Washington, June 13 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States is considering all options regarding the recent attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq. From the White House, Obama said: "What we've seen over the last couple of days indicates Iraq's going to need more help."

Speaking from the Oval Office on Thursday, the U.S. president said: "I don't rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria for that matter." And the U.S. president said "there will be some short-term immediate things that need to be done militarily," and the U.S. national security team is looking into all options.

The White House immediately added that Obama did not mean he would put boots on the ground in Iraq. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters: "We are not contemplating ground troops. We don't believe that that is the approach that we should take in this case."

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner said Obama was "taking a nap" rather than planning a response to terrorists' takeover of key cities in Iraq. "The progress made there is clearly in jeopardy," Boehner said.

Other lawmakers on Capitol Hill called for the bombing of Iraq by the U.S. military and, for his part, Senator John McCain sharply criticized the president's entire national security team over the situation in Iraq.

McCain, a high-ranking Republican politician and former presidential candidate for the Republican Party, said: "Everybody in his national security team, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ought to be replaced."