US needs more information on Islamic State, Dempsey says

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

The Associated Press

Published: August 26, 2014

KABUL, Afghanistan — The top U.S. military officer said Tuesday that the U.S. has some insights into the activities of Islamic State militants within Syria, and certainly wants to have more, but he declined to comment on the Obama administration's move to conduct surveillance flights over Syria.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters here that the U.S. wants more clarity on the militants in Syria.

"Clearly the picture we have of ISIS on the Iraqi side is a more refined picture," said Dempsey, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State group. "The existence and activities of ISIS on the Syrian side, we have ... some insights into that but we certainly want to have more insights into that as we craft a way forward."

U.S. officials say the military has begun surveillance flights over Syria, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against the Islamic State militants who operate from safe havens there and have stormed across the border and taken control of swaths of western and northern Iraq.

Asked about the surveillance flights, Dempsey declined to comment, saying, "That was reported as a leak and I don't want to confirm or deny any of that."

Dempsey, who is in Kabul for the U.S. military's change of command ceremony, has said he would recommend the military move against the Islamic State militants if there is a threat to the homeland. He didn't rule out strikes for any other critical reasons, but listed the homeland threat as one key trigger.

Dempsey also said the U.S. has been meeting with allies in the region to help develop a better understanding of the Islamic State group's threat. He said he believes those talks are now beginning to "set the conditions for some kind of coalition to form."

He said they are "trying to better understand the threat that ISIS poses, not just in Iraq and Syria but regionally." Dempsey has said he believes key allies in the region - including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - will join the U.S. in quashing the Islamic State group.