WASHINGTON/TIKRIT, IRAQ ¨C President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was sending up to 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq but stressed the need for a political solution to the Iraqi crisis as government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country¡¯s biggest refinery.
Speaking after a meeting with his national security team, Obama said he was prepared to take ¡°targeted¡± military action later if necessary, thus delaying but keeping open the prospect of airstrikes to fend off a militant insurgency. But he insisted that U.S. troops would not return to combat in Iraq.
Obama also delivered a stern message to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the need to take urgent steps to heal Iraq¡¯s sectarian rift, something U.S. officials say the Shiite leader has failed to do and which an al-Qaida splinter group leading the Sunni revolt has exploited.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.