MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - In order to destroy the Islamic State (IS) militant group, also referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), US President Barack Obama will have to use American ground troops, despite his claims to be using air force only, US national security experts say, the Washington Times reported Friday.
"Air power alone cannot win wars. [The president's] stated strategy ignores this widely accepted truth. But with troops on the ground, in very small numbers, we can team with Kurds and Shia to support those ground forces in rapidly defeating ISIS," an Army officer in the Pentagon said as quoted by the Washington Times.
Another expert argued that relying only on Iraqi security forces on the ground would be a mistake, as IS is an army and they have developed proper tactics to defeat themselves.
"We have not learned a thing in 80 years. [The Islamic State] is an army. The air power is not going to get the job done. Until you put troops in and kill these guys, they're going to continue. They adjust to tactics. They meld into [the] civilian population," the Washington times quoted another expert, a former CIA analyst and counter-terrorism official at the State Department Larry Johnson.
On Wednesday, Barack Obama revealed a strategy to defeat the IS militant group. Obama said that Washington will be extending its airstrikes from Iraq to Syria, as well as providing support, equipment and training to Kurdish and Iraqi forces army and Syria's moderate opposition in order to respond to terrorists' threat.
However, he refused to characterize the campaign as a "war" and assured that US troops will not be back to Iraq territory. Obama said the new operation was similar to the ones conducted by the US in Yemen and Somalia, which are largely conducted using drone missile strikes.
Experts say that in order to defeat the terrorist army, such as the IS, air strikes and drone strikes will not be sufficient.
"I would be more confident that it would work if there were American advisers and special forces embedded in these formations to help them call in airstrikes and to stiffen them," Retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor said as quoted by the Washington Times.
American senators agree with this point of view and warn that American soldiers will soon enter Iraq.
"There's no way around it. American boots will be standing on sand. Americans will be shot at, and they will be shooting back. There's simply no other way to do this," Howard P. McKeon, California Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services said to the Washington Times.
IS has been fighting alongside the other rebel groups against the government forces in the Syrian civil war, before launching an offensive in Iraq in June 2014.
Later in June, the group announced the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories that had fallen under its control, changed its name to the Islamic State and claimed religious authority over all Muslims globally.
According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, over 30,000 militants are believed to be currently fighting for the IS.
