Mr. Krauthammer had an interesting take on Obama and his administrations inability to get it together in terms of ISIS/ISIL
(Fox News) Last week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said ISIS was an imminent threat, but Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said Monday that the group was not a direct threat to the U.S.
Krauthammer, a syndicated columnist and a Fox News contributor, questioned that discrepancy.
“You wonder…whether this administration, that can’t even get its story straight in one day, can conduct an operation of that delicacy and complexity, military, diplomatic and political, ” he said. “The president simply can’t decide. . I think this really ought to make us think twice about whether we can entrust a man of this lack of decisiveness.”
Is it dithering, indecisiveness, or simply that Obama doesn’t really care about doing the job? Is it that doing The Hard Things just bore the heck out of him? Whenever something difficult comes up, Obama just doesn’t seem to want to engage beyond some talking points. Then it’s off to golf, campaign appearances, and other fluff. Here’s Michael Gerson
As the president has vacationed, senior officials have talked of efforts to “stall,†“contain,†“degrade,†“defeat†and “destroy†the Islamic State. These words actually mean very different things, indicating either a major internal administration debate or utter confusion. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel describes the Islamic State as an “imminent threat to every interest we have.†But a senior defense official was recently quoted as saying, “There is no policy†to deal with this imminent threat.
In his public statements, Obama has carefully avoided resolving or clarifying his administration’s ultimate policy goal. He has consistently downplayed the United States’ incremental (but escalating) military actions. He has promised to be “relentless†toward some unspecified end. He has argued that the Islamic State has “no place in the 21st century†— as though the appeal of radical Islamism should have faded like bell bottoms and disco.
All this reinforces the notion that Obama likes to BE president, he doesn’t like to DO president. I don’t think he is lazy or detached: I just think his priorities lie in other directions, and those directions do not include doing the necessary hard work, and, being The Boss, this rolls down to those who work for him.
FOX has one guiding principle: Obama is always wrong.
Since the path forward against ISIL is so obvious and simple, why won’t the brilliant military strategists at FOX share it with the rest of us? Their previous excursion lasted 10 years, killed and maimed 10s of thousands of brave, young Americans, and destabilized the entire Middle East. It made sense if you didn’t think about it. Miraculously, not one FOX IraqaPundit was killed or maimed in the invasion they pushed. Heckuva job, Foxy.
FOX and its collective of anal-ysts hate Obama more than they love America.
Jeff,
That was the top of bizarre, I have been watching the news for over 50 years and can remember when we got our dose of propaganda from the three news stations and they all followed the same liberal script (remember, the one that got us Vietnam?). Then there was the communist mind set of the various commentary magazines, such as Time, it has moderated to an extent but they still have to give it away. But in all that time, I never, ever heard of anyone attacking a news outlet. You simply understood the eschew of the message. Fortunately FOX does irritate people like you. But in the end, FOX is a bit on the liberal side. I have been watching CNN lately and have been surprised that they call bull on the Brown death and the riots. Do you get upset as you can not see the propaganda and the fact that the “discourse” is being shaped?
dave,
I know it’s fruitless to ask, but what would you have us do with ISIS/ISIL?
Jeff,
It is cook book. This type of thing is well known as to what to do. Hell, we invented it when we wiped out the Indians. You go to the war college and get the manual. You weaponize every single individual in the area. You get factions fighting each other. You establish grids of control. Any and all enemy combatants are subjected to torture, even if you don’t need the information and you broadcast the fact. Then you offer clemency to the ISIS faction leaders that comply with your demands. Reason I know this, I just finished a lecture series by a professor with the Army War College. Guess what, it works every time.
J- “And de-stabilized the entire Middle East..” Like it wasn’t de-stabilized before. Brilliant observation, J.
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dave,
Thank you.
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