WASHINGTON — The United States is sending more than 200 additional soldiers to Iraq to support the Iraqi military’s push to retake western Mosul from the Islamic State, military officials said on Monday.
The deployment includes two Army infantry companies and one platoon equipped to clear away roadside bombs. The soldiers are expected to leave for Iraq within the next 36 hours.
The troops, about 240 soldiers in all, are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., and will reinforce the more than 5,000 troops the United States already has in Iraq.
The troops’ mission is not to engage in direct front-line combat, but the operation will put them in dangerous areas. The infantry companies, military officials said, will protect the United States’ continuing effort to advise and assist Iraqi forces as they push into western Mosul.
The mission of the “route clearance†platoon is inherently risky, as it involves sweeping away roadside bombs.
Military officials discussed the deployment on the condition of anonymity because it has not yet been officially announced.
The troops that are being sent are part of the division’s Second Brigade. About 2,000 soldiers from that brigade are still at Fort Bragg and available for additional deployments.
When the U.S. government spends $117 billion to rebuild a war-torn country, some of it is bound to get stolen or misspent. And that's what happened in Afghanistan, according to the man responsible for helping find the waste, fraud and abuse.
John Sopko, head of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said Thursday evening in a speech at Duke University that his team identified nearly $1 billion in questionable costs and funds that could be put to better use. An additional $1 billion has been recovered for U.S. taxpayers in fines, restitution, recoveries and cost savings.
The money was recovered through 105 SIGAR arrests that led to 144 criminal indictments and charges and 109 convictions and guilty pleas. Of that $1 billion, $27.7 million has been recovered through investigations in North Carolina, Sopko said.
To date, the U.S. has spent more than $117 billion for the Afghanistan reconstruction effort and has promised another $5 billion to $6 billion per year through 2020. That figure, more than the U.S. spent on the entire Marshall Plan after World War II, doesn't include any cost of fighting the war, Sopko said.
One of Sopko's agents is stationed at Fort Bragg and works with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh. That partnership has resulted in the convictions of 12 military members based in North Carolina on charges including bribery, conspiracy, theft and bulk cash smuggling. Sentences for those convicted have ranged from 10 months to 15 years in prison.
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE -- The Air Force has put a general in a newly created post in charge of the development of the next Air Force One, which is under a Pentagon review after criticism of the plane's costs from President Donald Trump.
The change shows how seriously the Air Force is taking criticism of a program that costs taxpayers billions of dollars.
Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, who recently was selected for promotion to a second star, will be in charge of replacing the current fleet of two Air Force One Boeing 747s with a newer version of the jumbo jet, officials said.
Col. Donna Shipton, recently selected for promotion to a one-star general, will take over Richardson's role as program executive officer of the Tanker Directorate. Both programs are managed at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center headquartered at Wright-Patterson.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the post to oversee development of the next presidential aircraft was "newly created, given the recent high level interest in the program and desire to place the program under strong and effective senior general officer leadership." The appointment took effect immediately, and Richardson also will oversee the Tanker Directorate until June.
"President Trump's publicly expressed concerns about the potential cost of a new presidential aircraft undoubtedly had some impact on who the Air Force has chosen to manage the effort," Loren B. Thompson, a senior defense analyst with the Virginia-based Lexington Institute and defense industry consultant said in an email "Air Force One is a symbol of national power and prestige, so the Air Force needed a manager who could navigate the political aspects as well as the technical side of the program."
Trump has slammed the cost of a new Air Force One, saying it had more than a $4 billion price tag, and called for its cancellation in a Tweet in December prior to assuming the presidency.
Since then, he has met with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg, who told reporters in January the aerospace giant would simplify and streamline requirements "all of which is going to provide a better airplane at a lower cost."
Secretary of Defense James Mattis ordered a review of the program in January.
The Air Force One program has a workforce of about 100 employees at Wright-Patterson. As of February, the Air Force had a $172 million contract for design and testing and had budgeted $2.7 billion through 2021. Final costs were expected by the end of the year for two Boeing 747-8s were expected to reach the presidential fleet in 2024.
Kushner says gov is a business and citizens are "customers."
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 27, 2017
Actually the Constitution says citizens are the owners -- you report to them. pic.twitter.com/THIDEYz6i9
Quote by Scoopster:
Oh okay there we go.. comments weren't working for a min.Kushner says gov is a business and citizens are "customers."
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 27, 2017
Actually the Constitution says citizens are the owners -- you report to them. pic.twitter.com/THIDEYz6i9
Quote by Raine:Quote by Scoopster:
Oh okay there we go.. comments weren't working for a min.Kushner says gov is a business and citizens are "customers."
