U.S. Could Use Ground Troops to Save Iraqi Refugees

[DonViejo]

Source: New York Times

A senior White House official said on Wednesday that the United States would consider using American ground troops to assist Iraqis in rescuing Yazidi refugees if recommended by military advisers assessing the situation.

Benjamin J. Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, told reporters on Martha’s Vineyard that President Obama would probably receive recommendations in the next several days about how to mount a rescue operation to help the refugees, who are stranded on a mountaintop surrounded by Sunni militants. He said those recommendations could include the use of American ground troops.

But he drew a distinction between the use of American forces to help a humanitarian mission and the use of troops in a battle against the militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, something he said the president had rejected before and continued to oppose.

“What he’s ruled out is reintroducing U.S. forces into combat on the ground in Iraq,” Mr. Rhodes said. He added, using an alternative name for the militant group, that the deployment of ground troops to assist a rescue was “different than reintroducing U.S. forces in a combat role to take the fight to ISIL.”



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/world/middleeast/us-may-weigh-using-ground-troops-to-aid-rescue-of-iraq-refugees.html?emc=edit_na_20140813

[jakeXT]

1. Syria, interesting

The far more viable option, administration officials and humanitarian experts said, would be to establish a corridor northwest through Syria, following the paths that the few refugees who have escaped have already established, before crossing back over the border into Kurdistan.

[neverforget]

2. as if American troops on the ground wouldn't be in combat.

To open up a corridor and to protect the refugees, combat would happen because ISIS hates the infidels (USA) and that ground needs to be taken.

Humanitarian vs combat is a distinction without a difference in this case.

[JoePhilly]

7. Combat troops are usually seeking out the enemy, not trying to avoid them.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Alot of woulda, couldas in the article

Basically - the President's style has always been to "obtain all options" (which could also be "do nothing&quot and evaluate. The headline itself would be enough to set DU off the deep end despite past practice of reviewing options, no matter how provocative.

[grahamhgreen]

4. Whatever. Prosecuting war crimes and leaving the middle east alone would have averted this situation

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Blame France & England for the post-WWI colonial mess. nt

[Stella_Artois]

9. Not quite as simple as that

The whole area was a part of the Ottoman Empire which fell apart after WWI. The situation in the middle east would have been an order of magnitude worse if the Ottomans remained. We know what happened in Armenia......

I'm not aware that the British or the French ended up with having to administrate the wreckage of the post Ottoman middle east with much enthusiasm, but there wasn't an local educated ruling class available to do the job.

Besides, ISIS has no respect for international borders or local ethnic or religious minorities so it seems a little misguided to blame Europeans for placing borders that are anyway largely irrelevant.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I read an excellent book years ago

"A Peace to End All Peace" by David Fromkin. A very coherent history of the area, leading up to and beyond the fall of the Ottoman Empire, including discussion the former colonial powers of that region - notably France and England, who in essence drew the borders of what remained while also carving up the continent of Africa. And they were involved during the time of the founding of the U.N. in 1947/48 and the creation of Israel at that same time (which is basically the flashpoint of what is going on right now).

The prevalent Eurocentric view that dismisses those who are still fuming over their re-drawn domiciles, only helps to inflame folks throughout the world. And although the euphemism - "To the victors go the spoils" may ring true, those "victors" also have the burden of dealing with the aftermath of their raids.

[flamingdem]

6. I don't think we're hearing the real numbers involved

It may be much higher than 20,000. How will it be if we find that 50 thousand people died on that mountain?

The US can help here, we owe Iraq.

[humbled_opinion]

8. NEOCONS Whisper and

Slowly turn Obama Lamb into Obama Wolf.... What happened to "absolutely no ground troops to return to Iraq"? I guess it depends on your definition of absolutely and don't give me any crap about this hasn't been approved yet... if the NY Times is editorializing about it than its gonna happen....