Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Monday that the president had authorized the deployment of 560 U.S. troops to Iraq to aid in the looming assault to retake the city of Mosul. While it is possible these troops will provide tactical utility for Iraqi forces, the move exposes the Administration’s lack of strategic understanding and Congress’s continued abdication of its constitutional responsibilities. At the tactical level, there is no doubt the Iraqi military will benefit from the U.S. troops. What should matter to Washington, however, isn’t so much the tactical potential as it is strategic outcomes.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/why-are-more-troops-headed-iraq-16962
