Story highlights Clinton has long been more hawkish on Syria than President Barack Obama or other Democrats

Clinton's position is more supportive than that of Bernie Sanders

Charleston, South Carolina (CNN) Hillary Clinton on Friday cautiously supported President Barack Obama's decision to authorize the use of special forces in Syria.

Clinton "sees merit in the targeted use of special operations personnel to support our partners in the fight against ISIS, including in Syria," according to a statement released by her campaign spokesman, Nick Merrill.

"Of course she opposes the U.S. getting into a ground war in the Middle East," Merrill said. "And she strongly supports ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, address the suffering, and bring all of Syria's communities together to confront ISIS."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest announced Friday that the U.S. would be deploying less than 50 Special Operations forces to the war-torn country, and they will be sent to Kurdish-controlled territory in northern Syria. The American troops will help local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting ISIS, also known as ISIL, with logistics and are planning to bolster their efforts.

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