Overnight Defense: Pentagon plans for ISIS-free Syrian ‘safe zones’

by Kristina Wong - 07/27/15 6:57 PM ET

THE TOPLINE: Potential U.S. and Turkish plans to develop areas in Syria free of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are firming, according to defense officials.

The move would portend a new phase in the war against the terrorist group, and could see deepening U.S. involvement in Syria, in creating and possibly providing air protection for those zones.

The plans would entail American aircraft, Syrian rebels and Turkish forces working together to sweep ISIS from a 60-mile long strip of northern Syria along the Turkish border, according to The New York Times.

{mosads}The area would then be controlled by moderate Syrian rebels and act as a “safe zone” for Syrians displaced by ISIS and regime forces.

Both Democratic and Republican senators applauded the news.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate’s second highest ranking Democrat, called it “encouraging news,” noting that more than 200,000 Syrians have been killed in the country’s three-year civil war, many of them children, and that more than 12 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.

“The announcement of a provisional safe zone along Syria’s border with Turkey is encouraging news — the United States must continue to work with our allies in the region to help the civilian victims whose lives and homes are being destroyed by this conflict,” Durbin said.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he hoped that the zone “with additional measures, could become a protected zone for internally displaced Syrians and the approximately 1.8 million Syrian refuges who have fled into Turkey.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called Turkey’s increased military assistance a “step in the right direction.”

“The establishment of a humanitarian zone is consistent with what I have been advocating for in Syria for over three years,” he said.

Pentagon officials said the U.S. and Turkish officials are still working out the details of the agreement, which would also allow coalition planes to use Turkish airbases for manned operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said the plans would be finalized in weeks and subject to approval by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

SEC DEF TO TESTIFY ON IRAN DEAL: Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other top Pentagon officials will testify on the Iran deal this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced Monday.

The hearing will focus on the impacts of the nuclear Iran deal on U.S. interests and the military balance in the Middle East.

Critics of the deal say it would unfreeze $150 billion in assets that Iran could use to support terrorism throughout the region, and continue to foment unrest in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

Supporters of the deal say the U.S. military would still keep an eye on Iranian activities in the region, regardless of the deal, and would act as a deterrent against violating the agreement.

They also say the Pentagon would preserve military options against Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

Senators at the hearing will likely press the witnesses on what military options the U.S. will retain against Iran. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will also testify.

ISIS WAR HAS COST MORE THAN $3 BILLION: The United States has spent more than $3 billion on the military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), reports The Hill’s Rebecca Shabad.

The U.S. has spent $3.21 billion as of July 15, spokesman Bill Urban said. Since the campaign against ISIS began on Aug. 6, military operations have cost an average of $9.4 million per day.”

A bulk of the money, 53 percent, has been spent on airstrikes, according to the Defense Department. Just under a quarter of the money has been spent on weapons, with the rest going toward missions involving military carriers and other operations.

The average daily cost of the ISIS campaign has risen since September, ticking up to $9.9 million a day after costing around $5.6 million per day in the first few weeks.

The United States began launching airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq last August after the group seized large swaths of territory and began carrying out brutal executions of Americans and other captives.

The military expanded the strikes to Syria in September.

The cost of the campaign against ISIS crossed the $1 billion mark in December and the $2 billion mark in April.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

— Obama aide outlines plan to close Gitmo

— NSA promises to delete old records

— Cuba, Saudi Arabia removed from blacklist on human trafficking

— Senate Dems ‘positive‘ on Iran deal

— White House eyes $465M for African counterterror efforts

Please send tips and comments to Kristina Wong, kwong@digital-staging.thehill.com.