The deployments would happen “very soon,” the official said.
Military officials also confirmed that US forces were already flying F-18 and unmanned surveillance flights over Iraq.
It remains unclear, however, whether ISIL forces deployed in civilian areas will provide suitable targets for US aircraft or drones, and the risk of casualties could give Washington pause.
The president said he was prepared to send up to 300 military advisors to Iraq in addition to 175 troops currently protecting the US embassy and 100 more on standby to assess how to train, advise and support Iraqi forces.
The US government, which spent billions of dollars building up the Iraqi army after disbanding the Sunni led force of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, was dismayed by the way some units laid down their arms and fled the advance of ISIL fighters.
But Iraqi forces now appear to be performing better, and regained full control of the country’s largest oil refinery in Baiji.
The Pentagon has noted a stiffening of resistance among security forces around Baghdad and a flood of volunteers to Shiite militias may also be helping.
Maliki also ordered security officers not serving in active units to report, to bolster forces battling the militant offensive.
– Pressing for unified Iraq –
Despite opening the way to a more overt role in Iraq, Obama warned that there was no military solution to the crisis.
He said Maliki’s actions could dictate the fate of the country, amid a growing feeling in Washington that the Iraqi leader would do best by moving on.
“The test is before him and other Iraqi leaders as we speak,” Obama said, calling for an end to mistrust, deep sectarian divides and political opportunism.
Obama also warned Iran, which has cultivated Maliki as a Shiite ally, that it must play a positive role and that if it did not, could threaten its own security.
“(An) Iraq in chaos on their borders is probably not in their interests. But old habits die hard,” Obama said.
Washington has said it is open to working with its foe to stabilize Iraq, but has ruled out any kind of military cooperation.
Obama also announced a new diplomatic initiative, sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Europe and the Middle East this weekend to consult on next steps with US allies and Iraq’s neighbors.
Congressional sources said Kerry would travel to Iraq “soon.”
Oil prices soared to a new nine-month high because of the violence in Iraq, and the attack on the refinery.
Britain banned ISIL, adding it to a list of proscribed organizations along with four other groups linked to the Syrian conflict, as fears grow the radicals could pose a direct threat to European security.
India said it knows the location of its 40 workers abducted from Mosul as several of their families said they spoke with the captured men who were scared but “safe.”
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