The State Department and White House avoid the word “war” because they’ve already declared the “war on terror” over, so naturally they cannot take military advice to combat a terror threat…
WASHINGTON DC – As he laid out his strategy to combat the Islamic State in both Iraq and Syria, President Obama rejected the “best military advice” of his top military commander in the Middle East.
Quoting two U.S. military officials, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), said “that his best military advice was to send a modest contingent of American troops, principally Special Operations forces, to advise and assist Iraqi army units in fighting the militants.”
Austin’s recommendation was taken to the White House by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey. The White House rejected CENTCOM’s “advise and assist” contingent due to concerns about placing U.S. ground forces in a frontline role. (more…)
As previously stated, there is no ideological distance between President Obama and Recep Erdogan. Absent of plummeting polling numbers, which handcuff his ability to continue domestic agenda items, President Obama would NOT be fighting ISIS. For seven years we have watched the relationship between Erdogan and Obama as it flourished into a bromance of Sunni favoritism. As expected Turkey will not participate in attacks against it’s ideological compatriots, ISIS. Makes you wonder why Secretary John Kerry is even bothering with the trip. TURKEY – Turkey will refuse to allow a U.S.-led coalition to attack jihadists in neighboring Iraq and Syria from its air bases, nor will it take part in combat operations against militants, a government official told AFP Thursday.
“Turkey will not be involved in any armed operation but will entirely concentrate on humanitarian operations,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The decision echoes the country’s refusal to allow the U.S. to station 60,000 troops in Turkey in 2003 to invade Iraq from the north, which triggered a crisis between the two allies. (more…)
Tonight at 9:00pm Eastern President Obama will deliver a speech to the nation outlining his strategy to defeat a rising Islamic terror threat known as ISIS. Oddly some of the speech has already been leaked by the White House: UPDATE – FULL SPEECH VIDEO:
“With a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. Our objective is clear: we will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.
I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.
Rather, it is a “counter-terrorism campaign” that “will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground,” he will say. It’s a strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, and is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years”.
It was only a few weeks ago, August 9th, when President Obama told the New York Times it was/is “a fantasy” to support “moderates” within Syria and expect them to be able to defeat radical Sunni Islamists. Now, it appears, he is reversing course and saying the previous “fantasy” will be his specific approach. (more…)
MSNBC trying to lower expectations for tonight’s POTUS pontifications: “the country is already there, no need to rally the people”.
However, by admitting the President is behind the American people – MSNBC is actually confirming President Obama’s weakness, he leads from behind.
√ Step One – Tell New York Times : “It’s always been a fantasy,” he said, “this idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth.”
√ Step Ten – Construct marketing plan to sell the previously dismissed approach. We will now “provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth.” in Syria.
√ Step Eleven – Call in congressional leadership to inform them his MSNBC team has “got this” plan, are ready to sell it, and he doesn’t need congress. (link)
Step Twelve – Tell American electorate in prime-time speech to the nation how providing arms to the “moderate Syrian forces” will insure success in Syria.
Not to put too fine a point on it, yet knowing President Polling is going to deliver a magnanimous prime-time speech in a few days, the Syrian conversation with Chuck Todd needs, or, well, deserves a little e-x-p-a-n-s-i-o-n.
During a rather revealing part of the interview between Chuck Todd and President Obama the specific issue of Syria came up surrounding ISIS. Viewers should note in the entire dialogue it was not Obama who brought up Syria, it was Chuck Todd. (Video @9:20)
Mr. Todd even seemed a little perplexed with having to do it; albeit reluctantly, as if he knew he needed to. If Chuck Todd’s new role on MTP is to attempt credibility retention he held no choice, he had to bring up the geography. Todd specifically needed to ask, because Dear Leader avoided mentioning Syria throughout the previous ten minutes:
@09:25 President Obama: “the boots on the ground have to be Syrian”.
Chuck Todd interjects “but WHO”?
President Obama has publicly committed himself to the removal of Syrian head Basher Assad. His public proclamations to Assad’s removal make getting cooperation from the Syrian National Army a little disingenuous amid the option scale.
Additionally we know the Free Syrian Army (FSA) is little more than a corrupted fractured contingent of ne’er-do-wells, most of which defected to join ISIS. And then we have Dear Leader’s previous statements saying to the New York Times’ Tom Freidman it is “fantasy” to think “an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth” could battle “a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, [and] a battle-hardened Hezbollah.”
So naturally Chuck Todd had to ask the question: Whose boots does Obama plan on supporting?
To wit POTUS puts three groups on the table: The Syrian national army, ISIS, and some weirdly defined “Moderate Opposition” – and then says we should support the moderate opposition who are “pinched between the Syrian Army and ISIS“.
STOP
{{Insert Scratching Record Sound}}}
Let’s just imagine a REAL REPORTER was sitting in that seat across from POTUS. (more…)
Now that we all know the full scope of the background story behind the State Department and CIA in Benghazi (See: The Benghazi Brief) it might be additionally interesting to watch this exclusive ‘on the ground’ report of 9/11/12 hosted by Bret Baier as he interviews the security team who suffered the consequences of operation Zero Footprint.
(Via Fox) This weekend, Fox News Reporting will bring you a special on the untold story of the Benghazi terror attack.
It has been nearly two years since the fatal attack. Now, hear for the first time from the men who fought that battle.
“Fox News Reporting: 13 Hours at Benghazi” is based off a new book, to be released next week, called “13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi” by Mitchell Zuckoff with the Annex Security Team.
The special premieres Friday, Sept. 5 at 10p ET. It re-airs Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1a, 5p and 9p ET, and again on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 12a, 8p and 11p ET. (link)
