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| United States to Send Military Advisers to Iraq | United States to Send Military Advisers to Iraq |
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| WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Thursday that the United States would deploy up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its beleaguered security forces fend off Sunni militants, edging the United States back into a conflict that Mr. Obama thought he had left behind. | WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Thursday that the United States would deploy up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help its beleaguered security forces fend off Sunni militants, edging the United States back into a conflict that Mr. Obama thought he had left behind. |
| Mr. Obama also said the United States was gathering intelligence on the positions of militant fighters to identify targets, and added, “We will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if we conclude the situation on the ground requires it.” | Mr. Obama also said the United States was gathering intelligence on the positions of militant fighters to identify targets, and added, “We will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if we conclude the situation on the ground requires it.” |
| The president sent a strong warning to the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Shiite leader whose policies have fueled the deepening sectarian tensions with the Sunni Arab minority. American officials have privately concluded that Mr. Maliki cannot head a national unity government. | The president sent a strong warning to the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Shiite leader whose policies have fueled the deepening sectarian tensions with the Sunni Arab minority. American officials have privately concluded that Mr. Maliki cannot head a national unity government. |
| “The test is before him and other Iraqi leaders as we speak,” Mr. Obama said. “Right now they can make a series of decisions. Regardless of what’s happened in the past, right now is a moment where the fate of Iraq hangs in the balance.” | “The test is before him and other Iraqi leaders as we speak,” Mr. Obama said. “Right now they can make a series of decisions. Regardless of what’s happened in the past, right now is a moment where the fate of Iraq hangs in the balance.” |
| Mr. Obama insisted that the United States would not press for Mr. Maliki’s replacement by a new leader. “It’s not our job to choose Iraq’s leaders,” he said. But he added, “Right now, there’s too much suspicion, there’s too much mistrust.” | Mr. Obama insisted that the United States would not press for Mr. Maliki’s replacement by a new leader. “It’s not our job to choose Iraq’s leaders,” he said. But he added, “Right now, there’s too much suspicion, there’s too much mistrust.” |
| Mr. Obama said he still believed that the solution to Iraq’s strife was political, not military. He said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Europe and the Middle East this weekend to build support among Iraq’s Arab neighbors for a multisectarian government in Baghdad. | Mr. Obama said he still believed that the solution to Iraq’s strife was political, not military. He said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Europe and the Middle East this weekend to build support among Iraq’s Arab neighbors for a multisectarian government in Baghdad. |
| The president also suggested that there was a constructive role for Iran, Iraq’s Shiite neighbor, to play in the crisis if, he said, “it is sending the same message to the Iraqi government that we are sending.” But he warned that Iran would be a destructive force if it supplied “armed forces on behalf of the Shia.” | The president also suggested that there was a constructive role for Iran, Iraq’s Shiite neighbor, to play in the crisis if, he said, “it is sending the same message to the Iraqi government that we are sending.” But he warned that Iran would be a destructive force if it supplied “armed forces on behalf of the Shia.” |
| Mr. Obama emphasized again that he would not send combat troops to Iraq, but he said the United States would help the Iraqis “take the fight” to the militants, who he said pose a threat to Iraq’s stability and to American interests, because Iraq could become a sanctuary for terrorists who could strike the United States or its allies. | Mr. Obama emphasized again that he would not send combat troops to Iraq, but he said the United States would help the Iraqis “take the fight” to the militants, who he said pose a threat to Iraq’s stability and to American interests, because Iraq could become a sanctuary for terrorists who could strike the United States or its allies. |
| “It is in our national security interest not to see an all-out civil war in Iraq,” Mr. Obama said to reporters in the White House briefing room, after a meeting of his National Security Council. | “It is in our national security interest not to see an all-out civil war in Iraq,” Mr. Obama said to reporters in the White House briefing room, after a meeting of his National Security Council. |
| The president said the additional military advisers would staff two joint operations centers, in Baghdad and outside, in which the United States and Iraqi forces would share intelligence and planning. | The president said the additional military advisers would staff two joint operations centers, in Baghdad and outside, in which the United States and Iraqi forces would share intelligence and planning. |
| Mr. Obama also said the United States would supply Iraqi forces with technology and equipment, drawing on the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund that he announced in a foreign policy speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point. | Mr. Obama also said the United States would supply Iraqi forces with technology and equipment, drawing on the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund that he announced in a foreign policy speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point. |
| The American military advisers will be based not only in Baghdad but also in northern Iraq, where the militants have made their greatest advances. And they will help not only with intelligence-gathering, but also with the planning of military operations against the militants. | The American military advisers will be based not only in Baghdad but also in northern Iraq, where the militants have made their greatest advances. And they will help not only with intelligence-gathering, but also with the planning of military operations against the militants. |
| Still, Mr. Obama invoked the painful legacy of the Iraq war in pledging to approach the crisis with caution and restraint. | Still, Mr. Obama invoked the painful legacy of the Iraq war in pledging to approach the crisis with caution and restraint. |
| “Recent days have reminded us of the deep scars left by America’s war in Iraq,” he said, adding that the United States needed to “ask hard questions before we take action abroad, particularly military action.” | |
| Mr. Obama also said he was reluctant to get drawn deeper into the civil war in neighboring Syria, where many of the fighters from the Sunni militant group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, originated. He cited the difficulties in deciding whether to arm members of the opposition. | |
| “If you have former farmers or teachers or pharmacists who now are taking up opposition against a battle-hardened regime,” he said, “how quickly can you get them trained?” | “If you have former farmers or teachers or pharmacists who now are taking up opposition against a battle-hardened regime,” he said, “how quickly can you get them trained?” |
| The statement came a day after he consulted with congressional leaders at the White House, and after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke with Iraqi leaders. | The statement came a day after he consulted with congressional leaders at the White House, and after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spoke with Iraqi leaders. |
| Among those participating in Thursday’s national security meeting with Mr. Obama, according to the White House, were Mr. Biden; Secretary of State John Kerry; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff; Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser; Samantha Power, the ambassador to the United Nations; and W. Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel. | Among those participating in Thursday’s national security meeting with Mr. Obama, according to the White House, were Mr. Biden; Secretary of State John Kerry; Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Denis R. McDonough, the White House chief of staff; Susan E. Rice, the national security adviser; Samantha Power, the ambassador to the United Nations; and W. Neil Eggleston, the White House counsel. |
| Others in the meeting were James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lisa O. Monaco, the president’s counterterrorism adviser; Antony J. Blinken and Benjamin J. Rhodes, both deputy national security advisers; and Jake Sullivan, the vice president’s national security adviser. | Others in the meeting were James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence; John O. Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lisa O. Monaco, the president’s counterterrorism adviser; Antony J. Blinken and Benjamin J. Rhodes, both deputy national security advisers; and Jake Sullivan, the vice president’s national security adviser. |