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U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan wants to increase the number of special forces in the Middle East
WARREN
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, back from a weeklong visit to the Middle East, said the United States needs to increase the number of special-operations forces there to better train Iraqis to police themselves.
Though Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, expressed concern Monday about the long rotations American soldiers have in the Middle East, he opposes adding troops. But he said, “We need more special ops on the ground.”
Ryan, a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, was among six congressmen to travel together to the Middle East. The group left March 28 for the Middle East and returned Sunday. The group visited Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq.
The group met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; UAE defense officials; American service members aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, an aircraft carrier deployed in the Persian Gulf; and top U.S. and Iraqi military officials including Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, commander of the coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Ryan said he considers Iran to be a “threat” as “they fund terrorism,” but upon his return from the Middle East, he said: “I am convinced the Iran deal is the right move.”
The deal made last year by President Barack Obama permits inspections of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions against the country.
“The threat is real, but having them with nuclear weapons would be an absolute disaster,” Ryan said of Iran.
The congressman didn’t rule out Iran’s lying about nuclear weapons, but “if that happens, we gave them a chance. We need to give [the deal] a shot and make sure Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons.”
Obama said last week: “Iran so far has followed the letter of the agreement, but the spirit of the agreement involves Iran also sending signals to the world community and businesses that it is not going to be engaging in a range of provocative actions that are going to scare businesses off.”
Ryan also said ISIS is “a global threat to all civilized nations,” and the group is “the main issue facing our country from a security standpoint.”
The threat, Ryan said, is why he wanted to go to the Middle East to see what is being done to destroy ISIS.
“We’re making progress [to eliminate ISIS], but it’s a very complicated situation,” he said.
Ryan said he wants a multinational strategy to destroy and defund ISIS’s network with the U.S. leading the way.