Obama: 'It's not our job to choose Iraq's leaders'

President Obama on Thursday said the United States would not be sending troops back to Iraq to deal with the widening sectarian conflict there.

"There is no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States," he said.

The U.S. will instead send 300 military advisers to work with the Iraqi government, and Secretary of State John Kerry will head to the region and to Europe to meet with allies there. Obama did, however, leave open the door for air strikes to thwart ISIS' advances, saying that the U.S. could engage in "targeted and precise military action if and when we determine the situation on the ground" requires it.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

And when asked if he had confidence in Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki, Obama offered a blunt assessment: "It's not our job to choose Iraq's leaders."