Name ONE BIG THING a terrorist has ever blown up in the US… Susan Rice defends Obama’s foreign policy: U.S. not facing ‘existential’ threats
OK, two.
Operation Nero
Critics accuse the administration of being too slow to act in Syria and Russia. In a new strategy document, the White House will say that was the plan all along.
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
They didn’t start the fire: Jesus did.
“Unless we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ,” Obama said. “In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”
"Our religion" – Hmm, interesting
MT @markknoller: Obama "we are summoned to push back against those who would distort our religion…"
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) February 5, 2015
Operation Empty Chair
In response;
BREAKING: Jordan to execute "within hours" jailed woman militant it had sought to swap for pilot killed by Islamic State: security source
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 3, 2015
Hopefully, just the first shot.
Update: Jordan executes two in response to pilot’s slaying
It’s Probably Nothing
h/t Bettie
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
According to unnamed officials, Washington “has given the Iranians 80 percent of what they want” out of the negotiations…
Global Test
The Decline And Fall Of The American Empire
When it comes to Department of Defense doctrine on military treatment of detained persons, “unlawful enemy combatants” are a thing of the past. That term has been retired and replaced by “unprivileged enemy belligerents” in a new revision of Joint Publication 3-13 on Detainee Operations, dated November 13, 2014.
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
It’s come to this: Voters in battleground states think President Obama is worse at “managing the basic functions of the federal government” than his predecessor George W. Bush, according to a POLITICO poll released Monday. In other words, voters think Obama is a less effective manager than the man he stills blames for his failures.
QOTW
I sense that there's been a great disturbance in the narrative. As if a million voices cried out "Bush lied" and were suddenly silenced.
— Ben Howe (@BenHowe) October 15, 2014
Where the NYT plays the Get Hillary Out Of The Iraq War Vote card: The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons
(That phrase… it’s like I’ve heard it somewhere before.)
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
November, 2009: “I think that we’ve restored America’s standing in the world, and that’s confirmed by polls”
October, 2014: Turkish officials categorically denied that they’d agreed to allow their bases to be used against the terror group.
Global Test
“ALLAHU AKBAR” IS JUST A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC: ‘Nothing whatsoever about ISIL that is related to Islam.’
Operation Empty Chair
It’s a disaster. By involving American forces half-heartedly, with an eye toward no objective beyond bumping up his poll numbers before the midterm elections, Obama has set ISIS up to brag about how they’re beating the Great Satan – not just holding their own under air assault, but actually making progress, taking ground, and retaining the strategic initiative.
[…]
The report also says an Islamist group in Egypt “has been staging ISIS copycat beheadings and is thought to have declared de facto loyalty to the group.” An editorial at al-Arabiya News claims the threat of the Islamic State spreading into Libya is one reason Egypt didn’t get involved in the Nameless Non-War, specifically mentioning the parade in Derna depicted above. Another reason is that our debonair internationalist Smart Power President Obama has been treating the Egyptians poorly ever since they overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood:
More here: How Syria policy stalled under the ‘analyst in chief’
Operation Empty Chair
Obama’s ‘war’ on ISIS remains strangely nameless.
Right now, there is no specific budget request for Obama’s promised long-term effort to “degrade and destroy” ISIS. A tell-tale sign. Given Obama’s record on veracity, this would seem to indicate “long-term” in his mind means at least through Nov. 5.
Funds for this campaign are being borrowed from other Pentagon accounts. Can a president have a serious war with no budget and no name?
Sure he can. If he’s on the other side.
I Miss W
Is ISIL Islamic?
Andrew Klavan answers the tough questions:
This is the group the president once called the JV Team of terrorism. “If a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms, that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” the president quipped hilariously, to which ISIL replied, “If you put on the title of commander in chief, that doesn’t make you Abraham Lincoln,”…
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
Behind the WSJ paywall: Through tight control over airstrikes in Syria and limits on U.S. action in Iraq, Mr. Obama is closely managing the new war in the Middle East in a way he hasn’t done with previous conflicts…
You can find the rest here.
Update: Barack Obama Transformed into Lyndon Johnson So Slowly, I Hardly Even Noticed
Global Test
Related: This week, Washington Post editors noted that “Though derided by some as a ‘unilateral’ U.S. action, the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq was supported by troops from 39 countries, nine of which deployed more than 1,000 soldiers.” The Post described Obama’s efforts, so far, as “meager” in comparison.
Via Drudge.
But Glenn Beck Is The Crazy One
Obama has come under fire for underestimating the threat of this “jayvee team” wreaking havoc across the Middle East and threatening the western way of life, and yet he continuously refers to them as ISIL.
They Miss W
BWWAAHAAAA!!! Obama Sees 2002 Iraq War Resolution As A Legal Basis For Airstrikes.