WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told Congress on Monday the United States was deploying up to 275 military personnel to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the country’s embassy in Baghdad after militants seized control of the north of the country.

“This force is deploying for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and property, if necessary, and is equipped for combat,” Obama said in a letter to lawmakers. “This force will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed.”   The president said he was notifying Congress under the War Powers Resolution (read more)

I guess Donilon, McDonough, Blinkin and Rhodes don’t have as much political confidence as they did with the Libyan R2P fiasco.  Then again, I’ve never been able to figure out the filter they use for application of the “Responsibility To Protect” doctrine…. 

To round up the basic positioning taking place within the U.S. administration vis-a-vi Iraq, it’s useful to look at similarly minded influential ideologues in and out of the current administration.   Once you understand the mindset of the fellow travelers you can predict what the White House will do.

We start with Mike Morell, and his current position.

All Politics All The Time – Mike Morell was the CIA interim replacement for General Petraeus after Benghazi (and the affair that took Petraeus out of the picture with the help of FBI [Eric Holder]).   Morell is a like-minded fellow traveler to Clinton/Obama and currently under Clinton employ while working for CBS.  Morell was the sympathetic receipient of WH Communication Director Ben Rhodes evolutionary talking points around Benghazi and defender of all things Hillary during Senate Hearings.

Remember too – as you watch this – Morell’s Benghazi cohort, Ben Rhodes, is the brother to current CBS News President, David Rhodes.   In addition to his Clinton employment, David Rhodes (CBS) employs Morell as a Senior Security Analyst:

So there, we essentially have the framework outlined this morning for the current White House position.

So, is that indeed the message the day delivers? (more…)

There is a MASSIVE amount of speculation about the actual capability of ISIS to engage effectively in combat operations.

It is prudent to pause for a moment.

While we certainly don’t know the composition of the forces that might now be aligned with ISIS, it’s a bit of a stretch to say they would be capable of effectively using advanced technological military weaponry; the key word is “effectively”.

(more…)

Y’all already know the topic of this captured moment.  However, in case anyone needs a reminder (more…)

Alarming to YOU, but not necessarily to the White House fundraising team headed to Palm Springs.

Against the videos of thousands of Iraqi troops being road-marched by ISIS islamists fighters, new reports outline 1,700 of them may have ended with a mass execution:

Screenshot official ISIS account that claims they executed 1700 Shiite soldiers. They surrendered in #Tikrit ystrdy pic.twitter.com/7QyMnEuAAo

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) June 13, 2014

Additionally WND is reporting the U.S. security contractors in Baland Air Force Base are surrounded by thousands of the islamists and are fighting them amid the chaos. (more…)

Funny how Bergdahl leaves Landstuhl Medical Center 24 hours after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel went bonzo when he was questioned about it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has now left Germany on board a U.S. military aircraft and will arrive at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

Bergdahl, who has been recovering in Germany after five years as a Taliban captive, is returning to the United States, but he will not receive the promotion that would have been automatic had he still been held prisoner.

A U.S. official said Bergdahl would go directly to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, arriving Friday.  (read more)

#Bergdahl Presser scheduled today for 4pm Eastern at Brooke Army Medical Center. #FNPolitics

— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) June 13, 2014

Back in 2011, amid the discussions of withdrawal from Iraq, and the debate over how many troops would be needed to maintain a stable environment, two influential names rose to the surface, Tom Donilon and Denis McDonough. Both Donilon and McDonough overrode the Pentagon advice, and advised President Obama to dismiss the military and heed their counsel instead.

New York Times October 2011:

In August [2011], after debates between the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House, the Americans settled on the 3,000 to 5,000 number, which was reported in August. According to two people briefed on the matter, one inside the administration and one outside, the arguments of two White House officials, Thomas E. Donilon, the national security adviser, and his deputy, Denis McDonough, prevailed over those of the military.

Intelligence assessments that Iraq was not at great risk of slipping into chaos in the absence of American forces were a factor in the decision, an American official said.  (link)

(more…)

This video from yesterday shows the Iraqi Army being marched by ISIS out of Tikrit.

What fate awaits these Iraqi Troops?

-warning graphic imagery below-

(more…)

Will the Main Stream Media pick up on this?  The painful reality of truth is that it exists regardless of anyone’s opinion of it.  Nor does the truth care about the discomfort from its appearance.

(Via NRO)  Did the Department of Defense just reveal that former President Clinton lied to America in 1993?

Could be.

At the Bergdahl/Hagel hearing going on in the House today, Democrat Rep. Adam Smith asked DoD General Counsel Stephen Preston for a specific example from the past where the United States “dealt with non-state actors who are holding a service member in order to achieve their recovery.” (more…)