WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL01) attended a classified House Armed Services Committee briefing on the deteriorating situation in Iraq Wednesday morning. After the briefing, he expressed concerns with the advances being made by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). However, Byrne rejected the idea of working with Iran to address the situation, along with the possibility of the United States playing “any intensive military role” in the budding crisis.
“I am very concerned by the continuing reports of ISIS advances in Iraq. It is important to remember that this is not a rational enemy we are facing, but rather an extremist group that’s stated goal is to form their own country. They are committed to using very brutal means in order to advance their agenda,” Byrne said.
The United States and Iran find themselves in the rare position of being on the same side of the current situation in Iraq. Both countries would like to prevent the collapse of the Iraqi government and the outbreak of civil war. As a result, U.S. State Department officials and Iranian diplomats discussed the possibility of some type of coordinated approach to Iraq during a meeting about Iran’s nuclear program on Monday. The State Department was quick to point out that military coordination was off the table, but the idea of working with Iran on some level has gotten the support of several high ranking U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Rep. Byrne pushed back hard against the possibility of working with Iran, noting their ongoing support of terrorist organizations around the world.
“I reject the idea that the United States should work closely with Iran, who remains the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, to resolve this crisis,” Byrne said. “We do not have normalized relations with Iran, and we should not forget that we remain in contentious talks over Iran’s nuclear weapons program. I also do not believe there is any intensive military role for the United States to play, including putting boots on the ground.”
President Obama has ruled out using airstrikes against the insurgents for the time being, although the USS George W. Bush moved into the Persian Gulf over the weekend in case he changes his mind. Predator drones outfitted with Hellfire missiles and Reapers carrying precision-guided bombs give the U.S. the ability to take out ISIS camps and depots without the risk of a manned aircraft being shot down. However, with unreliable intelligence on the ground, some military experts question how accurate drone strikes would be. As a result, the president is believed to be leaning toward sending roughly 100 U.S. special operations troops into Iraq to boost the Iraqi government forces and increase the reliability of intelligence gathering efforts.
“The United States has spent a lot of time, an awful lot of money, and most importantly, American lives for a democratically elected Iraqi government to come into existence,” Byrne said. “We can’t now turn a blind eye to what is happening, and we must exert steady leadership in what is a very unstable part of the world.”
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