Everyone knows President Obama’s speech Wednesday night will include few if any details about how we are going to go about defeating ISIS. Because President Obama has few if any details himself.Well, certainly the Commander-in-Chief should explain to a nation why he's sending troops into battle. The problem is that I've seen this show before and, as usual, it will be all about the One answering his critics.
CBS reporter Major Garrett asked White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest today why, then, anyone should tune in:
GARRETT: If I’ve listened to you correctly today, you said the president will tell the country that there’ll be no ground troops involved, there’ll be no tactical operational details, no timeline for victory, no cost associated with the pursuit of victory. Why should anyone watch?
There will be the standard "some people say boots on the ground" while others say "no war!" but he's in the pragmatic middle. And something like [the opposite of Obama's policy] is "not what America is about." Also, something about a responsibility to act with help from the "international community."
This morning I heard on NPR that after seizing Mosul, the Islamic State is making $1 to $3 million a day smuggling oil. They are selling the stolen crude for $25/barrel, about a quarter of the going rate. It's useless to talk about financial pressures when warlords from Syria to Iran are getting fabulously rich and ISIL is accumulating bullet money. I'd really like to hear a plan to choke off this money flow which would do more to weaken ISIL than a hundred drone strikes.
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