mission creep, defined

From Stars and Stripes, via Hit and Run:

U.S. soldiers from Troop C, 4th Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment and Iraqi police discovered and seized a bumper crop of marijuana plants being cultivated in fields in northern Iraq, U.S. officials said Friday...

The plants were cut down, put into piles and burned, officials said.

With any luck, the prevailing winds were blowing toward Northern Israel/Southern Lebanon at the time.