ground troops

Whether it’s the Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe, the familiar pattern of American military expansion goes something like this: first we are promised that US troops are merely in a country for limited “training” missions with “partner” forces; next we are told of “counter-terror” operations which require an increased “footprint”; after which we are assured once again that there are “no boots on the ground” but a “minimal” increase of train and assist missions; f

Opinion — In our military-revering culture, it’s a strange thing for a president to start a war of words with the grieving families of slain soldiers.
Strange, yes. But from Donald Trump’s campaign season feud with the parents of Humayun Khan, who died protecting fellow soldiers in Iraq, to his recent feud with the mourning widow of La David Johnson, who died on patrol in Niger, it’s no longer surprising.

With Pentagon officials offering the first details on the Niger ambush incident, they also revealed details about the ongoing U.S. war in Niger, including the revelation that there is an ongoing U.S. war in Niger.
Nobody seems to have known about it.

Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster listens as President Donald Trump speaks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 20, 2017. (AP/Susan Walsh)
In comments today on ABC’s “This Week,” National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster downplayed the chances of the US sending more ground troops to Syria, saying that it still “remains to be seen” if more troops are needed, but that he doubts the US will have to send any more.

U.S. forces patrol on the outskirts of the Syrian town, Manbij, a flashpoint between Turkish troops and allied Syrian fighters and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, in al-Asaliyah village, Aleppo province, Syria, March 7, 2017. (Arab 24 via AP)

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford greets Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon (AP/Alex Brandon)

This news is a black eye for the new administration.

The Pentagon says the funds would pay for additional ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.