Now that the election is over

[planosteve]

Peace Prize man doubles the number of troops in Iraq.

President Barack Obama has approved sending up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq, roughly doubling the number of U.S. forces on the ground to advise and retrain Iraqis in their battle against the militant group Islamic State, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Obama's decision greatly expands the scope of the U.S. campaign and the geographic distribution of American forces, some of whom will head into Iraq's fiercely contested western Anbar province for the first time to act as advisors.

It also raises the stakes in Obama's first interactions with Congress after his Democratic Party was thumped by Republicans in mid-term elections this week. The White House said it would ask Congress for $1.6 billion for a new "Iraq Train and Equip Fund."

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said those funds would need to be approved before the first additional forces headed to Iraq, something one official speculated could happen in just weeks.

Kirby told a Pentagon news briefing that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was urging Congress to approve the funding as soon as possible. It is part of a larger $5.6 billion supplemental spending request.

Alarmed by the advance of Islamic State militants across Iraq, Obama began sending non-combatant troops back to Iraq in the summer for the first time since he withdrew U.S. forces from the country in 2011.

Officials denied the troop buildup amounted to "mission creep" and said it was justified partly because of Iraqi Shi'ite efforts to reach out to Sunni tribesmen after the election of Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.


AUTHORITY FOR 3,100 U.S. TROOPS

[Sangersteve]

Move along, nothing to see here

[planosteve]

That's exactly the reaction Obama is hoping for. Ignore the mission creep. Move along, nothing to see here. The 3rd phase of the Iraq war is in the startup phase now. Having lost 4,500 lives and something like 3.5 trillion dollars in Iraq we're going to do it again. But, this should be no suprise. We were told upfront by Colin Powell that once you get stuck to this tar baby you are stuck for good. He call it the Pottery Barn Rule. If you break it, you own it.
The 3rd phase of the Iraq war which is gearing up now really has nothing to do with helping Iraq and everything to do with Obama's legacy. He doesn't want to go down in history as the president that lost Iraq. So, the war will be dragged out at least another 2 years and handed off to whoever is elected the next president. The Iraq war will probably not actually end until either Iraq or the US is totally destroyed.

[John in Plano]

History already knows that President Bush is responsible for invading and exiting Iraq.

History already knows President Obama as the next fool to occupy the Oval Office.

no reason to quibble over which fool made the bigger mistake in foreign affairs..or domestic

[BigTex]

Watching the losers put lipstick on a pig is a real hoot.

I saw this morning a lib talking head tout the election as a victory for democracy, that small voices will still be heard if they work hard enough. And they used as an example - - - the Tea Party.

[ralph]

it was funny yesterday , the talking heads on tv were commenting on how mrobama waited till after the midterms to send in the troops . Just thought it was funny to hear , also a topic or at least mention a moment ago on FOX !! I wouldn't mind going back in full force , no holds barred if its to get 'isis' but I don't like sending American troops in under this ' cic ' !!

[grouchy]

That would be a mistake.