By Douglas V. Gibbs
President Barack Obama, without consulting Congress until after his decision by letting them know his intentions in a letter, decided he is deploying 275 troops to Iraq to protect the American embassy in Baghdad.
Obama said their only purpose will be to protect U.S. personnel and the embassy in Baghdad – and not to join in the fierce fighting raging outside the Iraqi capital.
The president told Congress that American military personnel in Baghdad will be 'equipped for combat.'
With this executive decision to deploy troops President Barack Obama's hypocrisy is beyond measure. The narrative of his 2008 presidential campaign was that the war in Iraq was an illegal war, and the wrong war, and that President Bush, by sending troops to Iraq, was at fault for the world hating the United States. Now, three years after pulling troops out of the country, Obama has returned the United States to Iraq. Whether or not it is the right decision, if as Commander in Chief he has that authority, or if there should be more troops, is not the point. The point is that Obama is acting in a manner that he falsely accused Bush of, sending troops without congressional permission, and entering Iraq when he claimed in 2008 we have no business being in the region. The chaos in Iraq is a direct result of Obama's demand that we withdraw all personnel, as he led from a position of weakness, and now his decision has come back to force him, and our brave men and women of the United States Military, back into the country.
Obama gave no deadline regarding an exit for these troops, only that the 275 soldiers will remain in Iraq for as long as they are needed to protect U.S. interests.
The White House says the U.S. military personnel are entering Iraq with Iraqi government consent.
President Obama is also considering, regardless of what Congress thinks, possible drone strikes against the ISIS militants that have, in brutal fashion, taken control of a swath of territory north of Baghdad in a drive towards the Iraqi capital launched a week ago.
A White House official also states that the Obama administration is considering the deployment of a small contingent of Special Forces to Iraq, in order to assist Maliki's government slow the advance of the al-Qaeda off-shoot ravaging the nation.
Obama has explicitly said American ground troops won't surge into the nation once patrolled by more than 148,000 U.S. servicemen and women. With special forces in the region, if they engage with ISIS, it could create the need to respond with greater force, and it is anybody's guess what the Obama White House response will be when that happens.
In a bid for assistance, the Iraqi government has reached out to Iran. An alliance between the two countries may be on the horizon. The White House says it is open to a discussion with Iran, despite tensions with a nation that has a long history of enmity against the West. When asked about possible military cooperation with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry said he would 'not rule out anything that would be constructive.' However, he stressed that any contacts with Iran would move 'step-by-step.'
Senator John McCain has stated any alliance with Iran would be the 'height of folly'.
In response to the moves, McCain said in a statement: 'This is the same Iranian regime that has trained and armed the most dangerous Shia militant groups, that has consistently urged Prime Minister Maliki to pursue a narrow sectarian agenda at the expense of national reconciliation, that supplies the rockets that have been fired at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, that has sponsored acts of terrorism throughout the Middle East and the world, and that continues to use Iraq's territory and airspace to send weapons and fighters to prop up Bashar al-Assad in Syria...
'For all of these reasons, and more, the United States should be seeking to minimize greater Iranian involvement in Iraq right now, not encouraging it. That means rapid, decisive U.S. action to degrade ISIS and halt their offensive in Iraq.'
Iran has reportedly sent as many as 2,000 men from its Quds paramilitary force into Iraq to bolster defenses around Baghdad and try to turn back the ISIS advance.
The Obama administration is also considering unilateral airstrikes (without a coalition of nations? Didn't the Democrats try to fry Bush when they falsely accused him of doing the same?) to slow the insurgency marching towards Baghdad.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
The White House says the U.S. military personnel are entering Iraq with Iraqi government consent.
President Obama is also considering, regardless of what Congress thinks, possible drone strikes against the ISIS militants that have, in brutal fashion, taken control of a swath of territory north of Baghdad in a drive towards the Iraqi capital launched a week ago.
A White House official also states that the Obama administration is considering the deployment of a small contingent of Special Forces to Iraq, in order to assist Maliki's government slow the advance of the al-Qaeda off-shoot ravaging the nation.
Obama has explicitly said American ground troops won't surge into the nation once patrolled by more than 148,000 U.S. servicemen and women. With special forces in the region, if they engage with ISIS, it could create the need to respond with greater force, and it is anybody's guess what the Obama White House response will be when that happens.
In a bid for assistance, the Iraqi government has reached out to Iran. An alliance between the two countries may be on the horizon. The White House says it is open to a discussion with Iran, despite tensions with a nation that has a long history of enmity against the West. When asked about possible military cooperation with Iran, Secretary of State John Kerry said he would 'not rule out anything that would be constructive.' However, he stressed that any contacts with Iran would move 'step-by-step.'
Senator John McCain has stated any alliance with Iran would be the 'height of folly'.
In response to the moves, McCain said in a statement: 'This is the same Iranian regime that has trained and armed the most dangerous Shia militant groups, that has consistently urged Prime Minister Maliki to pursue a narrow sectarian agenda at the expense of national reconciliation, that supplies the rockets that have been fired at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, that has sponsored acts of terrorism throughout the Middle East and the world, and that continues to use Iraq's territory and airspace to send weapons and fighters to prop up Bashar al-Assad in Syria...
'For all of these reasons, and more, the United States should be seeking to minimize greater Iranian involvement in Iraq right now, not encouraging it. That means rapid, decisive U.S. action to degrade ISIS and halt their offensive in Iraq.'
Iran has reportedly sent as many as 2,000 men from its Quds paramilitary force into Iraq to bolster defenses around Baghdad and try to turn back the ISIS advance.
The Obama administration is also considering unilateral airstrikes (without a coalition of nations? Didn't the Democrats try to fry Bush when they falsely accused him of doing the same?) to slow the insurgency marching towards Baghdad.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Obama announces US troops WILL be sent to Iraq to protect American embassy - U.K. Mail Online
Iran sends troops into Iraq to aid fight against Isis militants - U.K. Guardian
Iran sends troops into Iraq to aid fight against Isis militants - U.K. Guardian
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