US fighters drop bombs to counter militants in Iraq
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US fighters dropped bombs on Islamic militants in Iraq yesterday, the Pentagon said, redeeming President Barack Obama’s promise of military force to counter the advancing militants and confront the threat they pose to Iraqi civilians and Americans.
The Pentagon said two F/A-18 jets dropped 227-kilogram bombs on a piece of artillery and the truck towing it.
In a speech on Thursday, Obama threatened to renew US military involvement in Iraq’s long sectarian war.
He said American military planes had already carried out airdrops of food and water, at the request of the Iraqi government, to tens of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities on top of a mountain surrounded by militants and desperately in need of supplies.
“America is coming to help,” Obama said in a somber speech from the White House.
The Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion with ties to Zoroastrianism, fled their homes after the Islamic State group issued an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a religious fine, flee their homes or face death.
“Earlier this week, one Iraqi in the area cried to the world: ‘There is no one coming to help.’ Well, today, America is coming to help,” Obama said.
“We’re also consulting with other countries — and the United Nations — who have called for action to address this humanitarian crisis.”
The announcement reflected the deepest American engagement in Iraq since US troops withdrew in late 2011 after nearly a decade of war.
Obama has staked much of his legacy as president on ending what he once called the “dumb war” in Iraq.
Mindful of the public’s aversion to another lengthy conflict, Obama acknowledged that the prospect of a new round of US military action would be a cause for concern among many Americans.
He vowed anew not to put American combat troops back on the ground in Iraq and said there was no US military solution to the crisis.
“As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq,” he said.
Even so, he outlined a rationale for airstrikes if the Islamic State militants advance on American troops in the northern city of Irbil and the US consulate there in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
The troops were sent to Iraq earlier this year as part of the White House response to the extremist group’s swift movement across the border with Syria and into Iraq.
“When the lives of American citizens are at risk, we will take action,” Obama said. “That’s my responsibility as commander in chief.”
He said he had also authorized the use of targeted military strikes if necessary to help the Iraqi security forces protect civilians.
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