Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued this statement following President Obama’s South Lawn remarks on Iraq:

“While the crisis in Iraq is ultimately up to Iraqis to solve, the United States has vital national security interests at stake.

“This is a region in chaos.  The President and his team need to be acting urgently – not ‘reviewing options in the days ahead.’ This threat has been growing for months, and Iraqis have been asking for assistance to attack these terrorist camps through drone strikes, which have been denied.  Why has the Obama Administration been taken off guard?

“We shouldn’t have boots on the ground, but we need to be hitting these columns of terrorists marching on Baghdad with drones now.”

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