Obama: Hundreds of US Troops to Iraq

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama revealed that about 275 US military personnel are being deployed to Iraq to help American personnel and protect the embassy in Baghdad.

The force, which began deploying on Sunday, has been sent "for the purpose of protecting US citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat," Obama wrote on Monday in a letter to Congressional leaders.

"This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed."

The move comes as terrorists of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIL] battle Iraqi security forces for control of a strategic northern town and Washington weighs possible drone strikes against the militants.

The White House said in a statement that the US military personnel would help the State Department relocate some embassy staff from Baghdad to the consulates in Arbil and Basra, as well as Amman.

It added that the embassy remained open, and that most personnel were to remain in place in Baghdad.

The troops were entering Iraq with the consent of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, the statement said.

While Obama has vowed to keep US forces out of combat in Iraq, he said in his notification to Congress that the personnel moving into the region are equipped for direct fighting.

And separately, three US officials said the White House was considering sending a contingent of special forces soldiers to Iraq. Their limited mission - which has not yet been approved - would focus on training and advising beleaguered Iraqi troops.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the troops on standby could "provide airfield management, security, and logistics support, if required." They could work with embassy security teams or operate as a stand-alone force as directed.

Officials would not say where the soldiers would be on standby, but it is likely they would be in Kuwait, which was a major basing ground for US troops during the Iraq war.

If the US were to deploy an additional team of special forces, the mission would almost certainly be small. One US official said it could be up to 100 special forces soldiers. It also could be authorized only as an advising and training mission - meaning the soldiers would work closely with Iraqi forces that are fighting the insurgency but would not officially be considered as combat troops.

The White House would not confirm that special operations forces were under consideration. But spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said that while Obama would not send troops back into combat, "he has asked his national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces."

It's not clear how quickly the special forces could arrive in Iraq. It's also unknown whether they would remain in Baghdad or be sent to the nation's north, where the Sunni insurgency has captured large swaths of territory collaring Baghdad, the capital of the Shiite-led government.

The troops would fall under the authority of the US ambassador in Baghdad and would not be authorized to engage in combat, another US official said. Their mission would be "non-operational training" of both regular and counter terrorism units, which the military has in the past interpreted to mean training on military bases, the official said.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team