Putin Strikes, Stark Warnings, Obama Preps Amnesty Defense

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Putin Strikes - Putin is tightening his noose around Ukraine. While Russian troops on leave have reinforced flagging separatists in eastern Ukraine, two columns of Russian tanks and armored fighting vehicles invaded southeastern Ukraine and seized a town on the Sea of Azov, creating a second front.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said, "Our border servicemen and guardsmen retreated as they did not have heavy equipment."

The White House announced this morning that Obama will meet with his National Security Council this afternoon. They certainly have a lot to discuss. For example, how will Obama respond to Putin's latest act of aggression?

So far, Obama has refused to do the one thing that could make a difference -- arm the Ukrainian forces. For months they have been requesting access to better, heavier weapons. Instead, we are giving them socks.

This seems to be Obama's preferred approach. The Kurds have also been asking for better weapons to combat ISIS. After months of dithering, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel implied this week that we might finally be getting around to it.

But guess what? Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said Tuesday, "We asked for weapons and Iran was the first country to provide us with weapons and ammunition."

By the way, the Kurds are doing what the Iraqi government has seldom done in recent years. They are protecting Christians and Christian sites that have not yet been razed by ISIS.

The pattern here is stark. Not only does Obama lead America's retreat from the world, but he and the left are also hesitant to supply assistance to those willing to fight for their own liberty.

Stark Warnings - While every anniversary of 9/11 should be a cause for greater vigilance, there are a number of reasons to be particularly concerned in the coming days. We have written repeatedly about Western jihadists fighting on the battlefield. We have no idea how many may have come home.

Yesterday in Ohio, a school was locked down when it received a call from an individual with a heavy Middle Eastern accent warning of a mass shooting due to anger at Israel. Thankfully, nothing happened. (The odds are overwhelming that a terrorist wouldn't call in a threat. But the venom aimed at Israel is a marker of the radicalization going on around the world and here in the U.S.)

Referring to a possible attack this coming September 11th, retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney raised eyebrows Monday when he said: "I believe that we should go to DEFCON 1 and be prepared for another strike. There are too many indications. …I believe American cities will be attacked and we should be prepared for it. …9/11 is a very attractive date for [ISIS]."

Underscoring the danger are warnings in the latest issue of an Al Qaeda magazine. This one provides instructions on how to build car bombs. It calls on Islamists to attack targets such as Times Square, Las Vegas casinos, oil tankers and military colleges. It includes a cryptic question regarding a timeline of possible attacks, suggesting one could be imminent.

Meanwhile, "mainstream" Muslim groups are doing everything possible to make the prevention of future attacks harder. These groups recently sent a letter to the White House demanding "a mandatory retraining program for all federal, state and local law enforcement officials" to make them more sensitive to Muslims.

Some jurisdictions are already caving in. New York City, under the left-wing direction of Mayor Bill de Blasio, shut down a surveillance unit within the New York Police Department aimed at exposing Islamic extremism.

U.S. intelligence estimates that as many as 300 Americans are waging jihad overseas with ISIS, and yet these groups refuse to admit there is a problem.

Obama Prepares Amnesty Defense; GOP Hits Back - Polls have consistently shown overwhelming opposition to Barack Obama's handling of immigration. Voters want the border secured and our immigration laws enforced. But Obama is doing the exact opposite, and he's getting ready to do even more of it.

He's not oblivious to the polls and neither are his allies in Congress. The Washington Post reports that while Senate Democrats are running scared, "Some strategists say privately that … [Obama] has written off the Democrats' prospects for retaining control of the [Senate], deciding to focus on securing his legacy instead."

Obama's not oblivious to the law either. White House lawyers are busy crafting a legal defense for his new amnesty order, anticipating "an expected onslaught of opposition." But the _Associated Press_ adds: "Obama may have undermined his case… In a 2012 interview with Telemundo, Obama defended his decision to defer deportations for children but said he couldn't go any bigger. 'If we start broadening that, then essentially I would be ignoring the law in a way that I think would be very difficult to defend legally. So that's not an option.'"

That statement should be Exhibit A in every legal challenge seeking to overturn Obama's order and uphold the rule of law. But before this gets litigated in a court of law, it will be fought out in the court of public opinion and at ballot boxes across the country in the coming weeks.

As I have argued, the most effective case against amnesty is to take up the economic defense of struggling American workers. Senator Jeff Sessions has been fearless in championing the middle class during debates over immigration reform. It seems top party strategists are finally listening.

Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, recently said: "Democrats are terrified of this issue. President Obama's Executive Amnesty would inject adrenaline into an electorate already eager to send him a message of disapproval. The 'Economy' means different things to voters … and immigration is viewed by many as part of the overall economic equation.

"Executive amnesty would not only subvert the law, but depress wages, and hurt the poorest Americans most of all -- including legal immigrants looking to rise into the middle class. … Democratic candidates will be responsible for President Obama's Executive Amnesty. They will be complicit in slashing wages and making it even more difficult for unemployed Americans trying to get a job to find one." Now that's fighting back! You can read more here.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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