coming weeks.
Defence officials told the Washington Post that a Marine artillery unit would have M777 howitzers, which can fire 155mm shells about 32km (20 miles).


A coalition spokesman, Col John Dorrian, told Reuters news agency they would help "expedite the defeat" of IS in Raqqa.
Over the weekend, a separate force of elite US Army Rangers was also deployed near a town north-west of Raqqa in heavily-armoured Stryker vehicles, in an attempt to end clashes between SDF fighters and a Turkish-backed rebel force.

Why are the Marines being sent now?

IS can be defeated in this war only if its militants are forced to stand and fight as a conventional army, the BBC's Paul Danahar writes from Washington.

Much of its senior military leadership is made up of former Iraqi army commanders from the Saddam Hussein era, and their instinct the last time they faced a defeat on the battlefield, during the US-led invasion in 2003, was to melt away.
They re-emerged as the leaders of militants opposing the US occupation who then joined to form an umbrella grouping which became al-Qaeda in Iraq. After the start of the Syrian civil war this morphed into IS.
What the US Marines will hope to do, working along aside US special forces, is create a net tight enough to kill or capture these men before they get away. That means co-ordinating the assault and making sure the anti-IS forces work together.
They will hope to finally force the men the US military has been fighting for more than a decade into a last stand.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Donald Trump be replaced as president of the United States?

Donald Trump is in over his head. This comes as no surprise to the millions of people who could see that he was  unprepared and unfit  for the job of president of the United States and voted against him. He’s basically a celebrity heir to a fortune who was so entitled that he believed his privileged existence proved he was competent to run the most powerful nation on Earth. That’s the attitude of an aristocrat who ascended to the throne without having any idea what it actually takes to rule. History’s full of such men. It doesn’t often work out well. Trump managed to convince enough voters in just the right places that his “business success,” born mostly of hype and relentless public relations over many years, qualified him for the Oval Office. Since the Protestant work ethic and the philosophy of virtuous capitalism still permeate American culture, it’s not uncommon for people to equate financial success with superior intelligence and character. Many individuals among the public un
Read more

Why did CNN give Obama an 8 year pass in investigative journalism, but is now actively persecuting Donald trump?

Obama has demonstrated himself to be a very careful person regarding his own image and actions, to a fault. He is strong organizer and team builder. His skills are much more that of a GM or COO* than, say, a CEO or head of Sales, when you draw parallels with the corporate world. As Terry Irving responded ( Why did CNN give Obama an 8 year pass in investigative journalism, but is now actively persecuting Donald trump? ), CNN, and I understand, all major news agencies, had units designated to dig into his past and present. None found anything “scandalous”. Before Obama made a name for himself on the national stage at the 2004 Democratic Convention, he barely got any media coverage. DJT, on the other hand, was a media magnet since the late 80s due to his long running and well known “foot-in-mouth” disease. He’s outrageous, thin-skinned and picks very public fights over nothing. Follow DJT around, and he will say something “scandalous” sooner than later. The mainstream media actual
Read more

Is there prime minister in china?

China has a  Premier  who fills the same or similar role as a Prime Minister in other countries. The incumbent premier is  Li Keqiang   and he is the head of government of China. He is tasked with leading the State Council, the executive ruling body of the entire People’s Republic, and implements everyday domestic policy. China also has a  President , currently  Xi Jinping , and he is head of state. This means that his role is largely ceremonial and represents China on the world stage. He is essentially the face of China, though more and more powers have been transferred to the President in recent years. That is why President Xi is almost always present at international conferences or meetings rather than the premier.
Read more