Good point, but who will be military be directed against?
IMHO this is a straw in the wind to start the clock running on a really big Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) which can be embedded in some sort of an expedited material support operation for the Iraqi government if ISIS appears to be successfully isolating Baghdad or about to penetrate the security screen around Baghdad. The number of Americans in Iraq with the US government, USG contractors, Non Government Organizations and International organizations as well as other westerners attached to the last two number in the thousands. If the core around Baghdad appears to be crumbling then you can imagine what would be the fate of these people and it would be broadcast live on TV. So there is both a component of national interest in pushing hardware into Iraq to bolster what is still seen as a US proxy state and in protecting the physical safety of as many foreign nationals trapped in country as possible and one of political calculation. The Mahdi and his handlers do not want the sequel to the fall of Khartoum broadcast ‘Live at 6’ on CBS.