Obama OKs more troops to Iraq, seeks $5.6M vs. ISIS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is authorizing the U.S. military to deploy up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq as part of the mission to combat the Islamic State group.
Obama is also asking Congress for more than $5 billion to help fund the fight.
The White House says the troops won't serve in a combat role, but will train, advise and assist Iraqi military and Kurdish forces fighting IS.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest says Obama has also authorized the additional personnel to operate at Iraqi military facilities outside Baghdad and Erbil. Until now, U.S. troops have been operating a joint operation center setup with Iraqi forces there.
The announcement is part of a $5.6 billion funding request to Congress and came just after Obama met with congressional leaders Friday.
Congressional officials say they're expecting a more than $5 billion administration request to pay for munitions and other military requirements to combat Islamic State militants who have seized control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
The $5.6 billion request was expected to be a top item on the agenda of Friday's meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders. Official details are expected to be delivered to Capitol Hill next week.
The funding comes on top of an earlier $58.6 billion request to cover overseas military operations in the war on terror. It's expected to be addressed in the upcoming lame duck session of Congress.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the request is not yet official.
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