Against the backdrop of the escalating crisis in Iraq, US President Barack Obama has decided to deploy up to 300 military advisers to tackle the challenge posed by Sunni militants, led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Sunni militants have overrun large parts of Syria and northern Iraq in the last ten days.
The scope of the mission for the military advisers, as explained by Pentagon officials, is limited. According to National Security Council spokeswoman, Caitlin Haydem, the White House does not consider the deployment of advisers to constitute the “use of military force.” The advisers, drawn from the Special Forces, will set up joint command centers with the Iraqi military in Baghdad and in the north. Intelligence gathering and surveillance will be a major part of the mission. The advisers will try to assess the complex security situation, and the capability of the Iraqi security forces. They also will identity potential targets for air strikes.
President Obama, however, did not rule out the possibility of “targeted and precise military action,” if the ground situation demanded it. Air strikes could extend into Syria. He clarified that “American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists.”
However, the deepening sectarian divide has made working with the Shia-led Iraqi government difficult. The United States has blamed Iraq’s Shiite prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, for his policies that are reported to have alienated Iraq’s Sunni Muslims. “The United States will not pursue military actions that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another,” Obama said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq and other countries in West Asia and North Africa this weekend. In all these countries, Kerry will make a strong case for a more inclusive government.
Earlier, David Patreus, former US commander in Iraq, had argued “If there is to be [US] support for Iraq, it has to be support for a government of Iraq that is a government of all the people and is representative of, and responsive to, all elements of Iraq. This cannot be the United States being the air force for Shia militias.”
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