Mediaboss Marketing

One wouldn't be surprised if President Obama's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, woke up Monday morning checking for tire tracks after his boss effectively threw him under the bus for having "underestimated" the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group.

But Obama's remarks in a "60 Minutes" interview drew immediate objections from lawmakers and the intelligence community.

In the interview, Obama was asked how the Islamic State was able to gain so much territory. "Our head of the intelligence community Jim Clapper has acknowledged that I think they underestimated what had been taking place in Syria," the president said.

Clapper previously had admitted that U.S. analysts both underestimated the Islamic State, or ISIS, and "overestimated" the ability of the Iraqi army to fight them.

But sources say Obama nevertheless was looped in on the rise of ISIS for a while.

A military intelligence official told Fox News that the Obama administration had options on the table to target senior leadership of ISIS -- as well as the Al Qaeda-aligned Khorasan Group -- in the 18 months leading up to the strikes in Syria which began last week.

The official, who is familiar with the data collection, said the threat from ISIS and Khorasan was well-documented in the president's daily brief for over a year, but the White House failed to act.

The official said the intelligence community "pushed hard" to identify the leadership of both groups for targeting purposes and these options were presented to the president's team -- and every option was denied.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., also questioned the president's comments on Monday. Speaking on MSNBC, he said he himself became aware of the threat in the summer of 2013.King said Obama "dropped the ball" and is trying to blame others.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaking on CNN, also said he's "puzzled" by some of the president's statements.

More:
Obama faces backlash after blaming intel community for missing ISIS

By Sara Fischer, CNN

updated 3:14 PM EDT, Sun September 28, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- In February, President Barack Obama launched an initiative to provide educational and community support for African-American boys and young men, an issue he said "goes to the very heart of why I ran for president."

But when Obama first unveiled the "My Brother's Keeper" program six months ago, he could not have anticipated that the national conversation this summer would explode into a debate about race relations.

In light of the death of Michael Brown -- the unarmed African-American teen who was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August -- Obama said that the country is now "awakened" to a reality that a "gulf of mistrust" exists between African-Americans and law enforcement officials in communities throughout the country.

"We still have to close the opportunity gaps, and we have to close the justice gap -- how justice is applied, but also what is perceived, how it is experienced," Obama said at a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation event in Washington on Saturday. "That's what we saw in Ferguson this summer when Michael Brown was killed and the community was divided."

"Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement, guilty of walking while black, driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel by fear and resentment and hopelessness," he continued.

To Brown's family members, who were in the audience at the event, Obama gave a personal nod.

"I know that nothing anybody can say can ease the grief of losing a child too soon."

See the original post:
Obama to expand My Brother's Keeper in light of Ferguson

**Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**

Buzz Cut: Obama admits they got it wrong on ISIS, Iraq Ernst tags Braley in Iowa debate Pick Six: Alaska breaks the ice Begich ad cozies up to Murkowski (again) A crime most fowl

OBAMA ADMITS THEY GOT IT WRONG ON ISIS, IRAQHaving acknowledged that his administration underestimated the growing ISIS threat and overestimated the Iraqi armys ability to defend itself against the militant group, President Obama went on to reiterate that the U.S. is not at war. Not to worry: The American pilots flying missions over hostile territory and advisors embedded with Iraqi forces on the battlefield in the fight to destroy the Islamic State are merely assisting. Fox News: The president said in a wide-ranging interview on CBS 60 Minutes that the Islamic State militants went underground after being squashed in Iraq and regrouped under the cover of the Syrian civil war[Obama] said his director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has acknowledged that the U.S. underestimated what had been taking place in Syria. He also said it was absolutely true that the U.S. overestimated the ability and will of the Iraqi army. However, Obama also acknowledged that the U.S. is dealing with a conundrum in Syria, as the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State is helping Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom the U.N. has accused of war crimesHowever, Obama called the threat from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and other terror groups a more immediate concern that has to be dealt with.

What were not going to do is fallen to the al Qaeda trap of sending hundreds of thousands of Americans back. Thats exactly what they want. They want to bog us down, tie us down, to bleed us. Were going to be smarter about this. -- Tony Blinken, White House Deputy National Security Adviser on Fox News Sunday Watch here.

POLL: AMERICANS DONT BUY OBAMAS NO TROOP ASSERTION

WSJ: Nearly three-quarters of Americans dont believe PresidentBarack Obamas assertion that the country wont use ground troops to fight the militant group Islamic State in Iraq or Syria, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Annenberg survey findsSome 72% of registered voters surveyed said U.S. ground troops eventually will be deployed against Islamic States fighters. Only 20% said they believe the U.S. wont end up using military ground forces.

