It was announced today by one senior White House official that the United States is considering sending ground troops to support the evacuation of Yazidi refugees in Iraq. The decision apparently hangs on a situational assessment by senior military advisers. This news comes just a week after the United States began an airstrike campaign in northern Iraq against ISIS or ISIL, also known as The Islamic State, a radical Islamic militant group that now controls large portions of Iraq and Syria. 

The New York Times reports that the deputy national security adviser, Benjamin J. Rhodes, made a statement this week to the press that President Obama would be receiving assessments "in the next several days" of the current situation in Iraq as well as recommendations on how to best support Iraqi forces currently aiding in the evacuation of Yazidi refugees. 

Rhodes made it clear that the president is only considering troops to aid the "humanitarian mission" currently underway. "What he's ruled out is reintroducing U.S. forces into combat on the ground in Iraq," Rhodes said of Obama. 

Mr. Rhodes also admitted that ground troops, no matter their mission, will be in a dangerous situation and could incur casualties. He also stated that should American soldiers find themselves in a combat situation, they would "have the ability to defend themselves," reports the Times. 

The White House has not decided at this point how to best carry out any potential aid operations, and is still waiting for the impending assessment before proceeding any further. The Pentagon sent an assessment team to Iraq this week of around 130 people who, according to Rhodes, will "report back within several days."

The humanitarian crisis at the center of this regards Yazidi refugees now taking refuge on top of a mountain in Iraq. They were forced to seek refuge there when ISIS militants laid siege to their town and began killing Yazidis--as many as 500 people. 

The most direct route off the mountain top is south, however, this plan is problematic because it would lead the Yazidis and support forces directly into ISIS-contolled territory,and could lead to a direct confrontation between ISIS and U.S. Military forces.

An alternative would be to descend the mountain on its northwestern side into Syria. There are apparently already established corridors there that refugees have been using for sometime. And while Kurdish personnel would make up most of the military support for this option, U.S. forces--whether special ops forces or Marines--would be necessary to provide adequate security for the escort.