I don't think he will ever send troops to war. If he does that there will be some this time that will DEMAND to see Obama's birth certificate and the white house knows he does not have one.
The white house got away with covering up the truth about Obama's past the first time but too much has been made public since then I believe even the white house knows if a group of military men challenge his legitimacy as Commander N Chief, Obama is toast.
The truth about this man is going to come out
I think that's exactly what happened here. After denying that they had authorized the air strikes that had already occurred, and after saying that there is no military solution, the White House suddenly does an "about face" and authorizes air strikes.
Think about it... some brave and honorable pilots had had enough and did what needed to be done without authorization (and perhaps against direct orders). Their careers may be toast, but they're probably OK with that, if that's the price they had to pay to do the right thing. There was a mutiny, however small, and the after-the-fact "authorization" to conduct "limited" air strikes is Obama's attempt to cover up that fact.
May there be more.