On the one hand, this is what creep looks like.
The United States will send 217 more troops, including additional special operations forces, to Iraq as part of a growing train-and-advise effort to help the struggling government fight ISIS, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Monday morning in Baghdad.
For Americans who’ve watched too many conflicts make the handful of advisors—all out engagement shuffle, any increase in numbers sounds ominous. However, this is also exactly what President Obama predicted a year ago when he indicated that “hundreds” of additional US forces would be sent in to assist Iraqi forces.
At the start of 2015, ISIS seemed to be on a roll and ominous comparisons to Nazi Germany were on the lips of every would-be Republican candidate (and way too many others). However, 2015 saw US bombing and re-energized ground efforts in both Syria and Iraq roll back ISIS on every front. The “caliphate” has lost about a third of its territory and several cities and towns formerly under ISIS control, notably Sinjar in 2015 and Ramadi earlier this year.
The primary reason for the additional US troops seems to be an impending attack on Mosul, which has been under ISIS control since 2014, but which is now coming under pressure from Iraqi troops.
Speaking of the plans to retake Mosul, the official said: "That is where I believe the toughest fight is going to be. I do expect that we're going to accept more risk and we're going to bring in resources as appropriate to protect and buy down that risk, absolutely."
The strategy of keeping up the pressure on ISIS and supporting ground forces with relatively small numbers of US troops has been working. ISIS area of control is shrinking, its funds are drying up, and its fighting force is getting smaller. We can be grateful that no one seriously considered the Ted Cruz plan.