New
Defense Secretary hosts U.S. gathering on Islamic State strategy
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[February 23, 2015]
By Phil Stewart
KUWAIT CITY (Reuters) - New U.S. Defense
Secretary Ash Carter is gathering top U.S. military commanders and
diplomats for talks in Kuwait on Monday about the battle against Islamic
State, as America's military effort approaches major hurdles in both
Iraq and Syria.
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Carter says he hopes the roughly six hours of largely unscripted
discussions will help assess the war that he is inheriting after
swearing-in on Tuesday as President Barack Obama's fourth defense
secretary.
"I'm trying to assess the situation in Iraq, Syria and the region
more generally," Carter told reporters during his first trip abroad
as defense secretary.
Carter's meeting at a U.S. Army camp in Kuwait comes against the
backdrop of a fierce debate inside the United States about the U.S.
strategy, which Obama's Republican critics say is far too limited
militarily to succeed.
It also comes at a moment of increasing concern about the group's
spread, with Libya emerging as a battleground for militants loyal to
Islamic State.
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Among the long list of participants are General Lloyd Austin, the
head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, retired General John Allen,
Obama's envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition and U.S.
ambassadors to countries including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Still, a senior U.S. defense official traveling with Carter stressed
the gathering was a learning tool -- not a sign of his concern about
the strategy or a prelude to an overhaul.
"I am not expecting a major re-write of our strategy. I'm just not.
He just wants to understand it and he's the kind of guy where he
needs to ... dig into it," the official said, speaking to reporters
on condition of anonymity.
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The United States is now restricting the role of ground troops in
Iraq to advising and training local forces, focusing American
firepower on a U.S.-led coalition air campaign against Islamic State
targets in Iraq and Syria.
But Carter could soon be asked to make a recommendation about
whether to send American forces closer to the fight, possibly as
spotters for air strikes during an offensive to retake the city of
Mosul that could begin in April or May.
"I'm always open to advice from our military commanders about what
the best way to achieve success is," Carter said. "That is a
question that will come down the road."
The Pentagon is also preparing to start training Syrian rebels next
month at sites outside of Syria.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart, editing by David Evans)
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