Obama plans to use U.S. special forces in fight against IS

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would consider using U.S. special forces troops to kill key leaders of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and rescue hostages. He laid out a plan to conduct limited ground operations through the use of the U.S. special forces troops, asking Congress to authorize the use of military force in the battle against the IS.

"The authorization I propose would provide the flexibility to conduct ground combat operations in other, more limited circumstances, such as rescue operations involving U.S. or coalition personnel or the use of special operations forces to take military action against (IS) leadership," he said at the White House. "If we had actionable intelligence about a gathering of ISIL (Islamic State) leaders, and our partners didn’t have the capacity to get them, I would be prepared to order our special forces to take action."

Apparently conscious about his promise not to send ground troops to Iraq, Obama stressed the ongoing fight against the IS will be completed within three years.

Washington insiders and outsiders expect that the Obama administration will start studying the timing for the proposed deployment special forces such as the Delta Force and the Navy SEAL in late February or early March after winning Congressional authorization.