General: New US hub in Iraq could be model

NAPLES, Italy -- The Pentagon's top general said Thursday the U.S. military's reach could extend even further into Iraq if the anti-Islamic State campaign gains momentum, and he held out the possibility of eventually recommending to President Barack Obama that U.S. troops take on the riskier role of calling in airstrikes.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the White House's announcement Wednesday that up to 450 more U.S. troops would be sent to Iraq to invigorate its flagging campaign against the Islamic State is a natural extension of U.S. assistance.

He said the support hub the troops will set up will not produce instant results but may serve as a model to be replicated elsewhere in Iraq, possibly requiring even more U.S. troops.

"The campaign is built on establishing these lily pads, if you will, that allow us to continue to encourage the Iraqi security forces (to move) forward, and as they go forward, there may be a point where" additional such U.S. hubs are called for to enable the Iraqis to succeed, he told reporters traveling with him to Naples, where he spoke to American troops and conferred with their commanders.

"Sure, we're looking all the time at whether there might be additional sites necessary. It's another one of the options that we're considering."

He added: "It's very practical, looking at geographic locations, road networks, airfields, places where we can actually establish these hubs."

Dempsey said he has not recommended putting U.S. troops closer to the battlefield to call in airstrikes -- a step critics of the current U.S. approach say is overdue, even though it raises the risk of American casualties.

But he pointedly held out the possibility it may become necessary.

"We continue to plan for and ensure that that option is available should it be necessary to have to ensure Iraqi success," he said, adding, "We may reach that point."

Asked why he has not yet recommended it, Dempsey said he believes it could backfire if not done for the right reasons.

"For discreet, limited offensive operations where Iraq security forces have the momentum, I think there is a possibility we'll do that at some point," he said. "But as I've said, I just don't think we're there yet."

Dempsey said the use of American troops to call in airstrikes could happen in the push to retake Ramadi, a city lost by Iraqi forces who had not received U.S. training, or in a counteroffensive to oust the Islamic State from other key cities such as Mosul or Beiji.

But to use U.S. troops in that role on a regular basis would discourage the Iraqis "from really getting serious about restoring their own security," he said.