海角大神

As the Obama administration works out its strategy for confronting the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria, President Obama is getting lots of urgent advice.

Obama, of course, left himself open to unsolicited suggestions and criticisms earlier this week when he said, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a strategy yet鈥� 鈥� a comment that left at least some potential partners in that most dangerous part of the world worried and nervous.

鈥淲hen a superpower,聽the聽superpower, is reluctant in developing policy, it鈥檚 not only about leadership, it鈥檚 about having a coherent approach to crises,鈥� one regional official told the Washington Post.

The Post also editorialized on what it termed the 鈥渄ismaying,鈥� 鈥渁larming,鈥� and 鈥渄isturbing鈥� aspects of Obama鈥檚 remarks, including those on Russia and Ukraine, which were distinctly milder than those of his own United Nations Ambassador, Samantha Power.

鈥淭hroughout his presidency, he has excelled at explaining what the United States cannot do and cannot afford鈥�,鈥�

鈥淣one of the basic challenges to world order can be met without U.S. leadership: not Russia鈥檚 aggression, not the Islamic State鈥檚 expansion, not Iran鈥檚 nuclear ambition nor China鈥檚 territorial bullying," the editorial continues.聽鈥淓ach demands a different policy response, with military action and deterrence only two tools in a basket that includes diplomatic and economic measures. It鈥檚 time Mr. Obama started emphasizing what the United States can do instead of what it cannot.鈥�

Meanwhile, in The New York Times Saturday, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham 鈥� two of the Senate鈥檚 most outspoken hawks 鈥� wrote an op-ed column under the headline

Obama鈥檚 no-strategy-yet comment McCain and Graham find 鈥渟tartling鈥� and 鈥渄angerous.鈥�

鈥淭he threat ISIS poses only grows over time,鈥� the senators write. 鈥淚t cannot be contained. It must be confronted. This requires a comprehensive strategy, presidential leadership and a far greater sense of urgency.鈥�

Confronting the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, they say, should include more airstrikes as well as US special forces deployed to the area 鈥� not to engage in direct combat but to embed with local boots on the ground, providing arms, training, and intelligence.

鈥淪uch a strategy would require our commander in chief to explain to war-weary Americans why we cannot ignore this threat,鈥� McCain and Graham acknowledge. 鈥淚SIS is now one of the largest,聽richest聽terrorist organizations in history. It occupies a growing safe haven the聽size of Indiana聽spanning two countries in the heart of the Middle East, and its ranks are filled with thousands聽of radicals holding Western passports,聽including some Americans.鈥�

Secretary of State John Kerry also got the chance to weigh in on the editorial pages of The New York Times in a piece headlined

鈥淚SIS鈥� cadre of foreign fighters are a rising threat not just in the region, but anywhere they could manage to travel undetected 鈥� including to America,鈥� Mr. Kerry acknowledges, echoing warnings voiced by Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

But rather than rush to a mostly-military response to ISIS, as McCain and Graham apparently urge, Kerry says, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 needed to confront its nihilistic vision and genocidal agenda is a global coalition using political, humanitarian, economic, law enforcement and intelligence tools to support military force.鈥�

鈥淣ext week, on the sidelines of the聽NATO summit meeting聽in Wales, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and I will meet with our counterparts from our European allies. The goal is to enlist the broadest possible assistance. Following the meeting, Mr. Hagel and I plan to travel to the Middle East to develop more support for the coalition among the countries that are most directly threatened,鈥� Kerry continues. 鈥淭he United States will hold the聽presidency聽of the聽United Nations Security Council聽in September, and we will use that opportunity to continue to build a broad coalition and highlight the danger posed by foreign terrorist fighters, including those who have joined ISIS. During the General Assembly session, President Obama will lead a summit meeting of the Security Council to put forward a plan to deal with this collective threat.鈥�

To critics, that amounts to 鈥渄ithering,鈥� and Obama鈥檚 approach to ISIS 鈥� so far, anyway 鈥� is reminiscent of 鈥渓eading from behind鈥� in Libya (the unfortunate phrase uttered anonymously by an Obama adviser in a New Yorker interview) or of the 鈥渞ed line鈥� on chemical weapons used by the Assad regime on its own people in Syria.

So far, however, Obama resists being pushed on the Islamic State, which may be just fine with the 鈥渨ar-weary Americans鈥� Senators McCain and Graham represent.