Whether it’s the Middle East, Africa, or Eastern Europe, the familiar pattern of American military expansion goes something like this: first we are promised that US troops are merely in a country for limited “training” missions with “partner” forces; next we are told of “counter-terror” operations which require an increased “footprint”; after which we are assured once again that there are “no boots on the ground” but a “minimal” increase of train and assist missions; finally, US soldiers begin to come home in body bags at which point the 9/11 era AUMF is cynically invoked (Authorization For Use of Military Force).
On Tuesday the whole Orwellian cycle of American non-deployment to non-wars (by our politicians’ standards) was on display during a single Pentagon press briefing, when Army spokesman Maj. Gen. James B. Jarrard told reporters that 4,000 US troops were deployed to Syria, but then awkwardly attempted to walk back the statement less than 30 seconds later:
Wow. Question on how many US troops are in Syria. MG initially says 4,000 (!) then apologizes, changes to 500 after a follow-up. pic.twitter.com/ru92GkU3PW
— Jake Godin (@JakeGodin) October 31, 2017
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Nov 1, 2017.
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