Several times over the last few years, President Obama has pledged that there would be no ground forces deployed in Iraq and that they would not take part in combat operations. According to recent reports, there are now about 5,000 U.S. servicemen in Iraq – far more than previously reported.  They're there ostensibly to train Iraq forces to take on the Islamic State in the fight for Mosul. But events over the last few months have shown that U.S. soldiers are moving closer to the front line and are now in harm's way.  In March, a U.S. Marine was killed by a rocket fired by ISIS into a secret firebase located in northern Iraq.  Yesterday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the death of another U.S. serviceman.  He was working with the Kurdish Peshmerga when ISIS forces broke through their lines near Irbil. Washington Post:  “It is a combat death,” Carter said at the outset of a news in Stuttgart, Germany where he has...(Read Full Post)