Not that I blame him, but President Obama definitely is slow walking if/how we will get involved in Iraq again.
As ISIS takes the fight to Baquba, just forty-five minutes from Baghdad, Obama is planning to meet with Congressional leaders (Boehner, Pelosi, Reid, McConnell) tomorrow afternoon. So not exactly urgent…
Aside from protecting our embassy personnel, the Prez really doesn’t seem eager to join the fray.
ISIS has now taken Tal Afar, a city northwest of Baghdad, near the Syrian border. Its defense had been led by one of Maliki’s top generals…
Sen. Lindsey “Butters” Graham (R-SC) says we should work with Iran on the ISIS threat to Iraq: “We’re going to probably need their help to hold Baghdad.”
Butters advocating an alliance with Iran? What next — is he going to come out?
President Obama:
“We will not be sending U. S. troops back into combat in Iraq. But I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces and I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.”
[As ISIS heads for Baghdad, exactly how many days does he think he has?]
“But understand that ultimately it’s up to the Iraqis, as a sovereign nation, to solve their problems.”
[Well, it’s pretty damn obvious the Iraqis can’t do that.]
“But this is a regional problem, and it is going to be a long-term problem. And what we’re going to have to do is combine selective actions by our military to make sure that we’re going after terrorists who can harm our personnel overseas or eventually hit the homeland.”
[I’m just going to run out the clock here, so I don’t have to get involved trying to save that SOB Maliki, and then we’ll go after the terrorists with drones, like in Yemen and Pakistan. More drones! More cowbell!]
“Hopes fade for progress at Iran nuclear talks in Baghdad.”
Netanyahu is laughing.
They’re planning another pointless meeting in a few weeks. Talk is cheap, people, time to take out Iran’s nuclear sites.
* Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor
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