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Trump leaves Congress in dark on Mideast deployment to counter Iran

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee says Congress has yet to hear back from the Donald Trump administration on how long a fresh rotation of troops, ships and planes sent to counter Iran will remain in the Middle East.
A U.S. Navy soldier onboard Mark VI Patrol Boat stands guard as an oil tanker makes its way towards Bahrain port, during an exercise of U.S./UK Mine Countermeasures (MCMEX) taking place in Arabian Sea, Bahrain September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RC1CFA1BB8E0

The Donald Trump administration has yet to inform Congress on how long it will keep troops, a carrier group, bombers and missile defense batteries in the Middle East that were recently sent to the region to counter threats from Iranian-backed proxy groups, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said today.

Just hours after the commander of US forces in the region publicly hinted at plans to restore a larger American military presence to the Middle East, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said the Pentagon had not “given us any indication of how long this is going to last or where they think they see it going.”

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