US weighs more Iraq training sites but no strategy overhaul

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — US President Barack Obama is weighing expanding the number of training sites for Iraqi forces as a way to bolster the battle against the Daesh terror group, the top US military officer said on Tuesday, a move that could mean deploying more US forces.

But General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told a small group of reporters that Obama's requests for options in Iraq left intact a US military strategy that has so far kept US ground troops off the front lines.

"We've made some recommendations on potential enhancements to the training and equip mission," Dempsey said, citing options including new training sites.

The US military was now working on Obama's follow-up questions about how such a programme would work, including what strain it might put on Pentagon resources and troops already devoted to missions elsewhere, he said.

Western strategy in Iraq has come under fire again in recent weeks after Daesh militants captured the city of Ramadi despite coalition air strikes designed to halt their advance and reverse their gains. Witnesses said Iraqi government forces abandoned their arms and fled.

Obama said on Monday the United States did not yet have a "complete strategy" for training Iraqi security forces to reconquer territory seized by Daesh militants.

Dempsey noted, however, that Obama had not asked for options that "would imply the strategy is ineffective", suggesting instead the president sought to improve the effort under way.

Dempsey suggested it was premature to discuss additional troop deployments until a plan had been fleshed out, saying the matter was still "to be determined”.

A senior US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a decision by Obama to expand training of Iraqi forces would likely require some "additional trainers and support personnel".

There are about 3,000 US advisers and trainers on the ground in Iraq.