If this is the straight scoop.....
But....we may need more troops...........
"we may need more troops"
I don't think so. After the Iraqis and Afghans have sufficient force to handle further terrorist efforts (which will be easier after US forces slaughter another couple of thousand of the terrorist a-holes), Syria will be x'ed off the list. And more or less simultaneously, Iran will be overthrown by patriotic secular forces within the country.
If the US needs more troops, we can obtain them by drawing down US forces in Europe, beginning in the former Yugoslavia. The Germans and French can handle that problem, I'm certain of it. And we certainly don't need to spend a dime maintaining US forces in Germany -- they can be removed immediately.
Sudan was billed as a major campaign issue by those who regard Republicans as racists. Now? Bupkis. Because they really don't give a **** about the Christians and Animists being slaughtered by their Moslem allies. My view is that the gov't forces should be opposed by forces trained and armed (as inexpensively and covertly as possible) by the US and EU.
But it won't happen, not as long as the oil keeps flowing.
Rooting the Chinese out of Sudan would be a pleasure, particularly as the captive Chinese are paraded in front of the cameras.