Obama
'Would Order' US Troops Into Combat If ISIS Got Nuclear Weapon
President
Obama has
been unwavering and definitive in declaring he will not deploy U.S.
ground troops into combat to fight ISIS militants.
Period.
17
November, 2014
But
for the first time since the start of then anti-ISIS offensive dubbed
Operation Inherent Resolve, the president volunteered a scenario
which he said would change his mind.
“If
we discovered that [ISIS] had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon,
and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then,
yes,” the president told reporters at a news conference in
Brisbane, Australia, on Sunday. “I would order it.”
There
is no indication that ISIS currently possesses or could easily obtain
a nuclear weapon, officials say.
Still,
Obama’s declaration of a nuclear weapon in the hands of ISIS is a
noteworthy new “red line” – and a very high bar for a U.S.
offensive role on the ground.
Gen.
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs and Obama’s top
military adviser, has consistently kept the door open to deployment
of U.S. ground troops in combat situations ever since anti-ISIS
military operations began, but has yet to formally recommend it.
Last
week, Dempsey testified on Capitol Hill that the Pentagon is
“certainly considering” whether to embed U.S. military advisers
with Iraqi combat units deployed to the front lines. Obama has also
maintained openness to the idea, but already rejected one
recommendation to do so.
“Yes,
there are circumstances in which [Dempsey] could envision the
deployment of U.S. troops. That’s true everywhere, by the way,”
Obama said Sunday. “That’s his job, is to think about various
contingencies. And, yes, there are always circumstances in which the
United States might need to deploy U.S. ground troops
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.