A top US military commander briefly revealed Wednesday that US special forces were operating in Syria late last year to combat the Islamic State (ISIL).
Gen. Lloyd Austin, the leader of the US military’s Central Command, claimed before the Senate Armed Services Committee, that Special Operations Forces “didn’t wait for the new Syrian force program, the train and equip program to fully develop” before engaging certain Syrian Civil War factions already fighting ISIL.
“At the very outset, they began to engage elements like the YPG and enable those elements,” Austin said, referring to a left-wing Kurdish militant group that controls parts of Northern Syria. “They are making a difference on the battlefield. And there are tens of thousands of the YPG out there that are right now fighting ISIL.”
“Because the Syria train and equip program is slower getting started than we’d like for it to be doesn’t mean we’re not creating effects on the battlefield,” he added, responding to a question asked by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).
NBC noted that the testimony “revealed for the first time” that Special Operations Forces were working with the Kurdish militants in Syria to combat ISIL, but made no remark on the timing of the mission predating “train-and-equip.” In October, The Daily Beast noted Turkish journalists claimed that nine US Special Forces operatives were in the besieged YPG-controlled town of Kobani “helping to direct airstrikes,” but that their reports were denied by “YPG commanders.”
Defense officials claim that those operatives are not engaged in any combat, but rather in an “advise and assist” role, NBC said. But even when operations were launched against ISIL, “President Obama has pledged there would be no US ‘boots on the ground,’” the media giant noted.
The Obama administration has previously acknowledged that it has sent special forces into Syria last year, as ISIL began to seize more power in the war-torn country. Most notably, it confirmed US forces conducted a May raid in Eastern Syria that killed ISIL commander Abu Sayyaf and captured his wife. The use of American Special Operations for a hostage rescue mission last year has also been recognized by the White House. “By the time US forces arrived at their target location, the hostages had been moved. Sdome, including journalist James Foley, would later be beheaded by [ISIL],” The Guardian noted in its report on the Abu Sayyaf raid.
The ISIL-specific train-and-equip mission itself came under heavy fire from lawmakers at the hearing who called it insufficient and legally-flimsy.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a supporter of the current anti-ISIL operations but a critic of the fact they lack a specific Congressional authorization, told Austin and another administration witness, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Christine Warmuth, that he didn’t believe force protection for rebels would be constitutional, if Syrian government forces attacked. In August, the White House first publicly claimed that the separation of powers permitted such action.
“I tactically completely agree with that, but what is the legal predicate for the United States taking military action against forces of the Assad regime?” he asked. When Warmuth replied that it was part of the Executive Branch’s right to unilaterally authorize engagement in self-defense, the former lawyer responded with skepticism.
“I have not seen an interpretation of Article II–ever–that would allow the United States to undertake action–under Article II–to protect others’ fighters,” Kaine said.
The majority of criticism leveled at the program throughout the hearing, however, was reserved not for matters related to the rule of law, but for the initiative’s weakness. Lawmakers particularly panned it after Austin and Warmuth said only five fighters remained from the initial class of 54 graduates (the freshman cohort was ambushed by Jabhat al-Nusra in July) and that only between 100-120 were currently being trained.
Committee chair John McCain (R-Ariz.) at the onset of the hearing described it as a failure and called for the establishment of either a no-fly zone or a safe corridor for refugees in Syria–policies he has long supported.
“It will take a ground force to be able to protect refugees, if we do that, sir,” Austin said, before McCain breathlessly and without acknowledging the comment, repeatedly asked about the general’s personal support for a no-fly zone or secure corridor. Austin said he “would not recommend a buffer zone at this point.”
“So basically, General, what you’re telling us is that everything’s fine, as we see hundreds of thousands of refugees leave and flood Europe as we’re seeing now,” McCain said.
“As I say, I have never seen a hearing that is as divorced from the reality of every outside expert than what you are saying,” he told Austin shortly after.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) later gave the general a chance to respond to McCain’s allegations about the administration believing “everything’s fine” in Syria, referencing comments made by former Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, Gen. Marin Dempsey.
“I think it’s important that the people in the country and in the region take ownership and work to put in place lasting solutions,” Austin said. “If we don’t do that. we will be back in another two or three years.”
