Putting U.S. military boots on the ground in Iraq doesn’t necessarily mean pitching infantry units into the battlefield. The possibility raised by the top U.S. general this week of involving American forces in the ground fight against the Islamic State presents a different scenario: small groups of commandos operating in the shadows of Iraqi army units, giving advice and calling in airstrikes. President Barack Obama yesterday again drew a hard line on sending U.S. forces into “another ground war in Iraq,” even as U.S. combat planes and drones fly missions overhead. Yet that pledge may not preclude having American warriors coming under fire next to Iraqi troops as they root out Islamic State...
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