Obama prepared to send 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq




 Written : Mohamed Abdel fattah

Jun 19, 2014

 President Obama said Thursday he is planning to send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help retrain Iraqi security forces as they battle an insurgent invasion.

Obama added that "American forces will not be returning to combat" but will help Iraqis "take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well."

According to a White House statement, Obama went over efforts to "strengthen the capacity of Iraq's security forces to confront the threat" from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters, "including options for increased security assistance."

The president, holding back on more aggressive measures such as airstrikes, addressed the crisis in Iraq and the U.S. response after meeting for hours with his national security team. Speaking in the White House briefing room.

The president also said the U.S. is taking steps so that it's "prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine the situation on the ground requires it." The president said he would consult closely with Congress and leaders in Iraq before any decision is made.

Obama also announced that he will dispatch Secretary of State John Kerry  to the region for diplomatic efforts that include demands for a more inclusive government in Iraq.

Obama emphasized it's up to Iraqi leaders to work out a solution, saying "the U.S. will not seek military action that will support one sect over another."

"Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq's future," Obama said.

The president, said the United States has an interest in preventing civil war in Iraq and making sure the war-torn nation does not become a new haven for terrorists planning to attack the U.S. and its allies

The ISIL and associated Sunni rebel forces have taken control of large territories in Iraq in the last week, plunging the country into crisis and increasingly splitting communities along sectarian lines

ISIS, an al Qaeda splinter group, wants to establish a caliphate, or Islamic state, that would stretch from Iraq into northern Syria.

ISIL has vowed to take the battle to Baghdad and cities farther south housing revered Shiite shrines.

Iraq's army claimed Wednesday it had repelled an attack on the nation's largest oil refinery and killed 40 militants

"The militants have managed to break in to the refinery. Now they are in control of the production units, administration building and four watch towers. This is 75 percent of the refinery," an official speaking from inside the refinery in Beiji told Reuters on Wednesday.

The official said fighters of the al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) began their attack on the Beiji refinery, some 155 miles north of Baghdad late Tuesday night.

The attack continued into Wednesday morning, with fighters targeting it with mortar shells. A small fire started on the facility's periphery, he said.

Iraq asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes to beat back militants holding vast territories across its north which was opening the door broader military involvement, Obama said: "I think we always have to guard against mission creep. So, let me repeat what I've said in the past: American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again."

Sources

CNN

.foxnews

usatoday.

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