Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has ended a delay in plans for additional troop deployment in Iraq.

Officials said U.S. plans to deploy another 1,500 troops have encountered obstacles toward joining the war against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. They said the biggest problem was lack of budget amid opposition within Congress.

“Deployment orders have not been issued yet,” Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said. In a briefing on Dec. 16, Kirby said the U.S. military was still searching for the manpower to bolster its presence in Iraq. So far, some 1,600 troops were serving in Iraq, mostly in advisory or force protection roles.

However on Dec. 19, the Pentagon issued a new statement:

“Secretary Hagel authorized up to 1,300 more U.S. troops to deploy to Iraq. Approximately 1,000 of them will be soldiers from the Third Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They will begin to deploy to Iraq in late January, and their mission will be to train, advise and assist Iraqi security forces.”

In November 2014, President Barack Obama approved the deployment of another 1,500 troops to Iraq. The operation was based on the Iraq Train and Equip Fund, with a $1.6 billion budget. So far, Obama has not yet signed the defense budget into law.

Kirby said the Pentagon expected the additional troops to arrive in Iraq during 2015. He said U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Lloyd Austin has been drawing on existing units in the Middle East and South Asia.

“Gen. Austin has taken advantage of resources he has in the region to begin to set the stage,” Kirby said.

Kirby said Centcom has deployed up to 60 soldiers to advise the Iraq Army and security forces in the Anbar province, a key ISIL stronghold. He said another 200 troops were preparing an  infrastructure for an expanded advise-and-assist program.

Officials have expressed impatience with the new Baghdad government led by Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi. They said the government has moved far too slowly in mobilizing Sunni tribes in Anbar and other northern provinces.

“We want the Iraqis to do that,” Kirby said. “That’s part and parcel of the whole advise-and-assist mission: to help them be more inclusive, more comprehensive and better at what they’re doing in terms of defending their own people in Anbar.”

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