The New York Times is reporting -based on ground sources in the region- that the U.S. is bombing ISIS positions in Northern Iraq.

However, I share with an abundance of caution -and I can most certainly be wrong-  but my hunch is the ground reports, and as a consequence the New York Times, are crediting the wrong air force.
Additionally, the White House is strongly refuting the claims by the NYT.  Here’s the report from the Times:

DOHUK, Iraq — American military forces bombed at least two targets in northern Iraq on Thursday night to rout Islamist insurgents who have trapped tens of thousands of religious minorities in Kurdish areas, Kurdish officials said.

Word of the bombings, reported on Kurdish television from the city of Erbil, came as President Obama was preparing to make a statement in Washington.

Kurdish officials said the bombings targeted fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria who had seized two towns, Gwer and Mahmour. Residents who had fled those areas by car were heard honking their horns in approval.

(more…)

The current situation in Northern Iraq gives us an opportunity to once again check the litmus test of Obama’s R2P intervention.

March 2011 approximately 100,000 al-Qaeda radical Islamists were fighting in Benghazi Libya – President Gaddaffi’s military was en route to eliminate them – when Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton and President Obama announced the Responsibility To Protect (R2P) Doctrine:

 …“To brush aside America’s responsibility as a leader and -more profoundly- our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. 

Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries.  The United States of America is different.  And as President, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”… 

~President Obama

The R2P goal was to “save the Libyan rebels”.   The “rebels” -as you are aware- were al-Qaeda affiliates, Ansar al-Sharia, or essentially, the Muslim Brotherhood. (more…)

Sometimes we finding ourselves asking why do we even bother to point out these contrasting narratives.   The sad reality is that people do that which is important to them, and they avoid that which is unimportant.   The same principle applies to President Obama.

Basketball-fan-in-chief Barack Obama personally took to Twitter on Wednesday to congratulate the San Antonio Spurs on becoming the first team in the NBA to hire a full-time female coach.

The 2014 championship team announced on Tuesday they had hired former Colorado State standout Becky Hammond as an assistant to head coach Gregg Popovich. (link)

Congrats to @BeckyHammon, @NBA's first full-time female coach. When #WomenSucceed, America succeeds — and we know the @Spurs will, too. -bo

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) August 7, 2014

As you can see the “official” Barack Obama “-BO” message was sent shortly following a press conference where he discussed the African Summit and various topics of interest to the media.
In addition to various African Union topics President Obama also mentioned: The ebola virus, Israel and Gaza, fighting in the Ukraine, an intransient congress, immigration reform, freedom of the press and terrorism. (more…)

Only cursory attention is being paid to the current situation in Ukraine / Russia.
Those who hold historical references are quick to note a combination of factors will generally lead to invasion:
1.) Talk of protecting ethnic Russians.  2.) Dismissal of international opinion.  3.) Weak to non-existent risk of military intervention.  4.) High internal favorability.   All of these factors are currently present.
So will Russia Invade ?
[polldaddy poll=8231380]
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — The steadily advancing Ukrainian army is setting its sights on the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine, while Western officials on Wednesday warned that a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border could herald a major incursion to protect the separatists. (more…)

TEXAS – The Army read former Afghanistan prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl his rights during his first interview with an investigator on Wednesday.
The Army is investigating the circumstances of Bergdahl’s disappearance from his base in Afghanistan and his subsequent capture by the Taliban in 2009. Some former members of his unit allege that Bergdahl, 28, deserted his post, which could be an offense punishable under the Uniform Military Code of Justice.
The investigating officer, Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, questioned Bergdahl for the first time on Wednesday at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where Bergdahl is currently stationed.
Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Alayne Conway said the reading of Miranda rights was typical during a military administrative “15-6” investigation, and that Bergdahl was “not charged with anything” and “not under arrest.” (more…)

Last Sunday, CNN’s Candy Crowley was challenging Texas Governor Rick Perry for sending the National Guard to the border.   According to Crowley his figure citing how many Americans were murdered by illegal aliens was too high.    Perry responded:

…”what’s the correct number of Americans that this administration would allow to be murdered by illegal aliens”?

