Thousands of US troops head to Middle East as Trump weighs new strikes
Updated . First published at
The United States military is deploying about 9000 troops to the Middle East aboard warships as President Donald Trump considers fresh attacks against Iran.
The group of ships heading to the Middle East together carry more than 7000 sailors and 2000 US Marines.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, on Thursday, October 1. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
It includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently deployed with the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the USS John P Murtha and USS Anchorage amphibious landing ships.
The three carriers could arrive in the region by late October, according to the US official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Considering the armed forces members already in the Middle East, the move would bring the US naval presence to an unusually high number of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines and hundreds of aircraft.
The carriers USS George HW Bush and the USS George Washington are in the region now, along with the USS Boxer amphibious readiness group
Trump, in a Time magazine interview published on Thursday (Friday AEST), also raised the prospects of new strikes, saying it is “possible” that he will intensify bombing in Iran after the November 3 midterm elections in US.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is heading to the Middle East. Getty
Trump said he could not offer further comments about his strategy.
“I can’t tell you that because look, you know, you’re asking, where are you going to bomb?” Trump said.
Speaking with media on Thursday, the president also said early indications suggest that Iran was linked to the co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight this week.
Trump also warned if the link to Iran was confirmed, the US military would retaliate.
“Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry,” Trump said. “You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”
Trump hails ‘orderly’ Iraq pullout
The president praised this week’s US military withdrawal from Iraq, saying the 12-year mission had been “a very expensive excursion into Hell.”
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending the deployment to fight the Islamic State group launched in 2014-15.
The last US troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington.
Trump, in a social media post, described the withdrawal by a September 30 deadline as “orderly”.
Appearing soon after at a White House event celebrating Hispanics, he spoke at length about the withdrawal and said: “It’s been a long time with very bad decision making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place.“
“It was a quagmire. For many, many years it lasted. But soon that part of history will be over.”
Trump also lavished praised on Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, calling him “outstanding,” a “fantastic guy, friend of mine”.
He also appeared to try to take credit for al-Zaidi’s leadership, saying that the Iraqi leader was “running for election” and “wasn’t given even a chance and I endorsed him and politicked for him a little bit, and he ended up winning in a virtual landslide.”
Al-Zaidi was not on the ballot but was selected as prime minister under a deal between Iraq’s parliamentary parties.
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