Thursday, August 7, 2014

Obama Authorizes Use of Force Against Islamic State


Protecting U.S. Military and Diplomatic Personnel in Iraqand Breaking Siege of Mount Sinjar to Free Stranded Yazidis
President Obama said tonight that he has authorized the U.S. military to make targeted airstrikes in Northern Iraq against the Islamic State militants if necessary to protect U.S. military and diplomatic personnel working in the Kurdish city of Erbil or the capital Baghdad. Pentagon said no U.S. strikes had begun by Thursday evening. The Islamic State militants are within 30 miles of Erbil.
The president also said that the U.S. military has begun emergency airdrop of water and food to members of religious minority Yazidis trapped in Mount Sinjar, west of Mosul. Obama said the U.S. couldn’t turn blind eye to potential act of genocide. The president has authorized the U.S. military to make airstrikes to break the Islamic State’s siege of Mount Sinjar.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State captured the strategic Mosul Dam, in yet another spectacular defeat for Kurdish Peshmerga forces who were protecting the dam.
Photo credit: President Barack Obama speaks about the situation in Iraq in the State Dining Room at the White House; 7 August 2014. (AP)
Map credit: The Long War Journal/The Wall Street Journal


3 comments:

Mark Pyruz said...

Appears POTUS hand is being forced by Iraqi Kurdish setbacks in the north. U.S. cannot remain idle in the event 2014 Northern Iraq Offensive threatens Irbil.

Whether or not this intervention cascades toward an active role for U.S. airpower in rolling back IS forces beyond the northern front, and before U.S. preferences are achieved in the adoption of a new Iraqi PM, has yet to be seen.

B.M.A said...

will the B.O.D ,history's most cunning empire allow some selective airstrikes to protect the hapless people of GAZA ?,can SHE use her position to cement a permanent accord b/tween Israel and Palestine that will guarantee real peace there?.

Anonymous said...

the US will not try to protect the people of Gaza by bombing Hamas.

it's a good idea, but not practical.

the US can do nothing to cement a peace deal until the people of Israel and Palestine are willing to sign one.....and as Hamas will not sign any permanent peace deal with Israel, there can be no deal until Hamas no longer controls Gaza.