For the second time since the U.S.-led effort to counter ISIS began , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Gen. Martin Dempsey , said he would not rule out asking the President to send U.S. ground troops into Iraq . `` I 've never been limited in my ability to make a recommendation of any size or sort to the President of the United States , '' Dempsey told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday , adding that he is always re-evaluating the situation in Iraq . Dempsey told the committee that he could envision scenarios in which a U.S. ground contingent would be necessary in Iraq , particularly if the coalition moves to retake Mosul or the western border with Syria . `` I 'm not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by U.S. forces , '' cautioned Dempsey , `` but we 're certainly considering it . '' Rep. Buck McKeon , R-California , the committee 's chairman , expressed concern about President Obama 's consistent refusal to consider sending U.S. ground troops to the region . `` I will not support sending our military into harm 's way with their arms tied behind their backs , '' McKeon said , adding he would block any congressional authorization that specifically barred sending ground forces . And while Dempsey said he would not rule out the need for U.S. ground troops in the future , he added : `` I just do n't foresee a circumstance when it would be in our interest to take this fight on ourselves with a large military contingent . '' Throughout the hearing , Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel described a mission in Iraq and Syria that will likely be long and fraught with setbacks . `` As a coalition , and as a nation , we must prepare for a long and difficult struggle , '' Hagel said . Echoing those sentiments , Dempsey advised Americans to `` take a long view '' of the conflict , even as the U.S. and its allies have gained ground . But members from both parties expressed serious concerns over the administration 's strategy in Iraq and Syria . While McKeon and others are calling for more U.S. involvement in Iraq and Syria , other members are expressing frustrations over the fact that the United States is potentially becoming involved in another protracted foreign war . `` It looks like we 're going down the same road that [ former Defense Secretary ] Donald Rumsfeld told us we had to do , '' said Rep. Walter Jones , a Republican congressman from North Carolina who was visibly irritated . Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii , a veteran of the last Iraq war , expressed similar concerns . `` I 'm wondering how we can be walking down the same path that we 've walked down over the last decade or more and hope for a different outcome , '' she said . Committee members also called on the administration to seek a new Authorization for Use of Military Force , essentially getting Congress ' approval to continue U.S. military actions in the region . President Obama initially said he did not require such authorization , but has since indicated he would work with Congress to secure approval . Asked about it in the hearing , Hagel said he did not yet know what specific authorizations the White House would be requesting , but insisted the President would engage members of Congress on the issue . Throughout the hearing , Hagel and Dempsey reiterated that military action alone will not defeat ISIS , and that a political solution will need to come together in Iraq and Syria . But the secretary of defense stopped short of saying the United States would seek the removal of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad , despite CNN 's reporting on Wednesday that the administration was considering a change in strategy on that front . `` Yes , it is a longer-term part of this to find a stable government and leaders in Syria to be able to bring some stability to that country '' even as the U.S. focuses on ISIS in the immediate term , Hagel said . The Obama administration has insisted that the operation to fight ISIS would rely on building partner capacity on the ground , training and equipping moderate Syrian rebels and supporting the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters . But for some committee members , this assurance brought further concerns about whether the United States could rely on those partner groups to take on ISIS . The U.S. has not begun to vet members of the moderate Syrian opposition , some of whom are more preoccupied with toppling al-Assad than taking on ISIS . And the Iraqi Security Forces , already U.S.-trained once before at great cost , initially fled in large numbers as ISIS advanced into northern Iraq . `` Men and women will not fight if they do not have confidence in their leaders , '' Hagel said of the earlier breakdown . But the secretary tried to assure committee members that the new Iraqi government , under Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi , would make the changes necessary to strengthen those forces , and both officials said the future of the conflict , on the whole , looks bright . Still , Dempsey said the campaign to defeat ISIS will inevitably follow a pattern of `` three steps forward , two steps back . '' `` And at every step forward or back , '' he added , `` we 'll debate about the size of the step . ''
Joint Chiefs chairman speaks to a House committee . Gen. Martin Dempsey says he would not rule out asking for U.S. ground troops in Iraq . The Associated Press contributed to this report. in our interest to take this fight on ourselves '' Committee chairman expresses concern about Obama 's refusal on ground troops .