--- title: Obama: 'It's Up To The Iraqis' description: President Barack Obama said Friday he is still weighing "selected actions" by the American military in Iraq amid increasing violence there. canonical: https://time.com/2871164/obama-iraq-troops/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-13T16:20:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:57:30.636Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama: 'It's Up To The Iraqis' og:description: President Barack Obama said Friday he is still weighing "selected actions" by the American military in Iraq amid increasing violence there. og:url: https://time.com/2871164/obama-iraq-troops/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13391d146f736efa/6986978ecd68480709095350/barack-obama-iraq-statement-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: US-IRAQ-POLITICS-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama: 'It's Up To The Iraqis' twitter:description: President Barack Obama said Friday he is still weighing "selected actions" by the American military in Iraq amid increasing violence there. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13391d146f736efa/6986978ecd68480709095350/barack-obama-iraq-statement-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama: We're Not Sending American Troops Back to Iraq > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9bac128d-127c-4714-a1a7-7b14681c67d1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Obama's Iraq Update [Watch (HLS stream): Obama's Iraq Update](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bTYOK4pI.m3u8) (2:22)  _Published 2014-06-13. Obama's Iraq Update_ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 13, 2014 4:20 PM UTC by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 13, 2014 4:20 PM UTC President Barack Obama said Friday he is still weighing “selective actions” by the American military in Iraq to slow Sunni extremist fighters marching towards Baghdad, warning the insurgents “could pose a threat eventually to American interests as well.” Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, Obama said any American military action would be limited and short-term, and that it would only be initiated if the Iraqi government develops a political plan to put the country on the path to stability. “The United States is not simply going to involve itself in a military action in the absence of a political plan by the Iraqis that gives us some assurance that they’re prepared to work together,” Obama said, noting sectarian strife and the Iraqi military fleeing in the face of a less-numerous force. “We will not be sending American troops back to Iraq,” Obama said, as his administration plans a combination of increased military and intelligence assistance, as well as airstrikes. “The United States will do our part, but ultimately it’s up to the Iraqis.” More than three years since the last American combat troops left Iraq after an eight-year conflict that cost more than 4,400 American lives, Obama said the United States still has interests in Iraq, but can’t solve all of the nation’s problems for it. “We have enormous interests there, and obviously our troops and the American people and the American taxpayers made huge investments and sacrifices in order to give Iraqis the opportunity to chart a better course, a better destiny,” Obama said. “But ultimately, they’re going to have to seize it. As I said before, we are not going to be able to do it for them.” Seeking to calm shaky energy markets, Obama said it would take “several days” before he makes any final determination on strikes against the Sunni fighters, who’ve spilled over from Syria’s civil war and are known collectively as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “People should not anticipate that this is something that is going to happen overnight,” he said. “We want to make sure that we have good eyes on the situation there. We want to make sure that we gathered all the intelligence that’s necessary so that if in fact I do direct and order any actions there, that they’re targeted, they’re precise and they’re going to have an effect.” The president pledged to keep congressional lawmakers and the American people informed as he makes any decisions going forward. The White House has not said whether Obama would seek congressional authorization to launch airstrikes in Iraq or would rely on Bush-era authorizations. ## Transcript Morning everybody. I wanna take some time to give you a quick update about the situation in Iraq. Yesterday I convened a meeting with my National Security Council, to discuss the situation there. And this morning I received an update from my team. Over the last several days, we've seen significant gains made by ISIL. The terrorist organization that operates in both Iraq and in Syria. We will not be sending US troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my National Security Team to prepare a range of other options, that could help support Iraq Security Forces, and I'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead. The United States will do our part, but understand that ultimately it's up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems. indeed, across the region, we have redoubled our efforts to help build more capable counter terrorism forces so that groups like ISIL can't establish safe haven. And we'll continue that effort through our support of the moderate opposition in Syria, our support for Iraq and its security forces, and our partnership with other countries across the region. So this should be a wake up call. Iraq's leaders have to demonstrate a willingness to make hard decisions and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people, in order to bring the country together. In that effort, they will have the support of the United States and our friends and our allies. Now this threat is not brand new. Over the last year, we've been steadily ramping up our security assistance to the Iraqi government with increased training, equipping and intelligence. Now, Iraq needs additional support to break the momentum of extremist groups and bolster the capabilities of Iraqi Security Forces. But this is a regional problem, and it is gonna be a long- term problem. And what we're gonna have to do is combine selective actions by our military, to make sure that we're going after terrorists who could harm our personnel oversees or eventually hit the homeland. We're gonna have to combine that with what is a very challenging international effort to try to rebuild countries and communities that have been shattered by the Sectarian war. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2871164/obama-iraq-troops/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2871164/obama-iraq-troops/"},"headline":"Obama: We're Not Sending American Troops Back to Iraq","datePublished":"2014-06-13T16:20:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T08:57:30.636Z","description":"President Barack Obama said Friday that the U.S. will not be sending troops to Iraq as militant Sunni extremists march toward Baghdad. 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