U.S. Troops Headed to Syria

President Obama has authorized the deployment of U.S. troops to Syria to help in the fight against ISIS. 

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that fewer than 50 U.S. Special Operations Forces will be deployed to Kurdish-controlled territory in Northern Syria. 

The deployment marks the first time U.S. troops will be on the ground in Syria.

The troops will help Syrian rebels in the fight against ISIS. 

The Obama Administration says U.S. forces are not expected to fight on the front lines.

The White House says this is not a step towards war, and the troop’s mission is non-combat. 

President Obama has long resisted U.S. military presence on the ground to combat ISIS, even being quoted in 2013 saying he would not put American boots on the ground in Syria. 

Friday’s announcement marks a drastic change, but the White House says the presence of U.S. troops could turn things around in the war-torn country. 

“The President does suspect that they can have an impact in intensifying our strategy for building the capacity of local forces inside of Syria to taking the fight on the ground to ISIL in their own country… that has been the core element of the military component of our strategy from the beginning… building the capacity of local forces on the ground,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. 

Earnest said the president has made it clear that there is no military solution to the problems plaguing Syria, but a diplomatic approach. 

He said the shift in strategy is to “degrade and completely destroy ISIL and this military component of that strategy is an important part of the President’s priority, which is the safety and security of the American public. ‘