Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein says President Barack Obama may be too cautious in his approach to dealing with Islamic State militants.
The chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Feinstein told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Defense and State departments have been putting together a response to the threat.
The California Democrat says she has seen nothing to compare to the viciousness of the militants who have overrun large portions of Iraq, killed civilians and beheaded American journalist James Foley. The Islamic State group has financing, military structure and weapons unlike any other militants, she said.
“This is a group of people who are extraordinarily dangerous,” Feinstein said in an interview that aired Sunday on “Meet the Press” on NBC. “And they’ll kill with abandon.”
Obama said Friday that he did not yet have a strategy for dealing with the Islamic State group, a remark that brought criticism from Democrats and Republicans. In an interview published early this year by The New Yorker, the president appeared to minimize the Islamic State group by comparing it to a junior varsity basketball team. The White House later said he was speaking about a different threat posed by a range of extremists across the world.
Feinstein said she thought the basketball analogy was wrong — “I think it’s a major varsity team” — but would not say whether she thought not having a strategy yet, as Obama acknowledged on Friday, projected weakness from the White House.
“I think I’ve learned one thing about this president, and that is he’s very cautious,” she said. “Maybe in this instance, too cautious. I do know that the military, I know that the State Department, I know that others have been putting plans together. And so hopefully, those plans will coalesce into a strategy.”
As for Russia’s incursions into Ukraine, Feinstein said she doubted that economic sanctions would bring about a change in its actions. Secretary of State John Kerry should talk directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said.
“I think this is deeply personal with him,” she said of Putin. “And I think he’s calling the shots himself. And he’s enjoying intensely high favorability in his country. People say, ‘Well, just wait till the sanctions bite and the economy slips.’ I don’t think so.
“The Russians are very brave and very long-suffering,” she said. “And they will tough out any economic difficulty.”
(AP)
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8 Responses
obama is a kid. he is out of his league which everyday seems to be dropping. I believe 11 to 12 year old are his league.America must recall their president since he is not a leader
Adam Garfinkle, editor of The American Interest, writes, “I don’t know of any great power in history that lost its foothold or decayed because of external reasons; internal social dysfunction was to blame.
Obama y”sh is overly cautious when it comes to anything out of radical Islam. The State Dept, the Defense Dept, and anyone else of status can prepare strategies. Obama will not adopt any of them because they will be the equivalent to declaring war against radical Islam. And Obama is sympathetic to radical Islam, and he is fully willing to ignore the brutality, viciousness, and ruthlessness of ISIS, Hamas, and the rest of the evil thugs. Obama is in complete denial of the Axis of Evil that Bush addressed. And he will nothing to stop it. Why? Because he wants it to win. He wants the world to be dominated by these wild, uncivilized savages. In that ideology, he is anti-Israel, anti-Constitution, anti-Democracy, and anti-America. He has already had two Democratic senators introduce a bill to abolish term limits for the office of President. While it will probably never result in a vote, it tells us what his greater plan is, and there is no civilized citizen of the West who should fail to be frightened of what Obama represents.
He looks clueless!
Obama’s policies across the board (Middle East, Africa, Ukraine) show an ideological aversion to oppose the “Axis of Evil” (a Bushism) and most certainly not to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty” (said by a famous Democrats 53 years ago). Many Democrats have to worry that Obama’s isolationism will prove to be devasting politically (note how well isolationists did in American politics for the generations following Pearl Harbor).
Under this president, America is losing its sense of self and its uniqueness which is a loss that transcends foreign policy achievements.
Furthermore, as one who spends much of my time out of the country, the [intangible] loss of prestige is more heavily felt overseas.
I can’t believe I actually agree with Mrs. Feinstein. She is %100 right.
If you recall, Mr. Obama went on an apology tour as soon as he was elected back in 2008. He was bowing down to every Arab “leader” across the Middle East. He was apologizing for Sep. 11, saying that we had it coming and we are so sorry for being successful. It was the same attitude after 4 Americans were slaughtered in Bengazi. It was our fault. WE put out a Anti Muslim video. We are the EVIL successful white man. We make fun of you all the time. Please, Arab world, we are so evil. You have a right to want to kill us all, and we as white Americans are going to accommodate you to help you reach your goals.
Ask Osama bin Laden whether Barack Obama is cautious regarding radical Islam.