Pentagon sending 615 more US troops to Iraq

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it was deploying 615 additional U.S. forces to Iraq ahead of the fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, bringing the official number authorized past 5,000. 

“In anticipation of the Mosul fight, the United States and the government of Iraq have agreed that additional U.S. and coalition capabilities could help accelerate the campaign at this critical phase,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. 

{mosads}”At the request of myself and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford], and with the support and approval of [Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi], President Obama has authorized approximately 600 additional U.S. troops to further enable Iraqi forces,” he said. 

The current number of U.S. troops officially authorized for Iraq is 4,647. The additional forces would bring that number to 5,262. There are at least hundreds more who are deployed temporarily that aren’t part of that official count. 

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) slammed news of the deployment, calling the move “incrementalism” and “mission creep.” 

“It’s the incrementalism we used to call mission creep, showing that they really have no strategy,” McCain said, adding that there are “a couple thousand more” U.S. troops in Iraq who are not part of the official count. 

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a member of the House Progressive Caucus, slammed Congress for not voting on a new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) for what she called “endless war.” 

“While the Pentagon sends more than 600 brave service members into harm’s way, Congress is sitting on the sidelines,” Lee said.

“If we are asking our service members to face snipers and mortars, Congress should at least have the courage to debate the war that we are sending them to fight.”

The 615 new troops are expected to deploy in coming weeks, according to Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis. 

The troops will be distributed around Iraq, including at the Qayyarah West air base in northern Iraq, and the Al Asad air base in western Iraq. 

Those troops will provide logistics and maintenance support, additional train, advise and assist teams, and expanded intelligence resources, Davis said. 

“These things will help disrupt ISIL’s terrorist network in Iraq and beyond,” he added, using an alternate name for the group.

Davis said “a lot” of the troops would be going to Al Asad, where they would be doing “a lot” of logistics and maintenance to support “a greater pace of operations.” 

Pentagon officials believe the Mosul offensive will begin in October, depending on the approval of the Iraqi government. 

“We think that all the pieces will be in place in October,” Davis said. 

This story was updated at 6:52 p.m.