Iraq

'So Help Me Golf'; New York Times Columnist Mocks Obama For Golf Obsession
By Connor Williams | August 24, 2014 | 11:15 AM EDT

Even the New York Times has directed criticism at President Obama for being hopelessly out of touch. Following his announcement of American journalist James Foley’s brutal death at the hands of ISIS, the President immediately headed out to the links for a quick round of golf, a move panned in an often bipartisan fashion. Liberal Times columnist Maureen Dowd mocked the President in a piece that played off Abraham Lincoln’s legendary Gettysburg Address.

Headlined “The Golf Address,” Dowd justifiably ripped President Obama for his response to that horrific tragedy: “FORE! Score? And seven trillion rounds ago, our forecaddies brought forth on this continent a new playground, conceived by Robert Trent Jones, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal when it comes to spending as much time on the links as possible — even when it seems totally inappropriate.” [See excerpts below.]

MSNBC's O’Donnell: ‘Don’t Do Stupid Stuff’ Is the ‘Single Best Organizing Principle’ America Could Have
By Connor Williams | August 13, 2014 | 11:30 AM EDT

At MSNBC, many are rallying behind Barack Obama’s foreign policy, despite his seemingly aimless goals. On the August 12 edition of The Last Word,  host Lawrence O'Donnell mentioned Hillary Clinton's comments about the President's foreign policy, in which she claimed that ‘don't do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle. O’Donnell couldn’t help but defend Mr. Obama, even if it meant attacking the likely 2016 presidential nominee for the Democrats.

After citing a quote from a Clinton spokesman designed at easing the tension between the former Secretary of State and the President, O’Donnell claimed: “Don't do stupid stuff, if it was the organizing principle of American international relations, would be the single best organizing principle we have ever had. We would finally stop doing stupid stuff.” [MP3 audio here; video below]

CNN's Zakaria: Maliki 'Has His Own Tea Party' In Iraqi Shiite Militia
By Connor Williams | June 30, 2014 | 1:30 PM EDT

Hyperbolic claims about the Tea Party are nothing new from the mainstream media, but now admitted plagiarist Fareed Zakaria is comparing the conservative group to a radical Islamist sect, rehashing the same tired comparison other liberal journalists and pundits have made before.

On the June 29 edition of Fareed Zakaria GPS, the host compared the Tea Party to the Mahdi Army, an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary force that is opposed to both the Maliki regime and the radical Sunni group ISIS [MP3 audio here; video below]:

Slate: Climate Change Destabilized Iraq and Led to the Rise of ISIS
By Connor Williams | June 27, 2014 | 4:50 PM EDT

Continuous fear-mongering from the left about the supposed cataclysmic dangers of global warming has always been present, but Slate’s Eric Holthaus has taken things to a whole different level. As Iraq and Syria devolve into chaos, the left-wing publication has blamed climate change for the rise of the al-Qaeda offshoot ISIS.

While the purpose of ISIS – imposing Sharia law on captured territory, ethnically cleansing Shia Muslims, and persecuting other religious groups like Christians – is evident to most of the world community, Slate makes the claim that the radical Sunni group was somehow spurred on by recent drought in the region:

Mika Brzezinski to Obama: 'Do We Need the Government' to Make Equal Pay Happen?
By Connor Williams | June 23, 2014 | 12:24 PM EDT

Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski has never been one to hide her partisan liberal leanings, and it showed in her interview with President Obama which aired on Monday’s show. While Brzezinski started the interview with some tough foreign policy questions, it lost steam later on as she voiced admiration for the President on equal pay for women, and encouraged him to do more on the issue.

Brzezinski could not contain herself, declaring herself a “champion” of the cause, and begging the President for more government intervention: “Do you think that there will be a day in our lifetime where women are paid equally across the board? And do we need the government to make that happen?” [MP3 audio here; video below]

Chris Matthews: Foreign Policy Hawks Want Military Action in Every Country 'Which Fails to March to Our Orders'
By Connor Williams | June 20, 2014 | 1:12 PM EDT

In a screed against an interventionist foreign policy, Hardball’s Chris Matthews virtually insisted that there is a sinister plot among those initial supporters of the Iraq war to dictate the political life of nations throughout the Middle East. For Matthews, simply being wrong on the Iraq war–to the extent that anyone can make a claim like that with any certainty at the present time–is not enough.

In his initial comments on the June 19 edition of Hardball, Matthews railed at any news outlet that would dare give a platform to George W. Bush administration alumni to share their thoughts on how President Obama should proceed with aiding the Iraqi government [MP3 audio here; video below]:

MSNBC's Russert: Is the West ‘Better Off’ With Dictators in Middle East?
By Connor Williams | June 19, 2014 | 5:35 PM EDT

Reacting to the announcement from President Obama that the United States will be sending approximately 300 special forces to Iraq in non-combat “advisor” roles, the panel on MSNBC’s The Cycle was skeptical that the move would accomplish anything significant. It’s fair to say that the panel was not exactly erring on the side of more intervention, however.

After reading a quote from Time magazine which pointed out that many dictators in the Middle East have argued that only their oppressive measures could quell the tension between Sunnis and Shiites, guest host Luke Russert asked, “After what's happened in Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria, is it fair to say the West was better off with dictators?” [MP3 audio here; video below]