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 27, 2017
Actually the Constitution says citizens are the owners -- you report to them. pic.twitter.com/THIDEYz6i9
That pissed me off more than anythign else in that article!
good morning!
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:Quote by Scoopster:
Oh okay there we go.. comments weren't working for a min.Kushner says gov is a business and citizens are "customers."
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 27, 2017
Actually the Constitution says citizens are the owners -- you report to them. pic.twitter.com/THIDEYz6i9
That pissed me off more than anythign else in that article!
good morning!
Did you here on WTOP last night some "expert" was trying to say that lots of administrations have called users "customers"? Consumers, maybe, customers no.
Quote by Raine:Quote by Scoopster:
Oh okay there we go.. comments weren't working for a min.Kushner says gov is a business and citizens are "customers."
— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) March 27, 2017
Actually the Constitution says citizens are the owners -- you report to them. pic.twitter.com/THIDEYz6i9
That pissed me off more than anythign else in that article!
good morning!
SCOTUS 5-3 invalidates factors Texas used to determine whether defendant was intellectually disabled and ineligible for a death sentence
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) March 28, 2017
African-American woman in Congress speaks up against the president, Bill O'Reilly says he won't listen because of her hair. pic.twitter.com/GVOkZNBNX9
— Media Matters (@mmfa) March 28, 2017
Quote by Scoopster:
SCOTUS ruling in Moore v. Texas (death penalty case)SCOTUS 5-3 invalidates factors Texas used to determine whether defendant was intellectually disabled and ineligible for a death sentence
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) March 28, 2017
Link to opinion pdf
NBC obtains letter from Yates lawyers to WH stating her intent to testify despite attempt to block her
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 28, 2017
Same day: Nunes canceled her hearing pic.twitter.com/AsfrLSEuEe
Clinton v. Jones, 1997: Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that president has no immunity from civil litigation for acts done before taking office. https://t.co/rOEy7WLVeZ
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) March 28, 2017
Quote by Raine:
That's not loading for me for some reason.
Quote by TriSec:
Well, Will - I was at Fallon Health here in Worcester. Our CEO was a lifer; he had been there for decades. Finally retired about 18 months ago.
Ever since then, a series of poor decisions and lack of support for existing projects, and a whole host of managerial changes have led to them imploding earlier this year.
But no, it took a while and a lot of people collaborating on said mistakes. "Inept" is too mild a word for this administration.
Quote by Raine:
NBC obtains letter from Yates lawyers to WH stating her intent to testify despite attempt to block her
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 28, 2017
Same day: Nunes canceled her hearing pic.twitter.com/AsfrLSEuEe
The Washington Post first reported the story. The White House said the Post story is false, according to NBC. It said the White House has taken no action to prevent Yates from testifying, and the Justice Department specifically told her that it would not stop her.
JUST IN: A 3/24 letter from DOJ to Sally Yates states she must get authorization from WH to testify about convos w/ WH, CBS News can confirm pic.twitter.com/qOmYqqlOuj
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 28, 2017
Quote by Scoopster:Quote by Raine:
That's not loading for me for some reason.
oh gdi.. the link got partially cut off. Just fixed it.
Quote by Scoopster:
"If the president puts russian dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a russian connection"
Here's Sean Spicer telling April Ryan not to shake her head. pic.twitter.com/ojHnkt7MVW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 28, 2017
Quote by Raine:
This pisses me off so much.Here's Sean Spicer telling April Ryan not to shake her head. pic.twitter.com/ojHnkt7MVW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 28, 2017
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:
This pisses me off so much.Here's Sean Spicer telling April Ryan not to shake her head. pic.twitter.com/ojHnkt7MVW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 28, 2017
And I used to feel bad for him. Just showing his full ass, what a dick.
Quote by Raine:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:
This pisses me off so much.Here's Sean Spicer telling April Ryan not to shake her head. pic.twitter.com/ojHnkt7MVW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 28, 2017
And I used to feel bad for him. Just showing his full ass, what a dick.
Here's the entire thing -- what a total asshole.
Quote by Scoopster:
"If the president puts russian dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a russian connection"
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:Quote by wickedpam:Quote by Raine:
This pisses me off so much.Here's Sean Spicer telling April Ryan not to shake her head. pic.twitter.com/ojHnkt7MVW
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) March 28, 2017
And I used to feel bad for him. Just showing his full ass, what a dick.
Here's the entire thing -- what a total asshole.
Only made it half way through - between the lies and the disrespect I just can't
Quote by Mondobubba:Quote by Scoopster:
"If the president puts russian dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that's a russian connection"
Cheetolini would never do that. He thinks Russian dressing is too spicy.