ISIS Threat Growing

ISIS militants have taken between 70 and 100 Assyrian Christians captive in the northeast section of Syria. Reportedly, 3,000 people were able to flee the ISIS onslaught and take refuge in the cities of Hassakeh and Qarnishli. The majority of the captives are from the village of Tal Shamiram which is located roughly 50 miles southwest of Qamishli. No one knows the condition of the captives.

With ISIS gaining hold in coastal Libya, in addition to ground that they are seizing near the Turkish border, Europe and the surrounding region are becoming increasingly more at risk.

The strategic ISIS threat is definitely mounting.

Failure to Engage

Folks are not surprised anymore with Obama’s failure to engage in the war on terror.  From the Red Line(s) in Syria, to the pull-out of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, to Obama’s failure to define the threat as Islamic terror, to avoiding the anti-terrorist march in Paris, ad nauseum. The pattern has become quite evident. Our President has no interest in pushing back any more than he has to. He will continue “leading from behind” and only doing enough to appear engaged.

Nothing is worth doing unless you give it your all. But not all leaders ascribe to that philosophy – namely, one: our President. Let us hope that over the next 696 days the damage is not too extensive.

Shadow of Crisis

In President Obama’s State of the Union Speech, he said, “The shadow of crisis has passed” largely due to his “leading from behind” diplomacy. If that is so, then why is Syria in the middle of a coup? Wasn’t Yemen one of Obama’s great “successes?” Is this the caliber of judgment we want determining whether or not to sanction Iran? President Obama's policies are responsible for creating the power vacuum in Iraq and now in Afghanistan that has spawned the rapid growth of ISIS in those regions.

I think that  the shadow of crisis is still quite prominent.