Are We Heading For Another War?

by Jack

Are we being prepped for a massive war with ISIS in Syria and Iraq? If you listen to some of the comments from our military commanders it would appear so. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the group is “beyond anything that we’ve seen” and it is an “imminent threat to every interest we have.” Hours after Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said that the U.S. would not be limited in its response by “geographic boundaries,” according to the Wall Street Journal, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey called the border between Iraq and Syria essentially “non-existent,” suggesting that the Islamic State could not be defeated without strikes in Syria.

ISIS has been called a cancer by President Obama, so why isn’t there some follow through beyond the harsh words? Well, there is a follow through of sorts, but it’s not what one might expect given the mayhem in Iraq. See, our President is in denial that America is really threatened by Islamic terrorism. He’s long held that there is no war on terrorism. On May 23, 2013 Obama said, “The “Global War on Terror” is over. President Barack Obama said the U.S. military and intelligence agencies will not wage war against a tactic, but will instead focus on a specific group of networks determined to destroy the U.S.

This shift in rhetoric accompanies new or updated efforts to defeat al-Qaida and its affiliates, the president said in a speech at the National Defense University within Washington, DC’s Fort McNair. Al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan is on a “path to defeat.” Obama sees today’s Muslim terrorist threat as more targeted, much like a law enforcement action instead of military action. He envisions bringing terrorists to justice in a court of law where we read them their rights and go through the legal motions. He wanted to do that with Al Qaeda’s number 2 man until New Yorkers said no way, not in our city! Then Obama and Holder rethought the plan and you know the rest.

In response to the Foley beheading can you believe he assigned the FBI to look into it? Good luck with that one. That’s on par with sending unarmed advisors to recover little girls kidnapped by the Boku Haram. Backing up a bit, today’s news reports that ISIS demanded $132 million over a week ago for Foley’s release. This has reignited the debate as to why the United States does not pay ransoms, while some other Western countries do. (There should be no debate!) Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the State Department outlined U.S. policy: “We believe that paying ransoms or making concessions would put all Americans overseas at greater risk for kidnapping”. No, we only exchange 5 terrorist leaders for 1 defector. The Washington Post has this story if you care to read it.

Too many times during a crisis we discover Obama is either at a fund raiser or the golf course. His National Security Advisor and his Secretary of Defense are doing his work now and that is scary as Hell. It means our President is detached again, at a time when the nation needs strong, decisive leadership…something Obama never has demonstrated. Victor Davis Hansen was right, he’s better at being the Iconic President, than a real president. (Do you suppose it’s too late to demand a refund for the $44M he spent of our money for his vacations?)

In closing, let me quote from the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), “It certainly looks like war.” He said today that the U.S. efforts in Iraq have “broadened” into something that requires a “real debate – dialogue – about authorizing the president to do what he’s doing.” (Meanwhile on another continent Russian soldiers and their artillery slip across the border into the Ukraine. Putin prepares to play his trump card.)