Pentagon: No Iraq mission creep. We just need 'FLEXIBILITY' . . . oh, and yeah, maybe more troops
from the Guardian:
Pentagon says growing US forces in Iraq need 'flexibility' for mission
Spokesman says there is 'no mission creep' to US's increased involvement while Iraqi ambassador renews plea for air strikes
____ A day after the Pentagon announced an additional 300 US troops arrived in Iraq to secure the embassy, its press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, contended that Obama needs "flexibility" in assessing how many army special forces, marines and other uniformed personnel are sufficient for the missions he wants executed.
Unofficially, the Pentagon is indicating that the number of troops in Iraq is likely to continue the incremental expansion that President Barack Obama launched last month after Islamic State forces overran Sunni areas of the country.
"There's no mission creep. The missions haven't changed. Some of the numbers have been added in the security assistance realm," Kirby said Tuesday.
"The commander-in-chief and the military leadership here in the building, I think, expect and should have a certain measure of flexibility here in how we manage the resources available."
That "flexibility", critics say, is taking the form of a slowly deepening military involvement. According to statistics Kirby clarified on Tuesday, 120 of the 300 army special forces "advisers" authorized to plot the defense of Baghdad have yet to arrive. Among their jobs is to tell the Pentagon later this month what the follow-on role of the United States ought to be, in response to what Kirby described as a continued threat to Baghdad.
Already the skies above Iraq are dotted with US aircraft . . .
read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/iraq-us-forces-involvement-mission-obama-isis
related:
President Obama Orders New U.S. Troop Escalation in Iraq - Drones, Helicopters, Security Forces
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025172838
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