The US is sending additional troops to the Middle East and urging Americans to leave Lebanon as Israel moves toward all-out war with Iranian proxy terror group Hezbollah.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder made the deployment announcement on Monday, but provided no additional information regarding the number of additional troops or their intended mission, citing “operational security.”
The unknown number of forces would join the 40,000 troops already in the region.
“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Ryder said.
There were indications that at least some of the additional forces would come from the Navy, as the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its strike group deployed east from Norfolk, Va. on Monday – about a month before they were originally scheduled to depart.
