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2:20 PM ET, September 11, 2014

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Struggling to Gauge ISIS Threat, Even as U.S. Prepares to Act — WASHINGTON — The violent ambitions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have been condemned across the world: in Europe and the Middle East, by Sunni nations and Shiite ones, and by sworn enemies like Israel and Iran.

Discussion: Slate, BillMoyers.com, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Hinterland Gazette, Hot Air, The Mahablog, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Prairie Weather and American Enterprise Institute

Matthew Duss / American Prospect:

In Fight Against ISIL, Obama Finds Himself Facing Michael Corleone's Dilemma — If you think that American power and leadership is best demonstrated by our ability to blow things up, this probably wasn't the speech for you. While President Barack Obama laid out a number of steps …

Discussion: The Dish, AEIdeas, Washington Post, New York Times, Hullabaloo and Guardian

The White House:

Statement by the President on ISIL — My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL. — As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people.

Discussion: Power Line, New Yorker, Guardian, National Review, Lawfare, RedState, Politico, CNN, KHON2, White House.gov Blog, FishbowlDC and Daily Signal

Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:

Countering Islamic State will be hard in Iraq and harder in Syria, officials say — President Obama's strategy to beat back Islamic State militants spread across Iraq and Syria will depend on far more than U.S. bombs and missiles hitting their intended targets.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, The Intercept and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Sarah Palin / Facebook:
War is hell. So go big or go home, Mr. President.

Discussion: Politico, Daily Kos and Hit & Run

Vali R. Nasr / New York Times:
The Grand Strategy Obama Needs

Discussion: VodkaPundit

Mario Trujillo / The Hill: Cheney points finger at Obama's ‘indifference’ for rise of ISIS

Washington Post:
Transcript: President Obama's speech outlining strategy to defeat Islamic State

Discussion: Firedoglake, Guardian, Hot Air, New York Times, National Review, The Long War Journal, CANNONFIRE, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Fox News and Hullabaloo

New York Times:
In President Obama's Speech, a Military Plan to Root Out ISIS

Discussion: al.com, Politico, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Daily Kos and Gawker

Tristyn Bloom / The Daily Caller:

Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage At Middle East Christian Conference [VIDEO] — Sen. Ted Cruz was booed offstage at a conference for Middle Eastern Christians Wednesday night after saying that “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” — Cruz, the keynote speaker at the sold-out D.C. dinner gala …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Free Beacon, The Raw Story, Americans Against the …, Mediaite, Israel Matzav, Washington Post and RedState

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

TED CRUZ: HATRED, BIGOTRY, OPPOSITION TO ISRAEL LED TO ME LEAVING EVENT — Reports surfaced Wednesday night that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was “booed off the stage” at an event hosted by a purportedly Christian organization. — Cruz, the keynote speaker at the new “In Defense Of Christians” …

Discussion: Vox Popoli and National Review

New York Times:

Oscar Pistorius Not Guilty of Murder; Still Faces Lesser Homicide Charge — PRETORIA, South Africa — The judge presiding over the trial of Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic athlete, cleared him of the two most serious murder charges against him on Thursday, almost certainly sparing him a long prison sentence.

Discussion: Liberaland, Scared Monkeys, Gawker, SBNation.com, Robert Littal Presents …, Jezebel and Taylor Marsh

Claire Phipps / Guardian:

Oscar Pistorius verdict live: judge says athlete not guilty of murder — Judge Thokozile Masipa says Pistorius ‘clearly negligent’ over death of Reeva Steenkamp and will deliver ruling on culpable homicide on Friday — Sort by: — 3.54pm BST — My colleague David Smith has filed …

Discussion: Deadspin

Kim Ludbrook / ABC News:
Oscar Pistorius Did Not Intentionally Kill Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Judge Rules

Discussion: abc7.com, Gawker and 7online.com

Agence France-Presse:

Turkey refuses US permission for combat missions against ISIS: official — ANKARA: Turkey will refuse to allow a US-led coalition to attack jihadists in neighbouring Iraq and Syria from its air bases, nor will it take part in combat operations against militants, a government official told AFP Thursday.

Discussion: New York Times, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Free Beacon

David Corn / Mother Jones:
The ISIS Speech: Obama and the Dogs of War

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Monthly, Vox, RedState, Outside the Beltway, BillMoyers.com, Wall Street Journal, American Power, New York Times, The Atlantic Online, CNN and Daily Kos

Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
The Most Discouraging Sentence in Obama's Entire ISIS Speech

Discussion: Informed Comment, The United States Department …, Opinio Juris, Weekly Standard, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Dish, rubber hose and JustOneMinute

Jack Goldsmith / TIME:

Obama's Breathtaking Expansion of a President's Power To Make War — President Obama hoped to repeal the Bush-era authorization declaring war on al Qaeda—instead he's expanded it without bound — Future historians will ask why George W. Bush sought and received express congressional authorization …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Lawfare and Opinio Juris

Eli Lake / The Daily Beast:

Obama's New War on ISIS May Be Illegal — In a stunning turnaround, the Obama administration is arguing that a law authorizing a war on al Qaeda be used to justify strikes on al Qaeda's foes. — President Obama's new war against ISIS is off to a shaky legal start.

Discussion: Lawfare, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Hit & Run, The Dish, Reuters and National Review

Spencer Ackerman / Guardian:
Obama's legal rationale for Isis strikes: shoot first, ask Congress later

Discussion: Bloomberg View, Lawfare, Associated Press, The Federalist and ThinkProgress

Randi Kaye / CNN:

New Michael Brown shooting witnesses describe scene — (CNN) — Two men, shocked at what they saw, describe an unarmed teenager with his hands up in the air as he's gunned down by a police officer. — They were contractors doing construction work in Ferguson, Missouri, on the day Michael Brown was killed.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, Americans Against the … and Gawker

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Jay Carney's rough first night vs. John McCain — Former White House press secretary Jay Carney is used to battling it out with journalists. But on Wednesday evening he had a new adversary: Sen. John McCain. — In an appearance on CNN as its newest contributor, following President Barack Obama's prime …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh and Washington Free Beacon

RealClearPolitics Video Log: Fireworks: McCain vs. Carney on Iraq: “It's Not A Matter Of Disagreement; It's A Matter Of Facts”

Tara Palmeri / Page Six:

Arnold had Shriver scrubbed from portrait — He scrubbed her from his heart! — Arnold Schwarzenegger was so hot to erase any memory of his marriage to Maria Shriver that he had her face scrubbed from his official portrait as governor of California — and he didn't even care …

Discussion: Politico and Truth Revolt

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

War on women is winning — A warning to the women of America: If Republicans win control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections this fall, it will be a powerful victory for the war on women, with consequences that will be severe and long-term. A large majority of women know this.

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Dems split on Obama's plans for ISIS

Discussion: Washington Post and Daily Kos

Scott Wong / The Hill:

GOP's Benghazi committee prepares for media spotlight — The rising threat from Islamic extremists has set the stage for Republicans to make a splash with the launch of their Benghazi investigation next week. — The media glare had largely fallen away from the probe into the terror attack …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Graeme Wood / The New Republic:

The Three Types of People Who Fight for ISIS — A breakdown of the most evil group on the planet — In February 2012, a young, beefy Egyptian named Islam Yaken took a shirtless selfie and posted it on a Facebook competitor called Vik.com. The picture wouldn't have attracted …

Perry Stein / City Desk:

Some DCPS Students Were Assigned to Compare George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler — Some D.C. Public School seventh-graders were assigned the rather unpatriotic task this week of comparing Adolf Hitler to former President George W. Bush. But now the school district wants you to know that such …