Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accused the Obama administration of turning its back on a large multinational counter-Islamic State (ISIL) ground force that would only contain a slim minority of US soldiers.
The Senate Armed Services Committee Chair told Secretary of Defense Ash Carter that the White House is ignoring the option, pretending it doesn’t exist in an “intellectually dishonest” manner.
McCain told Carter at an oversight hearing that the coalition could invade ISIL-held territory, including the two largest cities occupied by the self-described caliphate: Raqqa, Syria and Mosul, Iraq.
“The option that you left out, which is entirely doable—and I know this for a fact—is if we had about 10,000 of about a 100,000-person contingent, of which the Sunni nations would contribute, that would go in on the ground and take Raqqa and Mosul,” McCain claimed. He said it is something lawmakers “have been pushing for months and months and years.”
The scenario was quickly described as fictional by Carter.
“With respect to the option you describe, of a 9-to-1 ratio of international forces to US forces, that would be a highly desirable circumstance to be in,” the Pentagon chief replied. “I have no indication from those countries, despite a lot of effort, of a willingness to do that.”
The idea may have come from McCain himself. After ISIL carried out terrorist attacks on Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris, he and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for the deployment of 20,000 US troops to Iraq and Syria.
“I have a plan to destroy ISIS,” Graham said “Use the armies in the region which are large and professional; integrate our forces among those armies with the French and other NATO nations.” The failed presidential candidate said that “US ground forces would make up about 10 percent of the entire ground campaign of 80,000 to 100,000 troops,” according to Military.com.
On a Nov. 2015 trip to Baghdad, McCain and Graham told reporters “American personnel could provide logistical and intelligence support” to an alliance, featuring contributions from “Sunni Arab countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” according to The Telegraph.
After the Dec. 2, 2015 ISIL-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., McCain made similar suggestions to the one made Thursday. He told Carter the US military could conduct incursions into Raqqa and Mosul “with a large Arab force,” claiming Sunni leaders “are willing to do so if there is a United States commitment.” Carter downplayed the possibility then, too.
In the middle of December, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a counter-ISIL coalition comprised entirely of Muslim nations. Immediately after it was established, however, its military nature was downplayed, and three major members—Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia—distanced themselves from the Riyadh-led alliance.
Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chuadhry reported being surprised by the announcement of his country’s participation. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said it was “still observing and waiting to see the modalities of the military coalition formed by Saudi Arabia.” Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein noted that the alliance “does not involve any military commitment, but an understanding that we will combat militancy.”
Though many Sunni Arab countries are in the ongoing counter-ISIL military campaign, the vast majority of its airstrikes are being carried out by the United States.
Saudi Arabia currently is devoting more military resources to its invasion of Yemen, targeting Shia rebels with alleged ties to Iran. Launched last spring with US support, the incursion has led to the deaths of thousands of civilians.
