President Obama: American Operations in Iraq

[cal04]

Source: White House

In this week’s address, the President detailed why he authorized two operations in Iraq – targeted military strikes to protect Americans serving in Iraq and humanitarian airdrops of food and water to help Iraqi civilians trapped on a mountain by terrorists. The President saluted America’s brave men and women in uniform for protecting our fellow Americans and helping to save the lives of innocent people. The President also made clear that the United States will not be dragged into another war in Iraq – that American combat troops will not return – because there is no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq.

Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/08/09/weekly-address-american-operations-iraq

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Weekly Address: American Operations in Iraq
Transcript
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/09/weekly-address-american-operations-iraq

(snip)
The thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of Iraqi men, women and children who fled to that mountain were starving and dying of thirst. The food and water we airdropped will help them survive. I’ve also approved targeted American airstrikes to help Iraqi forces break the siege and rescue these families. Earlier this week, one anguished Iraqi in this area cried to the world, “There is no one coming to help.” Today, America is helping.

The United States cannot and should not intervene every time there’s a crisis in the world. But when there’s a situation like the one on this mountain—when countless innocent people are facing a massacre, and when we have the ability to help prevent it—the United States can’t just look away. That’s not who we are. We’re Americans. We act. We lead. And that’s what we’re going to do on that mountain. As one American who wrote to me yesterday said, “it is the right thing to do.”

As Commander-in-Chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq. American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there’s no American military solution to the larger crisis there.

What we will do is continue our broader strategy in Iraq. We will protect our citizens. We will work with the international community to address this humanitarian crisis. We’ll help prevent these terrorists from having a permanent safe haven from which to attack America. And we’ll continue to urge Iraqi communities to reconcile, come together and fight back against these terrorists so the people of Iraq have the opportunity for a better future—the opportunity for which so many Americans gave their lives in Iraq in a long and hard war.

Today, we salute our brave men and women in uniform—especially our courageous pilots and crews over Iraq. They’re protecting our fellow Americans. They’re helping save the lives of innocent people on a mountain—people who today know that there’s a country called America that cares for them, too, and that is willing to stand up—not just for our own security, but for the dignity and freedom that belongs to all people.

[peacebird]

1. What of the "dignity and freedom that belongs to all people" in Gaza?

[RiverNoord]

2. I was thinking the exact same thing during

the press conference. The rhetoric fit Gaza perfectly.

Still, it's nice to have a President that actually weighs very carefully the consequences of military action (global drone network notwithstanding...) and takes it only when absolutely necessary. Our prior president would have been told by his Vice-President that Gog and Magog needed to be stopped and probably would have bombed the Yazidi instead of 'IS' positions. 'Cuz' they had mobile chemical weapons and missiles capable of going around the world three times before obliterating American cities in the blaze of mushroom clouds. Like, real mushrooms. In big, explosive clouds. Can I fly in one of those way cool jets now?

[jtuck004]

3. I thought that mission was already accomplished? Did they lose that Democracy we brought them? n/t

[Baclava]

4. Obama Says Iraq Airstrike Effort Could Be ‘Long-Term’

President Obama sought to prepare Americans for an extended presence in the skies over Iraq, telling reporters on Saturday that the airstrikes he ordered this week could go on for months as Iraqis try to build a new government.

“I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks,” Mr. Obama said before leaving for a two-week vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. “This is going to be a long-term project.”

“There has to be a rebuilding and an understanding of who it is the Iraqi security forces are reporting to, what they are fighting for,” he added.

Once that happens, Mr. Obama suggested, the American military, working with the Iraqi and Kurdish fighters, can “engage in some offense.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/world/middleeast/us-airstrikes-on-militants-in-iraq.html?_r=0

[golfguru]

5. Obama is playing this right

No more Americans soldiers should die for Iraq!
Bombing ISIS from high altitude and drones is preferred over boots on the ground fighting for the feckless Iraqi soldiers who cut and run.