Obama Approves US Air Strikes in Iraq

President Barack Obama has authorized the use of US military air strikes against Islamic State militants in northern Iraq and approved humanitarian air drops. Militants faced strikes if they advanced on Erbil, threatening US personnel in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. US aircraft provided food and water supplies via air drops to tens of thousands of Yazidis trapped in mountains near Sinjar.

‘The US cannot and should not intervene every time there is a crisis in the world,’ said Obama. ‘We can act, carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide. It’s what we are doing on that mountain.’ Credit: YouTube/White House