Fox News reports that “Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey addressed the possibility of U.S. ground forces getting involved in the fight against the Islamic State during blunt testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. He said he would consider recommending that option if the international coalition being formed proves ineffective.”  

“‘My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward,’ Dempsey said. ‘I believe that will prove true, but if it fails to be true and if there are threats to the United States, then I of course would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.'”  

“The comment is a departure from what Obama vowed in his address to the nation a week ago, and from what the president’s top spokesman said just one day before Dempsey’s testimony. And it marks the latest mixed message to emerge from the administration on the fight against ISIS, which for weeks U.S. military advisers have described in more urgent and dire terms than others in the administration.”