U.S. May Launch Airstrikes Ahead of Forming New Government in #Iraq

Following-up from my last entry, "Nouri al-Maliki Commits to Formation of New Government in #Iraq."

Now here's Michael Gordon, at the New York Times, "Kerry Says ISIS Threat Could Hasten Military Action":

BAGHDAD — Winding up a day of crisis talks with Iraqi leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the Sunni militants seizing territory in Iraq had become such a threat that the United States might not wait for Iraqi politicians to form a new government before taking military action.

“They do pose a threat,” Mr. Kerry said, referring to the fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “They cannot be given safe haven anywhere.”

“That’s why, again, I reiterate the president will not be hampered if he deems it necessary if the formation is not complete,” he added, referring to the Iraqi efforts to establish a new multisectarian government that bridges the deep divisions among the majority Shiites and minority Sunnis, Kurds and other smaller groups....

While the political consultations continue behind closed doors, ISIS has become a growing regional danger. Its fighters have basically erased Iraq’s western border with Syria, which is expected to strengthen their position there. They have also taken the town of Rutba in western Iraq, which sits astride the road to Jordan and could head south from there to Saudi Arabia....

So great are the concerns that Mr. Kerry stressed on Monday that if American action is taken soon — President Obama has said that he is considering airstrikes — it should not be interpreted as a gesture of political support for Mr. Maliki’s Shiite-dominated government, but rather as a strike against the ISIS militants. Such a decision by Mr. Obama, Mr. Kerry said, should not be considered to be an act of “support for the existing prime minister or for one sect or another.”

I think there's more to it than that. Maliki is on edge, knowing that not just his government's on the line, but his life. No doubt he demanded prompt U.S. military action against ISIS, especially since Obama's precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces has created the worst nightmare scenario on the ground.

More at Telegraph UK, "Iraq crisis: John Kerry vows 'intense, sustained' US support in fight against Isis," and at the BBC, "Iraq crisis: Kerry vows 'intense support' to counter Isis."

And here's this tidbit from the Guardian UK:

A close ally of Maliki has described him as having grown bitter towards the US in recent days over its failure to provide strong military support.

Barack Obama agreed last week to send up to 300 US special forces troops as advisers, but has held back from air strikes requested by the Iraqi government. The gains made by Isis – backed by disaffected Sunni tribes and former Baathists – has forced the US to look to Iran as a potential ally.

Obviously, the U.S. doesn't want to give ISIS advance warning of pending U.S. military action, but strong victories on the battlefield should be a prerequisite for the formation of a new government. Note too that despite the administration's eagerness for a rapprochement with Tehran, for decades U.S. policy had been to bolster a strong Iraq against the revolutionary Shia Islamist regime in Iran.

Expect updates throughout the day.

Nouri al-Maliki Commits to Formation of New Government in #Iraq

At the Wall Street Journal, "Iraqi Leader Commits to Steps on Forming New Government: No Word on Whether Prime Minister, Fallen From U.S. Favor, Will Seek a Third Term":

In #Baghdad today, discussions w/ PM Maliki, FM Zebari, Spkr Nujaifi & other key Iraqi leaders re urgency of forming new/inclusive gov’t.
— John Kerry (@JohnKerry) June 23, 2014

BAGHDAD—Secretary of State John Kerry said he received a commitment from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to begin the process of forming the next national government in Baghdad by July 1.

Mr. Kerry met with Iraq's leader for nearly two hours Monday to stress the need for a new Iraqi government to unify its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities against the mounting threat posed by the al Qaeda-linked militia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, that has gained control of large swaths of western Iraq in recent weeks.

The top U.S. diplomat, in an unannounced, one-day stop in Baghdad, also met with top Shiite and Kurdish leaders Monday to press the same point.

"The goal of today was to get clarity," Mr. Kerry said. "Prime Minister Maliki firmly, and on multiple occasions…affirmed his commitment to July 1 when the Parliament will convene."

The Iraqi leader didn't immediately comment on his conversation with Mr. Kerry.  Mr. Kerry said at a news conference that it isn't Washington's place to choose the next Iraqi leader. But senior U.S. officials privately have said that Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, should not serve a third term because his policies alienated Sunnis and Kurds during his eight years in office.

The Iraqi leader hasn't commented in recent days on his commitment to a third term or if he'd be willing to step aside.  Iraq held parliamentary election in April, and the results were ratified by the country's judiciary last week. Under the Iraqi constitution, parliament must convene and first elect a legislative speaker and national president, before then choosing a prime minister.

Mr. Maliki's party won a plurality of seats in Iraq's 328-seat party and will need to form alliances with Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties to win the prime minister a third term.

Mr. Kerry's meeting with Mr. Maliki at his private office took place as ISIS seized control of shared Iraqi border crossings with Syria and Jordan in recent days, and consolidated its control over major Iraqi cities, such as Mosul.

"This is clearly a moment when the stakes for Iraq's future couldn't be higher," Mr. Kerry told reporters following his day of meetings in Baghdad. "ISIS is not fighting, as it claims, on behalf of Sunnis. ISIS is fighting to divide Iraq. ISIS is fighting to destroy Iraq,"  Mr. Maliki's leadership also has been questioned by Iraq's most powerful Shiite voice, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who indicated Friday that Mr. Maliki should recast his approach or consider stepping down.

"The things that the Iraqis need to do to kind of pull their country together are really things that the next government needs to do," said a senior U.S. official traveling with Mr. Kerry in Baghdad Monday. "It's a little late for the outgoing government, when there's no parliament, to do things to kind of pull the country together."

More.

Also at CNN, "Kerry assures Iraqis of U.S. support if they unite against militants."

ADDED: At the Hill, "Iraq gives US military advisers immunity."

#ISIS Jihadists Seize Main Border Crossing with Jordan

ISIS gets its caliphate on.

Previously, "#ISIS is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Dream Come True in Iraq."

At the New York Times, "Sunni Militants Seize Crossing on Iraq-Jordan Border":

BAGHDAD — Sunni militants seized the border crossing between Iraq and Jordan late Sunday night as they consolidated control of Iraq’s vast western region. The seizing of the crossing, known as Turabil, raised the specter of the insurgency’s becoming a menace not just to Iraq and Syria, where they already control territory, but also to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The advance by the militants followed their seizing of an important border crossing with Syria at Qaim, allowing them to move fighters and supplies almost unimpeded between the areas they control in Syria and Iraq. A third border crossing, Al Waleed, was also said to be in militant hands on the Iraqi side, though officials said the Syrian army still controlled the Syrian side of that crossing, indicating that at least for now, the militants could not cross freely there.

The Iraqi government said it had abandoned the Qaim crossing as a “tactical” decision as it concentrates its forces — Iraqi army units and Shiite militias — around Baghdad and in the Shiite heartland of Iraq.

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning for talks with Iraqi leaders, urging them to form an inclusive government, as they face the grave threat from Sunni insurgents, many of them fighting under the banner of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS. In recent weeks the militants have gained control of large areas of northern and western Iraq, including Mosul, the country’s second-largest city, as the government’s forces were routed or melted away.

Meanwhile, in Hilla, south of Baghdad, dozens of Sunni prisoners were said have been killed as they were being transported by security forces to a more secure prison. As the troubling news emerged about a new sectarian massacre, officials gave conflicting explanations...

More.

Also at the Washington Post, "Insurgents in Iraq seize main border crossing with Jordan as Kerry arrives for talks."

