will not have a combat mission. as your commander-in-chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. but yesterday, his defense secretary said we will be launching more ground operations. we won t hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against isil or conducting such missions directly. whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground. which is it, this military analyst has an answer, the white house isn t being straight with us. anybody in combat is boots on the ground. the white house has been trying to play politics here. and trying to convince everybody that special operations forces are not boots on the ground. this just in, the pentagon briefing today, colonel steve warren, the d.o.d. spokesperson for operation inherent resolve speaking from baghdad said in no uncertain terms, the u.s. forces
and he rushed to help them and made it possible for them to be effective. and the mission was a success. about 70 hostages were freed. it was the first time u.s. troops had become voched in direct ground combat in iraq since the start of the war against isis and wheel are wer e first u.s. combat death but the pentagon remains reluctant to say that this soldier died in combat because the president promised last year no combat, no ground troop ms in iraq. listen. i want to be clear, the american forces that have been deployed to iraq to not and will not have a combat mission. as your commander in chief, i will not commit you you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. a pentagon spokesman says it s important to realize u.s. military support does not represent a change in our policy. u.s. forces are not in iraq on a
policy. u.s. forces are not in iraq on a combat mission, and do not have boots on the ground. the white house and pentagon have been reluctant to say this american soldier died in combat. because the president promised no combat, no ground troops in iraq. i want to be clear, the american forces that have been deployed to iraq, do not and will not have a combat mission. as your commander-in-chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. today the defense secretary faced tough questions about where a support mission ends and a combat mission begins. he finally admitted what everyone knew. this is combat, things are complicated. this is someone who saw the team that he was advising in and assisting, coming under attack. and he rushed to their, to help them. midwester sergeant josh wheeler will come home tomorrow.
chinook to care rye the hostages out. kurdish special forces were in the lead. about two dozen elite u.s. commanders were on the ground. one american and army special operator was killed. shot in a gunfight. flown to erbil where he died of his wounds. the pentagon press secretary refused to call it combat and denied the operation violated the president s order mandating no u.s. boots on the ground. this was authorized by the secretary of defense. specifically under our operation inherent resolve mission. specifically the campaign to defeat isil to support to iraqi security forces, which includes the kurdish peshmerga forces. so it was within this operation they were acting. the american forces that have been deployed to iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. it s notable brett that the
we must support the iraqi forces which have the will to win but not the means. we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. we must give these forces the consistent advantage of american air power. we will conduct a systemic campaign of air strikes against these terrorists. the united states must engage with friends and allies and lead again in this vital region. america will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. we do not need and our friends don t ask for a major commitment of american combat forces. these american forces will not have a combat mission. we will not get dragged in to another ground war in iraq. only iraq shiites, sunnis and kurds will decide if they can live together and share power and resources in a way that will serve their interests. american power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for iraqis, what they must do for themselves.