Obama Waffles on Resolve to Fight ISIL
As Jordan’s Kind Abdullah swore to go all Clint Eastwood against ISIL after the group burned a Jordanian pilot alive, Barack Obama swore to help the country enact its revenge. “Anything we can do, we are doing,” Obama said. But that “anything” doesn’t include Predator drones. The administration denied Jordan’s request for the drones to pinpoint ISIL targets. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to the White House, “The decision to deny the license request should be reversed immediately. Doing so will provide Jordan critical mission capability in the fight against the Islamic State and ensure Jordan is given every advantage. … Jordan is uniquely positioned to support and perhaps lead the fight against the Islamic State, and it’s now our obligation to offer Jordan our full support in this effort.” In the next few days, Obama will go to Congress to ask for its permission to go to war against ISIL. Knowing how this administration has acted in the past, Obama will ask for an Authorization for Use of Military Force that gives him vast amounts of military power, which he will use ineffectively.