#ISIS is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Dream Come True in Iraq

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is not an "offshoot" or an "affiliate" of al-Qaeda in Iraq. It is al-Qaeda in Iraq, updated and expanded into Syria, with new leadership at the helm. Very few media outlets have resisted using the false characterization of ISIS as an abandoned stepchild of Ayman al Zawahiri. At most there's a leadership quarrel at the top levels of organization, without which no one would be saying how much more horrible is ISIS than al-Qaeda. It's a stupid and malicious program of downplaying the evil and significance of al-Qaeda's global jihad. IBD is one of the few outlets that truly gets it, as seen in its piece the other day, "#ISIS Coming to America: 'See You in New York'."

However, this morning's Los Angeles Times does an excellent job of putting ISIS in the context of al-Qaeda's religious and ideological program for the global holy war. See, "Long-dead militant's battle plan resurrected in Iraq":

ISIS in many ways seems better equipped for a long, complex insurgency than its precursor organization of a decade ago, Zarqawi's Al Qaeda in Iraq. Rebranded as the Islamic State of Iraq after Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006, the group exploited a U.S. military occupation to rally its fighters. Its current incarnation has railed against the Iraqi government that was formed during the U.S. occupation and has been led by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shiite who critics say has systematically marginalized minority Sunnis.

Now headed by Abu Bakr Baghdadi, a reclusive former teacher, the group added Syria to its name to reflect its widening ambitions. In March 2013, ISIS seized the Syrian city of Raqqah, the first provincial capital it held, and by taking several more cities in eastern Syria over the last year the group has gained what Zarqawi wanted but never had: a safe haven in which to hide fighters and plot major operations.

In his 2004 letter to Al Qaeda leadership, Zarqawi lamented his inability to invite large numbers of foreign Islamic militants to Iraq to help fight U.S. and Iraqi forces.

"What prevents us from [calling] a general alert is that the country has no mountains in which we can take refuge and no forests in whose thickets we can hide," he wrote. "Our backs are exposed and our movements compromised."

Thanks to its conquests in Syria, analysts say, ISIS has become a magnet for foreign radicals, particularly from Europe. The influx of eager fighters has allowed the group to dramatically increase the pace of its attacks in Iraq over the last 18 months even as it continues to battle President Bashar Assad's troops in Syria.

Read the whole thing at the link.

Remember, Zarqawi personally beheaded numerous hostages and al-Qaeda in Iraq gained notorious propaganda victories by posted those to online videos, an early exploitation of social media, before Twitter was invented. Bare Naked Islam has Zarqawi's execution of American contractor Nicholas Berg here, "AMERICAN ‘Leftist’ NICK BERG’S BEHEADING (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)." Today's mass beheadings by ISIS forces advancing toward Baghdad are not new, only a more widespread campaign of terror that has been the hallmark of al-Qaeda's totalitarian jihad.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq's leadership struggle began in 2005, when Zawahiri wrote a letter to Zarqawi warning against building flamboyant "cults of personality," though seeking compromise on the organization's ideological program. See Long War Journal, "Dear Zarqawi: A Letter from Zawahiri, and a Constitutional Compromise." And that is key: Today ISIS in Iraq is securing the Islamic caliphate that has been the stated goal of al-Qaeda since the days of Osama bin Laden. See Walid Phares on that, for example, "Bin Laden’s Dream of a Caliphate Lives On," and Tara Servatius, "The Realization of Osama bin Laden's Dream."

In 2011, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned that the Arab Spring revolution would bring the most fundamental change in international politics "we have known since World War Two." In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood came to power following the elections of June 2012, but was later ousted when the military toppled the government of Mohamed Morsi last year. But now with ISIS establishing a quasi-state stretching from Raqqah in Syria to Mosul in Iraq and beyond, Zarqawi's dream of the Islamic caliphate is coming to fruition, as brutal as ever, and with an endless supply of jihadists ready to die in the name of Allah.

The Man Who Broke the Middle East

From Elliott Abrams, at Politico.

Read it at the link. One of very best pieces I've read over these last few days. Indeed, I could assign this for my World Politics class in the fall.

Officials and Military Experts: Iraq Forces Can't Defeat #ISIS Jihadists

For the left's antiwar hordes, these reports should be the "uh oh" moment. Because as much as the administration wants to stay out, pressure to avoid an ISIS takeover of Baghdad, and revulsion at the unequivocal waste of U.S. sacrifice in the country, is going to hurt the Democrats in public opinion. The 300 "advisers" could be just the beginning of a renewed robust role for the U.S. in Iraq. It is, in a sense, like a quagmire, and Obama has a tough choice even as he outwardly sticks to his meme that we won the war and his decision to wind it down was a good one.

At the Wall Street Journal, "Iraq Army's Ability to Fight Raises Worries: U.S. Says Decline of Local Forces Leaves Country Vulnerable to Sunni Insurgents, Who Gained Key Border Crossings on Sunday":

The Iraq army's quick collapse against Sunni insurgents in Mosul this month surprised the U.S. military, which spent about $25 billion to train and supply the army over nearly a decade of occupation until 2011.

But it didn't surprise Mosul's residents, who say they witnessed the Iraqi army's decay through corruption, sectarianism and incompetence.  Before the conquest, the city's mostly Sunni residents said they lived under a Shiite-dominant military regime that behaved like an occupying army—extorting protection money from local businesses and motorists and detaining those who refused, the residents said.

"It was as if everyone was cooperating to eradicate the people of Mosul," said Mahmoud Attaie, a dentist who lived in the city until the Islamist State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, arrived this month.

Now, as ISIS seems intent on attacking Baghdad and important Shiite pilgrimage cities south of Iraq's capital, U.S. and Iraqi military leaders say they worry Iraqi forces will once again collapse.  The U.S. discovered significant problems as it stepped up its assessment of Iraq's security forces in recent months, American officials said. They say they noted that more competent Sunni military tacticians in units in the north had been forced out by the Shiite-dominated government.

Across the military U.S. military personnel found the Iraqis were failing to properly maintain equipment. Training standards have declined sharply from 2011, when U.S. military forces advised Iraqi units.

The ISIS insurgents "are not strong, but the military is very weak," said Atheel Al Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh province who said he fled its capital Mosul in the middle of the night on June 10 before the city fell. "There was no responsible leadership, there was no planning, there was no correct utilization for the military tools."

"The leaders and the soldiers have no military experience and have no convictions," he added.  Instead, the Iraqi command that ran Mosul by direct order of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ruled the city like a fief, Mr. Nujaifi and other residents said.

"They are not an army, they just take money. No more," said a local Sunni militant in Mosul who said he fought alongside ISIS. "They don't care about orders, weapons or vehicles. They are paid just to get money."

Given how Iraqi soldiers departed without staging any defense of Mosul, the city's residents, as well as Iraqi and U.S. officials, speculate that former operations commander Mahdi Al Gharawi and his lieutenants sold the city to the conquering Islamist militants.

Spokesmen for the military, which has relieved Mr. Gharawi of his command, and for Mr. Maliki didn't respond to requests for comment.

Still, U.S. and Iraqi officials acknowledge that Iraqi soldiers may also have fled under the belief that Mosul's residents would have risen up against them. That scenario, these people say, complicates any possibility of Iraqi security forces—or the Shiite militias that are forming in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities to fight ISIS's Sunni militants—from retaking Mosul and nearby towns.

"If the Shiite militias and the military come to Mosul, all the people of Mosul will fight them," Mr. Nujaifi said. "The people are afraid of the militias and the army now more than they were afraid of ISIS."

The threat to Baghdad grew on Sunday as ISIS insurgents swept through towns in western Iraq and overran the Turaibil border outpost with Jordan and the al-Walid crossing with Syria, a day after they took the Syrian border crossing of al Qaim, security officials said. They faced little resistance from Iraqi national security soldiers, many of whom left their posts.

