Heading out on the election trail, the Senate left behind a critical piece of business that could affect national security and U.S. interests in the Middle East for decades to come.
In August, the last U.S. combat forces left Iraq, leaving behind a liberated nation. A few months before the final elements of the U.S. Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade were crossing the Kuwait border, the Senate Armed Services Committee rejected the Obama administration’s request for $1 billion to fund the Iraqi security forces. This denial was on top of a $550 million cut from the supplemental to cover State Department funding for the sustainment of a strong U.S. diplomatic presence there.
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