White House: No ‘combat role,’ but US troops could ‘forward deploy’ with Iraqis

The White House acknowledged Wednesday that President Obama would consider putting U.S. troops in "forward-deployed positions" to advise Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State -- even while insisting U.S. troops would not be sent back into a "combat role" in Iraq.

Obama and his top advisers appeared to be threading a needle as they carefully clarified how exactly U.S. troops might be used, a day after Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey opened the door to approving "U.S. military ground forces."

The White House continued to insist Wednesday that a "combat role" has in fact been ruled out, and that U.S. troops will not be engaging the Islamic State on the ground.

Click here for the full story