The Washington Post
by Rowan Scarborough
January 5, 2014

The U.S. has inserted 200 troops in Iraq since 2012, but they cannot directly help the Iraqi military repel a surge of al Qaeda fighters, even as the country succumbs to sectarian violence and insurgents claim control of two key cities.

On Sunday, at least 20 people were killed in bombings in Baghdad and 34 others in fighting in the western province of Anbar, where Iraqi troops were trying to oust insurgents who had laid claim to the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

In Jerusalem on a Middle East peace mission, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said the U.S. supports Baghdad’s battle against al Qaeda but will not commit American troops to the fight. Nearly all U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in December 2011.

(excerpted)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014.../#ixzz2pdqrMQJJ