The Trump administration at first said there were no injuries from the attack on American troops but recanted a week later, noting that several had been evacuated for possible concussions.
Pentagon and military officials have pushed back on the notion that they withheld any information about the injuries, pointing out that the absence of visible wounds meant the Pentagon was not made aware until days later. They noted that the symptoms of concussions and traumatic brain injuries often take days or weeks to appear.
The ballistic missiles that hit the base in Iraq were launched by Iran in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani, by an American drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
To contend with the threat of Iranian ballistic missiles, which can travel more than a hundred miles and evade rudimentary defenses, the Pentagon is looking to move Patriot air defenses into Iraq.
But while both Mr. Esper and General Milley said they believe the weapons are necessary for American defenses, the Iraqi government is currently holding up the weapons’ deployment.
“That is one of the matters we have to work on and work through” with the Iraqi government, Mr. Esper said on Thursday.
There are roughly 5,000 American troops in Iraq.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/middleeast/iraq-iran-brain-injuries.html
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