About 50 Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) Marines have begun arriving in Baghdad to help protect the American embassy from the fast-moving Islamic insurgent group ISIS, according to The Pentagon Channel.
As Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby explained in a statement released this week:
“All of these forces are trained to integrate with existing U.S. Embassy security teams or operate as a standalone force as directed...
“[They] will help enable the State Department to continue their critical diplomatic mission and work with Iraqis on challenges they are facing.”
The Marines’ ability to quickly deploy and enhance security at diplomatic posts is one of the service’s central missions since the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.
And, as CNN's Anderson Cooper reminds his viewers, these U.S. troops in Baghdad are not in Iraq for a combat mission:
