Wednesday night President Obama will outline a strategy for "degrading and ultimately destroying the terrorist group," ISIS/ISIL; as part of this, he is ready to authorize airstrikes in Syria. Contrary to the implications of a host of
Republican attack ads, responding to conflict in the Middle East isn't simple and straightforward (surprise, right?), so Obama's strategy will need to
walk a number of fine lines:
... including how to train and equip a viable ground force to fight ISIS inside Syria, how to intervene without aiding President Bashar al-Assad, and how to enlist potentially reluctant partners like Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
These aren't small challenges, though the only way you'd know that from what Republicans are saying is in what they're
not saying.
For instance:
[F]ormer Vice President Dick Cheney came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to urge House Republicans to embrace a strong military and reject a rising isolationism in his party, but did not discuss the specifics of confronting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. [...]
He did not discuss the fact that many ISIS leaders were former Iraqi military officers who were imprisoned by American troops, nor did he dwell on the sectarian divisions and bloodletting since the 2003 American invasion.
(Side note: This
New York Times article comes with one of the all-time-great corrections, and you should
check it out.)
Nonetheless, despite Cheney's avoidance of the context for current unrest and of actual proposals beyond "build up the military," the Wall Street Journal is calling on Obama to "concede that Dick Cheney was right all along." That, however, is unlikely to be the focus of Obama's speech Wednesday night, as he grapples with a complicated situation in the Middle East as well as a Republican Party and media pushing irresponsibly for an escalation of conflict that would likely have far, far more wide-ranging consequences than they're willing to admit. We'll learn more specifics of Obama's strategy Wednesday at 9 PM EDT; the speech will be liveblogged at Daily Kos.