Top Dem: Special forces deployed against ISIS ‘not enough’

A key Democrat says President Obama’s deployment of special forces to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) won’t be enough and warns time is running out to defeat the group.

“The addition of another small number of special operators is probably not enough to maintain that kind of tempo to change the dynamic on the ground very much,” Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the top Dem on the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”

{mosads}“The administration is trying to affect the battlefield stalemate. I’m not sure this is going to be enough to do it,” he continued. “They are plainly considering, but reluctant to go further.

“I think, ultimately, it probably will be necessary to maintain some kind of a safe zone or buffer zone to really affect that holding that ISIS has from which they can plan, plot, derive resources and ultimately attack us here in the homeland,” said Schiff.

His remarks come a day after Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the Pentagon is deploying a new special operations force against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

“These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture ISIL leaders,” Carter told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, using an alternative acronym for the extremist group.

Schiff expressed skepticism with the Pentagon’s strategy Wednesday.

“Frankly, I think we’re going to ultimately see that more is going to have to be done,” he said. “You need a lot of special operators to maintain a certain tempo, to be able to not only capture or kill the targets, but also exploit intelligence and then use that exploited intelligence to do another raid.

“The question is – is this going to be enough to move the needle?” he continued. “It will move it somewhat, but time is not on our side here. We can’t allow this plague to maintain this large of a presence in Iraq and Syria.”

Schiff said that having a base of operations would allow ISIS to evade U.S. spy agencies.

“In the midterm, if ISIS is allowed to maintain this space, they’ll have the time to plot against us,” he said.

“We have the best intelligence in the world, Andrea, but even that is not going to be enough,” he added. “You can’t count on intelligence alone to detect each and every plot… There are risks from escalation. There are risks from not escalating to deprive ISIS of that battle space.”

The Pentagon plans to send roughly 200 special operators to carry out missions both in Iraq and Syria.

President Obama has long resisted ground troops against ISIS but is escalating military maneuvers against the group following last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

The use of special forces has some Democrats worried about mission creep, but Obama says the deployment doesn’t break his vow against boots on the ground.