http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/08/26/obama-administration-pressures-general-dempsey-to-retract-downplay-the-islamic-state-jihad-threat/Obama Administration Pressures General Dempsey to Retract, Downplay the Islamic State jihad threat
Posted on 8/26/2014 by Eliyokim Cohen
Last Thursday, at a joint press conference held by Secretary of Defense Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey, Hagel said “Isil is as sophisticated and well funded as any group that we have seen. They’re beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess, they are tremendously well funded. Oh, this is beyond anything that we’ve seen, so we must prepare for everything.” Today Dempsey succumbed to pressure and backpedaled on the jihad threat. Apparently Obama strong-armed Dempsey (instead of say, the Islamic State) to dissemble and deceive.
This is what Obama does. He lies and his jackboots lie for him. Take it from me, the Islamic State poses a very real threat to the United
States. And you can be assured if counter-terror initiatives don’t get there in time and the unthinkable happens, Obama will blame Bush
(and islamophobes.) Joint Chiefs chairman says ISIS not a direct threat to US, won’t recommend Syria strikes yet August 25, 2014, FOX
News Despite threats to the contrary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff insisted the Islamic State terror group is a regional
threat and said he would not recommend U.S. airstrikes in Syria until he determines that they have become a direct threat to the U.S.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, speaking to reporters on board a military plane traveling to Afghanistan, said Sunday that he believes the Sunni
insurgent group formerly known as ISIS is not currently plotting or planning attacks against the U.S. or Europe. ISIS has repeatedly made
threats to attack the U.S. through social and conventional media. Earlier this month, in a Vice News documentary, a spokesman for the
group vowed to “raise the flag of Allah in the White House.” The group took over Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, in June, and has since
declared an Islamic state, or caliphate, in a swath of territory covering northeastern Syria and northern and western Iraq. U.S. airstrikes
and a new policy of direct military aid to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have served as a check on a threatened ISIS advance toward
Kurdish territory in northern Iraq. On Sunday, Dempsey contrasted ISIS with the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which
has plotted and attempted attacks against the U.S. and Europe. As a result, the U.S. has conducted counterterrorism strikes against the
group within Yemen. Dempsey said that so far, there is no sign that the Islamic State militants are engaged in “active plotting against
the homeland, so it’s different than that which we see in Yemen.” “I can tell you with great clarity and certainty that if that threat
existed inside of Syria that it would certainly be my strong recommendation that we would deal with it,” said Dempsey. “I have every
confidence that the president of the United States would deal with it.” A senior U.S. Defense official spokesman later clarified to Fox
News that the judgment on whether the Islamic State is a threat is just one trigger. “Any threats against U.S. personnel and interests
could drive action against ISIL in Syria,” the official said. Dempsey also told reporters that he believes that key allies in the region —
including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia — will join the U.S. in quashing the Islamic State group. “I think ISIS has been so brutal, and
has wrapped itself in a radical religious legitimacy that clearly threatens everybody I just mentioned, that I think they will be willing
partners,” said Dempsey, who added that those regional partners could come together and squeeze the Islamic State group “from
multiple directions in order to initially disrupt and eventually defeat them. It has to happen with them, much less with us.” Up to now,
when asked about airstrikes inside Syria, Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have said all options remain on the table. But so
far there has been no broader authorization for such operations. Both officials spoke in dire terms last week about the threat posed by
the Islamic State, with Dempsey saying the organization could not be defeated without some action in Syria. But the senior U.S.
Defense official spokesman said Monday that the message was the U.S. and its allies need a “long-term strategy” to separate ISIS from
the population. “In the meantime, if we see a plot against the homeland, of course we’ll attack it,” the official said. The Obama
administration has authorized airstrikes within Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and facilities and to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces assist
refugees driven from their homes by the Islamic State. Most of the recent strikes have been around the Mosul Dam, which Islamic
militants had taken, but it is now back in the hands of the Iraqi and Kurdish troops… FOR THE REST CLICK ATLAS SHRUGS
