Video: Hagel, Dempsey testify to Senate on anti-ISIL strategy

By Neil McCabe | 3:35 PM | September 21, 2014

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testify on U.S. policy regarding the threat from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIL, before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., Sept. 16, 2014. (DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel Hinton)

In his Sept. 16 testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators that the United States strategy against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is not “Iraq Only,” rather it is “Iraq First.”

American military advisors could go in the field with Iraqi Army soldiers against the ISIL militia men, he said.

“Our military advisors will help the Iraqis conduct campaign planning, arrange for enabler and logistics support and coordinate coalition activities,” the general said. “If we reach the point where I believe our advisors should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I’ll recommend that to the president.”

Neil W. McCabe is the editor of HE's "Guns & Patriots" e-letter and was a senior reporter at the Human Events newspaper. McCabe deployed with the Army Reserve to Iraq for 15 months as a combat historian. For many years, he was a reporter and photographer for "The Pilot," Boston's Catholic paper. He was also the editor of the free community papers "The Somerville (Mass.) News and "The Alewife (North Cambridge, Mass.)." Email him: [email protected] Follow him on Twitter: @neilwmccabe.