“The greatest disaster recovery effort in American history” is under way right now, according to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. He and USAF Gen. Richard Myers, JCS Chairman, Tuesday afternoon told reporters at the Pentagon that more than 41,000 of the 58,000 troops on the ground in the region are Army and Air National Guard forces from around the country. The forces include more than 350 helicopters and 75 fixed wing aircraft—flying some 1,800 missions. Military troops have rescued more than 13,000 people and flown in thousands of tons of relief supplies.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
