The Pentagon Friday approved the deployment of 1,500 more troops to the Middle East as tensions continue over threats to U.S. forces by Iran or its proxies, President Donald Trump announced.
The troops will join additional forces already sent to the region, including the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, a B-52 Bomber Task Force and Patriot air defense batteries.
"We want to have protection. The Middle East, we're going to be sending a relatively small number of troops," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Mostly protective. Some very talented people are going to the Middle East right now. And we'll see how — we'll see what happens."
In a statement, acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said the deployments include another Patriot air defense battalion, reconnaissance aircraft, an engineering unit for force protection and a fighter aircraft squadron.
"The additional deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility is a prudent defensive measure and intended to reduce the possibility of future hostilities," he said. "I remain committed to ensuring U.S. personnel have the force protection resources they need and deserve.
The deployments come as U.S. officials have sought to tamp down some of the rhetoric since national security adviser John Bolton announced May 5 that the initial forces were being deployed to confront Iranian threats to American interests.
This week, Shanahan said those deployments had put Iranian threats "on hold." But he confirmed to reporters on Thursday the Trump administration was weighing sending more forces based on a request from U.
S. Central Command."So, first and foremost — just like you would when your teammates are men and women under your responsibility — you make sure that you're at the right levels," Shanahan said. "You know, what you may find is that we're conservative. More protection is better than less protection, so that's really been the nature of the dialogue."
Shanahan briefed the president on the plan Thursday night, ahead of his four-day trip to Japan.
Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, called the deployment a "prudent step."
"I understand that there is a temptation to view everything through a political lens, but a request from a commander on the ground for additional force protection should never be subject to a partisan debate," he said in a statement.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), called the deployments "unsettling."
"While requests from CENTCOM should always be taken seriously, our posture in the region should be scrutinized if it does not fit into a broader strategy," he said. "Without a clearly articulated strategy, adding more personnel and mission systems seems unwise and appears to be a blatant and heavy-handed move to further escalate tensions with Iran."
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine