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Obama to Address Nation on Iraq Crisis United States to Send Military Advisers to Iraq
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to make a televised statement about Iraq on Thursday afternoon, amid reports that he may send about 100 special forces troops to help Baghdad stave off an Islamic insurgency that has already swept through several major cities. WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday that the United States will deploy up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its beleaguered security forces fend off Sunni militants, edging the United States back into a conflict that Mr. Obama thought he had left behind.
The Pentagon has sent Mr. Obama an option for dispatching the small force to advise Iraqi forces and analyze intelligence to combat the insurgents, who have been bearing down on the capital, military officials said. The special forces troops ultimately could help provide intelligence for strikes by American drones or piloted aircraft, should Mr. Obama order them. Mr. Obama also said the United States was gathering intelligence on the positions of militant fighters to identify targets, and added, “We will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if we conclude the situation on the ground requires it.”
Mr. Obama, who has emphasized that he will not send ground troops to Iraq, may make a distinction with a small group of special forces operators who will provide a supporting role. The president emphasized again that he would not send combat troops to Iraq, but he said the United States would help the Iraqis “take the fight” to the militants, who he said pose a threat to Iraq’s stability and to American interests, because Iraq could become a sanctuary for terrorists who could strike the United States or its allies.
The president was meeting with his national security team at the White House on Thursday morning and planned to deliver his statement in the briefing room. The statement comes a day after he consulted with congressional leaders at the White House, and after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called Iraqi leaders. “It is in our national security interest not to see an all-out civil war in Iraq,” Mr. Obama said to reporters in the White House briefing room, after a meeting of his national security council.
Among those participating in Thursday’s meeting with Mr. Obama, according to the White House, were Mr. Biden; Secretary of State John Kerry; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff; Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser; Samantha Power, the ambassador to the United Nations; and W. Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel. The statement came a day after he consulted with congressional leaders at the White House, and after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke with Iraqi leaders.
Among those participating in Thursday’s security meeting with Mr. Obama, according to the White House, were Mr. Biden; Secretary of State John Kerry; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff; Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser; Samantha Power, the ambassador to the United Nations; and W. Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel.
Others in the meeting were James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lisa O. Monaco, the president’s counterterrorism adviser; Antony J. Blinken and Benjamin J. Rhodes, both deputy national security advisers; and Jake Sullivan, the vice president’s national security adviser.Others in the meeting were James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lisa O. Monaco, the president’s counterterrorism adviser; Antony J. Blinken and Benjamin J. Rhodes, both deputy national security advisers; and Jake Sullivan, the vice president’s national security adviser.