Double-Up

From the Stars and Stripes:
"Obama doubles extra troop contingent in Iraq"

President Barack Obama has nearly doubled the number of additional U.S. troops deployed to Iraq in recent weeks to deal with the threat posed by Islamic militants. That raises the total U.S. troop presence in Iraq to approximately 750, according to Pentagon figures. On Sunday and Monday, the U.S. military sent approximately 200 personnel to reinforce security at the U.S. Embassy, its support facilities, and Baghdad International Airport. These additional troops arrived from locations in and around the Middle East. The augmented force includes helicopters and drones, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. Kirby said the aircraft will bolster airfield and travel route security. “This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat. This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed,” Obama said in a letter to lawmakers Monday informing them of the new deployment. Another 100 troops which were prepositioned in neighboring countries, will also go into Baghdad to provide security and logistics support, Kirby said. The Pentagon had previously announced that those personnel had been placed near Iraq as a contingency force. These additional 300 servicemembers being deployed are separate from the 140 troops that Obama sent to Iraq last week to establish a joint operations centers and conduct an assessment of how the U.S. can provide additional support to Iraq's security forces as they confront insurgents that have overrun much of the country. They also augment the 170 or so troops that were deployed to Baghdad in mid June to boost security at U.S. diplomatic facilities. During the past two weeks, the U.S. has been conducting 30 to 35 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights over Iraq each day using manned and unmanned aircraft. Last week, Kirby said that some of those planes had been armed to provide force protection to U.S. personnel on the ground and in preparation for potential airstrikes that Obama is considering. Previous ISR flights had been conducted from neighboring countries and possibly U.S. Navy ships stationed in the Persian Gulf. With this new deployment, the U.S. military has once again stationed airpower inside Iraq.

^ It seems Obama isn't wasting time. He should have just told us the truth (ie the real number of troops he wanted to send) in the first place. That way it wouldn't look like it does now. He clearly made a mistake back in 2011 and is now rushing to fix that mistake. ^

http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/obama-doubles-extra-troop-contingent-in-iraq-1.291369