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Kerry Seeks Coalition Against ISIS - but Rules Out Ground Troops

Kerry called for a "core coalition” against ISIS but ruled out ground forces - a day after an advisor said boots on the ground hadn't been ruled out.
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John Kerry called for a "core coalition" of allies against ISIS Friday but reportedly ruled out committing ground forces - only a day after deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the White House hadn't ruled out boots on the ground. "We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,'' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a meeting of 10 nations.

"Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground," he added. Asked by NBC News’ Chris Jansing Thursday if the U.S. could tackle the extremist organization without ground troops, Rhodes replied: "We're not ruling that out." Last week President Obama admitted that "we don’t have a strategy yet" on how to tackle the threat posed by ISIS.

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- Alastair Jamieson