Faltering Campaign Against ISIL May Be Boosted
The U.S. may place more “boots on the ground’, included much-needed joint tactical air controllers.
Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the new chairman of the U.S .Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi in Baghdad on October 20 to discuss strategy in the campaign against ISIL. (Photo: U.S. DoD)
Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the new chairman of the U.S .Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi in Baghdad on October 20 to discuss strategy in the campaign against ISIL. (Photo: U.S. DoD)

Pentagon leadership has signaled a more interventionist approach in the campaign to defeat ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Fifteen months after the first airstrikes by coalition air forces, Iraqi forces have not recaptured significant territory, and the situation in Syria remains fluid and confused. According to the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) this week, just over 5,000 airstrikes have now been conducted over Iraq, and nearly 2,700 over Syria.