Wednesday - August 20, 2014

Obama Gets Tough

Obama speaks out after ISIS beheading of US journalist Mike Foley, vows to take action. Then he goes back to playing golf.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the U.S. won’t back down from ISIS, the militant terror group that released a video Tuesday showing one of its militants beheading an American photojournalist.

‘Today, the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of Jim Foley by the terrorist group, ISIL,’ said Obama, calling the group by the White House’s preferred name.’

‘No just God would stand for what they did yesterday and ... every single day,’ he said.

‘ISIL speaks for no religion,’ he said, aiming his words at the Islamist faction that claims to have established a Muslim caliphate in portions of Syria and Iraq. ‘Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents.’

Well, right, true, except for that muslim religion that teaches their people to massacre innocents who won’t convert or pay the jizya tax. But why let facts get in the way?

As with his last public statements, Obama followed a brief speech with a round of golf, according to a White House pool report.

Obama delivered a statement from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, during his vacation on Wednesday. His remarks come after ‘Islamic State’ insurgents released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley, who had gone missing in Syria nearly two years ago

Americans ‘are all heartbroken at their loss and join them in honoring Jim,’ he said, somber but not wearing a necktie, as has been his practice during his extended family holiday.

Foley stood ‘in stark contrast’ to his captors and executioners, he said, blaming them for a series of ‘cowardly acts of violence.’

‘One thing we can all agree on is a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century,’ a defiant Obama said.

The president said the terror group has tortured and killed ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, including women and children.

‘They have rampaged across cities and villages, killing innocent civilians,’ he said.

‘They have murdered Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can, for no other reason than that they practice another religion.’

He seemed to double down on the threat of airstrikes, even though Foley’s executioner claimed another journalist will die if they continue.

‘There has to be a common effort to expel this cancer so it does not spread,’ Obama said.

America’s military has carried out nearly a dozen new airstrikes in Iraq since Tuesday, with the attacks coming after the terror group’s appalling video release.

Foley’s executioner addressed President Barack Obama personally in the video, warning that his group would kill Steven Sotloff – another American journalist the group is holding – if the U.S. didn’t stop a campaign of targeted attacks that Obama green-lighted on August 8.

Other reports are saying that the minimal nature of US airstrikes so far has caused ISIS to adopt a tactical change; no longer are they traveling in convoys like an actual military, but in small groups, herding local residents or foreigners ahead of them as human shields.  So perhaps Big O’s strategy of little hits wasn’t the smartest move to open with; a few alpha strikes rich with carpet bombing would have done major damage to ISIS at the time. Too late for that now.

In typical British newspaper fashion, there is a huge amount of further detail and loads of photographs at the link above.

PS - the knife wielding insane ISIS beheader ... is probably a British citizen.

‘It’s increasingly likely he is British’: Cameron admits ISIS butcher who beheaded a US journalist is probably from the UK as race begins to identify hooded executioner
David Cameron has condemned the on-screen beheading of American journalist James Foley as ‘murder without justification’ - adding it is ‘increasingly likely’ that a British jihadist carried out the murder.

The Prime Minister, who broke off his holiday amid the escalating crisis, said the killing of the kidnapped American reporter was ‘brutal and barbaric’ - but he insisted the act would not change the Government’s approach to tackling the group in Iraq and Syria.

‘Let me condemn the barbaric and brutal act that has taken place and let’s be clear what this act is - it is an act of murder, and murder without any justification,’ Mr Cameron said from Downing Street.

Mr Cameron’s remarks came amid claims the jihadist who beheaded Mr Foley is the leader of a group of British fighters holding foreign hostages in Syria - and are known to their captors as ‘The Beatles’.

The English-speaking militant was identified to the Guardian newspaper by one of his former hostages. He is understood to be one of the main guards of foreign nationals in Raqqa, a stronghold of Islamic State rebels in Syria.

The militant, who appeared on the Foley video, allegedly called himself John and is believed to be from London.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/20/2014 at 12:59 PM   
Filed Under: • War On Terror •  
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