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ByJuliePace The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama vowed Fri- day that the United States would not be "dragged back" into military action in Iraq as long as leaders in Baghdad refuse to re- form a political system that has left the county vulnera- ble to a fast-moving Islamic insurgency. The president ruled out the possibility of putting American troops on the ground in Iraq, but said he was considering a range of other options drawn up by the Pentagon. Administra- tion officials said those in- clude strikes using drones or manned aircrafts, as well as boosts in surveillance and intelligence gathering, including satellite cover- age and other monitoring efforts. The U.S., which routinely has an array of ships in the region, has the aircraft car- rier USS George H.W. Bush and an accompanying Navy cruiser in the northern Ara- bian Sea, while two Navy destroyers from the Bush strike group have been op- erating in the Persian Gulf. The ships carry Tomahawk missiles, which could reach Iraq, and the Bush is car- rying fighter jets that could also easily get to Iraq. Still, the president ap- peared to leave himself a clear off-ramp by making military action contingent on a "serious and sincere ef- fort by Iraq's leaders to set aside sectarian differences" between the nation's Sunnis and Shiites. "We can't do it for them," he said. "And in the absence of this type of political ef- fort, short-term military action, including any as- sistance we might provide, won't succeed." U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Baghdad is un- likely to fall, according to officials who were briefed on the matter but could not be quoted by name because the briefings were classi- fied. Iraq's Shiite soldiers who deserted en masse be- cause they were unwilling to fight and die for Sunni towns such as Tikrit are much more likely to fight for Baghdad and its Shiite- dominated national govern- ment, U.S. intelligence offi- cials believe. U.S. agencies also assess that the units around Baghdad are mar- ginally better. Officials said they esti- mate there are several thou- sand insurgents but well short of 10,000. The security situation in Iraq rapidly deteriorated this week as the al-Qaida-in- spired group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant quickly overran Iraq's second-larg- est city of Mosul, Saddam Hussein's hometown of Ti- krit and smaller communi- ties, as well as military and police bases — often meeting little resistance from state security forces. The mili- tants have vowed to press on to Baghdad. Therebellion hasemerged as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability since the U.S. with- drew its military in late 2011 after more than eight years of war. Obama said the mil- itants also pose a threat to U.S. national security inter- ests, which could ultimately be used as a justification for a unilateral American strike. Over the past several days, the United States has urged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make his gov- ernment more inclusive and avoid further alienat- ing Iraqi Sunnis who are eyeing the insurgency as an alternative to support- ing the Shiite leadership in Baghdad. That message was delivered to al-Maliki in a phone call from Vice Presi- dent Joe Biden and also per- sonally by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett Mc- Gurk, who has years-long ties to the prime minister and is in Iraq this week to help negotiate a solution Obama suggested it could take several days to gather the intelligence nec- essary to make a final deci- sion on the U.S. response to the situation. Following his statement, Obama departed on a four-day trip to North Dakota and California. Of- ficials said he had no plans to cut it short. For Obama, launching military strikes in Iraq would pull the U.S. back into a conflict he declared over more than two years ago. The president has since tried to keep the U.S. out of further conflicts, including in Syria, where a civil war is helping fuel the insurgency in neighboring Iraq. Secretary of State John Kerry, traveling in London, said a key difference be- tween striking Syria and taking action in Iraq was the fact that Baghdad was specifically asking Wash- ington for help. "Under international law, it is clear that when a legit- imate nation makes a re- quest for help there is a le- gal basis for involvement in ways that are different," Kerry said. Iraqi leaders have been pleading with the U.S. for additional help to combat the insurgency for more than a year. While the U.S. has sold Iraq military equipment, the Obama ad- ministration has resisted drone strikes. Congressional Republi- cans accused Obama of ig- noring repeated warnings about the worsening con- ditions on the ground. "It's long past time for the president to lay out a plan for how we can re- verse the momentum and spread of terrorism in Iraq and a region that is critical to U.S. national interests," said House Speaker John Boehner. WORLD Ob am a se ts h ig h ba r fo r US m il it ar y ac ti on i n Ir aq PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama walks out of the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday to walk to the South lawn to talk about his administration's response to a growing insurgency foothold in Iraq. By Juan A. Lozano The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl returned to the United States early Friday after his release from five years in captivity in Af- ghanistan in a controversial prisoner swap with the Tal- iban. Bergdahl, who has been recovering at an Army medical facility in Ger- many since his release last month, "will continue the next phase of his reinte- gration process," at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Pentagon spokes- man Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said. "Our focus remains on his health and well-being," Kirby said. Officials in Washington said Bergdahl would be re- united with his family at Brooke and spend an un- determined period there in further recuperation. It was not clear when his fam- ily would arrive at the Army base. In a statement released early Friday via the Idaho National Guard, Bergdahl's family asked for privacy as they prepare to see their son for the first time in years. "While the Bergdahls are overjoyed that their son has returned to the United States, Mr. and Mrs. Berg- dahl don't intend to make any travel plans public," spokesman Col. Tim Mar- sano. A mass of journal- ists spent a rainy night crammed into a small parking lot outside Fort Sam Houston. Army offi- cials said no media would be allowed onto the base or in the hospital, and a news conference was scheduled for Friday afternoon at a nearby golf course. Officials have kept a lid on details of