The president, who campaigned on the withdrawal from Iraq, has given permission to conduct airstrikes on the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant if the group threatens “American personnel.” ISIL is advancing towards the city of Erbil – home of a U.S. consulate – but tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled the violence to the mountain of Mount Sinjar that ISIL has now surrounded. Obama also authorized humanitarian drops of food and water. “[W]ith innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale,” he said, “when we have a mandate to help – in this case, a request from the Iraqi government – and when we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then I believe the United States of America cannot turn a blind eye. We can act, carefully and responsibly, to prevent a potential act of genocide.” Yet Obama promises to go only so far. America’s mandate has a limit in the face of genocide. Good to know, Obama. More…