US won’t send combat troops to Iraq – Obama
“No troops to Iraq, but other options are being considered.”
That was President Barack Obama’s message Friday in response to the lightning advance by Sunni militant fighters in Iraq that could threaten the government of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
In a statement delivered from the White House South Lawn, Obama said the United States “will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq,” but that he would be reviewing a range of other options in coming days.
“This is not going to happen overnight,” the President said, adding that unless Iraq fixes its internal political problems, short-term military help from the United States won’t make much difference.
Pressure for the United States to provide military support to Iraq’s struggling government has increased, with conservative Republicans blaming Obama for the crisis by pulling out U.S. troops in 2011 to create a security vacuum.
GOP critics also say that Obama’s unwillingness to provide significant military backing to opposition forces in Syria’s civil war has contributed to the ability of the militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, attack in Iraq.
Taking questions from reporters after his statement, Obama acknowledged that the Syrian civil war has been spilling over into Iraq “for some time now,” adding that the regional conflict “is going to be a long-term problem” and that the Iraqi government now sought U.S. help after previously resisting offers.
Obama also noted that Iraqi troops weren’t “willing to stand and fight” against the militant attackers, calling it a “problem in terms of morale” and commitment that reflected the political divisions in the country.
Now, he said, the violence could worsen if Sunni militants sweeping across Iraq take over sacred Shia sites.
Earlier, Secretary of State John Kerry mentioned some initial U.S. moves to back the Maliki government, but stopped short of spelling out further steps that could include air strikes intended to slow the progress of militants and help the Iraqi military regain its equilibrium.
(NAN)
