US sends troops back to Iraq for first time since withdrawal

WASHINGTON — Three years after a full withdrawal of American armed forces from Iraq, the U.S. government is sending 275 troops back to the war-torn country. This decision is a response to an  insurgence by an Islamic extremist group known as the ISIS. 

President Obama notified Congress of his decision on the evening of June 16, just three days after stating that no U.S. troops would be sent to Iraq. However, after ISIS captured the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, which is less than 300 miles north of Baghdad, the capital, the Obama administration decided to send troops in an effort to protect U.S. assets in the region. 

According to a June 16 Huffington Post article, the combat-ready troops are in Iraq for the purpose of providing security for U.S. Embassy personnel in Baghdad. Obama insists they will not engage in direct combat unless they are attacked. 

Despite his administration’s assurance that the troops will not be fighting, Obama’s decision has drawn criticism from those who feel that the decade-long war in the region never really ended. Around the American University campus, this fervor can be found. 

“I’m disappointed because he promised that we would take the troops out, and yet, we’re still there,” said American University student ambassador Ariel Shvartsman. After all, she went on, “if you’re going to promise something, you should keep it.” 

Boming Xia, a secretary at the School of Public Affairs desk at American University, said the decision to send troops back to Iraq is “unwise” because the administration should focus its attention on domestic issues such as the nation’s struggling economy. 

While many have criticized the fact that U.S. troops are returning to Iraq, others said that the military’s most recent deployment of troops to the region will not fix the problems in the Middle East. 

“At the moment, the troops are mainly for advisory…and intelligence purposes,” student Matthew Agar said. “However, the intelligence may be used to conduct air strikes, and I’m not necessarily in favor of those air strikes because it doesn’t address the political vacuum within the Iraqi government.”

According to a Department of Defense press release, 170 of the troops arrived in Iraq over the weekend of June 14 and another 100 were moved into the region to provide airfield management, security and logistics support.

Despite the relatively low number of troops sent to Iraq — the U.S. deployed 148,000 troops in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 — some fear that Obama’s decision could eventually lead to further U.S. involvement in the region.

“The extension of combat opposition in the Middle East is something I’m always very speculative of,” said American University student ambassador Joe Flannery. “I understand where Obama is coming from, but I am personally upset by this decision.”