General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA question, regarding the 275 soldiers being deployed in Iraq
First off, yes, it's not a large number, as troop movements go, and yes, they're there for defensive purposes, and not to join the fight against ISIS.
But what do you think happens if ISIS decides to attack one of these positions? Let's speak truth here, this pack of radicals isn't going to hit the brakes at the sight of an American soldier at the gate.
So what then? Does the president leave the number as it is? Does he send in more soldiers to bolster that number? Does he fire off missiles? Does he pull out like it's Beirut?
Any involvement beyond the purely diplomatic, is too much involvement that carries a real risk of pulling us even deeper back into the quicksand we spent ten years clawing our way out of.
RussBLib
(9,035 posts)Even though Bush spent a billion or two building that embassy, it was a boondoggle then and now it's starting to look like a deathtrap. Do we have another (pseudo-) Benghazi developing?
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)we should be evacuating the embassy now. Baghdad is likely to fall within days based on recent news reports. If so we wait to see what government arises out of the ashes and take it from there. I think an embassy with about 20 people is all we need there.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Just a guess, but the Embassy probably already had 500 or more armed security. I do agree, that the whole compoud is so huge defending it will be difficult if attacked.
WhiteTara
(29,722 posts)but not more troops. JMHO of course
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)... the new embassies we have around the world that have been built in the last 10 years or so, including I believe in Iraq, Kenya, Tanzania, Panama and various others, are built with a huge perimeter around them that attempts to put a lot of distance between the large outer fence/wall and the facilities therein. In many cases, such as Panama and Kenya that I know of for sure, the embassy is also located in the outskirts of the city, not in the center like they used to be.
I'm guessing that the additional troops are to staff the perimeter and in the event of an attack, they can hold out long enough to allow the majority of the people inside to be evacuated.
Our embassy in Iraq
US embassy in Panama (note, the land around it is so large the fence is not visible in this pic...