The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Megathread

[CountDeMoney]

/cue Imperial March

Former VP Cheney meeting with House GOP as Iraq strategy debated
Washingtonpost.com

The leading architect of the Iraq War will be on Capitol Hill Tuesday for a private chat with House Republicans, just as Congress is grappling again with how involved the United States should be in the region's snowballing unrest.

Yes, that would be former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the war's most ardent defenders to this day. He was invited by the campaign arm of the Republicans to come speak at the first GOP weekly conference meeting since Congress' five-week break, a House GOP official confirmed to the Loop.

With the midterm elections nearing, the get-together was originally intended to focus more on politics than policy, and is being held at the Republican National Committee headquarters. And so it's pure coincidence that Cheney will be the guest speaker just as Iraq returns to the headlines.

While the rationale for the 2003 war has been largely debunked, Cheney maintains that the goals of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda were one in the same. (In July, our very own Fact Checker Glenn Kessler gave that claim three Pinocchios out of a possible four.)

With President Obama expected to lay out a strategy for fighting ISIS on Wednesday, Cheney will certainly have a few words of wisdom to share on the topic of killing terrorists.

In recent interviews, Cheney has issued dire warnings about ignoring the militant group, saying inaction will result in an attack worse than Sept. 11. President Bill Clinton has said Cheney created ISIS by invading Iraq in the first place.

[DontSayBanana]

/cue Imperial March

...In recent interviews, Cheney has issued dire warnings about ignoring the militant group, saying inaction will result in an attack worse than Sept. 11. President Bill Clinton has said Cheney created ISIS by invading Iraq in the first place.

That's generally how it begins.  You get your best, longest wars with the enemies you create.

[Ed Anger]

http://theaviationist.com/2014/09/08/f-15e-over-iraq/

:boner:

[CountDeMoney]

Things would get very interesting if our first pilot to get shot down is captured and decapitated.  Hope they go over those pre-flight checklists closely.

[Valmy]

In recent interviews, Cheney has issued dire warnings about ignoring the militant group, saying inaction will result in an attack worse than Sept. 11.

[mongers]

USAF, more bombing please.

[Tamas]

USAF, more bombing please.

What about no blood for oil and all that stuff, ha?

[Eddie Teach]

It's ok cause we don't get the oil anyway.

[Syt]

Russia has warned the U.S. to not use the attacks on IS as a pretext to bomb government troops. They've also accused them of double standards of supporting one terrorist group (the original insurgents) while condemning another.

[Jacob]

Russia has warned the U.S. to not use the attacks on IS as a pretext to bomb government troops. They've also accused them of double standards of supporting one terrorist group (the original insurgents) while condemning another.

Nothing Russia says is credible, I'm afraid

[Syt]

Russia has warned the U.S. to not use the attacks on IS as a pretext to bomb government troops. They've also accused them of double standards of supporting one terrorist group (the original insurgents) while condemning another.

Nothing Russia says is credible, I'm afraid

Stop the presses!!!

[Jacob]

Stop the presses!!!

Seems more efficient to subvert them through intimidation and persuasion.

[Phillip V]

Obama announced tonight another 500 troops to Iraq and airstrikes on Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/world/middleeast/obama-speech-isis.html

Will there later be more parallels with Bush II for Obama's second term, such as full loss of Congress to the opposing party, Iraq looking like hell, and dear lord another economic crisis?

[derspiess]

So ISIL is not Islamic? 

[mongers]

So ISIL is not Islamic? 

No it's Wahhabist; John Kerry's just off to consult with the experts in it's practice.