Obama's Iraq plan gets bipartisan support on Capitol Hill
Proposal to send up to 300 military advisers initially satisfies members of both parties.
President Barack Obama managed to unite supporters of military action in Iraq and more dovish lawmakers with his plan to help the Iraqi government fight Islamist militants.
In a televised address June 19, the president outlined plans to run joint operations centers in Baghdad and northern Iraq and send up to 300 military advisers to "assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces going forward." He said the United States "will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action, if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it" and vowed to work with Congress if it comes to that.
"American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq," the president vowed, "but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well."
Some hawkish lawmakers applauded the speech, even as they acknowledged that the details remain murky.
