Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Dempsey said the US is considering sending a small number of US combat troops to fight alongside Iraqi forces against the Islamic State. Dempsey also said some 15,000 Syrian rebels will be needed to pressure Islamic State forces in northern and eastern Syria. Defense Secretary Hagel claimed that the coalition air campaign has stalled or reversed some of the terror group’s gains in Iraq, and reiterated that US troops will not be involved in a ground combat mission there. Rep. McKeon, head of the House Armed Services Committee, questioned how the US’ declared mission to degrade and destroy the terror group could be accomplished without the use of ground troops. Hagel also said the US will continue to seek to release Guantanamo Bay inmates.