A few hours after the CNN interview the reality struck home in WILLACY COUNTY – An off-duty Border Patrol agent was shot and killed while fishing with his family. Two suspects are in custody.

After Hamas previously refused the Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire, Egypt’s President el-Sisi gave the PA some much needed straight talk; telling both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority they needed to (“both”) come to consensus *before* Cairo could/would mediate any agreement with Israel.   The approach worked:

[*we would be remiss if we did not note that el-Sisi will not be attending the African Summit in DC]

EGYPT – A Palestinian delegation including Hamas agreed joint demands Sunday to present to Egyptian mediators in Cairo for a truce with Israel, including an end to the Gaza blockade, officials said.
The delegation, which includes members of president Mahmud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, will meet the Egyptian mediators later on Sunday.
Cairo will then relay the demands to Israel, which baulked at sending negotiators after accusing Hamas of breaching a 72-hour truce moments after it began on Friday.
The Palestinians, who met earlier on Sunday to hammer out a joint position, agreed on “a ceasefire; Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza; the end of the siege of Gaza and opening its border crossings,” said Maher al-Taher, a member of the delegation.
The Palestinian demands also include fishing rights up to 12 nautical miles off Gaza’s coast and the release of Palestinian prisoners demanded by Hamas and Abbas, said Taher, a senior official with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
A Hamas official confirmed the agreement, saying: “These are the main points, but they must be discussed with the Egyptians. We hope things go smoothly.” (more…)

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Egypt’s Khalil el-Sisi just need to be left alone and they will ultimately deal with Hamas and The Muslim Brotherhood.   The U.S. and EU just need to butt out.  [And we are genuinely serious when we say that.]   Just let those two guys handle the radical islamists…. 

ISRAEL – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t mince words in a phone call with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Friday.
Netanyahu reportedly warned Shapiro that President Barack Obama and his administration was “not to ever second-guess me again,” according to sources that spoke on condition of anonymity with The Associated Press.
The phone call came hours after a proposed cease-fire in Gaza quickly crumbled, with one Israeli soldier taken hostage and two more killed during an attack. While the Obama administration did not blame the abduction on Hamas, officials did say they hold the group responsible for events occurring in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu told Shapiro he “expected” the U.S., along with the U.N. and other international groups, to help him moving forward with a “strong and swift response,” because he knows best how to handle Hamas.  (read more)
Netanyahu speaks to Israel –  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Saturday to use as much military power as need and fight “as long as it will take” against terror group Hamas to restore peace in his country.
In a TV speech in Jerusalem that appeared in part directed at Israelis beleaguered by the fighting’s destruction and death toll, Netanyahu gave no indication of moving toward a cease-fire with Hamas, the Islamic militant group. (more…)

 

WASHINGTON –  Congress approved a $225 million package to replenish Israel’s missile defenses with its last order of business before a five-week recess, as the Jewish state’s cease-fire with Hamas unraveled and Israeli forces pushed deep into Gaza in search of a missing army officer.

The House’s 395-8 vote in favor late Friday followed Senate adoption of the legislation by voice vote earlier in the day. The money is directed toward restocking Israel’s Iron Dome, which has been credited with shooting down dozens of incoming rockets fired by Palestinian militants over 3 1/2 weeks of war. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. (more…)

Gaza City (CNN)at least temporarily.  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday that an unconditional humanitarian cease-fire will begin at 8 a.m. Friday in Gaza (1 a.m. ET).
It will last 72 hours — or three days — “unless extended,” the United Nations and United States said in a joint statement.

“During this time, the forces on the ground will remain in place,” the statement said.   Hamas accepted the cease-fire, a spokesman for the militant fundamentalist Islamic organization texted Thursday.

Speaking to CNN moments after the announcement, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said it came “after careful deliberations with all the parties.”  (read more)

(more…)