The U.S. dispatch of troops to Iraq sparked wide controversy.
Tips
usage
出兵 is a verb-object compound: 出 ('to send out') + 兵 ('soldiers/troops'). Use it the same way: 出兵 + place/target. Compare with 派兵 (more neutral 'to dispatch troops') and 用兵 ('to deploy / use military force', more strategic).
history
In Chinese military classics like 《孙子兵法》 (The Art of War), 出兵 is the moment of committing forces - and the texts repeatedly warn that 兵者，国之大事 ('warfare is a state's gravest affair') and 出兵 should never be done lightly.
