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posted by on Saturday March 11 2017, @02:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the can-you-say-quagmire? dept.

Several hundred marines have deployed into Syria with artillery guns, as part of the ongoing preparation for the fight to push ISIL out of its self-declared headquarters of Raqqa, a Pentagon spokesman has confirmed.

The marines are pre-positioning howitzers to be ready to assist local Syrian forces, according to US officials.

The deployment is temporary. But it could be an indication that the White House is leaning towards giving the Pentagon greater flexibility to make routine combat decisions in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS).

[...] In addition, the US is preparing to send up to 1,000 troops to Kuwait to be ready to join the ISIL fight if they are needed, officials said. [...] The latest troop movements come on the heels of the recent temporary deployment of some dozens of army forces to the outskirts of Manbij, Syria, in what the Pentagon called a "reassure and deter" mission.

[...] Under the existing limits put in place by the Obama administration, the military can have up to 500 US forces in Syria, although temporary personnel do not count against the cap.

The special operations fighters are ostensibly there to train and assist the Syrian Democratic Forces, an umbrella group of Kurdish and Arab fighters that have proven to be a key ground asset in the US-led coalition's battle against ISIL.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/marines-syria-170309014847784.html


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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 11 2017, @07:13PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 11 2017, @07:13PM (#477828)

    America's fixed already. Didn't you see the jobs report? Done.

    Now it's time to fix the Middle East. It'll be done very quickly believe me.

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