Free Republic

It is not President Barack Obama's fault that the media, and hence the public, did not understand what he meant when he said he had "decimated" the core leadership of al-Qaida. That misunderstanding grew when it was revealed that the Osama bin Laden-less leadership of al-Qaida was still alive and had moved into Syria, morphing into what is now known as the Khorasan Group within ISIS -- the Islamist State in Iraq and Syria

Joseph Miller is the pen name for a ranking Department of Defense official with a background in U.S. special operations and combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in strategic planning. President Barack Obama has taken a lot of flack since his Sunday night “60 Minutes” interview, in which he blamed the intelligence community for his failure to tackle the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. And that is right and proper. Because not only was his excuse of blaming us a lie, but when questioned on his lie, White House press secretary Josh...

Recently, I cautioned my fellow Americans against falling for the notion that the so-called “Islamic State” is among the gravest threats, or any considerable threat, to the United States. I noted that if the hyperbolic cries of politicians and their media propagandists in both parties so much as remotely resembled reality, then we’d have long ago witnessed at least two phenomena that, as of the present moment, remain conspicuously, indeed, painfully, absent from the current discourse. First, at long last, we would have jettisoned the Politically Correct labels—“Islamo-Fascism,” “Islamo-Nazism,” “Islamism,” “radical Islam,” “Islamic extremism,” etc.—that we invariably assign to Islamic...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: This morning on CBS This Morning. Holly Williams is the foreign correspondent for CBS News, and she was reporting about the war against ISIS in Syria and the impact of US air strikes there. WILLIAMS: The fighters in Mahmoodin village told us that the US-led air strikes against ISIS in Syria have so far had very little impact on the ground. Like many people, in this part of the world, they would like to see more of them. RUSH: What? What? What? Whoa, whoa! Wait, wait, wait. That's not right. Last week John Kerry said that they...

merican airstrikes against ISIS targets are under way in Syria, according to a Pentagon official. "I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIL [ISIS] terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles," Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said. "Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time. The decision to conduct theses strikes was made earlier today by the U.S. Central Command commander under authorization granted him by the commander in chief. We will...

Erik Prince says his old private army could have dealt with the Islamic State militants on their own—and that Republicans need to start fighting ‘like we pay them to.’ Erik Prince has a message for ISIS: You’re lucky Blackwater is gone. On Friday night, the controversial founder of the private military company had plenty to say about what the organization he once ran could be doing in the fight against the so-called Islamic State—and also why Republicans need to stop being such losers. “It’s a shame the [Obama] administration crushed my old business, because as a private organization, we could’ve...

There will be 1,600 U.S. troops in Iraq by the time President Obama’s current plans are fully in place — but none of those are considered combat troops, which means the U.S. is not officially reengaged in the war there, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress on Tuesday.

I am, if you haven’t noticed, an instinctual Jacksonian (in the sense of Walter Russell Mead’s quadripartite characterization of American foreign policy types). My first reaction is to hit hard at those who confront the US or threaten American interests. ISIS is therefore a natural candidate for a good drubbing. But more sober reflection (figuratively and literally!) leads me to conclude that a full-blooded response to ISIS is unwise, especially in Syria. For many reasons, the commitment that would be required to fully extirpate the organization is not worth the cost, and it’s better not to fight at all than...

Yesterday, Barack Obama stated, “Turkey needs to be involved in coalition against ISIS.” On Thursday Turkey said it will not allow the US to use its airbases to fight ISIS.

On this somber anniversary the NY Times has the entire above the fold section of the front page devoted to Barack Obama. Among them is the expected sycophantic plug from Gail Collins: "A Man with a Plan" But then we come to a article that purports to be serious but either was written by a 12 year old or someone for whom history began on January 21, 2009- Mark Landler. He opens: President Obama on Wednesday authorized a major expansion of the military campaign against rampaging Sunni militants in the Middle East, including American airstrikes in Syria and the deployment...

Comment on Presidents address of the Nation...

President Obama told congressional leaders at a White House meeting on Monday he wouldn’t need their authorization to expand his military campaign against Islamic terrorists. The president offered the assurance at a private White House meeting one day before a primetime address he’s scheduled to give to the nation. Wednesday’s address is a pivotal moment for the president just months before a midterm election in which the Senate’s majority hangs in the balance. Polls show that confidence in Obama’s foreign policy is eroding just as anxiety over the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has...

For years, Anthony Zinni, a retired Marine General who once ran U.S. Central Command, blistered the administration of George W. Bush for its handling of Iraq. Now Zinni is teeing up on President Barack Obama's approach in Iraq, saying he is "worried" by Obama's cautious approach to the current crisis and the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State. "My God, we are the most powerful nation in the world," says Zinni, who was widely reported to have been passed over for the ambassadorship to Iraq in 2009 by Obama. "This is a moment we have to act. How many Americans getting...

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday issued a sharp warning to the Islamic State group, saying after the United States is done grieving the death of two American journalists, their killers will have to answer for their actions. "They should know we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice," he forcefully told an audience at an event on the New Hampshire-Maine border, according to CNN. "Because hell is where they will reside. Hell is where they will reside." Biden opened his remarks in memory of Steven Sotloff, the journalist who was beheaded...

Speaking during a press conference from Eastern Europe early Wednesday morning, President Obama said justice will be served for the beheading of American journalist Steven Sotloff yesterday and that ISIS must be "destroyed." However, shortly after those remarks, Obama said he is working with coalition forces to turn ISIS into a "manageable problem." "We know that if we are joined by the international community, we can continue to shrink ISIL's sphere of influence, its effectiveness, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem," Obama said. "Our objective is clear, and that is to degrade...

.....On September 19, 2001, a story ran in the Hyde Park Herald containing then-State-Senator Barack Obama’s response to the 9/11 tragedy. In this piece (quoted in this article from the New Yorker, under the heading “The Speech”), Obama expresses empathy for the murderers! Not anger, not disdain, not a word of sympathy for the victims. His concern was for the murderers..... Quoting Obama in the Hyde Park Herald: "We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of...

When Obama called ISIS a JV team, they had taken Fallujah. US intel knew their capabilities, even though Obama Inc. has insisted on blaming bad intel for his dismissive comments.But the intel wasn’t bad. The intel is rarely that bad. It’s the leadership that’s bad. A former Pentagon official confirms to Fox News that detailed and specific intelligence about the rise of ISIS was included in the PDB, or the President’s Daily Brief, for at least a year before the group took large swaths of territory beginning in June.The official, who asked not to be identified because the PDB is...

<p>A former Pentagon official confirms to Fox News that detailed and specific intelligence about the rise of ISIS was included in the PDB, or the President’s Daily Brief, for at least a year before the group took large swaths of territory beginning in June.</p>

President Obama found himself under fire Sunday for his cautious approach to beating back the Islamic State's march through Iraq and Syria and stamping out other diplomatic fires around the globe, with a top House Republican suggesting his foreign policy was in free fall and that Western allies no longer view the U.S. as a leader in the fight against bad actors. Rep. Mike Rogers, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said the administration is sitting on its hands while radical Islamist fighters grow in influence, recruit from abroad and seize more territory in...

If you want to get some idea about why President Obama has not formulated a strategy for defeating ISIS, take a look at . . . Thursday. Yes, Thursday. On Wednesday night, reporters were given Obama’s Thursday schedule. It did not mention a meeting between Obama and his national security advisors. Just before 10:00 am, we received word that he would convene a meeting with the National Security Council at 4:00 pm sharp. It sounded portentous. Such meetings aren’t normally scheduled so hastily or announced to reporters. Then, at about 1:45 pm, 45 minutes after the daily briefing was supposed...