The assaults bolstered ISIS's cross-border supply lines with Syria and could serve the group's goal of carving out an Islamic state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Military spokesman Gen. Qassim Atta disputed reports that Iraqi forces had abandoned their positions on the Iraq's western border, saying that the army tactically pulled out of the area to regroup and attack insurgents from the east.

This year, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the main U.S. foreign military espionage agency, noted the Iraqi security forces had been unable to stop rising violence or suppress militant activity in Iraq's Sunni-dominated areas.

"Iraqi military and police forces lack cohesion, are undermanned, and are poorly trained, equipped, and supplied," Gen. Flynn said in February. "This leaves them vulnerable to terrorist attack, infiltration and corruption."

The Pentagon said it has seen apparent improvements in the performance of the Iraqi military in recent days of fighting against Sunni militants, but many officials still said they harbor concerns over whether the forces can defend the capital.

Units stationed near Baghdad, U.S. defense officials said, are better trained and possess more motivation to fight and defend the capital from ISIS's Sunni militants than forces positioned in Sunni-dominated parts of the country.

But some U.S. officials were concerned that the Iraq military's apparent improved recent performance is due to a slowdown in the advance of ISIS forces and that the Sunni militants may be simply be resetting their forces for a larger assault on the capital.

One senior U.S. defense official said ISIS militants were likely to avoid a frontal onslaught on Baghdad or direct engagement with the troops stationed outside the city.

Instead, the official said militants likely would slip in through Sunni neighborhoods, then resume the kind of sectarian attacks that ripped apart Baghdad in 2006. U.S. officials are also worried about the potential of rocket and artillery attacks on Baghdad. ISIS isn't adept enough to precisely fire artillery, but will be able to hit populated areas of Baghdad...

Also at the New York Times, "Iraq’s Military Seen as Unlikely to Turn the Tide":

BAGHDAD — As Iraqi Army forces try to rally on the outskirts of Baghdad after two weeks of retreat, it has become increasingly clear to Western officials that the army will continue to suffer losses in its fight with Sunni militants and will not soon retake the ground it has ceded.

Recent assessments by Western officials and military experts indicate that about a quarter of Iraq’s military forces are “combat ineffective,” its air force is minuscule, morale among troops is low and its leadership suffers from widespread corruption.

As other nations consider whether to support military action in Iraq, their decision will hinge on the quality of Iraqi forces, which have proved far more ragged than expected given years of American training.

Even now, fighters with the militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are consolidating their gains, extending their hold on Euphrates River valley towns, securing access routes between their bases in Syria and the front lines in Iraq, and pressuring other Sunni groups to fight with them...

More.

#Iraq Militants 'Turning Back Clock' in Captured Mosul

At Agence France-Presse:

Baghdad (AFP) - In the two weeks since it was seized by Sunni militants, some residents of the northern Iraq city of Mosul feel the clock has been turned back hundreds of years.

The militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group, have begun imposing an extreme interpretation of Islamic law in the days since they took the city, residents reached by telephone told AFP.

"These militants will return us and our country hundreds of years backwards, and their laws are the opposite of the laws of human rights and international laws," said Umm Mohammed, a 35-year-old teacher.

"We live in continuous fear of being subjected to new pressures," she said. "We are afraid of being prevented from working and contributing to building the community."

The city, known before 2003 for its historic sites and parks and in later years as a hub for deadly violence, fell on June 10 to the militants, who subsequently overran surrounding Nineveh province and swathes of other territory.

Security forces in Mosul, a city of some two million people before the offensive, wilted in the face of the onslaught, in some cases abandoning uniforms and even vehicles in their haste to flee...

More.

Plus video, "Iraqis seek shelter from battles and privation."

Presbyterians Join the Anti-Israel Choir

From Professor Jonathan Marks, at WSJ.

Read it at the link.

And at Free Beacon, "CNN Anchors Rip Presbyterian Official Over BDS Vote." I watched it. This Heath Rada, "moderator of the Presbyterian church’s 2014 General Assembly," either has no clue or is a consummate liar. Actually, it's probably a sick combination of both. He keeps backing off when pushed on the "apartheid" language his group's publications use to attack Israel. This isn't something that you can go halfway on, as BDS itself is clearly an anti-Semitic movement not to promote peace but the destruction of the Jewish state.

In any case, more from Yair Rosenberg, at Tablet, "Presbyterian Church USA Narrowly Approves Divestment."

PREVIOUSLY: "Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Votes to Divest from Israeli Companies."

The U.S. Soccer Bandwagon

I mentioned the other night how Ann Althouse wasn't thrilled by all the soccer sensationalism, the Google doodles especially.

Soccer's far from my favorite sport, although I did break down and watch the U.S.-Portugal match this afternoon. Folks on Twitter were all gung-ho, so I thought what the heck? I'll join the pack. When Portugal tied the game at 2-2 with just 20 seconds to go (with Team USA ahead), I think "soccer sucks," or something to that effect, was the top response among most of those same-said Twitter aficionados, lol.

In any case, at WSJ, "World Cup: All Aboard the U.S. Soccer Bandwagon In Defense of American Soccer's Newfound 'Fans'":

Does every U.S. soccer fan need to pass a rigorous global soccer history examination to tune in Sunday? No. Will there be people cheering for the U.S. versus Portugal who did not know there was a World Cup in Brazil until last Tuesday? Sure. Who cares! Happens all the time. Not everyone needs to be hard-core. There are six people who went to your Super Bowl party in February who can't remember what teams were in the Super Bowl, or where it was played. (It was the Seattle Seahawks versus the Milwaukee Brewers, and the game was played in Port Clyde, Maine.)

International ANSWER: 'No New War on Iraq!' (VIDEO)

I looked for something on the Bay Area ANSWER goons last night, but didn't see anything.

They need to up their media game, or something.

At Ruptly, "USA: 'No new war on Iraq' chant San Fran protesters."

And here's Press TV on both D.C. and Los Angeles:



PREVIOUSLY: "'No New War on Iraq!' Stalinist International ANSWER Protests War in the Middle East."

Dire Predictions of Chaos Have So Far Not Come True for World Cup's Host Country

Uh, that's not what all the videos were showing this last couple of weeks, but okay.

At LAT, "Plenty of kicks, few complaints so far at World Cup in Brazil":

“I thought this World Cup was going to be a total fiasco. Everyone did.” said Sardo Lima, 53, a retired bank teller working as a taxi driver during the World Cup in Fortaleza. “But thanks to God, everything is going relatively well, apart from some sporadic traffic. But of course, that doesn't change the fact that millions were stolen for the stadiums and many of the programs promised were never delivered.”

Fouad Ajami Has Died

At the Wall Street Journal, "Fouad Ajami" (via Google):

Perhaps in part because he was an immigrant, Fouad was also more optimistic about American purposes than most of his academic colleagues. He supported the war in Iraq and refused to abandon the effort even when it would have been advantageous for his career. He appreciated American idealism even as he saw it run up against the cynical realities of the Arab world and radical Islam. He thus fulfilled one obligation of the public intellectual, which is to take responsibility for the consequences of his views. His elegant prose adorned our pages for 27 years and the world will miss his wisdom.

Also, "Fouad Ajami on America and the Arabs: Excerpts from the Middle Eastern scholar's work in the Journal over nearly 30 years."

I just blogged his WSJ Iraq essay the other day, "Obama's Rush for #Iraq Exit and Maliki's Autocratic Rule Ensured Much Hard-Won Progress Would Be Lost."

The press statement is here, "Statement by John Raisian, Director of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University."

Requiescat in pace.

Barack Obomba Says 'No Wars in Iraq and Aghanistan!'

Hey, flashback, "Stop the Wars! - ANSWER L.A. 'U.S. Out of Afghanistan and Iraq' - March 20, 2010."

