Former Chief of Defence Staff General Lord Richards: ISIS Airstrikes Won't Be Enough

Via Telegraph UK:

The Case Against Qatar

From Elizabeth Dickinson, at Foreign Policy.

Ground Zero Wedding Photo Reunited with Owner After 13 years

A wonderful story, at CBS News:



More at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Wedding photo found in 9/11 rubble reunited with owner after 13 years."

The Sad Return of the 9/11 Truth Movement

A great post, at American Glob.

Reflections on 9/11 from USS Nimitz

Via Theo Spark, "Nimitz Remembers 9/11..."

9/11 and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy

Former Vice President Richard Cheney, yesterday, at the American Enterprise Institute.

Also at LAT, "Cheney urges Obama to launch 'immediate' assault on Islamic State."

VIDEO: College Students Don't Remember 9/11 Anniversary, Don't Know Much About ISIS

Via Red Alert Politics, "Young America’s Foundation video shows college students don’t remember 9/11 anniversary, don’t know a lot about ISIS."

VIDEO: Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio Lacks Security Clearance to View Classified Terror Documents

Radical butt-freak Marxist. Serves the f-ker right.

At CBS News New York:

Megyn Kelly Interviews Ward Churchill

Man, the dude is so full of hatred.

And he won't apologize for calling those killed in the 9/11 Twin Towers attacks "little Eichmanns."

Bob Schieffer: 9/11 'Forgive Me, But I've Been Through This Before...'

I like Bob Schieffer.

A great commentary yesterday morning:

NBC's Richard Engel: Military Commanders, Former Officials 'Apoplectic' Over Obama's National Security Failures

Engel has been hitting the White House hard, but this report just rips the administration. And the Ryan Crocker interview at the segment helps bring down the hammer:

Obama Signals No Immediate Plans to Defeat Islamic State

Actually, it's worse than "no immediate plans."

Obama admitted today that he's got no strategy to defeat ISIS.

At Twitchy, "Strategy? What strategy? Behold ‘the Obama Doctrine in one sentence’."

And at the Wall Street Journal, "Obama Says No Plans for Imminent Escalation of Operations Against Islamic State: Extremists Killed Nearly 500 This Week in One Syrian Province, Opposition Activists Say":

President Barack Obama signaled the U.S. has no immediate plans to escalate military operations against Islamic State extremists in Iraq or Syria, stressing the need to counter the group's advance while formulating a broader strategy to protect U.S. interests and allies.

Mr. Obama spoke on a day when Syrian opposition activists said the Sunni radical group had killed nearly 500 people since Sunday in the northeastern province of Raqqa, most of them Syrian troops captured on an air base seized by Islamic State fighters.

The president, who met with his national security team Thursday afternoon, said the U.S. is still developing its plan to root Islamic State out of Iraq and Syria, where it has captured large swaths of territory since June.

"We don't have a strategy yet," Mr. Obama said of potential plans for airstrikes in Syria. He said the long-term blueprint to respond to the growth of the militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, can't depend on U.S. actions alone.

"Rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick, or easy, but I'm confident that we can and we will, working closely with our allies and our partners," Mr. Obama said.

The president walked back reports suggesting an immediate escalation of military operations, including potential airstrikes in Syria.

"We need to make sure that we've got clear plans so we're developing them," he said. He said he was more focused on military activity in Iraq and the need for a unified government in Baghdad to help combat militant forces. "My priority at this point is to make sure that the gains that ISIL made in Iraq are rolled back and that Iraq has the opportunity to govern itself effectively and secure itself," Mr. Obama said...

More.

Krauthammer on #MH17: The Least Obama Could Do is 'Make a Damned Decision for Once in His Life'

Oh man, Dr. K just thrashes our semi-retired president:



And you know, Mary Katharine Ham says we should drop the "semi" off "semi-retired. See, "Video: Pretty much everyone expressing dismay over White House response to world falling apart."

Malaysia Flight #MH17 Downing is Major Game-Changer for International Politics

The story's still developing, especially on whether pro-Russia separatists shot down the jetliner.

At U.S. News and World Report, "The Geopolitical Fallout of a Plane Shot Down: If a plane was shot down by Russian rebels, Putin will face fallout."

Also from Duke University political scientist Peter Feaver, at Foreign Policy, "The Downed Malaysia Airlines Plane Is a Game Changer for Ukraine."

