Gen. Dunford wants 'decisive military action' against ISIS in Libya

President Barack Obama's top
military adviser has begun to talk openly about stepped-
up U.S. military action against ISIS in Libya as the
terror group expands its operations in the North African
country.
The U.S. wants to "take decisive military action" to
"check" ISIS in Libya, while still supporting the political
process to form a functioning government, Gen. Joseph
Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told
reporters while traveling in Europe.
U.S. military reconnaissance flights over Libya and
covert intelligence-gathering missions are now focusing
sharply on tracking and locating ISIS's growing
presence in that country, according to a senior defense
official.
Dunford hopes to develop recommendations in the next
several weeks that would offer options for U.S. military
action in conjunction with allies such as France, Italy
and Britain, the official said.
At the same time, Dunford is working on
recommendations for additional U.S. and coalition
troops to help the Iraqis retake the city of Mosul in the
coming weeks and months.
READ: United Nations warns of ISIS expansion in Libya.
Dunford's spokesman confirmed the details of his
remarks.
The chairman did not specify any U.S. military options.
But other defense officials have made clear that they
would involve targeting ISIS forces inside Libya, as well
as possibly training Libyan forces outside the country
to go back in and fight the group.
Concern has grown in recent weeks as the latest
intelligence assessments show the number of ISIS
operatives inside Libya could now number in the low
thousands. The U.S. also believes some senior ISIS
leaders have gone there.
ISIS fighters are going to Libya when they cannot get
into Syria and Iraq, but some are also leaving those
areas in the face of ongoing airstrikes and fighting
against them in place like Raqqa, ISIS' self-declared
capital in Syria. The U.S. also is concerned that ISIS
will make a move against Libyan oil installations in
order to restore cash flow it has lost in U.S. bombings.
READ: Hillary Clinton's other Libya problem
In November, the first U.S. airstrike against ISIS in
Libya killed Abu Nabil, a senior operative. Now,
however, the U.S. is privately pressing allies to also
take more action against ISIS in Libya.
By getting better intelligence on where ISIS is located in
Libya and acting against the group, the U.S. hopes to
put a "firewall" around its presence inside the country
so it cannot expand further into Africa or move toward
southern Europe, the defense official said.
Dunford's remarks came as another top U.S. military
leader weighed in on ISIS in Libya.
"There is concern about Libya," said Gen. Joe Votel,
head of U.S. Special Operations Command. "It can't all
be about Iraq and Syria."