memeorandum: The Conundrum of a Unified Iraq and a Unified Syria (Thomas L. Friedman/New York Times)

10:15 AM ET, June 18, 2014

Top Items:

The Collapsing Obama Doctrine — Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. — As the terrorists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threaten Baghdad, thousands of slaughtered Iraqis in their wake, it is worth recalling a few …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Liberaland, Business Insider, Hot Air, Mediaite, Belmont Club, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, The Week, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, The Dish and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Rules Out Iraq Airstrikes for Now — President Barack Obama decided against immediate airstrikes on marauding Sunni extremists in Iraq, opting instead to pursue strategies such as providing intelligence to the Iraqi military and addressing the country's political divisions. — Iraqis Repel Insurgents

Discussion: Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Lawfare, Weasel Zippers and Fox News

New York Times:

A Balancing Act on Iraq — President Obama has, so far, struck the right note on Iraq, where Sunni extremist militants are seizing territory and threatening the existence of the state. He has been cautious — emphasizing the need for political reform in Iraq and reaching out to other countries that could have an impact on its fate.

Discussion: Reuters, BuzzFeed and YouGov US Opinion Center News

New York Times:
Obama Is Said to Consider Selective Airstrikes on Sunni Militants

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Mediaite and Politico

Lawrence Wright / News Desk: ISIS's Savage Strategy in Iraq

Agence France-Presse:
Over 5,000 Iranians ‘sign up to defend Iraq holy sites’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Apprehension of Ahmed Abu Khattala May Begin to Answer Questions on Assault — CAIRO — Ahmed Abu Khattala was always open about his animosity toward the United States, and even about his conviction that the Muslims and Christians were locked in an intractable religious war.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Jawa Report, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Reuters, Hit & Run, susiemadrak.com, The New Republic, American Power, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, The Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Banter, The Huffington Post and ThinkProgress

Matt Wilstein / Mediaite:

Fox's Bret Baier Relentlessly Hammers Hillary Clinton on Benghazi — Fox News' Bret Baier kicked off Tuesday's joint interview with Hillary Clinton by grilling on the details of the 2012 attack in Benghazi and did not let up eight solid minutes. Beginning with today's news about the capture …

Discussion: msnbc.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Taylor Marsh and The Huffington Post

Kendall Breitman / Politico:

Karl Rove: Bill Clinton revealed Hillary Clinton's health — Karl Rove is continuing to raise questions about Hillary Clinton's health and says Bill Clinton is the one who revealed new details about the extent of her lengthy recovery. — “She has a problem with the fact …

Fox News:
Clinton claims she had doubts about video explanation after Benghazi strike

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, Power Line, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Dan Merica / CNN:
What we heard at CNN's Clinton town hall

Discussion: Althouse, Taylor Marsh and Mashable

BBC:
US seizes Benghazi raid ‘ringleader’ Ahmed Abu Khattala

Discussion: The Daily Beast, National Review and Sic Semper Tyrannis

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
The Benghazi suspect: What's next

Discussion: Lawfare, New York Times, Balkinization and Allen B. West

Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider:
REPUBLICANS TO OBAMA: Put The Benghazi ‘Ringleader’ In Guantanamo's Prison

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and No More Mister Nice Blog

Fox News:
Benghazi attack suspect captured by American team, en route to US

Discussion: ABC News, The Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Poynter and Washington Post

Mark Murray / NBC News:

NBC/WSJ Poll: Obama's Foreign Policy Rating Plummets, Even Without Iraq — And respondents are evenly divided if the details of Bergdahl's disappearance from his base in Afghanistan matter in the U.S. decision to secure his release: 47 percent say the details matter, while 46 percent say they don't.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Business Insider and Hot Air

Wall Street Journal:

Poll Shows Erosion in President's Support — As clouds gather abroad, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds Mr. Obama's job approval rating at 41%, matching a previous low.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, Independent Journal Review and Washington Free Beacon

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:

Ted Cruz says he'd never heard of Peter King — Rep. Peter King? Never heard of him, Sen. Ted Cruz says. — The Texas senator says he had never heard of the New York Republican who has repeatedly and harshly attacked him until recently. — “I don't know Mr. King,” Cruz, a Texas Republican, said on CNN on Tuesday evening.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / USA Today:

Obama's double asterisks on IRS: Column — First, we found out agency was targeting Tea Party. Now IRS emails are missing. Cover-up? — I guess it's time to award President Obama a second asterisk. When charges came out that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups for harassment …

Discussion: TaxProf Blog, NewsBusters and Sister Toldjah

Theodore Schleifer / New York Times: Lawmakers Skeptical on Emails and I.R.S.

James Poulos / The Daily Beast:

Paging Rose Mary Woods: Obama's Unbelievable Missing IRS Emails — The IRS scandal's back, with Lois Lerner mislaying two years of communiqués—just like Nixon's secretary and her erased tapes. But the presidential characters couldn't be more different.

Discussion: The Daily Signal and Hit & Run

Wall Street Journal: A Tale of Two Scandals — Forty-one years ago, during a small …

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

The Conundrum of a Unified Iraq and a Unified Syria — There is much talk right now about America teaming up with Iran to push back the coalition of Sunni militias that has taken over Mosul and other Sunni towns in western Iraq and Syria. For now, I'd say stay out of this fight …

Richard Fausset / New York Times:

Thad Cochran Faces Chris McDaniel in a Primary Runoff Election Tuesday — HERNANDO, Miss. — Senator Thad Cochran's critics may disparage him as the “King of Pork.” But to the local politicians in the booming suburbs here in northwest Mississippi, just south of Memphis, it is good to be in the realm of the king.

Sam R. Hall / The Clarion-Ledger:
Democrat says he's leading black GOTV effort for Cochran

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Washington Monthly, American Spectator, Riehl World News, New York Times and RedState

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

Glenn Beck: ‘Liberals, You Were Right,’ We Should Never Have Gone into Iraq — Glenn Beck led off his radio show on Tuesday morning with a stirring monologue about all the ways he believes the left and right can come together to “heal” America. As part of that, Beck suggested that perhaps …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Balloon Juice

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

BLM Shooting Suspect Is Anti-Government Conspiracy Theorist With Pending Gun Charge — The man accused of shooting two law enforcement members in California, including a Bureau of Land Management ranger, has had at least one previous run-in with law enforcement and has described himself as the target of a massive government conspiracy.

Discussion: The Raw Story