"Deploying American troops in Anbar Province may accomplish little in the long run, if past is prologue." - Sending More Troops to Iraq - NYT Editorial | Speaking to reporters aboard his plane during a trip to Italy, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, described a possible future campaign entailing the establishment of what he called “lily pads” — American military bases around the country from which trainers would work with Iraqi security forces and local tribesmen in the fight against the Islamic State. - U.S. Weighing More Military Bases in Iraq to Fight ISIS, Top General Says | OVERNIGHT CYBERSECURITY: Up to 14 million exposed in federal hack
During the troop surge of 2007, which included roughly 30,000 troops, American commanders argued that empowering Sunni tribesmen, and beating back insurgent groups, would give politicians in Baghdad breathing room to govern more inclusively. But they have consistently demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to do that. The new troops will bring the American force in Iraq to 3,550. With each increase, the United States is being dragged more deeply into a war that lawmakers have been unwilling to authorize formally. And each step makes Congress’s irresponsibility more outrageous. Deploying American troops in Anbar Province may accomplish little in the long run, if past is prologue. - Sending More Troops to Iraq - NYT Editorial Speaking to reporters aboard his plane during a trip to Italy, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, described a possible future campaign entailing the establishment of what he called “lily pads” — American militar