President Trump has ordered some 1,500 troops to the Gulf region to serve a “mostly protective” purpose for American forces and interests. Trump made…
President Trump has ordered some 1,500 troops to the Gulf region to serve a “mostly protective” purpose for American forces and interests.
Trump made the announcement to reporters on the White House lawn before boarding Marine One.
In a Pentagon briefing on Friday, Director of the Joint Staff Vice Adm. Michael Gilday would not say where the additional troops would be sent, other than that they would not be heading to Iraq and Syria.
Some of the forces have already arrived. A defense system designed to track and destroy incoming missiles, called a Patriot battery, is already in the region, staffed with about 600 troops.
The remaining 900 troops will operate intelligence surveillance radar and drones. A fighter squadron will also be deployed, though no specifics were provided.
The deployment of additional troops comes with the Pentagon’s announcement that attacks on four oil tankers, carried out two weeks ago in the Persian Gulf, were the work of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.
