Congress fails to reauthorize the Pentagon’s mission in Iraq

Posted By Josh Rogin Monday, October 1, 2012 http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/01/congress_fails_to_reauthorize_the_pentagon_s_mission_in_iraq?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foreignpolicy%2Fthecable+%28The+Cable%29

The Pentagon is scrambling to figure out how to keep its personnel in Iraq after Congress failed to authorize funding for the hundreds of U.S. military personnel involved in training the Iraqi security forces.
In its final act before leaving town earlier this month, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) that failed to reauthorize the main mission of the Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq (OSC-I), despite Pentagon warnings that the move could force the military to withdraw hundreds of U.S. troops who are still in Baghdad helping to develop the Iraqi security forces and working with them on counterterrorism. The authority for U.S. forces to train and assist the Iraqi security forces expired Sunday.