Trump's not-so-secret anti-IS plan: torture and more brute force

US artillery could soon land in Syria to combat Islamic State militants, officials said on Friday, as the White House drafts a presidential directive to devise a tougher approach to tackle the IS threat.

Newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump, who has mentioned a ‘secret’ plan to defeat IS several times during his presidential campaign, will demand new tactics be delivered to him within 30 days, officials said according to the New York Times.

Trump’s somewhat fiery election campaign revolved around protecting US borders, and the business-tycoon has pledged to bolster the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps after taking office.

On Wednesday, Trump defended CIA torture techniques amid reports that he intends to reinstate the use of CIA secret prisons, also known as “black sites”.

In an interview with ABC News, Trump said he believes torture works and that "we have to fight fire with fire."

The Republican president went on to say that the Islamic State group "chop off the citizens' or anybody's heads in the Middle East, because they're Christian or Muslim or anything else."

“We have that and we're not allowed to do anything. We're not playing on an even field," he added.

Trump said he will confer with Defence Secretary James Mattis and CIA director Mike Pompeo to determine if they want to use torture techniques and what can be done legally.

The AP obtained the draft order from a US official, who said it had been distributed by the White House for consultations before Trump signs it.

The official wasn't authorised to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.

The order would also reverse America's commitment to closing the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and instruct the Pentagon to send newly captured "enemy combatants" to the site.

However, the White House sought to distance itself from the draft order on Wednesday afternoon, amid growing opposition to its contents by lawmakers and senior US figures.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the draft "is not a White House document," adding that he has "no idea where it came from."