560 more troops

Obama approves 560 more troops to Iraq

By Austin Wright

An additional 560 U.S. troops are being sent to Iraq, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday during a visit to the Iraqi capital — the latest increase in a troop cap that will now go from 4,087 to 4,647.

The additional troops, which Carter announced following a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, are set to perform a range of duties, including logistics support at a key base near the city of Mosul that recently retaken from the Islamic State.

Over the weekend, Iraqi forces declared victory at the air hub near the town of Qayyarah, and Carter said the field would be a critical spot for providing support to Iraqi forces in the coming battle to drive ISIL from its Iraqi stronghold in Mosul.

“At every step in this campaign, we have generated and seized additional opportunities to hasten ISIL’s lasting defeat,” Carter said. “These additional U.S. forces will bring unique capabilities to the campaign and provide critical enabler support to Iraqi forces at a key moment in the fight.”

The U.S. forces, which were approved by President Barack Obama, do not count hundreds of additional troops that are in Iraq on temporary assignments.

Carter’s unannounced visit to Baghdad was portrayed as a chance to huddle with U.S. commanders and Iraqi leaders on the next phase in the military campaign against ISIL.

The visit follows several key victories in the conflict as Iraqi forces prepare for the major battle in Mosul. But it also comes as ISIL is adapting to its losses on the ground by focusing more intently on high-profile terrorist attacks, including the bombing early this month in Baghdad claimed by ISIL that killed nearly 300 people.

"What I'll be discussing with Prime Minister Abadi and our commanders there are the next plays in the campaign, which involve the collapse and control over Mosul, and ultimately the seizure — the recapture of all of Iraqi territory," Carter told reporters ahead of the visit. "There will be work to do after that, as well as reconstruction, stabilization and other aspects of giving the Iraqi government back control over its own country."

During the one-day stop in Iraq, Carter was also set to meet with Iraq's minister of defense, Khaled al-Obaidi, and the top U.S. commander in the country, Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland. He is expected to speak to the president of the Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq, Masoud Barzani, but he is not scheduled to visit the Kurdish capital of Erbil.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces are set to play a key role in the seizure of Mosul, enveloping the occupied city from the North while Iraqi Security Forces envelop it from the South.

"Everyone knows that the fight for Mosul is the fight for Iraq — it's the culminating battle," said a senior defense official, discussing the operation on the condition of anonymity.

Ahead of Carter's visit to Iraq, his fourth since becoming Pentagon chief, U.S. defense officials touted the victory at the airfield near Qayyarah, south of Mosul. A defense official confirmed on Sunday that coalition troops had already conducted "a brief site survey at the airbase" in Qayyarah but did not remain there.

The senior defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that, in retaking the air field, the Iraqi military performed what was its "largest armored maneuver" since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

"Our commanders have highlighted the sophistication of the maneuver because this does represent something kind of new and different and more sophisticated from the Iraqi military," the official said.

Defense officials sought to portray Carter's stop in Iraq as a chance to plot the next phase of the war against ISIL, a campaign they suggested was turning a corner after a series of battlefield victories by Iraqi security forces.

But the visit also comes as ISIL is transitioning to become more of a traditional terrorist group — one focused less on holding territory and more on carrying out high-profile attacks.

"There's been no strategic victory for ISIS in over a year now," Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said last month. "We're aware that ISIL is shifting into a terrorist-like organization, particularly with its actions in Baghdad."

The senior defense official said the security situation in the Iraqi capital would be a topic of discussion during Carter's meetings Monday with Iraqi leaders.