US takes ownership of a new Iraq war

Daily Beast - Don’t hold your breath for a formal announcement, but the U.S. just declared ownership over the war in Iraq. The newest round of airstrikes take American military power out of a supporting role and into the lead.

Wednesday’s Pentagon statement that the U.S. would begin conducting airstrikes to support an Iraqi military campaign was a high-water mark for intervention in Iraq. But the military mission has been expanding since airstrikes were first launched last August to protect small teams of U.S. advisers and Iraqi minorities besieged by ISIS. At first the air war responded to emergencies, then it grew to assisting Kurdish forces and striking key ISIS targets to weaken the group and halt its advance.

Now, with Iraqi forces stalled in their first major counterattack against ISIS, the U.S. is stepping in to break the stalemate.

Via Djelloul Marbrook