United States Will Send More Troops To Iraq

The United States plans to send up to 450 more military trainers to Iraq in addition to the 3,000 already stationed there.

A new military base camp will be set up in the Anbar province to hold the additional troops, U.S. officials reported on Tuesday. The U.S. soldiers will train and advise Iraqi forces, and help them in a counterattack on Ramadi, which was seized by the Islamic State last month.

President Barack Obama approved the plan yesterday, but he is expected to keep his position against sending U.S. troops to the front lines.

Critics of Mr. Obama’s approach to defeating the Islamic State have expressed doubt that the current number of American troops is enough to turn the war around. U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have made little progress against Islamic State militants who have gained control of a third of Iraq over the past year.