At the end of the day, I think its gonna take more than air strikes to drive them outta there. At some point somebodys boots have to be on the ground. House Speaker John Boehner on ABCs This Week

OBAMA BELIEVES DEMOCRATS CAN HOLD SENATEThe Hill: President Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday night that he thinks the Democrats can hold the Senate. The president told 60 Minutes that he will spend the next six weeks campaigning on his economic record. The country is definitely better off than we were when I came into office, Obama said, offering to put his record against any leader around the world in terms of digging ourselves out of a terrible, almost unprecedented financial crisis.It could be a difficult case for Obama to make in the final weeks before Election Day. Despite months of jobs and stock market growth, the presidents approval ratings on the economy remain stubbornly low

ERNST TAGS BRALEY IN IOWA DEBATE

Des Moines Register: Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst squared off in a lively U.S. Senate debate Sunday evening, marked by heated exchanges on abortion, contraceptives, climate change and environmental regulations, and by biting attacks and comebacks, especially in the final few minutes Braley repeatedly slammed Ernst for being associated with the billionaire Koch brothers and an obstructionist tea party agendaErnst calmly fired back: Congressman, you threatened to sue a neighbor over chickens that came onto their property. Youre talking about bipartisanship. How do we expect as Iowans to believe that you will work across the aisle when you cant walk across your yard?The debate highlighted stark differences on issue after issue. In a lightning-round of questions at the end, the center of flattery was Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a farmer whom Iowa voters hold in high esteem. Although retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin was sitting a few feet away in the audience, when Braley was asked who hed telephone first if elected to the Senate, Braley answered: Chuck Grassley. And Ernst, when asked which of the 2016 presidential candidates she identifies with, she too answered Grassley.

More here:
Obama admits they got it wrong on ISIS, Iraq

President Obama acknowledged Sunday that U.S. intelligence officials "underestimated" the threat posed by the Islamic State and overestimated the Iraqi armys capacity to defeat the militant group.

The president said in a wide-ranging interview on CBS' 60 Minutes that the Islamic State militants went "underground" after being squashed in Iraq and regrouped under the cover of the Syrian civil war.

"During the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos," Obama said.

The president said his director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has acknowledged that the U.S. "underestimated what had been taking place in Syria. He also said it was "absolutely true" that the U.S. overestimated the ability and will of the Iraqi army.

However, Obama also acknowledged that the U.S. is dealing with a conundrum in Syria, as the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State is helping Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom the U.N. has accused of war crimes.

"I recognize the contradiction in a contradictory land and a contradictory circumstance," Obama said. "We are not going to stabilize Syria under the rule of Assad," whose government has committed "terrible atrocities."

However, Obama called the threat from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and other terror groups a more "immediate concern that has to be dealt with."

"On the other hand, in terms of immediate threats to the United States, ISIL, Khorasan Group -- those folks could kill Americans," he said.

The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has taken control of large sections of Iraq and Syria. The Khorasan Group is a cell of militants that the U.S. says is plotting attacks against the West in cooperation with the Nusra front, Syria's Al Qaeda affiliate.

Both groups have been targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent days; together they constitute the most significant military opposition to Assad. Obama said his first priority is degrading the extremists who are threatening Iraq and the West. To defeat them, he acknowledged, would require a competent local ground force, something no analyst predicts will surface any time soon in Syria, despite U.S. plans to arm and train "moderate" rebels.

The rest is here:
Obama says US 'underestimated' ISIS, admits Syria airstrikes help Assad

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama acknowledged that U.S. intelligence agenciesunderestimatedthe threat from Islamic State militants in the Middle East and overestimated the ability and will of Iraq's army to fight such extremists.

Obama described the U.S. intelligence assessments in response to a question during a CBS "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday, in which he also conceded that the U.S. led military campaign against that group and an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria was helping Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, a man the U.N. has accused of war crimes.

But Obama said he had no choice but to order U.S. air strikes on Assad's enemies, the Islamic State and the Khorasan Group because, he said, "those folks could kill Americans."

The Islamic State group, which derived from but has broken with al-Qaida, has taken control of large sections of Iraq and Syria. The Khorasan Group is a cell of militants that the U.S. says is plotting attacks against the West in cooperation with the Nusra front, Syria's al-Qaida affiliate.

Obama was asked how Islamic State fighters had come to control so much territory in Syria and Iraq and whether it was a surprise to him. The president said that during the Iraq war, U.S. military forces with the help of Iraq's Sunni tribes were able to quash al-Qaida fighters, who went "back underground."

"During the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swaths of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos," Obama said, according to an excerpt release before the show aired.

He noted that his director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has acknowledged that the U.S. "underestimatedwhat had been taking place in Syria." Obama also said it was "absolutely true" that the U.S. overestimated the ability and will of the Iraqi army.

Both the Islamic State group and the Khorasan Group have been targeted by U.S. airstrikes in recent days; together they constitute the most significant military opposition to Assad, whose government the U.S. would like to see gone.

On the fact that the U.S.-led military campaign had worked to Assad's benefit, Obama said, "I recognize the contradiction," but added: "We are not going to stabilize Syria under the rule of Assad," whose government has committed "terrible atrocities."

Republican Sen. John McCain, who lost the presidential election to Obama in 2008 and has been a frequent critic on foreign policy, said Monday that the administration had miscalculated the necessity for the United States to keep a residual force of troops in Iraq after the war there ended.

See the original post here:
Islamic State threat 'underestimated' by US: Obama