US President Barack Obama Obama: We will not be sending US troops back into combat in Iraq CNN 13 June 2014 US President Barack Obama “I want to take some time to give you a quick update on the situation in Iraq. Yesterday I convened a meeting with my National Security Council to discuss the situation there and this morning I received an update from my team. … Over the last year we have been steadily ramping up our security assistance to the Iraqi government with increased training, equipping and intelligence… We will not be sending US troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraq’s security forces and I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead. I do want to be clear though. This is not solely or even primarily a military challenge. Over the past decade American troops have made extraordinary sacrifices to give Iraqis an opportunity to claim their own future. Unfortunately, Iraqi leaders have been unable to overcome too often the mistrust and sectarian differences that have long been simmering there, and that’s created vulnerabilities within  the Iraqi government as well as their security forces. So, any action that we may take to provide assistance to the Iraqi security forces has to be joined by a serious and sincere effort by Iraq’s leaders to set aside sectarian differences, to promote stability and account for the legitimate interests of all of Iraq’s communities… We can’t do it for them and in the absence of this type of political efforts, short-term military action, including any assistance we might provide, won’t succeed. To this should be a wake-up call. Iraq’s leaders have to demonstrate a willingness to make hard decisions and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people in order to bring the country together. In that effort they will have the support of the United States and our friends and our allies… “So the United States we’ll do our part, but understand that ultimately it’s up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems… “We are also going to pursue intensive diplomacy throughout this period, both inside of Iraq and across the region because there is never going to be stability in Iraq or the broader region unless there are political outcomes that allow people to resolve their differences peacefully without resorting to war or relying on the United States military. “We’ll be monitoring the situation in Iraq very carefully over the past the next several days. Our top priority will remain being vigilant against any threat to our personnel serving overseas. We will consult closely with Congress as we make determinations about appropriate action, and we’ll continue to keep the American people fully informed as we continue to make decisions about the way forward. “Given the very difficult history that we have seen in Iraq, I think that any objective observer would recognize in the absence of accommodation among the various factions inside of Iraq, various military actions by the United States, by any outside nation, are not going to solve those problems over the long term and deliver the kind of stability that we need. “The United States has poured a lot of money into these Iraqi security forces and we devoted a lot of training to Iraqi security forces. The fact that they are not willing to stand and fight and defend their posts … there is a problem with morale, there is a problem in terms of commitment and ultimately that’s rooted in the political problems that have plagued the country for a very long time. “The United States is not simply going to involve itself in a military action in the absence of a political plan by the Iraqis that give us some assurance that they are prepared to work together. We are not going to allow ourselves to be dragged back into a situation in which while we are there we are keeping a lid on things, and after enormous sacrifices by us, as soon as we are not there suddenly people end up acting in ways that are not conducive to the long-term  stability and prosperity of the country.” http://www.mojahedin.org/newsen/28996