President Barack Obama Saturday morning said he wouldn't "get into a particular timetable" for the aerial American assault on Islamic State militants in Northern Iraq — but he also promised that the conflict would not bring American ground troops back to the country.
"We will not have U.S. combat troops in Iraq," Obama said before departing for vacation on Martha's Vineyard. 'We learned a lesson from our long and costly incursion."
Obama said air strikes that began Friday had destroyed crucial Islamic State weapons and positions, but that the crucial factor will not be American military engagement but Iraqi political will.
"The nature of this problem is not one that the U.S. military can solve," he said.
Obama also said he'd spoken to, and won the backing of, French and British leaders.