The US is back at war in Iraq. How limited such war can be remains to be seen, but US military aircraft are attacking ISIS positions on the ground and that is war. As someone who has always argued against the US military involvement in Iraq, I am deeply ambivalent about this. However, the 40K people trapped on Mt. Sinjar and the vast refugee crisis persuade me that something must be done. While I would ideally like to see that done under the aegis of an international organization rather than the US taking control again, it does appear to me that there isn't time to wait for that to happen, even if it might be possible. I am persuaded that the president is making the most plausible decision in a situation is which there really are no good choices.
Here's what things look like in Iraq as of now.
US begins air strikes against Isis targets in Iraq, Pentagon says
American warplanes began bombing Islamic militant targets outside the Kurdish city of Irbil on Friday, in the first offensive action by the US in Iraq since it withdrew ground troops in 2011.
Following authority granted by Barack Obama on Thursday, the Pentagon said two FA-18 jets dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on fighters with the Islamic State, also known as Isis or Isil.
The US claimed the militants were using artillery to shell peshmerga forces defending Irbil and threatening US personnel in the city.
“As the president made clear, the United States military will continue to take direct action against Isil when they threaten our personnel and facilities,” said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.
Obama's stated rationale for the increased level of participation is preventing a likely case of genocide and protecting the US military advisers that he earlier deployed when the threat of ISIS advances became severe. This is really not a situation that one can just put an band-aid on an leave. Obama is being pressed by Republicans to come up with a comprehensive strategy for defeating ISIS. People of the left of the Democrats are invoking the spectra of Bush/Cheney and demanding that the US refuse to participate in any way.
Obama is not Bush and this is not Bush's war of aggression. I really have no idea how this will turn out, but it is a situation in which my perception of reality lies somewhere between the two extremes. It is a serious crisis that must be responded to. Trying to tie it up with Israel and Gaza, with Putin and Ukraine, with Bush and torture, etc, just seems to me to be unreasonable under the circumstances.