http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140807/NEWS08/308070083/Obama-OKs-air-strikes-Iraq-begins-open-ended-humanitarian-mission
*Obama OKs air strikes in Iraq, begins open-ended humanitarian mission* Aug. 7, 2014 - 06:00AM | By Andrew Tilghman <[email protected]> President Obama expanded U.S. military operations in Iraq on Thursday, authorizing both “targeted air strikes” on Islamic militants and an open-ended humanitarian mission to help thousands of besieged Iraqis on the verge of starvation. The humanitarian mission began Thursday night as U.S. aircraft flew over Iraq’s northern Kurdish region to conduct air drops. That included two C-130 and one C-17 cargo planes, which were escorted by two F/A-18 Super Hornets, a senior defense official said. *[Five whole aircraft?]* U.S. troops from the U.S. Central Command pushed out pallets of food, water and other supplies over a mountain where about *40,000 Iraqis* from the Yazidi minority are stranded and trapped by forces with the Islamic State. The aircraft spent about 15 minutes flying at a low altitude over the drop zone, exposed to militants who may have surface-to-air weaponry. No air strikes occurred Thursday, a defense official said, but Obama has authorized their use on militant ground units threatening the Kurdish city of Erbil, where some U.S. civilians operate a consulate and about 40 U.S. troops are manning a joint operations center. “When the lives of American citizens are at risk, we will take action,” *[as in Benghazi?]* Obama said in a rare nighttime address from the White House. “To stop the advance on Erbil, I’ve directed our military to take targeted strikes against [Islamic State] terrorist convoys should they move toward the city.” However, Obama repeated his vow not to put combat troops on the ground in Iraq. “I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq,” the president said. “American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there’s no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq. The only lasting solution is reconciliation among Iraqi communities and stronger Iraqi security forces.” In authorizing the humanitarian mission, Obama said he was moved by the “chilling reports [of militants] rounding up families, conducting mass executions and enslaving Yazidi women.” “When we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then I think the United States cannot turn a blind eye,” Obama said. In total the air drop Thursday night included about *8,000 meals ready to eat and 5,300 gallons of drinking water*. *[for 40,000 people???]*Additional air drops will continue “as needed,” a defense official said A senior administration official said protecting Erbil and the U.S. citizens there is the most “urgent priority,” but Obama also authorized air strikes on ISIS forces surrounding the Yazidis to help break the siege that is putting those Iraqis at risk. Administration officials signaled that air strikes and humanitarian drops will continue until the siege is broken. The Iraqi air force attempted some air drops earlier this week with limited success because “frankly, these are difficult military operations,” a senior administration official said. Islamic State fighters recently began an aggressive move into Iraq’s northern Kurdish region and has repeatedly clashed with the Kurdish Peshmerga militia. The group has seized Iraq’s largest dam <http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20140807/NEWS08/308070058/Iraqi-militants-seize-country-s-largest-dam>, just north of Mosul, raising fears that damage or mismanagement of the massive facility could threaten millions of Iraqis living in the Tigris River Valley. There are more than 800 U.S. military personnel in Iraq, most of them in Baghdad. About 300 are special operations troops whose primary mission is to gather intelligence, and about 400 are providing security for U.S. diplomats at the embassy and the Baghdad airport. White House officials emphasized the limited nature of the mission. *“We are not launching a sustained U.S. campaign against [the Islamic State]* here,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday night. * [of course not…Obama won’t fight.]* __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmMjNzNGc4BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MDc1MDkxNDE-> [image: Yahoo! 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