Pentagon Sends 1,000 More Troops to Middle East as Iran Tensions Heighten....WHY ARE WE WEARING OUT THE FORCE ON THIS ISSUE!

via Military.com

The Pentagon released more photos late Monday to back up charges that Iran carried out an attack on two tankers in the Gulf last week. The images included one still purporting to show Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members in a twin outboard shortly after they allegedly removed an unexploded mine from the side of a tanker.

Shortly after the photos were released, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced that an additional 1,000 U.S. troops were being sent to the region to join a buildup of forces that now includes the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln's strike group and B-52 Stratofortresses.

"In response to a request from the U.S. Central Command for additional forces, and with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and in consultation with the White House, I have authorized approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East," Shanahan said in the statement.

Story here. 

A few things....

*  Tear down the Combatant Commander structure.  Ever since those became a "thing" we've seen increased troop deployments for dubious reasons.

*  We are wearing out the force with activity like this.  What real purpose will one thousand extra troops serve in that region?  Force protection is all I can think of, they certainly won't be staging an assault with numbers that low and once you consider the locale you realize that if FP hasn't already been accounted for then someone should be fired.

*  Why is this our fight?

*  Even the Japanese (whose tankers were attacked), and the Europeans (with the exception of the UK) don't believe the intel is conclusive.

*  Why are we allowing certain segments of the administration to wag the dog when the vast majority of the American people don't want another war in the region?

*  Has anyone considered a strategy other than military force?  Where is the State Dept on this?  I know the jokes about them being advocates of other countries and not the US but diplomacy needs to make a comeback in US foreign policy!

THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT!