McConnell Calls On President For Credible ISIL Strategy | Boehner Supports Deploying Military for Training & Advisory Role & Lethal targeting of ISIL

Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept. 10, 2014
Tonight, all of America awaits President Obama's outline a comprehensive strategy for destroying and defeating ISIL.

Yesterday, House Speaker John Boehner met (R-OH)with President Obama, Leader Reid, Leader McConnell, and Leader Pelosi at the White House for a discussion of the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The President began the meeting by laying out some of the ideas he has already discussed publicly about how to combat this threat.

The Speaker said the spread of radicalized Islam is a global epidemic and our national objective must be to defeat and destroy ISIL. He asked the president to define success in those terms when he addresses the nation tomorrow night. The Speaker expressed support for certain options that have been proposed by the president, such as increasing the effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces and training and equipping the Syrian opposition. The Speaker made it clear that ISIL is preparing to fight us, and that as we learned in Syria, the longer we wait, the more difficult our choices become. It is in the best interests of the United States and our allies to put in place a strategy that rises to the challenge of the threat we face, and takes the fight directly to ISIL in a decisive fashion, the Speaker said.

Speaker Boehner stated he would support the President if he chose to deploy the military to help train and play an advisory role for the Iraqi Security Forces and assist with lethal targeting of ISIL leadership. Lastly, the Speaker made clear that the administration should re-examine our border and homeland policies and authorities to determine whether there are loopholes or weaknesses that could expose the homeland to an immediate ISIL-linked attack.

Today, Speaker Boehner (R-OH)announced that he will invite President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine to address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, September 18. “Having President Poroshenko address Congress is another signal of our steadfast commitment to the aspirations of his people,” Speaker Boehner said. “It will be an honor and a privilege to welcome him to the United States Capitol.”

The House reconvened at 10 AM today. They will take up H. Res. 717 to debate consideration of H.R. 3522 "to authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current group health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes."

Yesterday the House passed:
H. Res. 644 (249 - 163) — "Condemning and disapproving of the Obama administration's failure to comply with the lawful statutory requirement to notify Congress before releasing individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and expressing national security concerns over the release of five Taliban leaders and the repercussions of negotiating with terrorists."
H.R. 3670 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to expand and clarify the prohibition on provision of inaccurate caller identification information, and for other purposes."
H.R. 4067 (Voice Vote) — "To provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2014."
H.R. 4290 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program."
H.R. 4701 (Voice Vote) v— "To provide for scientific frameworks with respect to vector-borne diseases."
H.R. 5078 (262 - 152) — "To preserve existing rights and responsibilities with respect to waters of the United States, and for other purposes."
H.R. 669 (Voice Vote) — "To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of children and help better understand and enhance awareness about unexpected sudden death in early life."

The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today and resumed post-cloture consideration of the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 19, Democrats’ radical constitutional amendment that would gut the core political speech protections of the First Amendment. At 2 PM there will be a voice vote on the motion to proceed to S. J. Res. 19, Democrats’ radical constitutional amendment that would gut the core political speech protections of the First Amendment.

Following that vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a vote on another designed-to-fail piece of liberal legislation for campaign purposes, Democrats’ so-called “Paycheck Fairness Act,” (S. 2199), which would not actually do anything to address compensation for women. A vote on the motion to reconsider the motion to invoke cloture on S. 2199 will be held shortly after 2 PM.

The Weekly Standard’s Daniel Halper writes today, “In a speech delivered this morning, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell blasts President Obama's foreign policy for making America weaker.

“‘[W]e’ve all seen how eager the President was to declare an end to the War on Terror,’ McConnell said, according to a draft of his prepared remarks. ‘But as the President was focused on unwinding or reversing past policies through executive order, the threat from Al Qaeda and affiliated groups only metastasized. Uprisings in North Africa and the broader Middle East resulted in additional ungoverned space in Syria, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. There were prison breaks in Iraq, and Pakistan, and Libya, and the release of hundreds of prisoners in Egypt. Terrorists also escaped from prisons in Yemen, a country that’s no more ready to detain the terrorists at Guantanamo today than they were in 2009.’

“McConnell blasts the president for responding to the growth of terrorism by drawing down. ‘The President’s response to all this has been to drawdown our conventional forces and capabilities, and to deploy Special Operations Forces in economy of force train-and-assist missions across the globe. Speaking at West Point in May, he pointed to a network of partnerships from South Asia to the Sahel, to be funded by a $5 billion counterterror partnership fund for which Congress has yet to receive a viable plan. And in those cases where indigenous forces prove insufficient, and a need for direct action arises, the President announced his intent to resort to the use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles for strikes, as has been done in Yemen and Somalia. By deploying Special Operations forces, the President hoped to manage the diffuse threat posed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Boko Haram, terrorist networks inside of Libya that now threaten Egypt, the Al Nusrah front, the Taliban, ISIL and other terrorist groups.’”

And at Bretibart, Jonathan Strong writes, “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a withering repudiation of President Obama's foreign policy record in a speech on the Senate floor speech Wednesday and urged the president to seek congressional authorization in his speech on the burgeoning terrorist threat this evening. ‘Tonight the President needs to set forth the military strategy and the means required to defeat ISIL, and link those actions to any additional authorization and appropriations he’d like to see from Congress,’ McConnell said. . . .

“In his remarks, McConnell said Obama had adopted an ‘economy of force’ approach focused on drone strikes and training foreign fighters that is an outgrowth of the poll-tested slogans he used to twice win the presidency, but the strategy is becoming increasingly ‘outpaced’ by the ISIS threat. Saying the U.S. has ‘a duty, as a superpower without imperialistic aims, to help maintain international order and balance of power,’ McConnell said Obama, a ‘reluctant commander in chief,’ is ‘more or less content to let others shape our destiny for us.’”

Polling shows Americans have grown frustrated with the Obama administration’s approach to foreign policy. According to NBC News, “Obama’s speech Wednesday comes as the NBC/WSJ poll finds that just 32 percent of voters approve of his handling of foreign policy – an all-time low on this question. And that appears to be hurting his party. The poll shows that Republicans have an 18-point advantage (41 percent to 23 percent) on which party best deals with foreign policy. That’s up from the GOP’s seven-point edge (33 percent to 26 percent) a year ago. Additionally, Republicans hold a 38-point lead (54 percent to 16 percent) on which party ensures a strong national defense – the GOP’s biggest advantage in more than 10 years on this question.” Yesterday, ABC News reported, “Just 38 percent now approve of Obama’s handling of international affairs, down 8 percentage points since July to a career low; 56 percent disapprove, a majority for the first time. Fifty-two percent say he’s been too cautious in dealing with Islamic insurgents in Iraq and Syria.”

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