In an effort to prevent genocide, President Obama has authorized US military action in Iraq "to protect Americans":
- *OBAMA SAYS HE'S AUTHORIZED TARGETED AIR STRIKES IN IRAQ
- *OBAMA SAYS HE'S AUTHORIZED HUMANITARIAN DROPS FOR REFUGEES
Global equity markets and Treasury yields are tumbling. President Obama concluded: "Today, America Is Coming To Help Iraq"... Again!
Humanitarian aid has begun...
3 US military cargo aircraft dropped food and water for 8,000 people. Food included MRE's - meals-ready-to-eat. Planes escorted by 2 F-18s.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 8, 2014 [8]
And the warmongers fully support the decision
Support for Pres Obama's Iraq actions from Senate Armed Svcs Chmn Carl Levin. Says justifications cited by POTUS "are surely sufficient."
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) August 8, 2014 [9]
Equity futures are tumbling...
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Gold is surging...
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and Brent and WTI Crude are jumping...
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VIX futures are up around 1 vol at 17.7
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The full speech -
As Mediate reports, [14]
“People are starving and children are dying of thirst,” Obama said, adding that ISIS is intent on committing genocide against the isolated Iraqis. “I have said before the United States cannot and should not intervene every time there’s a crisis in the world,” the president said. “So let me be clear about why we must act and act now.” With “innocent people facing violence on a horrific scale,” Obama said America “cannot turn a blind eye.”
“I ran for this office in part to end our war in Iraq and welcome our troops home and that’s what we have done,” Obama said. “As commander-in-chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq. So even as we support Iraqis as they take the fight to these terrorists, American combat troops will not be returning to fight in Iraq, because there’s no American military solution to the larger crisis in Iraq.”
The president ended by heralding the United States’ “leadership” in the world and stressed that “America has other tools in our arsenal than our military.” He said “we can also lead with the power of our diplomacy, our economy, and our ideals.”
“But when the lives of American citizens are at risk, we will take action. That’s my responsibility as commander-in-chief,” Obama continued. “And when many thousands of innocent civilians are faced with the danger of being wiped out and we have the capacity to do something about it, we will take action. That is our responsibility as Americans.”
Here is what ISIS controls...
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His additional comments:
- *OBAMA SAYS MILITARY ACTION WOULD BE TO PROTECT AMERICANS
- *OBAMA SAYS MILITARY AUTHORIZED TO STRIKE ON ADVANCES ON ERBIL
- *OBAMA SAYS U.S. ACTING TO PREVENT ACT OF GENOCIDE
Adding
“I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq,” he said.
And concludes:
- *OBAMA SAYS `TODAY AMERICA IS COMING TO HELP' IN IRAQ
Again...
10Y Yields are at 2.37% - and it appears the safe haven buying began when the press conference was announced...
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This should do wonders for his approval rating...
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Some thoughts from The National Journal on why he acted: [17]
The World Will Blame President Obama if Iraq Falls [17]
The world will not blame the Iraqi government if the children and women huddled atop Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq die of hunger and exposure. Nor will Pope Francis blame Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki if the Islamic extremists attacking the country slaughter the 40,000 Christians and other minorities who have fled to the mountaintop. The fact is that the world, from the pontiff in the Vatican to the coal miner in West Virginia, will blame President Obama.
That is why the president found himself under such intense pressure to act on Thursday, facing calls from around the world to marshal American might in a way to both rush humanitarian aid to the refugees in Iraq and punish the forces of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who are trying to kill them.
It was notable that the pope's plea for help was not directed at Iraq's putative government. "His Holiness addresses an urgent appeal to the international community to take action to end the humanitarian tragedy now underway, to act to protect those affected or threatened by violence and to provide aid, especially for the most urgent needs of the many who have been forced to flee and who depend on the solidarity of others," said the statement issued by the Vatican on Thursday.
While the president was huddled with his military advisers in Washington assessing his options before making his decision, he could not help but feel the pressure. And perhaps no one could better understand that pressure than a man who routinely attended such meetings under three presidents and famously codified the "Pottery Barn Rule" prior to the launch of the Iraq War in 2003. According to author Bob Woodward, Colin Powell told President George W. Bush: "You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people. You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You'll own it all." He distilled the rule as "You break it, you own it."
A decade later and after millions of American dollars, thousands of casualties, and seemingly hundreds of different policies, Iraq is very much broken. Even though he has boasted of "ending" the U.S. role in the war and even though he didn't create the situation, Obama very much owns the mess. And he finds himself on a timetable not of his choosing and very much at odds with his policy.
That policy has been clear ever since ISIS started gobbling up Iraqi territory and terrorizing the Iraqi people, meeting only ineffective response from the Iraqi military supposedly trained by the United States: First, force Maliki to reform his government, broaden his sectarian appeal, and send a signal to all of Iraq that Baghdad could represent and protect them all. Only then could military help come from the United States.
But this situation, which the White House concedes is an immediate humanitarian catastrophe with lives hanging in the balance, cannot wait for Maliki to get his politics together. As reporters repeatedly reminded press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday, these people are already dying.
That forced Obama to square his aversion to using military force abroad with his humanitarian urges. After the United States stood idly by in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide, President Clinton promised the world that "never again" would the United States be blind to genocide. Obama's instincts were to keep that promise. But those instincts seemed to be at war with his desire to stay out of foreign wars. That brought renewed attention to the conditions the president laid out in 2011 to justify involvement in Libya's civil war.
In an address to the nation from the East Room on March 18, 2011, the president said he was impelled to act by a situation similar in many respects to the current crisis in Iraq. "Here is why this matters to us," he said then. Without international action, he said, there would be "atrocities against his people." He added, "Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners. The calls of the Libyan people would go unanswered. The democratic values that we stand for would be overrun. Moreover, the words of the international community would be rendered hollow." He concluded, "And that's why the United States has worked with our allies and partners to shape a strong international response at the United Nations."
That speech is as close as it gets to outlining an Obama Doctrine for humanitarian situations. It is another reason why the pressure on the White House is so intense. The world knows that the United States "broke" Iraq and "owns" the mess, and is waiting to see if the Obama Doctrine that applied in 2011 still applies today.
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We await Ron Paul's comments...
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And on a lighter note...
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