Official: Major Iraq air effort needs ground troops

U.S. airstrikes in northern Iraq, which continued Sunday with an attack on a convoy of vehicles operated by Islamic militants, could continue indefinitely to protect refugees and the Kurdish city of Irbil, according to a senior officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation.

However, blunting the momentum of fighters with the group, the Islamic State, the officer said, would require special operators on the ground, a significant escalation that some members of Congress are already warning against.

The humanitarian mission and airstrikes to protect refugees and Irbil are sustainable for weeks or longer, the officer said. Dealing a significant blow to the Islamic State would require U.S. special operators on the ground, because these troops can call in airstrikes in close proximity to ground forces, such as the Kurdish peshmerga forces, while keeping them safe.

Ground forces could then secure the gains and keep Islamic State fighters at bay.

The officer's assessment makes sense, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution.

Stopping the group's infiltrations into Kurd-controlled areas is the relatively easier task, O'Hanlon said. Pushing the Islamic State from cities it controls, such as Mosul, will require working closer with the Iraqi military. Before that can happen, Iraq must form a more inclusive, effective government.

The geography in the region is well suited to U.S. air power. The desert area surrounding the 4,000-foot ridgeline is open territory, and hostile Islamic State force are relatively easy to spot and kill, the officer said. Meantime, the cracks and crevices of the mountain provide adequate cover for the refugees.

The Pentagon is relying on F/A-18 warplanes for the bombing runs from the USS George H.W. Bush because it operates in international waters, the officer said. Land-based attack aircraft require the permission of the host country if they are to be used in combat, and the green light for those operations can be difficult to obtain.

Predator drones are also being used to fire Hellfire missiles at Islamic State targets. Iraq has allowed drones and other surveillance aircraft to be used from bases there.

President Obama ordered airstrikes when it became apparent that Islamic State rebels were advancing on Irbil where there is a U.S. consulate and American personnel. The strikes are intended to protect religious minorities holed up on the mountain and threatened by Islamic State.

Getting food, water and supplies to the refugees by air, on a craggy mountain, has required sophisticated parachute operations by Air Force C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, the officer said.