WASHINGTON D.C. (FOX News, June 14, 2014)- The Pentagon said Saturday that the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush will be repositioned to provide President Obama “additional flexibility” in Iraq.
An Al Qaeda splinter group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), has been conducting an offensive in the western region of the Iraq, and threatens stability in Baghdad.
Obama said Friday his administration would consider air strikes, but would not send U.S. troops into combat. He made clear that any U.S. involvement likely would be limited, pressing the embattled Iraqi government to develop a “political plan” and make a “sincere effort” to resolve sectarian divisions.
“We can’t do it for them,” Obama said.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the carrier to be moved Saturday from the North Arabian Sea to the Arabian Gulf. The aircraft carrier will be accompanied by a guided-missile cruiser and a guided-missile destroyer, Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon press secretary, said. The ships are expected to arrive in the area late Saturday. The USS George H.W. Bush, a Nimitz-class carrier, has been in the region since February.
