Erdogan sets course for 'new Turkey' as Turks vote for president

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan was poised to become his country's first elected president as Turks go to the polls on Sunday, fulfilling his dream of what he calls a "new Turkey" and what his opponents say will be an increasingly authoritarian and polarized nation.

Plane crashes at Tehran's Mehrabad airport; 48 reported dead: IRNA

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Sepahan Air Iran-140 plane bound for Tabas in northeast Iran crashed in a residential area after taking off from Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning, killing all 48 passengers and crew, Iranian state media reported.

China urges Japan to ease political tensions in informal meeting

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Japan to "make practical efforts to overcome existing political obstacles between the two sides" during an informal meeting with his Japanese counterpart during an ASEAN summit in Myanmar.

Critics Of President Obama's Iraq Strategy Are Now Starting To Speak Out

TWO Retired Four-Star Generals Blast Obama For Failing To Use 'Decisive' Force in Iraq With 'Pinprick' Attacks For 'Political Posturing' -- Daily Mail

* Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey laid into Obama on Friday, saying bombing runs against ISIS positions are political posturing

* 'These are political gestures using military power,' he said, lamenting the president's lack of commitment to a full-blown military campaign

* Obama ran for president on a platform of getting US military out of Iraq but began bombing runs Friday morning in the country's northern region

* White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest assured reporters on Friday that a ground-troop incursion is out of the question

* GOP critics are hammering the White House for not being more aggressive

* House Speaker John Boehner said the White House has an 'ongoing absence of a strategy for countering the grave threat ISIS poses'

* Obama underestimated ISIS in January, telling The New Yorker that 'If a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant'



Two retired four-star U.S. Army Generals heaped scorn Friday on President Barack Obama's authorization of targeted airstrikes in northern Iraq, with one war hero calling it a 'political gesture' calculated to provide the impression that the U.S. is 'doing something' about a humanitarian crisis developing there.



'There's a huge tragedy unfolding: 1.5 million refugees, a couple of hundred thousand just in the last few weeks. 50,000 of this minority group stuck on – up in the mountains,' Gen. Garry McCaffrey said on MSNBC.



'But these are political gestures using military power.'



Read more ....



Update #1: Gen. McCaffrey ‘Dismayed’ by U.S. Strategy in Iraq, Calls it ‘Muddled Thinking’ -- Washington Free Beacon

Update #2: As ISIS Militants Exert Their Control, U.S. Pursues a Military Middle Road -- NYT



My Comment: Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey analysis is spot on .... U.S. military strikes in Iraq do not have a strategic coherence that will not make me feel comfortable that ISIS will eventually be defeated. In short .... I cannot help but feel that the main reason for these strikes is political .... to give credit to the White House for giving the appearance of doing something useful.



On a side note .... the New York Times is praising President Obama's military strategy to Counter ISIS .... As ISIS Militants Exert Their Control, U.S. Pursues a Military Middle Road (NYT). But what I would like to know is .... what is a military middle of the road military policy?

Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat The Islamic State In iraq?

Are U.S. Airstrikes Enough To Defeat ISIS In Iraq? -- CBS

ERBIL, Iraq - President Barack Obama warned Saturday that America's latest incursion into Iraq will not be brief.



Airstrikes on ISIS, and air drops for the people the militants have trapped, began Friday. They will likely continue for months.



On Saturday evening, there was word of new U.S. airstrikes, this time targeting ISIS armored personnel carriers.



The ISIS militants are members of the Sunni branch of Islam, at war not just with Iraq's Shiite majority, but also with other ethnic and religious minorities, including Kurds, Christians and Yazidis.



American F/A-18 fighter jets are flying over Iraq once again - this time targeting ISIS militants.



The aim is to help Kurdish soldiers - the only force on the ground in northern Iraq still doing battle with the Islamic extremists.



Read more ....



Update: Analysis: Limited U.S. strikes in Iraq may not work -- Jim Michaels, USA TODAY



My Comment: Launching a few U.S. air strikes here and there is not going to make a difference on the ground for ISIS .... and it will definitely not stop them nor make them re-evaluate their overall military strategy/goals. If anything .... ISIS is laughing at the U.S. for their feeble response.