Stepping up the game…
The most senior U.S. commander overseeing the battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria says the deployment of a Marine artillery unit to Syria was done under existing authorities and is consistent with the current strategy of fighting ISIS without putting U.S. troops on the front lines.
“We have adopted a by, with and through approach that places a heavy reliance on indigenous forces,” said Army Gen. Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command.
“While this approach does present some challenges and can be more time consuming, it is proving effective and is likely to pay significant dividends going forward,” Votel said.