President Obama Announces 275 Troops to Deploy to Iraq

President Obama announced Monday night, in a letter to Congress, that 275 U.S. troops will deploy to Iraq to provide security for American personnel in the country currently in chaos.

In the letter, the president called for Congressional authorization for this action. And this was the statement released by the Press Secretary’s office.

Today, consistent with the War Powers Resolution, the President transmitted a report notifying the Congress that up to approximately 275 U.S. military personnel are deploying to Iraq to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The personnel will provide assistance to the Department of State in connection with the temporary relocation of some staff from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to the U.S. Consulates General in Basra and Erbil and to the Iraq Support Unit in Amman. These U.S. military personnel are entering Iraq with the consent of the Government of Iraq. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad remains open, and a substantial majority of the U.S. Embassy presence in Iraq will remain in place and the embassy will be fully equipped to carry out its national security mission.

Jay Carney said last week that the White House is “not contemplating ground troops” in how to respond to the current situation in Iraq.

[h/t AP]
[image via Pete Souza]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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