U.S. to Deploy 560 More Troops to Iraq, Defense Secretary Ash Carter Says

[Night Watchman]

Source: NBC News

by Courtney Kube
Jul 11 2016, 9:06 am ET

BAGHDAD — The U.S. will deploy an additional 560 troops to Iraq, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday.

Carter made the announcement during an unannounced visit to Baghdad, saying the troops will deploy for infrastructure and logistical support at Qayara airfield south of Mosul.
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The fight for Mosul was described by one senior defense official ahead of Carter's trip as "the fight for Iraq... the culminating battle."

President Barack Obama has approved the additional deployment announced Monday, which will bring the total number of U.S. servicemen in Iraq to around 4,600.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-deploy-560-more-troops-iraq-defense-secretary-ash-n607086

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creep-y

[BlueNoMatterWho]

1. 4,647 troops now in Iraq.

[JoePhilly]

2. Only 145,000 more to go.

Been predicted here on DU since the day Obama took office.

[BlueNoMatterWho]

3. As long as these are not boots on the ground, I'm ok with it.

[seabeckind]

4. How many private security contractors?

[BlueNoMatterWho]

9. 2,400

For a total of 7,000

[november3rd]

5. 4,600 Troops

... and how many thousands of contractors?

[fasttense]

6. For a man who won the nobel peace prize he sure likes having lots of wars. n/t

[Javaman]

8. war is peace. nt

[Kennah]

7. A trilogy always loses more money than a sequel n/t

[Eugene]

10. Obama must make new budget request for Iraq troops: Thornberry

Source: Reuters

Politics | Mon Jul 11, 2016 11:54am EDT

Obama must make new budget request for Iraq troops: Thornberry

The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday that President Barack Obama must ask Congress for additional funds to pay the deployment of more troops to Iraq, as Congress and the White House debate defense spending amid mandatory budget cuts.

"Added to the President's Afghanistan announcement last week, the United States will now be deploying thousands more troops than we have budgeted for in the President's budget request," Representative Mac Thornberry said in a statement.

"Those deployments can only be fully supported through a supplemental budget request," Thornberry said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on Monday that Washington would send 560 additional troops to assist Iraqi forces in an expected push on the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. Obama said on July 6 he would keeping 8,400 troops in Afghanistan through the end of his presidency in January.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-congress-idUSKCN0ZR1Y2