The Pentagon defended its decision on Thursday to risk the lives of U.S. troops to rescue Iraqi hostages and denied that the mission represents a new era involving ground combat operations against the Islamic State.
On Thursday, U.S. commandos participated in an operation in Hawija, Iraq, to save about 70 Iraqi hostages, 22 of whom were Iraqi Security Force fighters. In the joint raid with Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, one U.S. service member died from a gunshot wound after being transported to Irbil for medical treatment.
This represents the first U.S. combat death in the fight against the Islamic State.
The administration has been clear that the U.S. mission in Iraq is purely to train and advise Iraqi forces. President Obama has said repeatedly that U.S. forces in Iraq are not in combat.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook stressed that U.S. troops were in Iraq in a “support” role during the hostage rescue. He denied that a U.S. service member being killed by an enemy gunshot represented any kind of mission creep or an increased role for Americans in battle beyond training and advising Iraqi forces.
“Our mission in Iraq is the train, advise and assist mission. This was a unique circumstance,” Cook said. “This was a support mission in which they were providing support to the Kurdistan Regional Government. U.S. forces are not in an active combat mission in Iraq.”
He added that missions like this would not begin to happen on a regular basis.
Cook said the hostages were in “imminent” danger and many feared that they would be killed within “hours.”
Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the decision that the operation was “worthwhile” and in the national security interest of the U.S. because it helped the broader fight against the Islamic State, Cook said. He also said the intelligence gathered during the raid would be beneficial.
Asked what made these Iraqi civilian hostages worth risking American lives for when the Islamic State has already brutally murdered thousands of people, Cook stressed that the U.S. was responding to a request from a close ally.
“There were 70 people whose lives may have been in imminent jeopardy who were saved as a result of this action,” Cook said. “This was a partner, close partner of ours that has worked very closely with us in Iraq up to this point, made this request of us and to further our cooperation with them, to further our fight against [the Islamic State], the decision was made to take up this operation.”
