Former Marine and State Department official Matthew Hoh, the first known U.S. official to resign in protest over the Afghan War, tells “Democracy Now!” on Monday that President Obama’s authorization of 1,500 additional troops to Iraq in the campaign against the Islamic State is “for lack of a better phrase … crazy.”

The announcement, which Obama described in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday as a “new phase” against ISIS militants in an offensive strategy, rather than a defensive one, comes as the nation prepares to commemorate Veterans Day. The deployment will more than double the current U.S. force in Iraq and cost an estimated $5.6 billion. Military advisers will reportedly establish training sites across the country. The funding request is expected to be presented to Congress during the lame-duck session that begins this week.

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— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly

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#barack obama#democracy now#iraq#is#isis#islamic state#state department