United States deployed in Syria about fifty members of special forces, a decision that involves a shift in the policy of President Barack Obama in connection with the operation of international war against Islamic State group (EI) in that country.
In four and a half years in a conflict that has left more than 250,000 dead, it is the first time that Washington sent military official Syrian territory although the role of advisers, not combatants, as Obama had refused until now do and had opted for the use of aerial bombing.
The White House gave the green light to sending "less than 50" elite soldiers north of the country in a bid to strengthen its fight against EI, he said on Friday his spokesman Josh Earnest.
"The core of our military strategy in Syria is strengthening the capacity of local forces to confront the Islamic State on the ground, in your country," he added.
These forces would imitate those operating in Iraq, coordinating local forces offer supplies of arms and give air support.
But in Iraq, the line between combatants and non-combatants has been blurred. In a recent attack he killed a US soldier. This is the first that died in ground operations in Iraq since Washington launched the offensive against the jihadist organization.
Officially the military will therefore be bounded to a role of assistance and advice moderate Syrian rebels, Earnest said during a press conference.
Asked about the possible increase in the number of US military in the future, Earnest did not rule out such a possibility. "I'm not going to predict the future," he said.
"It is undeniable that (the military) will be exposed to real risks," he said, noting that they are "equipped to defend itself."
How long will the land ?, he asked then. "I would not describe it (this mission) as a permanent" he replied, adding that he was unable to give a "date" for the return of troops to the United States.
No changes
Presidential spokesman's statements coincided with the State Department, John Kirby: "There was no policy change".
Kirby admitted, however, that Washington had "changed his mind" about its military involvement in Syria.
Obama's decision is no more than symbolic, but represents a shift from a president who until now has been very skeptical about military intervention and that after the withdrawal from Iraq, does not want to see America in the first line of a conflict in the Middle East.
Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, the United States has always refused to get involved militarily until they created a coalition of 65 countries, which bombards the EI and other jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq.
In late August 2014 during a press conference that caused great commotion, Obama acknowledged he had "no strategy" for Syria.
A year earlier he had aroused the wrath of his allies-France and the Gulf-powers when he resigned at the last moment to attack the regime of Bashar al-Assad, then accused of using chemical weapons against the population.
Obama then repeated like a mantra would not send "US ground troops to Syria."
The shift on Friday was criticized by Republicans: President of the Armed Services Committee of the Senate, John McCain lashed out against "unfortunately limited (...) and insufficient" measure, taken by "a president (who) still have a realistic strategy "in Syria.
Simultaneously with its bombing against the jihadists, the US and Russian diplomats held in Vienna on Friday multilateral consultations with a view to a political solution in Syria war.