"No Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." ~~ Barack Obomba. pic.twitter.com/2YSIoj4CCt

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 22, 2014

And from yesterday, "'No New War on Iraq!' Stalinist International ANSWER Protests War in the Middle East."

42 of the Best Bums From the World Cup

Well, here's something to boost your entertainment while Team USA plays Portugal.

At Social Hype, "45 Best Soccer Bums" (via Linkiest).

Mayor Bill de Blasio Family Attends Coney Island Mermaid Parade 2014

Well, they really do represent Blue America!

At the New York Post, "Pirate Bill and the de BLUEsios: NYC mayor in Mermaid Parade."

RELATED: At FrontPage Magazine, "Bill de Blasio’s Communist Pals," and "Comrade De Blasio Takes Over."

Sen. Rand Paul Goes All Isolationist on #Iraq

I'd been warming up to Rand Paul these last few years, especially after his foreign policy speech at the Heritage Foundation.

But I'm not so sure now. It doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking about.

Here's the short clip of his Candy Crowley interview below, and the longer version here, "Rand Paul: We armed ISIS' allies in Syria to fight them in Iraq."



He sounds like a leftist.

More from Pat Dollard:

So many Republicans have been conned by lying, libertarian filth like @SenRandPaul into thinking that libertarianism is something it isn't
— Patrick Dollard (@PatDollard) June 22, 2014

WATCH, MORON OF THE CENTURY-@SenRandPaul: Stopping A Terror Attack On The U.S. Is Not 'A Clear-Cut American Interest' http://t.co/ObksspObZZ
— Patrick Dollard (@PatDollard) June 22, 2014

WATCH - @SenRandPaul: Blame Bush For Return Of Al Qaeda Power In Iraq Since Last Year, Not Obama http://t.co/4jjjRDfsjn #teaparty #lnyhbt
— Patrick Dollard (@PatDollard) June 22, 2014

Also at NBC, "Sen. Rand Paul's Full Interview on Meet the Press."

BONUS: From Darleen at Protein Wisdom, "Re: Iraq and The Left’s politics of Shut-uppery."

Poland Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski Blasts Obama Administration: U.S. Alliance is 'Worthless, Harmful...'

Caught on tape, as did Victoria Nuland, expressing how he really feels.

And you gotta love it!

At Time, "Report: Poland’s Foreign Minister Blasts ‘Worthless’ U.S. Relationship."

And also at the Washington Post, "Report: Polish minister says US ties worthless":

WARSAW, Poland — A Polish magazine said Sunday it has obtained recordings of a conversation in which Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski says the country’s strong alliance with the U.S. “isn’t worth anything” and is “even harmful because it creates a false sense of security.”

In a short transcript of the conversation, a person identified as Sikorski by the magazine Wprost tells former finance minister, Jacek Rostowski, that Poles naively believe the U.S. bolsters their security. Using vulgar language, the person argues that such beliefs are nonsense, and that the Polish-U.S. alliance alienates the Russians and Germans. There has been no official confirmation that it is Sikorski who speaks in the conversation.

Wprost last week set off a political storm in Poland with the release of a recording of a conversation between central bank head Marek Belka and Interior Minister Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz. In the recording the two discussed how the bank could help the governing party win re-election in 2015, an apparent violation of the bank’s independence.

That publication has already threatened to bring down the government of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and the new recording is expected to add to the troubles. Although the latest conversation doesn’t reveal any illegal actions, the strong language and opinions would likely put the foreign minister on the defensive if they are confirmed to be true.

And the Guardian UK's got the dishy quotes, "Report: Polish minister says US ties worthless":

A Polish news magazine said on Sunday it had obtained a secret recording of Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, in contention for a senior European Union job, saying that Poland's relationship with the United States was worthless.

The Wprost news magazine said the recording was of a private conversation earlier this year between Sikorski and Jacek Rostowski, a member of parliament with the ruling Civic Platform who until last year was finance minister.

The magazine did not say who recorded the conversation, or how it obtained the recording.

Aides to Sikorski and Rostowski said they had no immediate comment. A government spokeswoman said it was hard to form a view based on a few excerpts of a conversation, but there might be a comment later.

According to a transcript of excerpts of the conversation that was published by Wprost on its Internet site, Sikorski told Rostowski: "You know that the Polish-US alliance isn't worth anything."

"It is downright harmful, because it creates a false sense of security ... Complete bullshit. We'll get in conflict with the Germans, Russians and we'll think that everything is super, because we gave the Americans a blow job. Losers. Complete losers."

PHOTO CREDIT: Wikimedia Commons.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

More at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Delay of Game," and Theo Spark, "Cartoon Round Up..."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Clarissa Ward Latest Update from #Iraq

For CBS News, "Face the Nation:



PREVIOUSLY: "Dozens Dead as #ISIS Takes al-Qaim Crossing in Iraq."

Mother Pleads for Return British Jihadist Reyaad Khan

Well, I'm just all torn up here.

At Sky News, "Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him to Return Home."



And at London's Daily Mail, "A lethal new class of British jihadi: Second fanatic in ISIS recruitment video went to same Cardiff college as the first and once dreamed of becoming prime minister. Now he says: 'Muslims who don't join us will die a painful death'."

Amid #Illegal Alien Onslaught, Mexican Cartels Boost Drug Smuggling Into U.S.

We're being invaded and the system is overwhelmed.

At the Washington Post, "Wave of Central American migrants strains Border Patrol, reducing number of drug busts":

MCALLEN, Tex. — With the Border Patrol distracted by a surge of Central American migrants crossing into south Texas, Mexican cartels have had an easier time smuggling illegal drugs across the border, according to agents and state officials here.

The arrival of large groups of women and children on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande is pulling agents away from their patrol stations elsewhere along the border, creating gaps in coverage that the traffickers can exploit, according to Chris Cabrera, the Border Patrol union representative here.

The smugglers wait on the southern banks of the Rio Grande as migrant groups as large as 250 wade across at dusk and turn themselves in to the Border Patrol, he said. Then groups of single men proceed to cross under cover of darkness, hoping to slip through.

“After that they send over the dope,” Cabrera said, with U.S. officers too busy to stop it.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and Gov. Rick Perry (R) have echoed the complaints. In a letter this month to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Abbott asked for $30 million for law enforcement officers to fill in the gaps because “we have grave concerns that dangerous cartel activity, including narcotics smuggling and human trafficking, will go unchecked because Border Patrol resources are stretched too thin.”

The most recent statistics from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) show that narcotics seizures have fallen across the entire border with Mexico this year, with the drop being larger in Texas than the average.

In Texas, combined seizures of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine fell by 34 percent — from 374,812 to 246,976 kilograms — between Jan. 1 and June 14 compared with the same period last year. Seizures in Arizona and California fell by 26 percent in each state. The decline was greatest in New Mexico — 62 percent — and the overall amount of drugs captured was also far lower than in other states...

Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker to Become European Commission President

I guess he's a big federalist backed by Angela Merkel --- and left-wing parties too.

That oughta get the far-right wing forces fired up, to say nothing of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

At WSJ, "Juncker EU Victory Likely to Alienate U.K. Further: Anti-EU Sentiment Likely to Worsen with Federalist's Selection as Executive Head."

And at Sydney's Morning Herald, "Left-wingers back Juncker for top EU job."

That reminds me. Folks should take another look at Pat Condell's anti-EU video, "The Gathering Storm."

Canadian Woman Takes 'Selfie' Video While Having a Stroke

Oh boy. There but for the grace of God...

At Toronto's National Post, "Self-diagnosis selfie: Stroke video made on smartphone helped doctors treat woman more quickly."

Video, "Woman films 'selfie' video whilst having a stroke, after doctors told her it was stress."

