Hundreds more US troops in Iraq than previously stated: Pentagon
Hundreds more American troops are in Iraq than the Pentagon previously stated, an official said Wednesday in an acknowledgement underscoring the sensitivity of US deployments to the war-torn nation. Officially, the Pentagon long said about 3,500 American troops are stationed in Iraq to train and equip local security forces, primarily so they can fight back against […]Hundreds more American troops are in Iraq than the Pentagon previously stated, an official said Wednesday in an acknowledgement underscoring the sensitivity of US deployments to the war-torn nation. Officially, the Pentagon long said about 3,500 American troops are stationed in Iraq to train and equip local security forces, primarily so they can fight back against Islamic State jihadists who control large parts of the country.
But the Pentagon has now increased that number to 3,870 troops, according to spokesman Captain Jeff Davis. Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren went further, saying it was "fair to say" there are hundreds more troops than even that tally. The troop presence is tiny compared to the height of the Iraq War, when the United States had nearly 160,000 in-country troops during the "surge."
