[FONT=verdana, sans-serif]U.S. Establishes Libyan Outposts with Eye toward Offensive Against Islamic State - Missy Ryan (Washington Post) [/FONT][FONT=verdana, sans-serif] American Special Operations troops have been stationed at two outposts in eastern and western Libya since late 2015, lining up local partners in advance of a possible offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.
The insertion of U.S. personnel reflects the Obama administration's worries about the Islamic State's Libyan branch, which has several thousand fighters in the coastal city of Sirte and other areas.
The activities of the American "contact team" take place in parallel to those of allied forces from France and other European nations in the same areas. [/FONT][FONT=verdana, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=verdana, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, sans-serif]America's Quiet War in Iraq - Nolan Peterson [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=verdana, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, sans-serif]The aircraft parked at this military base in Kurdistan in northern Iraq offer a symbolic counterpoint to the White House narrative that U.S. forces are on the sidelines of the ground war against the Islamic State. U.S. Army medevac Blackhawk helicopters are based here, along with Army Apache attack helicopters; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft; and a variety of armed special operations aircraft from different military branches. The U.S. base is an operational hub for the U.S.-led, 66-nation coalition combating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. U.S. and coalition personnel coordinate airstrikes to support Kurdish peshmerga forces.
To support operations against ISIS and in Afghanistan, the U.S. is setting up new bases and refurbishing old ones across the Middle East, reflecting a reversal of White House plans to draw down U.S. forces in the region. As of the end of April, the U.S. had conducted 9,073 airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Nearly all the U.S. military aircraft were launched from bases and Navy vessels outside Iraq and Syria. According to open source data, 50,000 U.S. military personnel are deployed throughout the Middle East, including Navy personnel at sea. [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=verdana, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, sans-serif](National Interest)[/FONT][/FONT]