Friday, November 7, 2014

Obama agrees to send 1500 additional troops to Iraq


The clock is turning a full circle for US President Barack Obama. When he took over as President of the USA, the US troops in Iraq were counting the days when they would return to the comfort of their homes as assured by Barack Obama. He had promised to evacuate Iraq by end 2011 and he did just that.
But, the present global scenario is forcing his hand because of the growing threats of the ISIS and he has agreed to send an additional 1500 troops to Iraq. This deployment would amount to doubling the current deployment. The Pentagon has decided to brand this deployment as Operation Inherent Resolve and the new troops would extend support to the roughly 1,600 US personnel already in Iraq.
The White House has indicated that the new forces would not be in combat roles and has asked Congress for $5.6bn (£3.5bn) to fund the mission against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The request includes $1.6bn for an "Iraq Train and Equip Fund".
The US has reiterated that its troops in northern Iraq do not have any fighting role and their main purpose is to help train national and Kurdish forces to battle the Islamic State jihadists.
The White House has clarified that as a part of the strategy for strengthening partners on the ground, the President has authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 additional US military personnel in a non-combat role – they would be involved to train, advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish forces.
The plan is that the new troops would operate at military facilities beyond Baghdad and Irbil, where they have hitherto been based and the military would set up several training sites across Iraq to instruct 12 Iraqi brigades.

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