Friday, August 8, 2014

Statement on Iraq: President Obama has acted expeditiously and appropriately in authorizing targeted military action and providing significant humanitarian assistance

Press Statement, John Kerry, Secretary of State, Washington, DC, August 7, 2014 :

"President Obama has acted expeditiously and appropriately in authorizing targeted military action and providing significant humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq at this very difficult moment when it is vitally needed.

The stakes for Iraq’s future could not be clearer, and today’s crisis underscores the stakes profoundly. ISIL’s campaign of terror against the innocent, including Yezedi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque and targeted acts of violence bear all the warning signs and hallmarks of genocide. For anyone who needed a wake-up call, this is it.
ISIL is not fighting on behalf of Sunnis. ISIL is not fighting for a stronger Iraq. ISIL is fighting to divide and destroy Iraq – and ISIL is offering nothing to anyone except chaos, nihilism, and ruthless thuggery. With a gut-wrenching humanitarian crisis unfolding, and the rolls of the starving and sick growing daily, there’s not a minute to waste. The United States is acting and leading, and the world cannot sit by and watch innocents die. We will continue to coordinate with our allies in the region and the international community to assist Iraqis to confront ISIL’s brutal ideology which poses a severe threat to Iraq, the region, and the United States.

President Obama has been unequivocal that he will do what is necessary and what is in our national interest to confront ISIL and its threat to the security of the region and to our own long-term security. He has been equally clear, as I have on my visit to Iraq and in all my conversations with Iraqi and regional leaders, that the only durable way to stop ISIL is for Iraq’s real leaders to unite and form an inclusive government as rapidly as possible within their own constitutional framework, including the selection of a prime minister. Iraq’s leaders must confront the growing humanitarian and security crisis with the urgency that it demands. They must do so knowing that ISIL finds an inadvertent, unwitting ally in any delay in the political process inside Iraq. Only ISIL wins if Iraqi political leaders avoid making tough choices rapidly to tip the balance in favor of inclusive and effective governance.

The safety and security of our men and women serving overseas is fundamental. Every day we wrestle with difficult choices to keep our people safe. I will remain closely engaged with Ambassador Beecroft, Deputy Assistant Secretary McGurk, and our team on the ground as we work to ensure that our personnel in Erbil, Baghdad, and across Iraq are secure."
 http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2014/08/230401.htm
7/8/14
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4 comments:

  1. Obama authorizes airstrikes in Iraq if militants advance on Irbil...

    A looming humanitarian catastrophe has pulled the United States deeper into the Iraq conflict, several years after American troops exited a long and painful war there.

    President Barack Obama announced Thursday night that he had authorized airstrikes to protect members of an ancient religious minority group stranded on a mountain, facing starvation and the threat of mass execution.

    Thousands of Yazidis now find themselves trapped by the al-Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The president announced that a successful aerial drop of humanitarian supplies had already been completed, and airstrikes could follow...............Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/obama-authorizes-airstrikes-in-iraq-if-militants-advance-on-irbil-1.1950034#ixzz39lkp7maK

    ReplyDelete
  2. U.S. set to strike if U.S. personnel, facilities in Iraq threatened: official...

    The United States is prepared to use air strikes in Iraq anywhere it sees a threat to U.S. personnel or facilities, senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday, but added it has not yet conducted any strikes.

    "This will apply of course to our personnel in Arbil, of course it will apply to our personnel and facilities and embassy in Baghdad," a senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    "If we see actions anywhere in Iraq that threaten our personnel or facilities, we stand prepared to take targeted action to protect them." REUTERS................http://www.todayonline.com/world/us-set-strike-if-us-personnel-facilities-iraq-threatened-official

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Turkish military has denied claims that Turkish aircraft have crossed into Iraqi airspace....

    In a written statement released Thursday evening, the General Staff said: "The allegations that Turkish warplanes conducted flights inside Iraqi airspace on August 7 do not reflect the reality."

    Newspaper reports in Turkey have alleged that Turkish F-16 jets and drones had flown over northern Iraq to track the movement of Islamic State militants.......................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/370295--turkish-military-denies-warplanes-over-iraq-claim

    ReplyDelete
  4. Curdos dizem que EUA bombardearam o norte do Iraque...

    Um porta-voz das forças de combate dos curdos (Peshmerga) garantiu que aviões dos EUA bombardearam posições dos combatentes do Estado Islâmico em duas áreas no norte do Iraque. O Departamento de Estado dos EUA desmente.

    "Os [aviões de combate] F-16 primeiro entraram no espaço aéreo do Iraque, em missão de reconhecimento, e estão agora a atacar o Daash (Estado Islâmico) em Gwer e na região de Sinjar", disse Holgard Hekmat à agência noticiosa AFP.

    O Departamento de Defesa dos EUA desmentiu que as suas forças militares tenham bombardeado posições de islamitas no Iraque..................http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Mundo/Interior.aspx?content_id=4069198&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JN-ULTIMAS+%28JN+-+Ultimas%29

    ReplyDelete

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