WASHINGTON – The United States will send approximately 200 additional troops to Iraq and allow U.S. advisers to move closer to the front lines,the Pentagon said Monday, as the Obama administration embraces new measures to intensify the campaign against the Islamic State.
Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter had announced the expanded American role with Iraqi leaders during a visit to Baghdad.
The new troops, who will include advisers and troops needed for helicopter and artillery operations, will bring the official force level for Iraq to 4,087, from 3,870 currently. Hundreds of troops are already in Iraq above that level on what are deemed temporary assignments.
The package of new measures also includes a decision to use U.S. Apache helicopter gunships to provide close air support and mobile artillery systems for an upcoming offensive to reclaim Mosul, the important northern city that was captured by militants almost two years ago.
JACKSON BEACH, Fla – Twenty-eight-year-old William Moritz was on a beach with his 6-year-old daughter Saturday afternoon in northeast Florida preparing for his father’s funeral when family members said the girl was swept away by a tumultuous tide. Moritz jumped into the strong surf to save her, his family said, and lost his life sparing hers.
Family members said they were planning to hold a memorial service for Moritz’s father on the beach later that day. After Moritz drowned, the service was canceled.
Police said that just before noon Saturday, Moritz, from Michigan, dove into the ocean at Jacksonville Beach to rescue his daughter and, when she got close to the shore, someone on the beach pulled her to safety, according to WJAX-TV.
Both Moritz and his daughter were rushed to a hospital, where Moritz was pronounced dead. His daughter was later released, according to reports.
PYONGYANG, North Korea – The rise of Donald Trump has generated remarkable global interest in the U.S. presidential campaign – and even the North Koreans are commenting on the proposals of the business mogul.
During an interview with CNN, a Pyongyang-based official said comments made by Trump about nuclear proliferation were “totally absurd and illogical.”
Ri was referring to comments made by Trump in an interview with The New York Times, in which the presidential hopeful suggested that Japan and South Korea could build up nuclear arsenals so that they would not have to depend on the United States so much. In the interview, Trump also had suggested that he would consider removing American troops from these countries if they did not contribute more funding to help house and feed them. The comments have drawn criticism from a variety of foreign policy analysts.
Ri said Trump exemplified a broader U.S. hostility toward North Koreans. “Simply put, America’s hostile acts against us are making the situation on the Korean Peninsula worse,” Ri said.
Washington Post
