US amassing troops in Middle East

The Pentagon reported that the number of military and civilian personnel in the Middle East increased from 40,516 to 54,180 in the past four months. This surge constitutes a 33 percent rise. According to the Pentagon’s quarterly report on personnel, there was not a sole Middle Eastern country where the presence of U.S. military personnel did not increase, and the highest increase was seen in Qatar, Bahrain, Syria, Kuwait and Turkey.

According to a Pentagon report, U.S. troops in the Middle East surged in the four month period from June to November. The number of personnel in Syria jumped from 1,251 to 1,723. Personnel figures rose in Iraq from 8,173 to 9,122. A surge in U.S. troops in Turkey was also observed, increasing from 1,405 to 2,265. There was an influx of 2,000 U.S. troops in Kuwait and another 2,000 into Bahrain over the same period. Regardless of the Saudi-led blockade, over 3,000 U.S. personnel arrived in Qatar.

The figures outlined in the latest report could be even greater than stated. The Pentagon does not classify the reported figures as an official count, so military officials believe that the quarterly figures stated could be an under-representation.

Army Maj. Gen. James Jarrard put the number of U.S. troops on the ground in Syria at 4,000, a figure far greater than the official count of 503. Jarrard, who heads the U.S.-led special operations task force in the fight against Daesh, offered the unexpected figure on Nov. 11.

"It's a little over 4,000 U.S. troops in Syria right now that are supporting efforts…against Daesh, and supporting the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces]," he said in response to a question about the number of U.S. troops in the region.

When asked to affirm the 4,000 figure, Jarrard said: "I'm sorry. I misspoke there. There are approximately 500 troops in Syria."