Risk vs Reward: Deploying Airstrike Spotters to Fight ISIS

Deploying specialized troops to call in airstrikes on Islamic State targets with greater precision would require sending dozens to hundreds more personnel to Iraq and the likelihood that some would be wounded or killed, two senior military officials say.

Moreover, they would not provide a clear-cut advantage in collecting intelligence on targets over drones, say the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the thinking of top commanders. 

The teams, known as Tactical Air Control Parties, call in airstrikes and strafing runs. They require vehicles, communication equipment and support personnel to accompany them. The additional personnel would likely include medical-evacuation crews and a quick-reaction force to rescue spotters pinned down by the enemy.

Casualties would be guaranteed if these forces deployed, said one of the two officials. The new troops would have to move on the battlefield and expose themselves to IEDs (improvised explosive devices). "It's back to the future in Iraq."

However, a greater U.S. presence, including air controllers, is essential to beating ISIL, said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution. American advisers closer to the front lines and special operations forces to conduct raids against ISIL fighters should also be considered. He urged a commitment similar to that in Afghanistan, where there are about 10,000 U.S. troops.

The rewards outweigh the risks, he said.

"It's worth it if we want to win," O'Hanlon said. "We should also send in forward-deployed advisers and, if you ask me, special forces too, to help in raids. I think an Iraq presence not unlike our current Afghanistan one is the best option."

A Navy aircraft returns after a bombing raid against 
Islamic State targets.(Photo: John Philip Wagner Jr., AP)

Calls have been increased for a more robust military response from the Pentagon as the strategy to defeat militants from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has faltered. Late last month, the Iraqi provincial capital of Ramadi fell to ISIL, and the militants also captured the historic city of Palmyra in Syria. There are about 3,000 U.S. troops in the region now, including teams to train, advise and assist Iraqi troops.

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