Stringer/Reuters
Civilian children stand next to a burnt vehicle during clashes between Iraqi security forces and al Qaeda-linked Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, June 10, 2014.
While the Obama administration denied the initial request, a senior U.S. military official told The Daily Beast the White House "did not give them a hard no - it was 'Thanks for your interest and we will talk about it more."
Insurgents in Iraq have scored a number of successes in the country recently, seizing control of the key Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit, as well as occupying facilities in the oil-refining town of Baiji. These facilities include a power station that provides electricity to Kirkuk and Baghdad.
As well-trained, hostile forces increasingly surround al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister has asked for air support to include both manned and unmanned missions.
While there has been no request for ground troops, manned missions would mean a return to combat for a U.S. military that waged a bloody campaign against extremists for nearly nine years.
Still, the U.S. has provided Iraq with $14 billion in military aid so far, including F-16 fighter jets, M-16 rifles, Apache helicopters, and other military hardware, according to The Times.