Berg- dahl's condition out of concern that he not be rushed back into the public spot- light after a lengthy period in captivity and amid a public uproar over the cir- cumstances of his capture and release. The Idaho native was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 and released by the Taliban on May 31 in a deal struck by the Obama administration in which five senior Taliban officials were released from deten- tion at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Army has not for- mally begun a new review into the circumstances of Bergdahl's capture and whether he walked away without leave or was de- serting the Army when he was found and taken by in- surgents. In a statement Friday, the Army said that after Bergdahl's reintegration it would "continue its com- prehensive review into the circumstances of his disap- pearance and captivity." The answers to those questions will be key to whether Bergdahl will re- ceive more than $300,000 in back pay owed to him since he disappeared. If he was determined to have been a prisoner of war, he also could receive roughly another $300,000 or more, if recommended and ap- proved by Army leaders. Before his departure from Germany on Thurs- day, officials in Washing- ton said Bergdahl would not receive the automatic Army promotion that would have taken effect this month if he were still in captivity. Now that he is back in U.S. military con- trol, any future promotions would depend on his per- formance and achievement of certain training and ed- ucation milestones. SOLDIER Bergdahl back in US a er years as captive Bergdahl By Nedra Pickler The Associated Press CANNON BALL, N.D. Pres- ident Barack Obama is in Indian Country for the first time as president, wit- nessing two sides of Native American life — a celebra- tion of colorful cultural traditions on the powwow grounds and a view of the often bleak modern-day conditions on tribal lands. The president and first lady arrived by helicopter as native songs and dances at the Flag Day Celebra- tion were already under- way at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles the border be- tween North Dakota and South Dakota. The couple first was meeting privately with tribal youth about their challenges growing up on the reservation that was home to legendary tribal chief Sitting Bull. Today, the 2.3 million- acre reservation is home to about 850 residents who struggle with a lack of hous- ing, health care and educa- tion, among other problems familiar on reservations na- tionwide. The Bureau of In- dian Affairs reported in Jan- uary that about 63 percent of able workers on Standing Rock were unemployed. Obama pledged to help address the struggles of Native Americans when he was running for president in 2008, the last time he visited Indian Country. The White House said that during re- marks to conclude his visit, Obama will recognize that more work needs to be done and will outline steps to im- prove Native American ed- ucation and economic con- ditions. With Native American poverty and unemployment more than double the U.S. average, Obama plans to promote initiatives to spur tribal development and cre- ate new markets for Native American products and ser- vices. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De- velopment announced Fri- day that it would make $70 million available to improve tribal housing conditions, including money for mold removal. Also coinciding with Obama's visit, Interior Sec- retary Sally Jewell plans to visit Standing Rock to pro- mote a plan to overhaul the Bureau of Indian Edu- cation, which is responsible for educating 48,000 Na- tive American students in 23 states and is lagging be- hind other school systems by nearly every measure. Native American students have low scores on assess- ment tests and the highest dropout rate of any racial or ethnic group. Obama, who will visit North Dakota en route to a weekend away in Palm Springs, California, is only the third sitting president to come into Indian Coun- try in almost 80 years. In 2008, then-candidate Obama pledged to expand health services, improve education, combat meth- amphetamine dealers, promote economic devel- opment and improve hous- ing on reservations. NORTH DAKOTA President makes 1st visit to Indian Country CHARLES REX ARBOGAST — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Native American dancers from more than 20reservations in North and South Dakota prepare for the arrival of President Barrack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on Friday in Cannon Ball, N.D. By Stephen Ohlemacher The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheInternal Revenue Service said Friday it has lost a trove of emails to and from a central figure in the agency's tea party controversy, sparking out- rage from congressional in- vestigators who have been probing the agency for more than a year. The IRS told Con- gress Friday it cannot lo- cate many of Lois Lern- er's emails prior to 2011 because her computer crashed during the sum- mer of that year. Lerner headed the IRS division that processed ap- plications for tax-exempt status. The IRS acknowl- edged last year that agents had improperly scrutinized applications for tax-exempt status by tea party and other conservative groups. "The fact that I am just learning about this, over a year into the investigation, is completely unacceptable and now calls into ques- tion the credibility of the IRS' response to congres- sional inquiries," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., chair- man of the House Ways and Means Committee. "There needs to be an immediate investigation and foren- sic audit by Department of Justice as well as the in- spector general." The Ways and Means Committee is one of three congressional committees investigating the IRS over its handling of tea party ap- plications from 2010 to 2012. The Justice Department and the IRS inspector general are also investigating. Congressional investiga- tors have shown that IRS officials in Washington were closely involved in the handling of tea party ap- plications, many of which languished for more than a year without action. But so far, they have not publicly produced evidence that anyone outside the agency directed the targeting or even knew about it. If anyone outside the agency was involved, in- vestigators were hoping for clues in Lerner's emails. The IRS said technicians went to great lengths try- ing to recover data from Lerner's computer in 2011. In emails provided by the IRS, technicians said they sent the computer to a fo- rensic lab run by the agen- cy's criminal investigations unit. But to no avail. The IRS was able to gen- erate 24,000 Lerner emails from the 2009 to 2011 be- cause Lerner had copied in other IRS employees. 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