Contrary To President Obama's Promise, U.S. Advisers In Iraq Will Be In Combat

Iraq Vets Say Obama’s Promise Of No Combat For U.S. Advisers Will Be Hard To Keep -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Given how quickly Iraqi security forces have ceded large chunks of territory to Islamist militants in the last week, Americans who’ve fought in Iraq say President Barack Obama’s insistence that the up to 300 military advisers headed there will avoid combat could easily be broken.

The president’s national security aides say the advisers will be “special operators” _ military lingo for Special Operations forces. While those troops include the Army’s Delta Force, Navy SEALs, and Marine Corps and Air Force units, defense experts say most, and perhaps all, of the advisers en route to Iraq will be Army Green Berets, because of their expertise in training foreign fighters.

“These special operators will be advisers, but they will be with Iraqi units, and if those units get engaged by the enemy, they will defend themselves,” said Fred Wellman, a former Army lieutenant colonel who served as spokesman for Gen. David Petraeus when he commanded U.S. and allied troops in Iraq.

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My Comment: I concur with this assessment .... and with Iraqi army units now being engaged throughout the country these US advisers will probably be using their weapons sooner rather than later.