U.S. to Send 50 Military Personnel to Syria to 'Advise, Train, Assist'

The Obama administration announced Friday that it would be sending under 50 American military advisors to Syria to aid opposition forces in combatting the Islamic State.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that the military personnel would play an advisor role with combat troops in northern Syria, teaching them strategies on how to best combat the Islamic State terror group.

Earnest told reporters that this small deployment of military personnel should not constitute a combat mission.

"This is a dangerous place on the globe and they are at risk, and there's no denying that," the press secretary said, adding "I think if we were envisioning a combat operation, we probably would be contemplating more than 50 troops on the ground."

Earnest added that it will not be the responsibility of the advisors to "leadt the charge up the hill," adding that their main purpose in the Middle East will be to "train, advise and assist mission."

The press secretary went on to say that President Obama "has been quite clear that there is no military solution to the problems that are plaguing Iraq and Syria — it's a diplomatic one."

This recent announcement comes after Russia invited Iran to the negotiation table to talk about a solution for Syria's ongoing civil war, Islamic State strongholds and refugee crisis.

"The ultimate goal that everyone wants to get to [...] is to come up with a framework for a successful political transition in Syria which leads to a government not led by Bashar al-Assad and that is representative of and responsive to the Syrian people," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters last week regarding the invite to Iran to join the peace talk process.