WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Thursday said he was dispatching up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help quell the rising insurgency in the crumbling state. He called on Iraqi leaders to govern with a more “inclusive agenda” to ensure the country does not descend into civil war.
Though not specifically mentioning airstrikes, an option the US has been considering, Obama said he was leaving open the possibility of “targeted” military action in the future. He said the US also would increase its intelligence efforts in Iraq and was creating joint operations centers with Iraqis.
When coupled with previously announced steps, Obama’s actions could put about 600 additional US troops back on the ground in Iraq. The 300 military advisers he announced on Thursday would join up to 275 being positioned in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the US Embassy in Baghdad and other American interests.
Obama said Washington was ready to deploy advisers to study how to train and equip Iraqi forces and had increased its surveillance and intelligence capabilities. “Going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it,” Obama said.
He said it was a good investment for Washington to intervene in Iraq if it prevented Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) fighters establishing bases which could eventually pose a threat to the West.
But he was adamant that US troops would not be returning to combat.
“We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that has already been expended in Iraq,” Obama told reporters in the White House briefing room. “Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by Iraqis.”
Sketching a dire situation, Obama called this a moment when “the state of Iraq hangs in the balance” and cautioned that “there’s not going to be a simple military solution.”
He stopped short of calling for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to resign, saying “it’s not our job to choose Iraq’s leaders.” But he said those leaders “must rise above their differences and come together” for the sake of their nation.
“Let’s not plunge this back into the abyss,” he said.
Obama spoke after meeting with his national security team to discuss military options and consider how strongly to press Al Maliki to undertake changes and make his government more inclusive. Top US officials believe that giving more credence to Sunni concerns about Al Maliki may offer the best opportunity to stave off another deadly round of sectarian fighting of the kind that engulfed Iraq less than a decade ago.
US officials have been concerned that pushing Al Maliki too hard might stiffen his resolve to stay in office and drive him closer to Iran, which is seeking to keep the Shiite leader in power. However the administration does want to see evidence of a leadership transition plan being put in place in Iraq.
Obama said Iran’s leaders have a decision to make about what role to play in Iraq.
The president said Iran can play a constructive role if it sends a message that Iraq’s government must be inclusive and respect the interests of Sunnis and Kurds. But he said if Iran comes into the conflict solely as an armed force backing the Shiite-led government, its involvement would probably worsen the situation.
Al Maliki, who has long faced criticism for not making his government more inclusive, went on a diplomatic offensive Wednesday, reaching out in a televised address to try to regain support from the nation’s disaffected Sunnis and Kurds. His conciliatory words, coupled with a vow to teach the militants a “lesson,” came as almost all of Iraq’s main communities have been drawn into violence not seen since the dark days of sectarian killings nearly a decade ago.
The US withdrew the last American troops from Iraq in late 2011 after more than eight years of war. The withdrawal came after Washington and Baghdad were unable to reach an agreement to extend the US troop presence.
But faced with a growing Sunni insurgency, Iraq’s government has asked the US to launch airstrikes to contain a militant group that seized Mosul, Tikrit and other towns in Iraq as the country’s military melted away.
Obama’s decision-making on airstrikes has been complicated by intelligence gaps that resulted from the US military withdrawal, which left the country largely off-limits to American operatives. Intelligence agencies are now trying to close gaps and identify possible targets that include insurgent encampments, training camps, weapons caches and other stationary supplies.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi voiced concern about Obama dispatching even a small contingent of Americans to Iraq.
“I think that you have to be careful sending special forces because that’s a number that has a tendency to grow. And so I’d like to see the context, purpose, timeline and all the rest for anything like that,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference.
Separately, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he couldn’t tell if limited airstrikes would be effective until more was known about overall US strategy.
He said Obama must craft a strategy for combating terrorism in the entire Middle East, not just Iraq.
Boehner and Pelosi were among the congressional leaders who met with Obama on Iraq Wednesday. The leaders said the president told him they do not believe he needs authorization from Congress for some steps he might take to quell the Al Qaida-inspired insurgency.
Source: Recent World News
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