US President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks to the media on the situation in Iraq on the South Lawn of the White House, before his departure for vacation at Martha's Vineyard, in Washington August 9, 2014. — Reuters
Obama’s New, Undeclared Iraq War -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast
Obama’s new Iraq war began modestly. By the end of his press conference on Saturday though it got a bit bigger.
President Barack Obama’s war in Iraq just got more ambitious.
Speaking to reporters before departing for a two week vacation with his family on Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama said the U.S. had to make sure the Islamic State “is not engaging in actions that could cripple a country.”
Noting the foreign jihadists fighting with the Islamic State, Obama said, “There is going to be a counterterrorism element that we are already preparing for.” And while Obama stressed that the U.S. military cannot solve Iraq’s problems it “can play an extraordinary role in bolstering efforts of an Iraqi partner as they take the right steps to keep the country together.”
No wonder the president said the new military campaign would last months and not weeks.
All of these goals are fine as they are, but they go way beyond the mission Obama spelled out on Friday in a formal notification to Congress that he was launching air strikes inside of Iraq.
Read more ....
Update: Iraq, Middle East Paying for Obama’s Miscalculation -- David Francis, Fiscal Times
My Comment: What is my take .... to begin .... I was against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but once it started I supported it because it was now too late .... we were engaged and the debate had shifted to what was the best policy and strategy to pursue after the fall of Saddam Hussein. When the decision to withdraw U.S. forces was announced .... I was against it .... I was in favor of a residual U.S. military and intelligence force in the country for the simple reason that after years of occupation/hundreds of billions of dollars/and bloodshed .... the U.S. had gained the role of being the neutral outsider and arbitrator for all of Iraq's various factions. By leaving and acquiescing to Iraqi demands (and Presdident Obama's wishes) for a quick departure .... the U.S. had a created a void .... and while I was relieved on the one hand that U.S. forces were no longer being targeted and killed .... I was also fearful that instability and the cycle of war will return ..... of which we are now sadly witnessing today.
This is now President's Obama's Iraq war .... and while I suspect that he will try his best to limit U.S. involvement in Iraq's civil war, I am also confident that The Islamic State, the Iraqi government, and regional countries .... all of them combined are going to try their best to get the U.S. re-engaged into the Iraqi quagmire. My prediction .... President Obama may not have wanted this war, but this war certainly wants him.
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