Hagel: we are at war with Islamic State as we are with al-Qaeda

The US is “at war with” Islamic State and will send 1,600 troops to Baghdad and Erbil to provide a non-combat support role, United States Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee, Hagel explained that the US would soon start hitting targets in Syria, as well as beefing up its operations in Iraq, while Saudi Arabia would begin providing training bases for Syrian rebel groups.

“This will not be an easy or a brief effort... We are at war with [Islamic State] as we are with al-Qaeda,” Hagel said. 

While Hagel stressed that the war would be a different kind of campaign to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein, he also warned lawmakers that the battle against IS would be long and hard.

US forces will not have a “combat” role in Iraq but will provide support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces that remained the “best counterweight against [Islamic State],” Hagel said, while also stressing that the US was “broadening our air campaign” against Islamic State targets.

"This plan includes targeted actions against [Islamic State] safe havens in Syria - including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure,” he said.  

Hagel’s testimony was interrupted several times by protesters, who stood up to denounce the US aerial policy with shouts of: “You’re just breeding extremism!” The protesters from anti-war group Code Pink were then escorted out by police before Hagel could resume.

The Senate inquiry comes a little more than a week after the US said it was building a global coalition to fight IS and a day after a major Paris conference brought together world leaders to discuss united action against IS.

“American military power alone cannot, will not eradicate threats posed by [Islamic State],” Hagel added.

The Pentagon chief also stressed that the US continued to believe that any action against IS required new leadership in Baghdad.

Newly-appointed Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who began forming a cabinet earlier this month, remains committed to forming an inclusive government capable of fighting IS, Hagel explained.

“The Iraqi people must be united ... against [Islamic State] in order to defeat them. This is ultimately their fight.”

IS now controls around a quarter of land in Syria and since first launching a major offensive in Iraq in June has managed to seize about 40 percent of territory in the divided country. The US began bombing IS positions in Iraq in early August, and seems to have stemmed the IS tide for now.

Earlier this month, however, the US made the controversial decision to extend its bombing campaign into Syria where President Bashar al-Assad is embroiled in a more than three-and-a-half-year bloody uprising against his rule. Haguel used today's address to once again stress that the US would not coordinate with Assad over its plans to traget IS bases in Syria.