Dempsey Unveils 'Lily Pad' Strategy for ISIS Campaign

[frigidmagi]

military

The expanded footprint for U.S. troops in Anbar province was part of a strategy to set up a series of "lily pad" operations centers to enable the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to push back ISIS and eventually retake Mosul, according to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.

"Our campaign is built on establishing these 'lily pads' that allow us to encourage the Iraqi security forces forward," Dempsey said Thursday.

"As they go forward, they may exceed the reach of the particular lily pad. We're looking all the time to see if additional sites might be necessary," Dempsey said in Naples, Italy, on a trip that also took him to Israel.

Dempsey spoke after the White House and the Pentagon announced Wednesday that 450 more U.S. troops would be going to Iraq and would be deployed at Iraq's Taqaddum military base in eastern Anbar, which sits between the ISIS strongholds of Ramadi and Fallujah.

As envisioned by Dempsey, Taqaddum would be the first of the "lily pads." The White House stressed the training aspect of the Taqaddum deployment but Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said the main purpose was two-fold – advising Iraq's 8th Army division and serving as a recruiting magnet to bring Sunni tribal fighters into the campaign alongside the ISF.

Dempsey said the Taqaddum deployment was "an adjustment that is significant, in that it gives us access to another Iraqi division and extends their reach into al Anbar province and gives us access to more tribes."

Dempsey also warned against expecting quick results.

"This campaign is building partners who are taking responsibility for their own security enabled by us -- not us driving the Iraqi government at a pace they can't sustain," Dempsey said.

He did not address the question of whether more U.S. troops would be needed to implement the strategy. In a conference call Wednesday, White House and Pentagon officials left open the possibility that more troops might be needed.

When the additional 450 troops arrive, the U.S. will have 3,550 in Iraq, said Elissa Slotkin, the assistant Defense secretary for international security affairs.

"So we think we have the right numbers," but "we will always relook at those numbers and make our best recommendations when we have them, if it is to increase," Slotkin said.

[LadyTevar]

This really doesn't explain "lily-pad" to me. Are they trying for what the Marines and Navy did in WWII PacFront? Island Hopping to get an advantage?

[Josh]

If I'm reading it correct, essentially secure FOBs for Iraqi forces to stage out of so if they go out and get smacked up, they can fall back to the safe place and tool up for the next round.

[Lys]

So we're back in the sandbox. At least this time it's not necessary to occupy anything, just conduct combat operations against the Islamic State to take terrain and let the Iraqis be the ones to hold it. In that capacity a company of US troops is worth at least a battalion of any of the local's, so it might be possible to make a difference with a fairly small commitment.

[General Havoc]

Not a bad idea overall. Let's see what comes of it.

[frigidmagi]

This really doesn't explain "lily-pad" to me. Are they trying for what the Marines and Navy did in WWII PacFront? Island Hopping to get an advantage?

The Lily pad strategy works like this. Imagine Iraq as a pond. The American bases are lily pads. The US and Iraqi troops are frogs on this pads. From those lily pads they can leap into other parts of the pond that are experiencing trouble and fall back on the pads if they get chewed up.

[Josh]

Basically it's Vietnamization all over again, with the big advantage this time of the opposition not being supported by another great power.

[Lys]

Also the advantage that the Vietnamization process is completed, the Iraqis already have an army that's already holding and defending their territory. Granted that it's a really shitty army, but sometimes all you need is boots on the ground. This means that US forces can concentrate on offensive operations against the enemy.

[frigidmagi]

Also the advantage that the Vietnamization process is completed, the Iraqis already have an army that's already holding and defending their territory.

That's slightly over stating the case isn't it? The Iraqi Army seems really only capable of holding Shitte territory, which the Islamic State lacks the ability to take anyways.

[Lys]

The Iraqi Army was holding the Sunni territory until Daesh started pouring over the border in force, so i think their main problem is dealing with organized opposition. Conveniently, destroying organized military forces engaging in conventional warfare is what the United States does best, so that's what we should do. The Iraqis may wind up having to deal with some kind of insurgency after the Islamic State is pushed back, but that would still be an improvement over the present state of of affairs.