'No New War on Iraq!' Stalinist International ANSWER Protests War in the Middle East

Lovely clown show!

At Live Leak, "Dueling protests at the White House over new Iraq intervention," and at Reuters, "Calls for and against U.S. involvement in Iraq.

And on Twitter:

This is how we do. No new war in Iraq! U.S. out of the Middle East! #antiwar #bringthemhome pic.twitter.com/TGSCfYOzHu

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) June 21, 2014

Crowd gathering around watching @EugenePuryear and @tighebarry @codepink at @WhiteHouse explaining reasons for war pic.twitter.com/vPAnZdqqbf

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) June 21, 2014

Our nat'l coordinator Brian Becker breaking down U.S. foreign policy and reasons for war @ #DC demo to say #NoNewWar pic.twitter.com/uoQrc644mK

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) June 21, 2014

In #DC right now: @VFPNational @codepink #MilitaryFamiliesSpeakOut & community unite to say #NoNewWar in #Iraq pic.twitter.com/DGwQ9mZGh1

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) June 21, 2014

Money for #jobs & #education not for #war & #occupation! #NoNewWar! We want #peace now! @VFPNational @codepink pic.twitter.com/6KjetWzVRl

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) June 21, 2014

And taking the way-back machine to FrontPage Magazine in 2002, "What is the A.N.S.W.E.R.?":

The IAC [International Action Center] has been described as a Stalinist organization and one that supports authoritarian regimes and communist dictatorships. Incidentally, both Serbia and Iraq have retained [former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey] Clark as their U.S. counsel. The IAC is affiliated with the Workers’ World Party, which is affiliated with ANSWER. All of these organizations are advocates of Arafat.

More at Discover the Networks.

Dozens Dead as #ISIS Takes al-Qaim Crossing in Iraq

At Long War Journal, "ISIS seizes border crossing in western Anbar." And at Sky News, "Iraq Militants Take Border Post In Bloody Battle."

And Clarissa Ward reports for CBS News "This Morning":



Also at the New York Times, "Sunnis in Iraq Make Some Gains in Fighting in the North and West."

#ISIS Coming to America: 'See You in New York'

At IBD, "Terrorist Group ISIS May Be Coming to America":

Thx 2 Obama, Terrorist Group ISIS May Be Coming 2 America http://t.co/kPYuhTMGKY … … via @IBDinvestors - pic.twitter.com/uVdEn4HHir

— Daniel John Sobieski (@gerfingerpoken) June 21, 2014

As what the feds call "other than Mexicans" and MS-13 gang members stream across our border, just what is keeping the head of ISIS from keeping his promise, "I'll see you in New York"?

We already know how ruthless the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is, so much so that media pundits such as Kirsten Powers, who should know better, insist that even al-Qaida is said to be distancing itself from the group.

You know: the same al-Qaida that slit throats with box cutters and then turned passenger jets filled with fuel into cruise missiles aimed at the World Trade Center.

ISIS is as determined as it is ruthless and has plans that go beyond the mini-caliphate it has established in Iraq and Syria — the caliphate for which President Obama, through his politically motivated troop withdrawal, served as midwife.

This caliphate, as the staging ground for future attacks on infidels worldwide, was also the dream of the precursor of ISIS, al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), and its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a dream shared by al-Qaida itself.

ISIS is working on the game plan outlined by al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in an October 2005 letter to the late al-Zarqawi. Zawahiri wrote: "The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq. The second stage: Establish an Islamic Authority ... over as much territory as you can spread its power in Iraq ... in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of he Americans. The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq."

And from there, the world, restoring an Islamic empire that once extended to the gates of Vienna...

More.

'Rape Culture' at Harvard

Professor Harvey Mansfield, at the Weekly Standard, "Feminism and Its Discontents":

The hook-up culture denounced by conservatives is the very same rape culture denounced by feminists. Who wants it? Most college women do not; they ignore hookups and lament the loss of dating. Many men will not turn down the offer of an available woman, but what they really want is a girlfriend. The predatory males are a small minority among men who are the main beneficiaries of the feminist norm. It’s not the fault of men that women want to join them in excess rather than calm them down, for men too are victims of the rape culture. Nor is it the fault of women. Women are so far from wanting hook-ups that they must drink themselves into drunken consent—in order to overcome their natural modesty, one might suggest. Not having a sociable drink but getting blind drunk is today’s preliminary to sex. Beautifully romantic, isn’t it? The anonymous Harvard woman by getting drunk was unfortunately helping to pressure herself into consenting to a very bad experience. But she is right that the pressure comes with the encouragement of the culture. And the culture comes from the dogmas of feminism that made this mess for women and men too.

A great piece.

RTWT.

Judge Jeanine Pirro: What Should We Do About Iraq?

"The told us they were coming for us!"

Ambassador John Bolton's interviewed at the clip, a true patriot.



She followed up straight from last's week's opening, "Judge Jeanine Pirro: 'You Need to Be Worried...'"

The Left's Mindless #Iraq Debate

Something I've been thinking about, covered exceptionally well by James Taranto, at WSJ, "Mindless Iraq Debate."

Robert Spencer Slams Obama's 'Incoherence' on #ISIS and Global Jihad

An interesting Michael Coren interview with Robert Spencer.



And see, "8 Signs That ISIS Will Strike in the U.S. Soon."

Russian Intel's Special War Against #Ukraine

Remember Victoria Nuland's remark about "pretty impressive statecraft."

Yeah, considering, this is quite reasonable.

From John Schindler, at XX Committee, "More Evidence Russian Intelligence is Waging Special War Against Ukraine":

For months it has been obvious to those who wish to see that Russian intelligence stands behind the campaign of espionage, terrorism, propaganda, and covert action (including raising and arming rebel militias), which I have termed Special War, that is being waged by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. I’ve written about this murky matter several times. After the recent election of Petro Poroshenko as Ukraine’s president, the Kremlin’s efforts to terrorize and coerce its neighbor have only increased, and evidence of Russian intelligence involvement has mounted by the day.

Recently, U.S. officials have confirmed widespread rumors that the shadowy paramilitary boss Igor Girkin (AKA Strelkov), who has been a major figure in the campaign to destabilize Ukraine and serves as the defense minister of the self-proclaimed (and Moscow-backed) “Donetsk People’s Republic” in southeast Ukraine, is actually a Russian military intelligence (GRU) colonel. GRU special operators have been deeply involved in the seizure of Crimea and continuing efforts to terrorize and destabilize eastern Ukraine.

Today, in an interview with the Kyiv newspaper Den, Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, the director of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), elaborated just how large a role Russian intelligence, particularly the powerful Federal Security Service (FSB), is playing in Putin’s effort to destabilize and intimidate Kyiv into submission. Nalyvaychenko explained that the FSB stands behind Russia’s entire anti-Ukraine campaign, choosing the Kremlin’s strategy and operations, and the SBU has detained several Russian intelligence operatives in eastern Ukraine recently, including over ninety “terrorists and saboteurs,” among them thirteen Russian nationals – “mercenaries and professional intelligence officers, agents.” He said that the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s on-going Special War operations in eastern Ukraine were planned long before this spring, with the full collaboration of Ukraine’s previous government.

Although it has been widely known that, during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, the SBU was deeply penetrated by the FSB, with Russian officers actually holding positions inside Ukrainian intelligence, Nalyvaychenko stated that even he did not realize how bad the situation was until recently. There is a major hunt afoot now for pro-Kremlin agents inside the SBU since, the director explained, “from December 2013 until the end of February 2014, three groups of high-ranking FSB officers worked in the SBU. During these months, all modern arms, files, archives, everything that forms a basis for a professional intelligence service, were transferred to Simferopol” in Crimea...

