By Pamela Engel – Business Insider

The Defense Department is considering recommending the US send
ground troops into Syria to fight the terrorist group ISIS,
according to a source who spoke to CNN. “It’s possible that you may see conventional forces hit the
ground in Syria for some period of time,” a defense official

told CNN. There are currently hundreds US troops in Syria to offer training
and assistance to US-backed local forces there. But conventional
forces would likely be on the ground in larger numbers, according
to CNN. CNN
reported last month that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was
taking control of a Pentagon review to determine which options
the Defense Department would present to President Donald Trump on
the fight against ISIS. The defense official CNN cites in Wednesday’s report stressed
that any decision on Syria would ultimately be up to Trump. Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and
an expert on Syria, said he’s “not surprised” to see that the US
is considering ground troops in Syria to fight ISIS. Fits Trump desire for a rapid victory + withdrawal,” he tweeted.