CAMEROTA: This morning, Pentagon officials will brief senior members of the president's national security team on a plan that could send thousands of U.S. troops to the Middle East to defend against potential threats from Iran. CNN's Ryan Browne is live at the Pentagon with more. What do we know about this, Ryan?</s>RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, Alisyn, we know that this request for potentially thousands of additional troops originated from U.S. Central Command, which is the military organization that oversees U.S. troops in the Middle East. And they made this request based off what they perceive to be an increased Iranian threat. Now, there already have been additional military forces deployed to the region in response to Iranian threats, including a bomber task force and a carrier strike group. But U.S. military officials felt that additional forces were needed to kind of deter any possible Iranian aggression. Now, it's unclear whether President Trump himself will be briefed on the proposed plans today, but we are told that he would have to sign off on the proposed deployment, which could send thousands of additional troops to the region. Now, this comes as some lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the nature of the threat, saying that there's nothing new here after reviewing the intelligence. But the Trump administration insists, including senior Pentagon officials, that the threat is very real and that they do see increased Iranian activity that could pose a threat to U.S. forces. But we will see whether or not President Trump does, in fact, green light this additional U.S. military presence. John.</s>BERMAN: Obviously that would be a major development. Ryan, thank you so much for being with us this morning.</s>BROWNE: You bet.</s>BERMAN: Hardworking Americans caught in the middle of the trade war. Why the tariff battle between the U.S. and China is hitting the lumber industry hard.
Plan to Send Troops to Middle East