U.S. President Barack Obama pauses while speaking in the White House Press Briefing Room in Washington, June 8, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing
Washington Times: Pentagon tells White House: More troops in Iraq, Syria needed to fight ISIS
Hundreds of additional forces including trainers, advisers and commandos are needed in the fight against the Islamic State, Pentagon top brass has conceded, prompting Department of Defense officials to urge the White House to approve further deployments to Iraq and Syria in the coming weeks.
Defense Department officials told the White House that the U.S.-led effort to destroy the Islamic State requires still more manpower in addition to the roughly 3,700 American troops already in Iraq, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
Citing senior White House and Pentagon sources, The Times said the officials determined hundreds more military experts are needed in the region to take on the terror group, with one suggesting that the number of troops increases to 4,500.
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WNU Editor: I will be surprised if President Obama acquiesces to this Pentagon request .... especially since Iraqi forces and militias have been making forward progress against the Islamic State (the conflict in Syria is another story). But this is an election year .... and one thing I learned about Presidential elections .... anything and everything is possible when it comes to foreign policy decisions.