As Donald Trump continues to say he doesn’t want a war in that region….
His national security assistant, John Bolton, seems to be moving more chess pieces of the US Military into the region as a warning to Iran…
Congress is worried and has asked questions about a possible return to America involvement in a Middle East combat action…
The Defense Dept. has recently issued a order that it’s members should not talk to media without senior staff approval…..
The number of troops mentioned to be sent into that region is at 1,500, which is nothing really….
While the US Military had announced it would stop giving Middle East troop levels?
The Washington Post is reporting about 60,000 to 80,000 military personnel are in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and the Persian Gulf states….THAT number is all inclusive and MUCH higher than previous estimates ….
The U.S. military is presenting options to President Trump that would enhance the protection of American forces in the Middle East in response to rising tensions with Iran, and potentially involve sending more troops to the region, acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday.
Shanahan’s comments came as U.S. military leaders were expected to propose during a meeting Thursday to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East for security reinforcement, according to U.S. officials.
“What we’re looking at is: Are there things that we can do to enhance force protection in the Middle East?” Shanahan said at the Pentagon. He said those measures “may involve sending additional troops.”
The proposal from U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, comes as the military seeks to address what officials have described as a spike in threats against U.S. forces, detected by U.S. intelligence streams, from Iran and its proxy groups. The military has already taken steps in recent weeks to boost its presence in the Middle East, the latest sign of mounting tensions between the Trump administration and Tehran.
The meeting — which Shanahan said would involve updating the president on the security situation in Iran — won’t necessarily end in a decision.
Before the meeting, Trump said he didn’t think it would be necessary to send more troops to the region. “But if we need it, we’ll be there in whatever numbers we need,” he said at the White House.
Shanahan dismissed reports that the United States was preparing to send as many as 5,000 or 10,000 more forces to the region. “There is no 10,000 and there is no 5,000,” Shanahan said….
Right…1500 is really nothing and would deter nobody.
So???
Why send them ?