45 of the Most Jaw-Dropping Cleavage Views Ever Seen

At Social Hype (c/o Linkiest).

Remains of Roman Camp Found in Austria

Fascinating.

At the Austrian Times, "Earliest military camp discovered at Carnuntum."

Also at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeology, "The first Romans in Carnuntum."

#IRS Official Whose Emails Were 'Lost' Visited White House More Than 30 Times

It's Nikole Flax, former chief of staff to former IRS Commissioner Steven Miller.

See Katie Pavlich, at Town Hall. (At Memeorandum.)

And a YouTube clip of Jay Sekulow on Megyn Kelly's yesterday: "IRS Official Whose Emails 'Vanished' Visited White House 35 Times."

VIDEO: Shiite Jihadists March on Baghdad — Shiite!

According to BuzzFeed, these are the militia forces of Muqtada al-Sadr, who called for jihad against American troops in 2004, after Provisional Regent Paul Premer branded him an "outlaw."

See, "Shiite Militia Marches Through Baghdad In Massive Show of Force."

And watch, "Militants march in Sadr City, Baghdad."

More at the Los Angeles Times, "Sadr followers march in Iraq as Sunni militants capture two towns."

Middle East Holds Few Attractive Options for Obama

From Victor Davis Hanson, at Town Hall:

Two and a half years ago, the U.S. pulled every soldier out of a mostly quiet Iraq. In the void, formerly al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists calling themselves "The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" are now tearing apart the country, leaving medieval savagery in their wake.

Obama partisans are blaming the Bush administration for going into Iraq in the first place. But critics counter that Obama wanted out of Iraq before the 2012 election at all costs. The result of that reckless skedaddle is that we have thrown away the hard work of the 2007-2008 surge that finally broke the back of both al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed Shiite terrorists...

Outstanding analysis.

Keep reading.

The Brilliant Brothers Who Left British Suburb for #Jihad in Syria

At the Telegraph UK.

VIDEO: Commingled, Unidentified Illegal Alien Remains Found in Mass Graves in Brooks County, Texas

Hundreds of illegals have died in Brooks County, trying to enter the United States in 100 degree weather. The local county sheriff's office has been overwhelmed and it looks like the funeral services that was contracted dumped multiple bodies into single body bags and discarded personal items in Glad trash bags, throwing those in along with the corpses.

An important report at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, "Mass graves of migrants found in Falfurrias (+ Video)":

FALFURRIAS - Unidentified migrants who died entering the United States were buried in mass graves in a South Texas cemetery, with remains found in trash bags, shopping bags, body bags, or no containers at all, researchers discovered.

In one burial, bones of three bodies were inside one body bag. In another instance, at least five people in body bags and smaller plastic bags were piled on top of each other, Baylor University anthropologist Lori Baker said. Skulls were found in biohazard bags — like the red plastic bags in receptacles at doctors’ offices — placed between coffins.

“To me it’s just as shocking as the mass grave that you would picture in your head, and it’s just as disrespectful,” said Krista Latham, a forensic anthropologist at the University of Indianapolis.

Bodies that were not already skeletonized before burial were found in varying states of decomposition, Baker said.

The bodies are believed to have been buried by a local funeral home since 2005 in the Sacred Heart Burial Park in Brooks County.

The discovery came in the last two weeks as the pair of anthropologists and their students continued an all-volunteer, multiyear effort to identify migrants who have died of exposure while evading Border Patrol checkpoints in remote South Texas, where temperatures reach more than 100 degrees in the summer and there is little water and shade. Hundreds of people have died in just the last few years in Brooks County alone, where the discovery of the mass graves was made in the county-owned portion of the cemetery in Falfurrias.

The researchers and their students exhumed remains of 110 unidentified people from the cemetery in 2013. This summer they performed 52 exhumations, but more than 52 people were buried in those spaces.

Because remains were commingled, and not all of the body bags were opened on-site, further study will be needed to determine the number of people recovered, Baker said.

The researchers expect to return next year to exhume more remains.

The mass graves are yet another sign of U.S. immigration systems and policies overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and of their difficulty coping with the humanitarian aspects of illegal migration. Since October, the nation has struggled to house and process record numbers of minors fleeing civil and political unrest in Central America, many traveling alone. Migrants from Central America travel north along freight train lines in Mexico, leading to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and on to Brooks County.

More.

Australian Foreign Minister Warns Aussie Jihadists Joining #ISIS in Iraq

Following-up from earlier, "Slick #ISIS Propaganda Video Recruits Western Youth: 'No Life Without Jihad...'"

Now at Australia's ABC News, "Number of Australians fighting with militants in Iraq and Syria 'extraordinary', Julie Bishop says." And at the Guardian UK, "Militant Australians join Sunnis in global conflicts, including Iraq: Bishop":

About 150 Australians are fighting with Sunni militants in conflicts around the world, and the government is particularly concerned about jihadists joining the Iraq conflict, the foreign affairs minister has revealed.  

Julie Bishop said her most recent intelligence briefing, on Thursday morning, estimated there to be about 150 Australians involved, most of them based in Syria. Her comments came as the immigration minister, Scott Morrison, would not rule out cancelling the citizenship of Australians who fought with the militant groups.

“It is extraordinary. There are about 150 Australians who have been or are still fighting with opposition groups in Syria and beyond. In Syria it seems that over a period of time they have moved from supporting the more moderate opposition groups to the more extreme and that includes this brutal extremist group, Isis [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant],” she told ABC Radio National, referring to the group that has taken northern and central parts of Iraq in recent weeks.

The director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), David Irvine, told Senate estimates last month it was believed 10 to 12 Australians had died in the Syrian conflict.

Bishop said the jihadists posed a threat to Australia if they return, and the government was “deeply concerned” about Australians joining Isis.

“These are brutal people. The executions and the killings and their boasting of it on social media makes this a particularly virulent form of terrorism. And these people are so extreme that al-Qaida is even distancing itself from them,” she said.

Also, "Australian militants Abu Yahya ash Shami and Abu Nour al-Iraqi identified in ISIS recruitment video."

It's all over the Western world. Jihad is attracting criminals and bums from all over.

PREVIOUSLY: "Calgary Police Service Issues Warning on Canadian Muslims Joining #ISIS Jihad in Iraq."

The French (Jihad) Connection

Remember the Jews fleeing France for Israel?

Well, it's largely due to the threat from Islamic jihad.

More on that from Theodore Dalrymple, at City Journal:

If cannabis were legal in France, Mehdi Nemmouche would be safely in Algeria, instead of under lock and key awaiting extradition to Belgium. Nemmouche was on his way to his father’s native Algeria when French customs agents in Marseille searched the bus on which he had travelled from Amsterdam. They were looking for drugs.

What they found instead in Nemmouche’s possession was a Kalashnikov rifle, a revolver, lots of ammunition, a gas mask, a short video of the weapons in his possession accompanied by a verbal commentary (probably in his voice) on the recent murder of four Jews at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, clothing similar to that worn by the perpetrator of that attack, and a white flag with the words Islamic State of Iraq and of the Levant in Arabic inscribed on it. No man is guilty until proven so in a court of law, of course, but the prosecuting authorities allowed themselves to say that the presumptive evidence against Nemmouche was very strong...

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Continue reading.

Saba Ahmed a 'Friend of the Family' to Oregon Terror Suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud

The quote's from Getty Images, "19-Year-Old Somalian Car Bomb Suspect Appears In Federal Court Caption":

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 29: Saba Ahmed, a friend of the family of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, speaks to the media after Mohamed Osman Mohamud appeared in court on November 29, 2010 in Portland, Oregon. Mohamud, a Somali-born teenager, was arrested and charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction when he allegedly attempted to set off a car bomb during Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland, Oregon. It was reported that civilians were not at risk because the bomb was supplied to him by undercover federal agents and the explosives were inert. (Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

She refused to renounce jihad on national TV, and Brigitte Gabriel hammered her mercilessly, here and here.

