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The United States military has been 鈥渁ccelerating鈥� its anti-Islamic State campaign for months. Now, it plans to 鈥渇urther accelerate鈥� its operations, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said this week.

鈥婽his pledge comes 鈥媋s the Iraqi military prepares to retake Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, from IS fighters. Secretary Carter will be hoping to replicate听the鈥嬏齭uccess achieved by the joint US-Iraqi force that retook the Iraqi city of Ramadi last month, and to build on this momentum.听

But the announcement also points to doubts that a coherent strategy for tackling IS听will emerge from the perennially mixed messages coming from both sides of the political aisle in Washington. 听

That's because it reinforces the idea that neither the White House nor Republicans have a clear strategy, says听鈥婣nthony Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

鈥淵ou have Republicans committed to taking a much stronger role, without explaining what that will be, and an administration that talks about removing troops and then puts in more forces," Dr. Cordesman says. 鈥�

It all adds to 鈥渢he strange debate we鈥檙e having now.鈥嬧��听

That debate intensified on Capitol Hill this week as Carter traveled to Europe to meet with French and Australian counterparts, among others, involved in the war against IS in the Middle East.

The 鈥渁mong others鈥� notably does not include Arab partners, though Carter has said that they are the key to a successful campaign. Pentagon officials were quick to point out, however, that Carter briefly huddled听Friday听with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.听

Even as allies discussed the way forward against IS, it's clear that the heart of the 鈥渇urther accelerated鈥� version of the anti-IS campaign consists largely of more US troops, for training Iraqi forces and for conducting targeted strikes both from the air and on the ground. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division headquarters and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Campbell, Ky. 鈥� a brigade can include anywhere between 3,500 to 5,000 forces 鈥� will head back to Iraq later this year.听

This contingent also includes 鈥渟pecial operations forces of the sort that we don鈥檛 talk about a lot, but that we鈥檝e introduced in a number of different ways,鈥� Carter told reporters traveling with him to Europe. 听

Already getting settled on the ground, too, is a special operations 鈥渆xpeditionary targeting force,鈥� or ETF, Carter revealed during his flight to Paris听Tuesday. He added that he couldn鈥檛 say much about it, but that it is going to be 鈥渁 very powerful鈥� and 鈥渋ncredibly flexible tool鈥� capable of taking on a "great breadth of missions."

It was, for example, an 鈥淓TF-like raid鈥� conducted by US and Iraqi forces that freed 70 prisoners being held by IS back in October. 鈥淲e got something out of that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were both learning experiences for us, too.鈥�

"I would say the more we use it, the more we鈥檒l learn about additional uses for it,鈥� Carter added.

As the Iraqi military prepares to retake Mosul where IS fighters have booby-trapped streets and houses to make the urban warfare as difficult as possible, there is going to be a need not just for ground forces to seize territory, but for police that can keep security, Carter said, in what is likely to be a messy aftermath.听

Carter added that troop numbers will increase, but that it is unclear by how many.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 give you a number, but I would say it will increase greatly as the momentum of the effort increases," he said.

The idea of 鈥渕omentum鈥� is particularly important to an Obama administration that is endeavoring mightily to draw a 鈥渧ery clear line between no large-scale ground troops, but lots of other military involvement 鈥� on the training front, on the special operations front, on the air power front,鈥� says Emma Ashford, visiting research fellow at the Cato Institute.

Coming off the Iraqi military鈥檚 recent efforts to clear Ramadi, for which US troops had fought and been killed during the Iraqi War, it's 鈥渁 good time for them to be saying these things,鈥� Dr. Ashford says.