Pentagon presents new anti-Daesh plans to Trump

Raas - The Pentagon has completed plans demanded by President Donald Trump for a more intensified military campaign against Daesh terrorists.

News ID: 427737

Date: 28 February 2017 - 20:27

RNA - "The White House will begin reviewing the recommendations," a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday.

Defense Secretary James Mattis is scheduled to present the plans to Trump's top national security advisers later on Monday.

During his election campaign, Trump publicly called for a tougher military action against the terrorist organization wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria.

Military officials said the options under consideration include reducing White House oversight of decisions before an operation is conducted and giving more tactical authority to the Pentagon.

The recommendations might also include easing restrictions on the number of US troops needed to carry out a mission.

Military officials, however, acknowledged that giving more latitude to the Pentagon will result in deployment of more US forces.

Congressional Republicans and some military officials have criticized the White House in the past for being overly cautious when considering requests to conduct military operations and send troops to combat.

There are about 5,000 American troops in Iraq and up to 300 special operations forces in Syria. Those numbers are governed by so-called business rules.

The White House has strict oversight over the force level used in various military missions. Officials say some requests for more troops require weeks or even months to win approval.

During his campaign, Trump often blamed former president Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the creation of Daesh and instability in the Middle East.

"The Obama-Clinton foreign policy unleashed ISIS (Daesh) (and) destabilized the Middle East," Trump said in a foreign policy speech in August.

Daesh terrorists, who were among the militants initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, now control parts of Iraq and Syria. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

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