(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Brian M. Wilbur.)
Defense officials will brief President Donald Trump's national security team on a plan that involves sending 5,000 more troops to the Middle East to deter Iran, Task & Purpose has learned.
So far, no decisions have been made about whether to send the reinforcements to the region, unnamed U.S. officials told CNN's Barbara Starr.
"The military capabilities being discussed include sending additional ballistic missile defense systems, Tomahawk cruise missiles on submarines, and surface ships with land attack capabilities for striking at a long range," CNN reports. "Specific weapons systems and units have not been identified."
The White House is asking Congress for another $377 million to fund active-duty and National Guard troops deployed to the southwestern border, officials announced on Wednesday.
The money is part of a total of $4.5 billion in emergency funding requested by the Office of Management and Budget to fund a variety of agencies involved with border security.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, a senior administration official described what the extra money would be used for in broad terms without elaborating.
Editor's Note: This article by Hope Hodge Seck originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
The same day the nominee for next top officer of the Navy defended service plans to retire the carrier Harry S. Truman halfway through its planned service life, the vice president of the United States paid a visit to the carrier itself to deliver a message from the president himself: The Truman will stay open for business.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks beside David Bernhardt, acting U.S. secretary of interior, left, and Patrick Shanahan, acting U.S. secretary of defense, during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House, on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Al Drago / Pool via CNP
Providing further proof that we're all dead and this is hell, President Donald Trump spoke about a variety of national security issues during Wednesday's televised cabinet briefing, during which his one-liners came fast and furiously.
On March 22nd 2017, DHS Secretary John F. Kelly visited ICE HQ to meet with ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan and ICE Senior Leadership. After those two meetings he held a Town Hall with ICE Employees, he also took questions when he was done talking. (DHS)
WASHINGTON – In August 2017, shortly after John F. Kelly became White House chief of staff, he convened crucial meetings on Afghanistan at President Trump's golf club in Bedminster, N.J.
Top officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, the director of national intelligence, diplomats and lawmakers huddled with Trump as Kelly and others urged him not to give up in Afghanistan.
"When I first took over, he was inclined to want to withdraw from Afghanistan," Kelly recounted during an exclusive two-hour interview with the Los Angeles Times.
"He was frustrated. It was a huge decision to make ... and frankly there was no system at all for a lot of reasons — palace intrigue and the rest of it — when I got there."
The retired four-star Marine general will leave the administration on Wednesday. First as Homeland Security chief and then in 18 months at the White House, he presided over some of the Trump administration's most controversial immigration and security policies.
