As Russia and Iran step in to bolster the government in Baghdad, U.S. President Barack Obama has no good options to help defeat the al-Qaeda splinter group that’s proclaimed an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
The White House has offered limited military assistance to Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is pushing for a coalition government to unite Iraqis as Sunni fighters from the Islamic State and their allies pose what Secretary of State John Kerry calls “an existential threat” to Iraq.
