Containing the militants goal in Iraq
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's new military strategy in Iraq amounts to trying to contain — not destroy — the Islamic militant group that now controls much of the country's northern region. That leaves open the questions of how deeply the U.S. will be drawn into the sectarian conflict, and whether airstrikes alone can stop the militants' momentum.
Obama insists he will not send American ground troops back to Iraq after having withdrawn them in 2011, fulfilling a campaign promise. Still, even the limited airstrikes against the vicious insurgency show the president's conviction that the U.S. military cannot remain dormant after having fought an eight-year war that temporarily neutralized Sunni extremists but failed to produce lasting peace.
U.S. military jets launched several airstrikes Friday on isolated targets, including two mortar positions and a vehicle convoy in northeastern Iraq, near the country's Kurdish capital of Irbil.
American planes conducted a second airdrop of food and water early Saturday for those trapped in the Sinjar mountains, said Pentagon chief spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby. Escorted by two Navy fighter jets, three planes dropped 72 bundles of supplies for the refugees, including more than 28,000 meals and more than 1,500 gallons of water, said Kirby, who spoke from New Delhi during a trip with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
The next move may be up to the Islamic State group, the al-Qaida inspired extremists who have chewed up Iraqi opposition so far.
About three dozen U.S. military trainers and a U.S. consulate are in Irbil, where Kurdish forces are fighting off a militant advance. That's no easy defense.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said of the Islamic State group, “They are well organized and they're armed and they are a significant threat to the stability of Iraq.”In his weekly radio address, Obama says the United States can't and shouldn't intervene in every world crisis. But he says when innocent people face a massacre and the U.S. has the ability to stop it, the nation shouldn't look away.Obama says he won't allow the U.S. to be dragged into another war in Iraq. But he says the U.S. will protect Americans and prevent terrorists from having a safe haven.Will there be further airstrikes? State Department deputy spokesman Marie Harf said the Islamic State group must at least halt its advance on Irbil to prevent further strikes.Iraq has been pleading for months, if not years, for additional U.S. military help to combat the extremists, but the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in part because it couldn't reach an agreement with the government on legal immunity for U.S. troops. Hart said the Obama administration acted now out of concern that “there was a crisis that had the potential to get much worse.”U.S. officials said the Islamic State extremists in recent days have shown military skill, including using artillery in sophisticated synchronization with other heavy weapons. Their force had overwhelmed not only Iraqi government troops but also the outgunned Kurdish militia.The Obama administration steadfastly insists the airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops are not the start of an open-ended campaign to defeat the militants.The president's critics say his approach is too narrow.
