Obama: 'No Combat Mission' Creep in Iraq
What about those troops we've already got on the ground?
President Obama insisted Wednesday that he will not send U.S. troops into a "combat mission" on the ground in Iraq, a day after his top military adviser opened the door to that possibility during a Capitol Hill hearing.
The comments from Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stirred confusion about the administration's policy and pointed to possible daylight between Obama's long-term view of the fight against the Islamic State and that of his military team. It triggered complaints from the Iraqi government as well as Obama's Democratic allies on the Hill.
