© Reuters / Kevin Lamarque
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey testify during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. policy toward Iraq and Syria and the threat posed by the Islamic State on Capitol Hill in Washington September 16, 2014.
Two of the United States military's top officials testified before the Senate on Tuesday about the growing threat posed by Islamic State militants and acknowledged that
the Pentagon's current plan for the situation in Iraq and Syria could soon shift.
As Congress considers whether or not the US government should go forward with a plan proposed by President Barack Obama to train and equip fighters to take on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, American military top brass said the White House may adopt a new strategy
if the extremist group's operations in the Middle East intensify and warrant further assistance from the Pentagon.
Pres. Obama has repeatedly gone on the record in recent weeks to state that there will be "no boots on the ground" in Iraq and Syria where the Islamic State continue to wage an escalating campaign of violence, and that US troops will not engage in combat missions, instead relying on airstrikes and providing other assistance to anti-IS fighters.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators in Washington, DC during Tuesday's hearing that the president's stated policy remains one involving no ground forces in Iraq and Syria. The top commander added, however, that
Pres. Obama said to "come back to him on a case-by-case basis" should the situation overseas worsen.
Comment: Lavrov, or course, is entirely correct. The U.S. is a hypocritical government, one that acts as though it cares about human rights and freedoms, but through its actions, both overt and covert, it shows that what it really cares about is hegemony, power, and control. It will do whatever it takes to achieve those means, and they have to break international law to do it, well, the UN will have to live with it.