The Patriot Post® · 1,500 More American 'Boots on the Ground'

In September, Barack Obama made a non-committal commitment to fight ISIL in Iraq without U.S. troops being involved in any fighting. “American forces will not have a combat mission – we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq,” he insisted. “It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.” So how’s that going? Well, now he says, “As commander in chief, I’m never going to say never.” The New York Times reports, “President Obama has authorized the deployment of an additional 1,500 American troops to Iraq in the coming months, doubling the number of Americans meant to train and advise Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The trainers and advisers are to help Iraqis and Kurds as they plan a major offensive expected next spring against Islamic State fighters who have poured into Iraq from Syria.” Granted, these are “trainers and advisers,” not combat troops, but what happens if the fight comes to them? Additionally, the Times notes, “White House budget officials said they would ask Congress for $5 billion for military operations in the Middle East against the Islamic State, including $1.6 billion to train and equip Iraqi troops.” Obama’s clearly trying to clean up the mess he created without admitting he was dead wrong about abandoning Iraq in 2011. More…