Let me get this out of the way (tip to Instapundit):
With that violence as the backdrop, Democratic leaders offered support for Obama to use a 2002 law authorizing President George W. Bush to take action in Iraq as the legal authority for new strikes.
“I do not believe the President needs any further legislative authority to pursue the particular options for increased security assistance discussed today,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement released after the meeting. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has previously backed that position.
That said, I'm relieved that President Obama will act in Iraq:
President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was sending up to 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq but stressed the need for a political solution to the country's crisis as government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country's biggest refinery.
Speaking at a news conference after a meeting with his top national security advisers, Obama said he was prepared to take "targeted" military action later if deemed necessary, thus delaying but still keeping open the prospect of U.S. air strikes against a militant insurgency. But he insisted that U.S. troops would not return to combat in Iraq.
I do hope special forces are a separate category altogether. Their entry to get the lay of the land would be absolutely necessary if we choose targeted air strikes against the jihadis in the future.
The president does more than I expect and I still start with a complaint? What can I say. I guess I'm just alright.
And I'll repeat what I called for when ISIS burst out into Anbar province: send Vice President Biden to Iraq and keep him there until the Iraqis come to an agreement to join forces and fight the jihadis.
UPDATE: So sorry. The vice president is in Brazil for the World Cup.
At least he isn't playing golf while the world burns, I suppose.
