Obama Weighs Military Strikes to Aid Trapped Iraqis, Officials Say

[sufrommich]

Source: NYT

President Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis among as many as 40,000 religious minorities in Iraq who have been dying of heat and thirst on a mountaintdop after death threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, administration officials said on Thursday.

The president, in meetings with his national security team at the White House on Thursday morning, has been weighing a series of options ranging from dropping humanitarian supplies on Mount Sinjar to military strikes on the fighters from ISIS now at the base of the mountain, a senior administration official said.

“There could be a humanitarian catastrophe there,” a second administration official said, adding that a decision from Mr. Obama was expected “imminently — this could be a fast-moving train.”

The administration had been delaying taking any military action against ISIS until there is a new Iraqi government; both White House and Pentagon officials have said privately that the United States would not intervene militarily until Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki stepped down.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/world/middleeast/obama-weighs-military-strikes-to-aid-trapped-iraqis-officials-say.html?smid=tw-bna

[Amonester]

1. What about the bundy bunch?

[bigdarryl]

2. That's why his poll numbers are down now

WAR WAR WAR!!! progressives are tired of this shit and not taking care of the home front

[leftynyc]

3. Should I put you down

for ignoring the 40,000 being held hostage by isis and letting them starve to death?

[ballyhoo]

4. What about the children that were being slaughtered in Gaza?

[leftynyc]

8. What about them?

Is it because these 40,000 people aren't being killed by Israeli's that you can't seem spare a shit to give them?

[ballyhoo]

10. No. Is there a hierachy of children involved between

Gaza and Iraq that the US couldn't have said STOP NOW! and gone into Israel to do something about the children being slaughtered but they can do it now? Who decides these things?

[leftynyc]

14. The President decides

Do you think we should try and get humanitarian aid to these 40,000 peoplel?

[ballyhoo]

16. Humanitarian aid? Yes. USA jet strikes? No.

[Puzzledtraveller]

13. Funny isn't that, glad you pointed this out.

[BlueEye]

5. I'm with you!

The use of force is not always wrong. It should be 1) A last resort, 2) Limited in scope, 3) Done with humanitarian concern/For TRUE national defense, 4) Potential blowback has been thought out or mitigated to the greatest extent possible.

Some airstrikes to push back these ISIS assholes (and these people are truly assholes, as far as I can tell) would fulfill all of these justifications for war, and should be within the tolerance of most progressives (100% pacifists are actually a rare breed). We helped to create the monster that is ISIS, if we can wound it and help people desperately in need, I am in support.

[kiranon]

15. Me too. They need help and they need it now. n/t

[KamaAina]

6. "We had to destroy that village in order to save it"

[Robbins]

7. Sorry Mr President

I don't agree with sending of one penny or risking just one life for Iraq.

Liberals warned americans In Irq was just delaying the Inevitial.

Military might In iraq costs money meanwhile the right wing tells us we can't afford the social safety net.Americans are more important.
Evacuate all americans out of iraq and let them fight it out for their country.

[ballyhoo]

9. Exactly. Furthermore, let's suppose Obama

sends in the military to strike ISIS. Then ISIS, in turn, simply kills all the children. Well, that would call for a further attack. And then we are back in Iraq again. It has got to the point we should NOT enter any conflict or save any children until we have our own house in order, as cruel as that may sound.

[Psephos]

11. What was your take on the carefully ignored genocide in Rwanda? n/t

[Puzzledtraveller]

12. I would support such a move by the President.