WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Carter’s remarks came after The New York Times reported the US Defense Department was considering building a network of bases in Africa, Southwest Asia and the Middle East to gain more intelligence and more effectively fight the Islamic State as well as other terrorist groups.
"This tumor [of Islamic State] is metastasizing or has metastasized, that's the… recognition of that behind the concept of linking together American counter terrorism and military nodes in the region and around the world, so that they operate more smoothly together," Carter stated.
"[T]hat's a proposal that we’ve been working on now for a number of months," Carter noted. "I think it's a necessity as it should be and will prove to be very effective."
The proposal comes as Daesh has made major gains in Iraq and Syria over the past year, while the US military has struggled with the question of whether to send ground troops in the region to gain more intelligence and increase its efforts against the terrorist group.
