Obama Vows No US Ground Troops to Fight IS in Iraq

Obama Vows No US Ground Troops to Fight IS in Iraq – Voice of America

President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday the United States will not fight another ground war in Iraq, seeking to reassure Americans about the level of U.S. involvement after a top general suggested some combat troops could be deployed.

Obama, who has spent much of his presidency distancing himself from the Iraq war, stressed during a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa that airstrikes would be the central U.S. contribution to the fight against Islamic State, along with coordinating a coalition that he said now includes more than 40 countries.

"The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," Obama told American troops at the headquarters of U.S. Central Command in Florida.

General suggests troops possible

His message came a day after General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, left the door slightly ajar to the possibility of some ground forces during congressional testimony that worried some Democrats.

Obama said U.S. troops "will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists. … (But) as your commander in chief I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq."

But, he added, "We cannot do for the Iraiqs what they must do for themselves."

The president spoke to troops from the four major armed services at MacDill, home to U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. security interests in 20 nations that stretch from the Arabian Gulf region into Central Asia.

For his effort to "destroy and degrade" the Islamic State forces, Obama said American troops will need to lead the international coalition, with local forces handling a significant role.

"Our armed forces are unparalleled and unique. So when we've got a big problem somewhere around the world, it falls on our shoulders. Sometimes that's tough. But that's what sets us apart. That's why we're American," he told the service members to a loud round of cheers.

In Iraq, however, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi strongly rejected the idea of the U.S. or other nations sending ground forces to his country to help fight the Islamic State group, saying Wednesday that foreign troops are "out of the question."

Al-Abadi told The Associated Press that the U.S. aerial campaign currently targeting the militants who have overrun much of northern and western Iraq has helped efforts to roll back the Sunni extremists. He also urged the international community to go after the group in neighboring Syria, saying the battle will prove endless unless the militants are wiped out there as well.

Coalition support

Support from the coalition members will vary.

Obama said France and Britain were already flying with the United States over Iraq; Australia and Canada would send military advisers to the country.

He also noted Saudi Arabia's willingness to base a U.S. mission to train moderate Syrian rebels on its soil and said German paratroopers were also going to take part in a training mission, which he did not specify.

"We will train and equip our partners. We will advise them and we will assist them. We will lead a broad coalition of countries who have a stake in this fight," Obama said.

Obama's strategy session with military officials at CentCom, as the headquarters is known, came as Iraqi troops, supported by three more U.S. airstrikes, battled Islamic State insurgents south of Baghdad in an area known as the "triangle of death."

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also participated in the briefing, a day after he told a congressional panel that the effort is "complicated" and will take time.

Obama pulled out the last U.S. ground forces from Iraq in 2011 after a nine-year war that toppled longtime Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Dempsey told the same congressional hearing that more than 1,600 U.S. advisers in Iraq are acting "very much in a combat advisory role" and said there is currently "no intention" for them to engage in combat.

The United States has carried out more than 160 airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Congressional approval sought

Obama has asked Congress to approve funds to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels who are fighting against the Islamic State group in Syria as well as waging war against the Syrian government.

The House plans to vote Wednesday on the legislation, but Republicans will insist on a detailed accounting of how the program fits into a broader strategy to defeat the militants, Republican leaders said Tuesday.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he sees no reason not to give the president the authority he is asking for.

Obama unveiled a four-part strategy to counter the Islamic State last week, including working to cut off terror funding and halting the flow of foreign fighters to the region. Those traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the militants include Americans.

US residents to Syria

Andrew Luger, the U.S. attorney for the state of Minnesota, said authorities there are investigating a number of men and women who have traveled to Syria to join militant groups.

Luger told VOA's Somali service that more needs to be done to counter the "very clever" recruiters who use organized campaigns to entice people. He said videos and other online recruiting methods are not the means used to get recruits to travel.

"It can't be just online and here is why: an 18-year-old boy who has never traveled before doesn't get the idea of applying for a passport and buying a plane ticket that costs a thousand dollars on his own. Somebody is part of that," Luger said.

"Somebody is giving him the money. Somebody is explaining to him where to go. So an 18-year-old boy doesn't wake up one day and say, 'I'm going to go to Turkey.' Somebody is teaching them what to do," he said.

Luger also said young people in his area, which is home to the largest ethnic Somali population in the U.S., need better education, job opportunities and engagement in order to avoid becoming disenfranchised and losing touch with their communities.