U.S. President Barack Obama authorized numerous measures to intensify the anti-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria and continues to weigh additional options.
The U.S. established a new Special Operations Task Force in Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan and dispatched U.S. Special Operations Forces to assist Syrian Kurdish and allied tribal fighters against ISIS in northern Syria.
The U.S. Air Force ordered four surveillance aircraft to deploy to Jordan to help combat the cross-border threat posed by ISIS.
The U.S also ordered additional air assets to Incirlik Airbase in Turkey.
In North Africa, the U.S. conducted high-profile deliveries of military assistance to Egypt, including F-16 fighter jets and parts for M1A1 tanks.
The White House has also considered establishing a 'no-fly zone' over Syria and may be considering embedding advisors with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) at the brigade level.
A more muscular anti-ISIS policy could help the U.S. counter Russian offers of military assistance that threaten U.S. influence in Iraq and the wider Middle East. The push for intensified action in the anti-ISIS campaign also comes in response to widespread concern regarding the resiliency demonstrated by ISIS and the slow pace of ongoing operations.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter detailed the revamped counter-ISIS strategy as a focus on the "three R's - Raqqa, Ramadi, and Raids" in testimony on October 27. The strategy calls for the U.S. to enable offensives by local ground forces against the ISIS-held cities of ar-Raqqa in Syria and Ramadi in Iraq while maintaining a heightened tempo of airstrikes and Special Operations Forces raids throughout both countries. The intensification is noteworthy, but does not constitute a fundamental change in strategy.
The U.S. and its allies are meanwhile preparing to respond to intensified Russian activity within the former Soviet sphere. NATO reportedly plans to increase its troop presence in Poland and the Baltics to counter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will make official visits to all five former Soviet republics in Central Asia from November 1-3 for the first time in U.S. history amidst the ongoing expansion of Russian military influence in the region.
