| Media Search: |
Obama Speech Seriously Ruffles Syria
Any foreign intervention in Syria would be an act of aggression unless it is approved by Damascus, a Syrian government minister said on Thursday, after the United States said it was prepared...
By: Nirvana News
Excerpt from:
Obama Speech Seriously Ruffles Syria - Video
Cheney Takes on Obama #39;s Foreign Policy! Plus, Nuclear Plant Security
Dick Cheney takes aim at President Obama #39;s foreign policy! Major security concerns at a nuclear power plant outside of D.C., Jorge Ramos vs. Bill O #39;Reilly and its Flashback Friday!
By: PJ Media
Continue reading here:
Cheney Takes on Obama's Foreign Policy! Plus, Nuclear Plant Security - Video
Girl tells Barack Obama she wanted to meet Beyonce instead
A schoolgirl elicits laughter from President Barack Obama after she tells him she thought the special guest at her school was going to be the singer, Beyonce. A sixth-grader at a Washington...
By: The Telegraph
More:
Girl tells Barack Obama she wanted to meet Beyonce instead - Video
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Editor's note: Simon Tisdall is assistant editor and foreign affairs columnist at The Guardian. He was previously foreign editor of the Guardian and The Observer and served as White House correspondent and U.S. editor in Washington D.C. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.
London (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to expand the military campaign against ISIS terrorists into Syria, and to boost American backing for rebels fighting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, represents a grave escalation that risks dragging the U.S. and its allies into an open-ended regional war.
In his televized speech to the nation on Wednesday evening, Obama argued his proposed strategy of extended air strikes and use of local ground forces (but not American combat troops) against the extremists also known as ISIL and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was fundamentally different from past White House policies that led the U.S. to fight two Middle East ground wars in as many decades.
But Obama, as he has shown repeatedly since 2008, is a reluctant warrior with no particular expertise in armed conflict. No doubt John F. Kennedy felt that he, too, understood the risks when he started sending American advisors to Saigon in the early 1960s. Like JFK, he may be starting a fight he cannot finish, which will run on and on for untold years.
Simon Tisdall
Obama, who came to office wearing the mantle of a man of peace and agent of change, has ultimately proved little different in this respect from predecessors such as Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. His tone on television was nationalistic and bombastic. American primacy, he said, was "the one constant in an uncertain world." He continued: "Our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead."
In Obama's case this sounds slightly disingenuous. Facing a rising, ignorant right-wing clamor about his alleged weakness and indecision in world affairs, the Obama of the "Yes We Can" era has slowly and unwillingly been transformed into Barack the Bomber.
In 2008 Obama promised an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new deal with the Muslim world, a reset in relations with Russia, and real-time nuclear disarmament. Six years later, his plans mostly lie in ruins, shot down like an unsuspecting aircraft over eastern Ukraine, and he is in danger of going backwards.
"I've spent four-and-a-half years working to end wars, not to start them," Obama said last year, explaining his decision not to punish al-Assad for his chemical weapons attacks.
Continued here:
Obama's ISIS plan is full of holes
New Hampshire Senate candidate Scott Brown picked up the endorsement Friday of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in a move that could help the Republican challenger cash in on the senator's appeal among the state's independent-minded voters.
The libertarian-leaning Paul endorsed Brown at a University of New Hampshire event.
On the sidelines, Paul told Fox News that Brown is a candidate that Republicans -- and libertarians -- can get behind. "I think there is a significant freedom-loving, liberty-loving group in New Hampshire. That's why I like it here," Paul said.
New Hampshire also happens to hold the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, and is a must-visit state for potential 2016 candidates -- like Paul.
In the state's Senate race, Brown is challenging Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, and polls show a tightening contest.
"He's right there and can win," Paul claimed.
Brown, a former Massachusetts senator, secured the party nomination earlier this week. But the Kentucky senator notes Brown will need to pull the prized independent vote to defeat Shaheen in November.
"The way you win an election is you have to unify your base ... and as everybody knows in New Hampshire, there's about a third of the public that's independent," he said. "I think that's where Scott's greatest strength is."
Paul told Fox News he will be back in New Hampshire in the next few weeks for an event. Brown turned to Paul and offered, "You can stay at my house."
Hillary Vaughn is part of the Junior Reporter program at Fox News. Get more information on the program here and follow them on Twitter: @FNCJrReporters
Read the original here:
Rand Paul endorses Scott Brown in NH Senate race