The US is prepared to carry out “targeted and precise military action” in Iraq if required, President Barack Obama said on Friday.
“Going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it,” Obama told reporters at the White House following his meeting with the National Security team on the unfolding developments in Iraq.
In addition to him and Vice-President Joe Biden, the meeting was attended by Secretary of State John Kerry, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Director of CIA John Brennan and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Emerging out of the meeting, Obama said the US has significantly increased its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets so that they get a better picture of what’s taking place inside Iraq, and this will give the US a greater understanding of what ISIl is doing, it’s location and how it might support efforts to counter this threat.
The US will continue to increase its support to Iraqi security forces, Obama said announcing that the US is prepared to create joint operation centres in Baghdad and northern Iraq, to share intelligence and coordinate planning to confront the terrorist threat of Islamic State in Iraq and
the levant (ISIl).
“Through our new Counter-terrorism Partnership Fund, we’re prepared work with Congress to provide additional equipment. We have had advisers in Iraq through our embassy, and we’re prepared to send a small number of additional American military advisers —up to 300 — to assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces going forward,” he said.
American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well, he asserted.
“Because of our increased intelligence resources, we’re developing more information about potential targets associated with ISIl, and going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it,”
Obama said.
“If we do, I will consult closely with Congress andleaders in Iraq and in the region. I want to emphasise, though, that the best and most effective response to a threat like ISIl will ultimately involve partnerships where local forces like Iraqis take the lead,”
he said.
Obama said the US will lead a diplomatic effort to work with Iraqi leaders and the countries in the region to support stability in Iraq.
At his direction, the Secretary of State, John Kerry, will depart this weekend for meetings in the Middle East and Europe, where he’ll be able to consult with US allies and partners.
“Just as all Iraqis’ neighbours must respect Iraq’s territorial integrity, all of Iraq’s neighbours have a vital interest in ensuring that Iraq does not descend into civil war or become a safe haven for terrorists,” he added.
Urging Iraqi leaders to rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future, he said Shia, Sunni, Kurds, all Iraqis must have confidence that they can advance their interests and aspirations through the political process rather than through violence.
“National unity meetings have to go forward to build consensus across Iraq’s different communities. Now that the results of Iraq’s recent election has been certified, a new Parliament should convene as soon as possible.
The formation of a new Government will be an opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue and forge a Government that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis,” said the US President.
“It’s not the place for the United States to choose Iraq’s leaders. It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis,” he said.
The United States, Obama asserted, will not pursue military actions that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another.
“There’s no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States. But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process, a more capable Iraqi security force, and counter-terrorism efforts that deny groups like ISIl a safe haven,” Obama said.
Obama said that the United States can’t resolve the sectarian conflict in Iraq, as a result of which Islamic militants have taken control of a section of the country, by sending troops on the ground.
“American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again. 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. Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis,” Obama told White House reporters at a news conference.
“It is in our national security interests not to see an all-out civil war inside of Iraq, not just for humanitarian reasons, but because that ultimately can be destabilising throughout the region.
Meanwhile, Australia on Friday said it has sent a small detachment of soldiers to Iraq to help bolster security at its embassy in Baghdad in the wake of the assault by Islamic militants in the country.
Defence Minister David Johnston said the defence liaison force is being deployed to protect embassy staff and evacuate them if necessary, not to help Iraqi forces battling militants who have seized large swathes of the country’s north in the past two weeks.
France has called for an urgent but also political response from Iraq to the offensive by jehadi ISIl forces, and said it was “ready” to contribute to reinforcing the democratic opposition in Syria.
The Iraq crisis, where ISIl forces have seized control of large swathes of the country north of Baghdad, is “a dramatic consequence of the situation in Syria”, said the French presidency in a statement.