Gen. Dempsey: ISIS Fighters Are Getting Savvier, More Evasive

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — As the United States enters the third month of a bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria, the nation’s top military leader said that ISIS has adapted its tactics — finding new ways to blend in to with the population — to evade detection.

“They’re becoming more savvy with the use of electronic devices,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. “They don’t fly flags and move around in large convoys. They don’t establish headquarters that are visible or identifiable.”

Though the new techniques make it harder for coalition forces to track and target ISIS fighters, Dempsey told ABC News that the coalition has had success in containing and disrupting ISIS while also building up the Iraqi forces’ offensive abilities.

Moving forward in what he estimates to be a several-year-long campaign, Dempsey explained how the fight against ISIS, also known as ISIL or the Islamic State, inside Iraq and Syria are different.

“The campaign against ISIL, it’s been Iraq first,” he said. “And it’s Iraq first because we have a credible partner in the government of Iraq, and we have a credible partner in the security forces…We don’t have those partners in Syria.”

He explained that airstrikes in Syria are “a disruptive aspect of the campaign” to hold ISIS in check until there is a capable and trusted opposition on the ground in Syria. Until that happens, Dempsey said, there will continue to be “a gap in our capability.”

So, how long will it take? Dempsey estimates that it could take as long as three years before there’s such a force in Syria.

“The capacity is approximately 5,000 [opposition fighters] a year, that we think we need 12,000 to 15,000 to put the kind of pressure we need,” Dempsey said. “That doesn’t mean you have to wait until you have 15,000 before you unleash it.”

Establishing a no-fly zone in Syria is not currently on the table, Dempsey said, but one may be employed as a tactic to counter the Syrian regime at some point in the future.

“Have I been asked to do it? The answer is no,” said Dempsey of establishing a no-fly zone. “Do I anticipate that there could be circumstances in the future where that would be part of the campaign? I can foresee circumstances where that could be part of the campaign. But at this point, it’s not.”

Dempsey stopped short of saying that the United States will need to commit more ground forces in the coming months beyond the 1,600 forces committed to Iraq but added that he “can’t rule that out.”

“I do see a need for additional advisory teams to help the Iraqi security forces prepare to go on the offensive and potentially to accompany them,” Dempsey said. “That doesn’t have to be U.S. forces, though; there are some very capable partners in this coalition.”

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