Obama: U.S. helps recapture Iraqi dam

Iraqi and Kurdish forces recaptured Mosul Dam in Iraq’s north with the help of increased American airstrikes, President Barack Obama said on Monday.
Obama told reporters at the White House that the prospect of a breach in the dam was potentially so “catastrophic” that the U.S. had no choice but to help get it back into Iraqi government hands. Now that it is, Obama warned Iraqi leaders that the use of American power in Iraq would remain limited and that they continue to bear responsibility for ultimately resolving the crisis there.


“I told my national security team today — and I will say publicly — that we want to communicate to politicians of all stripes in Iraq — don’t think because we have engaged in airstrikes to protect our people … that’s not the time the time to let the foot off the gas and return to the same kind of dysfunction that has so weakened the country generally,” Obama said. “The wolf’s at the door.”

The president restated his pledge not to return large numbers of combat troops to Iraq and said he would remain on guard against so-called mission creep, which he defined as the U.S. “thinking we’ve got to do everything ourselves.”

Having “effective partners on the ground” in the Iraqi and Kurdish forces that succeeded in Mosul, Obama said, makes “mission creep” less likely. And that’s why it remains so important for Baghdad to form an inclusive new government.

U.S. fighter aircraft, drones and bombers increased their operational tempo over the weekend in order to clear the way for Iraqi and Kurdish troops. American warplanes have now conducted about 68 airstrikes across Iraq since Obama’s authorization, about 38 of which have concentrated in the Mosul area, the U.S. Central Command reported Monday.
The strikes destroyed several American-made Humvees that had been captured by ISIL, “armed” vehicles, artillery and other targets, according to the Central Command. There was no information about the numbers of ISIL fighters or other people who might have been killed.


One new detail was Central Command’s report that “bombers” are now involved. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers based in Qatar can carry more ordnance than smaller Air Force and Navy fighters or drones. But neither Central Command nor Defense Department spokesman Col. Steve Warren would identify the “bombers” or their places of origin in the Middle East. Defense officials cited host nation sensibilities.

The U.S. also has air bases in Turkey, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, plus Navy fighters have been operating from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf.

Warren said earlier Monday that Central Command is “developing” an estimate for the costs of the air operations in Iraq so far, which have ranged from 60 to 100 sorties a day. Remotely and human-piloted surveillance aircraft blanketed Iraq for weeks before the president authorized the use of force there. The money to underwrite the increased operational tempo is coming out Central Command’s operational fund, Warren said.