Small Wars Journal

New U.S. Troop Boost in Mideast ‘Possible,’ Says Top DoD Official

Thu, 12/05/2019 - 4:44pm

New U.S. Troop Boost in Mideast ‘Possible,’ Says Top DoD Official by Joe Gould – Defense News

The Trump administration could deploy more troops to the Middle East to counter Iran, a top Pentagon official said Thursday after a report the Pentagon is weighing plans to send as many as 14,000 troops to the region.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood initially characterized that Wall Street Journal report as “erroneous,” saying no decision to deploy 14,000 had been made.

But when Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., pressed him about whether new deployments were under consideration, as the newspaper reported, Rood left open the possibility of “dynamic adjustments to our posture” to deter Iran, under Defense Secretary Mark Esper…

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