The US President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that the United States will send around 300 military advisers to Iraq to help the government to fight against Sunni rebels, but said there is no plan to send troops to Iraq.
“American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again,” Obama said adding, “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.”
“It is in our national security interest not to see an all-out civil war in Iraq,” Obama told reporters.
Earlier Obama met the national security team and discussed the strategy to push Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to undertake reforms and make his government more inclusive towards the Sunni community.
The president, however, refused to comment on the role of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki by saying,
“It’s not our job to choose Iraq’s leaders. ”
“The test is before him and other Iraqi leaders as we speak. Right now they can make a series of decisions. Regardless of what’s happened in the past, right now is a moment where the fate of Iraq hangs in the balance,” Obama said.
The military advisers’ team will form a primary base in Baghdad to help the Iraqi military with intelligence support and technology support to fight the insurgents. Later they will form another in northern Iraq.
Tags: Barack Obama Iraq Iraq crisis military advisers Sunni rebels united states US