And now here's this, at Ironic Surrealism, "Saba Ahmed (Who Pals Around With Terrorists) In Talks With Obama Regime About Presidential Appointment."

And following the links takes us to BuzzFeed, "Muslim Woman at Center of Heritage Kerfuffle Says She’s In Discussions for a Presidential Appointment."

Well, she'd be at home in Obama's DHS. See, "Obama DHS Adviser Mohamed Elibiary’s Anti-American Tweets Celebrated by Brutal #ISIS Jihadists."

Michael O'Hanlon #Iraq Analysis on CBS 'This Morning'

"Maliki is the Shia Saddam."

Watch:



An excellent analysis that overlaps quite closely with Charles Krauthammer's essay,"In #Iraq, Abdication Has a Price."

In #Iraq, Abdication Has a Price

From Charles Krauthammer, at the Washington Post, "Abdication has a price":

Yes, it is true that there was no al-Qaeda in Iraq when George W. Bush took office. But it is equally true that there was essentially no al-Qaeda in Iraq remaining when Barack Obama took office.

Which makes Bush responsible for the terrible costs incurred to defeat the 2003-09 jihadist war engendered by his invasion. We can debate forever whether those costs were worth it, but what is not debatable is Obama’s responsibility for the return of the Islamist insurgency that had been routed by the time he became president...

No one is more clear on this complete cluster.

RTWT.

About Those Missing #IRS Emails

From Kim Strassel, at the Wall Street Journal, "About Those Missing Emails" (at Memeorandum):

Lois Lerner's emails are lost, and they need finding. In the meantime, their very disappearance tells us that Congress is sniffing down the right trail.

A year into congressional investigations of IRS targeting, we know two things beyond a doubt. We know from the public record that starting in 2010 the most powerful leaders of the Democratic Party—President Obama, Senate chairmen, House Democrats—ran a ceaseless campaign pressuring the IRS to silence conservative groups. We also know from internal IRS emails that Ms. Lerner, the former head of exempt organizations, was at the epicenter of an agency effort to silence those very groups, in the precise same time frame.

What we don't know is the interaction between the two. The IRS's deliberate withholding for a year of Lerner emails allowed the press and liberals to crow that there was no "there" there—zero evidence of Lerner collusion with anybody in the Democratic Party. At the very worst, went the explanation, Ms. Lerner and her IRS pals were zealous bureaucrats, primed to crack down on campaign money, and therefore eager to interpret the Democratic campaign as an order to act.

But the alleged disappearance of Ms. Lerner's hard drive—and the fact that the missing conversations are those the former IRS director had with people outside the IRS—has suddenly resurrected, with force, the explosive possibility that she was chatting with Democrats who mattered.

There's plenty of reason to believe she was. Just last week Congress discovered (via a subpoena to the Justice Department) emails showing that Ms. Lerner had conversations with Justice prosecutors about investigating conservative nonprofits. Who else in the Obama administration was Ms. Lerner talking to?

Continue reading.

Also see Walter Olson, at CATO, "Kim Strassel and the WSJ on the Lost IRS Emails."

Boko Haram Threat Spreads Into Cameroon

At Sky News.

Slick #ISIS Propaganda Video Recruits Western Youth: 'No Life Without Jihad...'

At Mirror UK, "British jihadi ISIS fighters post chilling YouTube video urging Muslims to 'sacrifice your family for Allah'." And New York Daily News, "Australian and British jihadists urge Muslims to join jihad in Syria and Iraq in new video."

And at CNN:



Live Leak has the video, "ISIS recruitment video No Life without Jihad."

More at London's Daily Mail, "'You don't keep the devil in your house': Furious father says he has BINNED family pictures of British medical student, 20, who went to fight jihad and appeared in chilling ISIS recruitment video."

Is #Israel Overreacting to the Kidnapping?

From Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary:

Eight days into the search, Israeli troops have still apparently found no trace of the three teenagers kidnapped last week by Hamas terrorists. Though the army continues to claim that it is tightening the noose around the kidnappers, as the country welcomed the Sabbath, there was no sign that the government’s faith that the victims could be still be rescued would be vindicated in the coming days. Instead, prayers for the safe recovery of the boys are being drowned out in the court of international public opinion by complaints from Palestinians that Israel’s efforts to ferret out the terrorists are an overreaction or that it is inflicting “collective punishment” on innocents even if those complaining about disproportionate use of force are also the same people who have been promoting a social media campaign supporting the kidnapping and mocking its victims.

The purpose of Israel’s West Bank offensive is to find the boys and to take down Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure that made the kidnapping possible. But the problem the country faces is that if another few days go by without results, international pressure to stand down and to even release some of the Hamas personnel that have been arrested in recent days will begin to grow. Those who are lighting an extra three candles tonight for the three boys are holding onto hope that they will soon be found alive, the sobering fact is that the Israel Defense Forces have never yet rescued a Hamas kidnapping victim alive. The prayers of decent people around the world are focused on the desire to see the three boys being the first such victims returned home without Israel being forced to pay a ransom in the form of released killers. But the problem facing Prime Minister Netanyahu this evening is what he will do if by this time next week, the IDF is no closer to bringing this episode to a successful conclusion as it is today...

Keep reading.

Rising French Anti-Semitism

Don't know how "new" this is, considering France's history going back to the Dreyfus affair, to say nothing of Vichy. But it's nevertheless extremely bad right now.

At the Washington Post, "A ‘new anti-Semitism’ rising in France."

And at the New York Times, "Number of French Jews Emigrating to Israel Rises."

Hillary Clinton 'Took Me Through Hell'

From Josh Rogin, at the Daily Beast, "Exclusive: ‘Hillary Clinton Took Me Through Hell,’ Rape Victim Says."



More at Twitchy, "‘For women?’ Must-read quotes from rape victim who says Hillary ‘took me through Hell’," and "‘The victim, probably’: Who cares that Hillary defended an accused rapist in 1975?'"

And see Alana Goodman, at Free Beacon, "Clinton Donor Bans Free Beacon From University of Arkansas Archives," and Matthew Continetti, "Hillary’s People."

Finally, from Noah Rothman, at Hot Air, "Hillary Gets the Vetting She Deserved in 2008."

Mothers of Kidnapped Teenagers #EyalGiladNaftali

From the IDF:



RELATED: At London's Daily Mail, "Two Palestinians, including 13-year-old boy, killed during West Bank raids linked to search for three 'abducted' Israeli teenagers."

Round 2 with Heritage Questioner Saba Ahmed on #Hannity

Following up from yesterday, "Heritage Questioner Saba Ahmed on #Hannity."

Chinese Police Kill 13 Islamic Jihadists in Xinjiang

These are Muslim attackers, although from most of the headlines I'm seeing, you wouldn't know it.

See Pamela Geller, "Jihadists Bomb Police Station in West China."

Chinese police shoot dead 13 attackers who bombed a police station - official media http://t.co/l4IzGSF16t pic.twitter.com/iSWup4vGQW

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 21, 2014

Professor William Jacobson on the Larry Elder Show

At Legal Insurrection, "On the Larry Elder Show talking anti-Israel boycott movement."

And check the audio here.

PREVIOUSLY: "William Jacobson Speaks at Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, Los Angeles."

Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Votes to Divest from Israeli Companies

What is happening to this church? It's like overnight they're taken hostage by radical leftists.

