U.S. Iraq Strategy Missing Key Allies As More Troops Set to Deploy

The United States is moving ahead with the deployment of an additional 1,500 American troops to Iraq as part of an effort to retrain the Iraqi military forces in the fight against the Islamic State even though key pieces of the larger coalition strategy to squeeze the militant group from multiple directions have yet to come together.

President Barack Obama approved the deployments last month, and outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed the final orders this week, a senior U.S. military official said.  All of the additional forces are expected to arrive in Iraq by February and will join the 1,710 American troops already in the country, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop details.

Read the full article at Foreign Policy.