US weighs deploying up to 1,000 ‘reserve’ troops to Kuwait for ISIL fight

Proponents said it would provide US commanders on the ground greater flexibility to quickly respond to unforeseen opportunities and challenges on the battlefield.

WASHINGTON // US president Donald Trump’s administration is weighing a deployment of up to 1,000 American soldiers to Kuwait to serve as a reserve force in the fight against ISIL as US-backed fighters accelerate the offensive in Syria and Iraq.

Proponents of the option said it would provide US commanders on the ground greater flexibility to quickly respond to unforeseen opportunities and challenges on the battlefield.

It would also represent a step away from standard practices under Barack Obama’s administration by leaving the ultimate decision on whether to deploy some of those Kuwait-based reserve forces in Syria or Iraq to local commanders.

“This is about providing options,” said one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officials said the deployment would differ from the existing US troop presence in Kuwait.

It was unclear whether the proposal had the support of US defence secretary Jim Mattis, who could opt to use other tools to give commanders more agility.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis declined to comment on options being weighed by the Trump administration.

Obama’s administration was often accused of micromanaging even the smallest tactical details about the fight against ISIL, weighing in on the use of helicopters or movement of small numbers of US forces.

It also set limits on US deployments that would be adjusted incrementally, a strategy meant to avoid mission creep by the military and prevent military moves that might seem good on the battlefield but which could have inadvertent diplomatic or political consequences. Such limits are now under scrutiny.

The decision on whether to create a more rapidly deployable Kuwait-based force is part of the continuing review of the United States’ strategy to defeat ISIL, where around 6,000 US troops are deployed, largely in advisory roles, the officials said.

Mr Trump has made defeating ISIL one of the key goals of his presidency.

US officials have acknowledged the review may lead to an increase in American troops in Syria, where US-backed Arab and Kurdish forces are isolating the city of Raqqa — ISIL’s de facto capital — ahead of an assault.

But they have so far played down expectations of a major escalation or dramatic shift in a strategy that has focused on training and advising local ground forces, pointing to successes so far in Syria and the steady advance of Iraqi forces in the campaign to retake the city of Mosul.

Mr Trump’s push against ISIL in Syria could soon present him with an unenviable decision on whether to risk alienating Nato ally Turkey by relying on the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, which, in addition to Arabs, includes Kurdish YPG fighters. Ankara views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the Kurdish PKK militant group.

In a sign of advancing US preparations for Raqqa, an American official said on Wednesday that a small group of Marines have entered Syria.

The Washington Post said the Marines were from an amphibious task force and were establishing an artillery outpost to support the Raqqa offensive.

The Marines "are ready to conduct their mission" to support the offensive on Raqqa, the official told AFP, confirming the Post.

The official said troops from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit had deployed a battery of 155mm Howitzers to an outpost in Syria.

* Reuters