US Military Team Lands on Mt. Sinjar in Iraq to Assess Yazidi Crisis

[jakeXT]

Source: ABC News

Aug 13, 2014, 4:22 PM ET
ABC News via World News

United States Marines, special forces and the USAID disaster assistance relief team briefly landed today on Mt. Sinjar in Iraq, a U.S. official told ABC News.

It was the first time ABC News has learned of any Americans landing on the mountain, where thousands of Yazidis are trapped and facing a humanitarian crisis.

..

Addressing a group of Marines during a visit to Camp Pendleton in California, Hagel said the team had arrived in northern Iraq “to take a closer look and give a more in-depth assessment of where we can continue to help the Iraqis with what they’re doing and the threats that they are now dealing with."

The new team is in addition to the 40 U.S. military personnel already in Erbil who for several weeks have been manning a Joint Operations Center with Kurdish military forces.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-military-team-lands-mt-sinjar-iraq-assess/story?id=24968686

[Alhena]

1. I support this mission 100%

if America isn't going to help in a situation like this, exactly when are we going to help?

This ISIS crap is Dark Ages stuff.

[7962]

2. You are 100% correct. We cannot hide behind our own walls in todays world. nt

[big_dog]

4. U.S. Weighs Iraq Rescue Mission to Save Yazidis

Proposal Under Development Could Put Americans in Direct Confrontation With Islamic State Militants http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-weighs-international-rescue-mission-for-yazidi-refugees-1407881639

[bossy22]

10. I'm not against the use of american ground forces for a defensve operation

American troops could create a defensive perimeter and protect the refugees until they make it to safety. I just don't want this turning into a prolonged "hunt" for ISIS militants

[BlueEye]

5. Agreed. Why is America getting involved in Iraq again?

Because President Obama has a heart. One of his closest advisers, Samantha Power, has a heart. Bill Clinton has a heart but he failed to act on Rwanda and regrets it to this day.

This is not like the war Bush 43 launched. This is not "war for oil". This is not the type of operation that Halliburton is making a lot of money off of. At this point, it's a limited operation, and I don't think our President as any intention of making it more than that.

[ballyhoo]

7. Every operation starts the same way. Watch.

[BlueEye]

8. Except not really.

The last two Gulf Wars saw massive mobilizations in Kuwait and the Arab countries before the war even started. It was totally premediated, months in advance.

The Obama administration comparatively looks like they got caught with their pants down, but at least to me, that indicates the current operations are a genuinely humanitarian reaction, and not a planned war like it was with Bush.

[daleo]

12. It is humanitarian for now

But these things have their own logic and momentum.

[msanthrope]

3. I hope every one of them makes it back. nt

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. This wasn't reported until they came and went. n/t

[Fred Sanders]

9. Where they wearing boots or sneakers when they touched the ground? Does this qualify as

"boots on the ground", whatever that demilitarized phrase now means.

[840high]

11. They were holding their boots in

their hands.

[L0oniX]

13. We should send our cops over there.