Obama: US troops 'do not and will not have a combat role' in Iraq

US President Barack Obama has reiterated that he will not send US combat troops into Iraq at any cost, stressing that the Iraqis and other regional powers must shoulder their part of the burden in fighting Islamic State.

Obama’s speech made on Wednesday at the Tampa MacDill air force base, comes a day after America’s top general told Congress that Obama was considering the need for a limited number of combat troops on a “case by case” basis.

"My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward,” General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“But if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the United States, then I of course would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of US military ground forces."

But Obama today said that US troops “do not and will not have a combat role.”

“They will help support Iraqi troops on the ground… [but] I will not commit you [US soldiers] to fighting another ground war in Iraq,” he added.

Instead, America will continue with its aerial campaign against IS in Iraq and Syria, and will beef up its presence in the troubled country by providing more logistical support to and training for local troops.

We must help the Iraqis to “secure their own country’s future” Obama said. “That is the only solution that will work in the long term.”  

America also cannot take the place of other regional powers who must band together to fight off Islamic State and help bring about peace and security in their neighbourhood, Obama explained.