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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U.S. airstrikes in Syria widen

W.J. Hennigan Tribune News Service

WASHINGTON – The White House has expanded its bombing campaign in Syria to help defend a small Pentagon-backed force against other armed insurgent groups or government security forces, U.S. officials said Monday.

The decision by President Barack Obama to broaden the air war potentially increases the danger that the U.S. military could wind up in a confrontation with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, pulling the U.S. more deeply into the country’s civil war.

Until now, the U.S.-led air campaign that began last August has targeted only Islamic State positions. Obama has urged Assad to step down, but has sought to keep the U.S. military out of the civil war.

The policy shift came to light after several dozen U.S.-vetted and -trained fighters at a compound in northern Syria were attacked early Friday by about 50 militants from the Nusra Front, a group linked to al-Qaida.

For the first time, American warplanes soon swept in to help defend the newly trained fighters. The fighters, who had received six weeks of training, were able to call in the air support.

The Pentagon has publicly downplayed the risk Assad’s forces would fire on U.S. aircraft or the coalition-backed fighters, and officials stressed Monday they still consider that unlikely. By bombing Islamic State, the U.S. is taking on one of the biggest threats to Assad’s government.

Officials said the chances of an inadvertent confrontation with Assad’s forces are limited since the U.S.-backed fighters are being inserted into northern Syria, which is largely controlled by Islamic State, not into government-controlled territory.

Pentagon officials indicated additional airstrikes are likely as the American-trained force looks for ways to combat Islamic State. The newly trained fighters have signed contracts committing themselves to focus on fighting Islamic State, not the Assad government, as the top priority.

“We won’t get into the specifics of our rules of engagement, but have said all along that we would take the steps necessary to ensure that these forces could successfully carry out their mission,” said Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The shift drew a mixed response from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Although McCain said he was “pleased” the administration was boosting support for the Pentagon-trained force, he decried “a policy of gradual escalation” that he said “has allowed security conditions to spiral into chaos.”

“Ultimately, I fear that this new incremental step, like previous ones, may only serve to deepen our military involvement in Syria without bringing us closer to achieving our objectives,” he said.

The administration’s $500 million effort to train and arm a so-called moderate opposition force has been plagued with problems

The four countries that are hosting the training, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, disagree with Washington on what the proxy force should do. They want it to focus first on ousting Assad; the White House wants the fighters to target Islamic State.