WASHINGTON (AP) – The Paris attacks seem likely to compel the White House to consider military escalation against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
But defense analysts foresee only limited new military actions, rather than dramatic moves like launching a ground invasion. A former NATO commander says the 28-nation alliance should join the fight.
The Obama administration has insisted its approach to degrading and ultimately defeating the Islamic State is the right one, and that the terrorist threat does not justify a large-scale U.S. ground offensive in either Syria or Iraq.
But analysts say the Paris attacks may prompt a U.S. re-evaluation and lead to limited moves such as embedding U.S. military advisers closer to the front lines with Iraqi forces and with anti-Islamic State rebels in Syria.