Last Friday morning, the U.S. military launched an airstrike against Iraq under authorization of President Obama himself. However, Josh Earnest the White House Press Secretary announced the on the same say that the authorization President Obama gave to carry out military action in Iraq is “very limited in scope”. He also reiterated the president’s statement on the crisis taking place in Iraq, that the United States “will not be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq”.
The Defense Department announced that the military has not planned any further operations in Iraq other than the one airstrike that was confirmed to have been carried out last Friday. This was the first military operation that was launched in Iraq since the Iraq War in 2003.
Although military aid will be constantly provided for the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, this will not involve any additional U.S. troops entering the nation. Instead, the Defense Department announced some more specific goals.
First of all, Earnest explained that their top priority was the protection of American military personnel and diplomatic officials in Abril. The secretary added that the protection of these people will benefit the use of military force.
Also, the conflict in Iraq with the Islamic State is essentially a humanitarian crisis and the U.S. will be focusing on the protection of Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities. Right now, the Islamic State forces have trapped tens of thousands of civilians on top of Mount Sinjar. The Jihadists stated that they vowed to kill anyone who will try to escape. Earnest added that the U.S. had succeeded in carrying out an airdrop of supplies for the detained civilians.
Their third goal, according to Earnest was to help form a united Iraqi government. Specifically, the administration plans to assist both the Iraqi and Kurdish forces into constructing a united country to fight against the Islamic State forces. This last goal will be achieved through the appointment of a president, deputy and a number of speakers who will reflect the diversity of Iraq.
Earnest emphasized that this crisis will not be solved solely by U.S. military intervention, but it also requires the involvement of Iraqi citizens and a government that reflects the opinions of Iraq’s diverse population.
The Islamic State is a group of terrorists that broke off the al-Qaeda. They are an organization composed of Islamic extremists and Jihadists both from the Middle East and even from America and Europe who have Western passports. They have carried out terrorist activities and have been harming Iraq’s ethnic and religious minorities such as the Shabaks, Turkmens, Yazidis, and Christians.
