US May Send Troops to Iraq if Anti-ISIL Campaign Stalls - Army Head

US Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno said that US military may consider embedding soldiers with Iraqi security forces if no progress made in the campaign to defeat ISIL in the next couple of months.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US military may consider embedding soldiers with Iraqi security forces if progress is not made in the campaign to defeat ISIL within several months, US Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno stated on Wednesday.

“I believe that if we find in the next several months that we are not making the progress that we have, then we should absolutely consider embedding some soldiers to see if that will make a difference,” Odierno said at a press conference. “That’s an option we should present to the [US] President when the time is right.”

Odierno clarified that the embedded US troops would not have a combat role, but would support Iraqi security forces.

Some analysts and policy makers have called for embedding US troops to help call in airstrikes in support of Iraqi forces when they battle ISIL.

A 62-nation US-led coalition against ISIL has conducted more than 5,700 airstrikes since August 2014. The coalition, in cooperation with Iraqi security forces, has pushed the Islamic State back from some 30 percent of the territory it had controlled.