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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/01/23/us/politics/ap-ml-united-states-iran.html
U.S. Central Command: Troop Surge in Middle East May Not End Soon
(AP-New York Times) Over the past eight months, the U.S. has poured more than 20,000 additional troops into the Middle East to counter the escalating threat from Iran that peaked with the recent missile attack on American forces in Iraq. America's troop presence in the region has grown since May to 83,000. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said Thursday, "Iran continues to pose a very real threat. I do believe that they are deterred right now, at least from state-on-state actions, by our response." He added, however, that Iranian proxy forces, who may strike with or without direction from Iranian leaders, still present a threat. "The fact that things are quiet for a while does not mean that necessarily things are getting better," McKenzie said.