--- title: John Kerry Rules Out Iraq Air Strikes by Obama description: Top American diplomat warns against strikes in a power vacuum canonical: https://time.com/2917384/iraq-kerry-obama-airstrikes/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-24T15:26:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:01:13.153Z article:section: Politics og:title: John Kerry Rules Out Iraq Air Strikes by Obama og:description: Top American diplomat warns against strikes in a power vacuum og:url: https://time.com/2917384/iraq-kerry-obama-airstrikes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt631c396f16cd0cc2/698698ff361760013090cc48/451138188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Erbil, Iraq on June 24, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John Kerry Rules Out Iraq Air Strikes by Obama twitter:description: Top American diplomat warns against strikes in a power vacuum twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt631c396f16cd0cc2/698698ff361760013090cc48/451138188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kerry Says U.S. Air Strikes in Iraq Would Be 'Act of Irresponsibility' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=44734e71-e6f5-4709-befd-f270a0aaa199&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Kerry on Iraq: Would Like to See Leadership [Watch (HLS stream): Kerry on Iraq: Would Like to See Leadership](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ap5BqQUO.m3u8) (0:27)  _Published 2014-06-23_  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 24, 2014 3:26 PM UTC  US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Erbil, Iraq on June 24, 2014. US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Erbil, Iraq on June 24, 2014. Hamit Husein—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 24, 2014 3:26 PM UTC Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday [ruled out](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kerry-on-iraq-no-decision-on-american-force-in-a-vacuum/) U.S. air strikes in Iraq so long as its government remains fractured along sectarian lines and incapable of combating extremist Sunni militants who are capturing towns in the country’s north. Kerry [told](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kerry-on-iraq-no-decision-on-american-force-in-a-vacuum/) CBS News that the U.S. military was prepared to provide assistance to Iraqi troops, but launching air strikes at this moment would constitute “a complete and total act of responsibility.” “There’s no government, there’s no backup, there’s no military, there’s nothing there that provides the capacity for success,” Kerry said. His remarks appeared to walk back [comments made the day before](http://time.com/2911208/iraq-john-kerry/), when he suggested the progress my fighters from the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) could force U.S. action. Kerry is in Iraq this week meeting with the country’s leaders and urging them to form a more inclusive government. \[[_CBS_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kerry-on-iraq-no-decision-on-american-force-in-a-vacuum/)\] ## Transcript The United States would like to see the Iraqi people find leadership that is prepared to represent all of the people of Iraq. That is prepared to be inclusive and share power in a way that will maximize the ability of Iraq to focus on the real danger at this moment from an external source. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2917384/iraq-kerry-obama-airstrikes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2917384/iraq-kerry-obama-airstrikes/"},"headline":"Kerry Says U.S. Air Strikes in Iraq Would Be 'Act of Irresponsibility'","datePublished":"2014-06-24T15:26:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:01:13.153Z","description":"Top American diplomat warns against strikes in a power vacuum","url":"https://time.com/2917384/iraq-kerry-obama-airstrikes/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","Iraq","ISIS","John F. 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