This was out yesterday, at USA Today, "Presbyterians in U.S. to allow gay marriage ceremonies," and the New York Times, "Presbyterians Vote to Allow Same-Sex Marriages":

The Presbyterians follow other religious groups that have taken similar steps, including the United Church of Christ, which affirmed “equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender” in 2005; Quakers; the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; and the Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism.

Right. The Presbyterians are turning into a sadistic cult.

And now today, at the Los Angeles Times, "Presbyterians to divest from 3 companies to protest Israeli policies":

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA voted to sell its stock in three major companies Friday night in protest of Israeli policies in Palestinian-controlled lands.

During its national meeting, the general assembly narrowly voted to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions by a vote of 310-303. Those three companies are said to supply Israel with tools used in building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

Though advocates said the decision should not signal support for a broader movement aimed at taking action to encourage Israel to change its policies toward Palestine, there has been concern among Israeli supporters that a decision to divest could signal momentum for the movement. In the same meeting, the Presbyterian organization voted to reaffirm its stance that Israel has a right to exist.

“We recognize the complexity of the issues, the decades-long struggle, the pain suffered and inflicted by policies and practices of both the Israeli government and Palestinian entities,” the documents state.

That's a lie, of course. The Presbyterian Church has joined the push by the World Council of Churches to demonize and delegitimize Israel as an Apartheid state, as Melanie Phillips discussed in her must-read piece, "'Jesus Was a Palestinian': The Return of Christian Anti-Semitism." The Church has tacked leftward along with society's increasing abandonment of strong Christian values as the moral guide to life. It's not a good omen for the West, although fortunately the overall BDS movement continues to be widely repudiated.

VIDEO: BBC Crew Caught in Middle of #ISIS Gun Battle

Pretty intense, "Extended footage shows BBC caught in Isis gunbattle."

Secret Video of ISIS Jihadists Smuggled Out of #Iraq

From CNN's Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon:

Canadian Animal-Lover Convicted for 2 Deaths After Parking on Montreal Provincial Highway to Save Baby Ducks and 'Take Them Home'

Further proof that leftism's a narcissistic disease that puts regular people's lives at risk. And her defense attorney was "surprised" at the conviction. Yes, because parking in the middle of the freeway to save baby ducks is so compassionate. Seriously, another case of radical leftist anti-humanism. Thank goodness she's going to the slammer.

Via Blazing Cat Fur, "Canada woman stops for ducks; guilty in 2 deaths":

MONTREAL (AP) — A Canadian woman who parked her car on a highway to help a group of ducklings on the side of the road was found guilty Friday of causing the deaths of a motorcyclist and his passenger daughter who slammed into her car.

Emma Czornobaj was convicted by a jury on two counts of criminal negligence causing death, a charge that carries a maximum life sentence, and two counts of dangerous driving causing death, which comes with a maximum of 14 years in jail.

The 25-year-old was charged in the deaths of Andre Roy, 50, and his daughter Jessie, 16.

She wiped away tears when the verdict was delivered to a packed courtroom in Montreal. Quebec Superior Court Justice Eliane Perreault said the 12-member jury voted unanimously.

Czornobaj was released until her pre-sentence hearing on Aug. 8.

Roy's motorcycle slammed into Czornobaj's car, which was stopped in the left lane of a provincial highway south of Montreal in 2010.

Czornobaj, a self-professed animal lover, told the court that she did not see the ducklings' mother anywhere and planned to capture them and take them home.

Defense lawyer Marc Labelle said his client was stunned by the jury's decision. "The fact that she was involved in the accident in the first place was a hard experience for her," he said. "The fact that she had to go through a trial with a lot of publicity was tough and to be confirmed by 12 citizens, the jury, that the conduct was criminal is a hard blow."

Freakin' demonic people. Let's hope she's raped bloody in the slammer.

#WorldCup Player Álvaro Pereira Kept Playing After Being Knocked Out Cold During Uruguay's Game with England

He was out cold on the grass.

At the New York Times, "‘Lights Went Out,’ but He Kept Playing: Uruguayan Player’s Return After Head Injury Stirs Debate."

And watch it at the Sydney Morning Herald, "Alvaro Pereira, knocked out then raring to go."

Pereira was clearly - clearly - out cold on his back needing to be revived. Now he's playing. That is just insane.

— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) June 19, 2014

Hate seeing doctors overruled with Pereira coming back on. World soccer clueless on concussions.

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) June 19, 2014

Obama DHS Adviser Mohamed Elibiary’s Anti-American Tweets Celebrated by Brutal #ISIS Jihadists

Just mind-boggling.

At Freedom's Outpost.

This is the same guy who said the return of the Islamic caliphate is inevitable. Kinda like the EU or something, doh!

At Free Beacon, "Senior DHS Adviser: ‘Inevitable that ‘Caliphate’ Returns’."

@davereaboi #Silly. As I've said b4 inevitable that "Caliphate" returns. Choice only whether we support #EU like Muslim Union vision or not.

— Mohamed Elibiary (@MohamedElibiary) June 13, 2014

Rosie Jones' First-Ever Zoo 'Shoot

Love the accent.

Video at Zoo Today, "Rosie Jones is coming to ZOO! See her sexy topless shoot video!"

Secret U.S. Plan to Aid #Iraq Fizzled Amid Mutual Distrust

Isn't this just too typical of this administration. It's bad enough that Obama wants to weaken the U.S. and embolden our enemies. But this administration can't even handle the most basic alliance cooperation. No wonder Islamic jihad is on the march worldwide.

At WSJ, "The Obama's Administration Devoted Only a Handful of U.S. Specialists to the Task":

WASHINGTON—Amid growing signs of instability in Iraq, President Barack Obama authorized a secret plan late last year to aid Iraqi troops in their fight against Sunni extremists by sharing intelligence on the militants' desert encampments, but devoted only a handful of U.S. specialists to the task.

So few aircraft were dedicated to the program, which also faced restrictions by the Iraqis, that U.S. surveillance flights usually took place just once a month, said current and former U.S. officials briefed on the program.

Instead of providing Iraqis with real-time drone feeds and intercepted communications from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the militant group that has overrun parts of Iraq, U.S. intelligence specialists typically gave their Iraqi counterparts limited photographic images, reflecting U.S. concerns that more sensitive data would end up in Iranian hands, these officials said.

Political and security sensitivities for leaders in both countries led the U.S. move cautiously to secretly set up the so-called fusion intelligence center in Baghdad. But Mr. Obama's announcement Thursday that the U.S. will deploy up to 300 military advisers and set up two joint operations centers shows the extent to which U.S. and Iraqi leaders are racing to catch up to an ISIS threat they had already identified but were slow to counter.

As Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, struggles with the Sunni insurgency and the sectarian divisions that spawned it, support for his own leadership came under fire on Friday by the country's most influential Shiite cleric. Mr. Maliki, who is trying to assemble a governing coalition following April elections, should consider stepping aside, a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said during a Friday sermon.

To battle ISIS, U.S. and Iraqi leaders are taking steps proposed but not taken over the past months and years, including setting up larger intelligence operations and deploying teams of special operations forces. The small team set up last year "wasn't a priority and nobody thought it was a serious effort," said a senior U.S. official.

Administration and congressional officials say the U.S. also miscalculated the readiness of Iraqi forces: The White House's limited investment in the intelligence center was driven at least in part by the assumption that Iraqi forces would be more competent, the official said. Then, at the end of April, the Pentagon dispatched a team of special-operations personnel to assess the capabilities of Iraq's security forces, a defense official said.

The assessment they brought back was bleak: Sunni Army officers had been forced out, overall leadership had declined, the Iraqi military wasn't maintaining its equipment and had stopped conducting rigorous training. The response in Washington, summed up by a senior U.S. official, was: "Whoa, what the hell happened here?"

More.