memeorandum: Preventing a Slaughter in Iraq (New York Times)

10:15 AM ET, August 9, 2014

Top Items:

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Obama on America and the World — President Obama's hair is definitely grayer these days, and no doubt trying to manage foreign policy in a world of increasing disorder accounts for at least half of those gray hairs. (The Tea Party can claim the other half.)

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller, The Times of Israel, TalkLeft and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

Preventing a Slaughter in Iraq — The catastrophe of Iraq has been growing steadily worse for weeks, but by Thursday, it became impossible for the United States and other civilized nations to ignore it. Iraq's bloodthirsty Sunni extremists were threatening the extermination of tens …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, RedState, Defense One, Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Firedoglake

Washington Post:

Obama's authorization of Iraq airstrikes isn't connected to a coherent strategy — PRESIDENT OBAMA was right to order military action to prevent a potential genocide in northern Iraq and to stop forces of the al-Qaeda-derived Islamic State from advancing on Baghdad or the Kurdish capital of Irbil.

Discussion: National Review, Yahoo! News, The New Republic, The Agonist, Hit & Run and Power Line

Jacob Siegel / The Daily Beast:

Obama's Iraq Plan Has a Killer Flaw—and Airstrikes Alone May Not Save It — The U.S. gambled on local militias to keep ISIS in check. The president's authorization of airstrikes is an admission that bet didn't pay off. — Friday morning, with a humanitarian mission already underway …

Discussion: The American Conservative, Hot Air, National Review, New Yorker, Business Insider, his vorpal sword, Washington Post, Democracy in America, The Moderate Voice, Informed Comment, The Dish, Spectator, Saudi Gazette, VodkaPundit, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and McClatchy Washington Bureau

VICE News:

The Islamic State (Part 1) — The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced their intention to reestablish …

Discussion: Telegraph, Reuters, Business Insider, Washington Post and Lawfare, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
America's Moral Obligations in Iraq

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Commentary Magazine and The Dish

Jamie Weinstein / The Daily Caller:
ISIS Threatens America: ‘We Will Raise The Flag Of Allah In The White House’

Discussion: CNN, Telegraph, Business Insider and Western Journalism

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Coroner Is Said to Rule James Brady's Death a Homicide, 33 Years After a Shooting — WASHINGTON — The death this week of James S. Brady, the former White House press secretary, has been ruled a homicide 33 years after he was wounded in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, police department officials here said Friday.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Althouse

Eugene Volokh / Washington Post:

May the government try John Hinckley for James Brady's murder? — John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington on Nov. 18, 2003. Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in an attempt to impress Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, who he had been writing poems …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and Mashable

Ben Chapman / NY Daily News:

Michael Mulgrew defends Common Core: ‘You sick people need to deal with us and the children that we teach’ — The wild remarks came during last month's American Federation of Teachers convention in Los Angeles. ‘You sick people need to deal with us and the children we teach. Thank you very much!’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and National Review

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast:

Obama Outlines His Post-Presidency — With prospects for major legislation nonexistent, Obama is looking to plant seeds that he hopes his successors can cultivate. — President Obama spent much of his first term fending off criticism that he hadn't done enough for the black community …

Ahiza Garcia / Talking Points Memo:

Husband Of Connecticut Judicial Candidate: ‘I Am Pro-White’ — A Democratic candidate for a judicial seat in Plainfield, Conn. was forced to answer questions about her husband this week after a watchdog group exposed his ties to the white supremacist movement.

Discussion: One People's Project … and Mindweapons in Ragnarok

The Bulletin:
Probate candidate's husband admits to history with white supremacy movement

Discussion: Mindweapons in Ragnarok, Liberaland, The Raw Story and Mediaite

Lizette Alvarez / New York Times:

Florida Redraws an Election Map That Was Ruled to Be Unconstitutional — MIAMI — With Florida's election schedule in disarray after a judge ruled the state's congressional map unconstitutional, state lawmakers moved one step closer to resolving the uncertainty during a special session on Friday in Tallahassee.

Alan Blinder / New York Times:

Tiny Lead for Incumbent in Tennessee Primary Vote — MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Less than two years after tawdry details of his divorce and extramarital relationships burst into public view, Representative Scott DesJarlais, Republican of Tennessee, held a minuscule advantage on Friday …

Elianayjohnson / National Review:

Booker Staffer Tells Booker Opponent to ‘Suck It’ — One staffer in Cory Booker's Senate office has a message for his opponent: “Suck it.” — That's certainly at odds with Booker's reputation for politeness and collegiality, but when Booker's opponent, the former Reagan-administration official Jeff Bell …

Discussion: RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Talking Points Memo

Eliana Johnson / National Review:
Don't Give Booker a Pass

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

McCain Calls Obama's ‘Pinprick’ Iraq Strikes ‘Meaningless’ and ‘Almost Worse Than Nothing’ — President Obama's limited strikes on ISIS in northern Iraq are “pinpricks” that are “meaningless” and “worse than nothing,” according to one of his fiercest foreign policy critics, Sen. John McCain.

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, Mediaite and The Daily Caller