By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--August 23, 2014
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And yet thoughts of a pacific equilibrium are far from anyone’s mind in the real, existing Middle East. In the 2012 campaign, Obama spoke not only of killing Osama bin Laden; he also said that Al Qaeda had been “decimated.” I pointed out that the flag of Al Qaeda is now flying in Falluja, in Iraq, and among various rebel factions in Syria; Al Qaeda has asserted a presence in parts of Africa, too. “The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant,” Obama said, resorting to an uncharacteristically flip analogy. “I think there is a distinction between the capacity and reach of a bin Laden and a network that is actively planning major terrorist plots against the homeland versus jihadists who are engaged in various local power struggles and disputes, often sectarian. “Let’s just keep in mind, Falluja is a profoundly conservative Sunni city in a country that, independent of anything we do, is deeply divided along sectarian lines. And how we think about terrorism has to be defined and specific enough that it doesn’t lead us to think that any horrible actions that take place around the world that are motivated in part by an extremist Islamic ideology are a direct threat to us or something that we have to wade into.”
"ISIL is as sophisticated and well funded as any group that we have seen. They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. Oh. This is beyond anything that we've seen. So, we must prepare for everything.And the only way you do that is that you take a cold, steely, hard look at it…and get ready ...When you look at what they did to Mr. Foley, what they threatened to do to all Americans and Europeans - what they are doing now, I don't know any way to describe it other than 'barbaric.' They have no standard of decency - of responsible human behavior - and I think the records pretty clear on that. So yes, they are an imminent threat to every interest we have, whether it's in Iraq or anywhere else."From J.V. team to imminent threat in just 7 months? Either ISIS has one heck of a training camp, or the administration so desperately wanted to score the talking point of "ending George Bush's war" that they were willing to ignore any potential threat that might deflate the pullout narrative. We'd love to believe that the President has learned his lesson and is now taking ISIS seriously. Sadly, since he's willing to run back to the golf course just seven minutes after making a statement on ISIS beheading an American citizen, we're somewhat less than convinced...
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