Around 300 is what US President Barack Obama said.
Around 300 US troops would be sent to Iraq.
And they'd be non-combat troops.
Apparently the gang from F-Troop was still around and Barack would be sending them to Iraq.
How quickly the lies became obvious.
Around 300?
At the Pentagon last Tuesday, Rear Adm John Kirby gave a press briefing and went through the Iraq numbers:
I want to walk you through sort of what we're doing here and how. So we'll start going through time, but it's important as we go through this that I -- I clearly delineate there are two separate and distinct mission sets, the troops that are being sent to Iraq. First one is security assistance, and the second one is assessment teams and the joint operations center. This is the advisory -- eventually what will become the advisory mission, two distinct tracks here.
So the first order was the on the 16th of June for 270 -- actually, it was up to 275, is what the War Powers Resolution letter said, but roughly 270 is what we ordered up inside the military channels. A hundred and seventy of them got on the ground that same day -- actually, as you know, they kind of flowed in a little bit before the war powers letter went to Congress. So back then, we had a total of 270 authorized, 170 in country.
Next slide. The second order, the second War Powers Resolution letter went on the 26th of June. That authorized up to 300 advise and assess troops, advisers. And on the 27th of June, 180 had been in country. That's -- so you have 90 supporting the joint operations center in Baghdad and another 90 that comprised our assessment and advise teams. That brought the total to 570 authorized, but 350 actually on the ground. Everybody tracking on this so far? I figured if I use slides, I won't get the math wrong.
Next slide. The third order came on the 30th of June yesterday. That was for an additional 200 in the security assistance mission, separate and distinct from the assessment mission, an additional 200, and all 200 of them are now in and around Baghdad.
Additionally, you'll see the 100 up there in the top under the first order. Remember, the first order on the 16th of June was up to 275, but 270 is what we ordered. And we didn't put them all in country. You might remember, we told you that we were going to leave 100 of them or so outside the country in case they needed to be put in. We did put them in yesterday. So that other 100 came from the first order on the 16th of June.
And then so all that comes down to the bottom there, a total of 770 authorized, 650 on the ground. And that's where we are right now. Okay?
Around 300? There's already twice that amount on the ground.
As for non-combat?
Thursday, at the Pentagon, General Martin Dempsey, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, was asked if US troops in Iraq might end up engaged in "direct action"? He replied, "We may get to that point if our national interests drive us there; if ISIL becomes such a threat to the homeland that -- that the president of the United States, with our advice, decides that we have to take direct action. I'm just suggesting to you we're not there yet."
Dempsey also stated, "We haven't made -- right now as we sit here, the advisers are categorically not involved in combat operations. They're literally assessing. That's their task. If the assessment comes back and reveals that it would be beneficial to this effort and to our national security interests to put the advisers in a different role, I will first consult with the secretary. We will consult with the president. We'll provide that option and we'll move ahead. But that's where we are today."
So 'non-combat,' such as it is, isn't a concrete promise from Barack after all.
Craig Whitlock (Washington Post) and Lolita C. Baldor (AP) could report reality.
Tom Hayden?
The old sloppy, floppy disc, stretched out and worn out?
Tom Hayden couldn't say a word.
We're used to that from the old whore.
Check our archives.
In March 2008, we were calling Barack out when Samantha Power told the BBC Barack's 'promise' to the American people to pull all US troops out of Iraq within 16 months of being sworn in wasn't really a promise.
Tom Hayden called it out too.
Months and months later.
July in fact.
For one day, the old sloppy, floppy disc that you could drive a Buick into was upset for one day.
And whining about what Power had said in March.
So maybe next November we'll see Tom Hayden covering (briefly) what we have now.
You need to understand, with his poor health, advanced age and heavy drinking, it's not easy for the old floppy to get around quickly.