U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William C. Mayville Jr., the Joint Chiefs of Staff director for operations, briefs reporters on U.S. military action in Iraq Aug. 11, 2014, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. President Barack Obama authorized humanitarian aid deliveries to Iraq as well as targeted airstrikes to protect U.S. personnel from extremists known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. U.S. Central Command directed the operations. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp, U.S. Army/Released)