And from Julia Ioffe, at the New Republic, "The Crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Is a Game Changer":

Make no mistake: this is a really, really, really big deal. This is the first downing of a civilian jetliner in this conflict and, if it was the rebels who brought it down, all kinds of ugly things follow. For one thing, what seemed to be gelling into a frozen local conflict has now broken into a new phase, one that directly threatens European security. The plane, let's recall, was flying from Amsterdam.

For another, U.S. officials have long been saying that there's only one place that rebels can get this kind of heavy, sophisticated weaponry: Russia. This is why a fresh round of sanctions was announced yesterday. Now, the U.S. and a long-reluctant Europe may be forced to do more and implement less surgical and more painful sanctions.

Well, maybe the Europeans will step up support for Ukraine, but Obama won't do a damned thing. What, 23 Americans were on board? Meh, "it's a terrible tragedy."

More from Ioffe here.

Obama Hits Two Fundraisers in New York, Says 'Meh' to Malaysia 777 Downing, Israel's Ground War in Gaza

The dude's off to New York for campaign fundraising, as the rest of the world literally crashes and burns.

At WABC-TV New York, "OBAMA COMING TO NEW YORK TONIGHT FOR FUNDRAISERS":

#Obama has arrived in #NYC for Democratic fundraisers.
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) July 17, 2014

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is traveling to New York City Thursday for two campaign fundraising events during a national transportation tour.

He is scheduled to attend one event for the Democratic Party and another for the House Majority PAC, which tries to help Democrats win House seats. They are being held at separate private homes in Manhattan and are closed to media coverage.

Obama will spend about five hours in the city, arriving at Kennedy airport at 4 p.m., then heading to the fundraisers. He will return to the White House just after 9 p.m.

And at the Hill, "Obama: 'World is watching' reports of downed jetliner."

Yeah, the "world is watching, " and I'll be partying in New York, heh."

Also, at the Yeshiva World News, "Canadian PM Rebukes Obama on His Israel Stance."

Shoot, at least somebody's taking him to task!

ADDED: At Twitchy, "‘The disconnect is stunning’! Obama on #MH17: ‘Looks like it may be a tragedy’ [Vine]."

Wow. @BarackObama's entire remarks about #MalaysiaAirlines crash is basically "that sucks" & "we'll find out if there were any Americans"

— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) July 17, 2014

Hundreds Protest Against 'BBC Bias' in Reporting on Gaza

My goodness, and all this protesting against the far-left BBC. I guess the Murdoch-owned Sun UK has escaped the wrath of the crazy Pallies, lol!'

At the London Evening Standard, "Pro-Palestinian demonstration over BBC 'bias' in reporting of Gaza conflict."

Israeli Strike Kills Four 'Palestinian' Children in Gaza

At the Washington Post, "Israeli strike kills four children on a Gaza beach."

And at the L.A. Times, "Israelis consider ground invasion of Gaza; brief truce planned."

Wolf Blitzer Again Ducks for Cover

I like Wolf. I don't think he has to prove his mettle at this point.

Stay safe man.



PREVIOUSLY: "Israel Air Raid Sirens Send Wolf Blitzer Running for Cover."

Israel Air Raid Sirens Send Wolf Blitzer Running for Cover

Wolf Blitzer boogies over to a safety bunker amid warning sirens.

Generational Shift as Jewish Youth in Israel Express Distinct Anti-Arab Attitudes

Well, perhaps most of their parents held out some naively optimistic hope for peace. The younger set's clearly lost it.

At the New York Times, "Killing of Palestinian Youth Puts an Israeli Focus on Extremism":

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun, a resident of the Israeli settlement of Alon Shvut, spoke about the dangers of fear and “existential anxiety,” because “hate comes from fear.” Addressing Jews who call for revenge, he said, “Your hate is fear, it is weakness, it is an achievement for the enemy.”

Tamir Lion, an anthropologist who studies youth, said he was troubled by the changing attitudes among Israel’s young people. For many years, Mr. Lion interviewed soldiers about why they chose to enter combat units. “The answers,” he said on Israel Radio, “were always about the challenge, to show I could make it, the prestige involved.”

That began to change in 2000, he said. “I started to get answers — not a lot, but some — like: ‘To kill Arabs.’ The first time I heard it, it was at the time of the large terror attacks, and since then it has not stopped.”

A generation has grown up in a period of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with suicide bombs and military incursions, rocket fire and airstrikes. Young people on both sides may think about the other more as an enemy than as a neighbor.

Whatever the cause, the murders have been condemned by Israelis across the board. In contrast, when Israelis are murdered by Palestinians, it's three-fingered salutes and cake-baking celebrations all around.

More at that top link.