The Pentagon doubled down today on denying a report that prompted speculation of a pending land war in the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday published an article saying President Trump could decide this month on whether to send a division-sized element to the Middle East. When asked if a decision had been made to send the reported 14,000 troops to the region, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Carver told the Washington Examiner, “No.”
“The reporting is wrong,” Carver said. “The U.S. is not considering sending 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East.”
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, John Rood, undersecretary of defense for policy, referred to the report as an “erroneous item.” He did not, however, rule out the possibility of adjusting the number of U.S. forces in the region, given Iran’s recent attacks on shipping, Saudi oil facilities, and a U.S. drone. He added that the Pentagon continues to receive concerning threat reports on Iran.
“The Secretary and others, we’re continuing to look at that threat picture and have the ability to dynamically adjust our force posture. But we haven’t made a decision to deploy an additional 14,000 troops,” Rood told committee chairman, Sen. James Inhofe.
The United States has deployed 14,000 troops to the region over the last six months, Rood said, many on ships and air bases.
In addition to its past attacks, Iran has been suspected of developing nuclear-capable missiles, stoking political tension in Iraq through its support of militia groups, and sending missiles to Yemen, which is in the midst of a civil war.
Trump campaigned on bringing an end to what he has called “endless” wars in the Middle East. His attempts to remove troops from the region have been met with criticism, including from within the administration. Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis resigned his position last year after disputing a troop withdrawal. In October, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called the president’s decision to pull troops out of northern Syria a “catastrophically bad idea.”
