Air Force Quietly Building Iraq Presence

Air Force Quietly Building Iraq Presence

www.newsday.com

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Away from the headlines and debate over the "surge" in U.S. ground troops, the Air Force has quietly built up its hardware inside Iraq, sharply stepped up bombing and laid a foundation for a sustained air campaign in support of American and Iraqi forces.

Squadrons of attack planes have been added to the in-country fleet. The air reconnaissance arm has almost doubled since last year. The powerful B1-B bomber has been recalled to action over Iraq.

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Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
3rd CSG heads to Gulf !

Hmm, increased Air Force presence for a ground war?

I know they do their bombing runs, but could such an increase
be preparation for a strike on Iran and or Syria?

Just playin' devil's advocate..
Questions or comments?

www.newsday.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

How come this is supposed to be quitly since there was statements made like a month ago about reducing the ground forces but increasing air power? I cant recall where that came from but I read that in this forum. Abit controversy insued about that because that would likely end up increasing collateral damage.

Sounds like this might be a "plan b"

If we do pull out the ground forces, keep an air presence to support the Iraqi forces as much as possible.

I suppose it would be harder to kill troops with RPG's
and IED's if they're flying around at mach speeds.

But that does sound reasonable, because I can't see US forces completely
withdrawing from Iraq, and an increased air presense makes sense.