That Was Easy! Or Not...

Obama solves the Mt. Sinjar crisis!

Militants’ Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says

WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials said late Wednesday that United States airstrikes and Kurdish fighters had broken the Islamic militants’ siege of Mount Sinjar, allowing thousands of the Yazidis trapped there to escape.

An initial report from about a dozen Marines and Special Operations forces who arrived on Tuesday and spent 24 hours on the northern Iraqi mountain said that “the situation is much more manageable,” a senior Defense official said in an interview.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, speaking to reporters Wednesday night at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., said it was “far less likely now” that the United States would undertake a rescue mission because the assessment team reported far fewer Yazidis on the mountain than expected, and that those still there were in relatively good condition.

That's good news, and solves Obama's humanitarian dilemma about using ground non-troops in a non-combat role.

But not so fast!

Despite U.S. Claims, Yazidis Say Crisis Is Not Over

ISTANBUL — Yazidi leaders and emergency relief officials on Thursday strongly disputed American claims that the siege of Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq had been broken and that the crisis was effectively over, saying that tens of thousands of Yazidis remained on the mountain in desperate conditions.

...

Speaking from her hospital bed here, Vian Dakhil, an Iraqi member of Parliament and a Yazidi leader who was injured in the crash of a helicopterdelivering aid to the mountain on Tuesday, said she was aware of the American claims and had discussed them with Yazidi leaders still in the area.

“It’s not true,” she said.

“It’s better now than it had been, but it’s just not true that all of them are safe — they are not,” Ms. Dakhil said. “Especially on the south side of the mountain, the situation is very terrible. There are still people who are not getting any aid.”

She estimated the number of Yazidis trapped on the southern flanks of Mount Sinjar at 70,000 to 80,000.

Ms. Dakhil’s assessment of the seriousness of the Yazidis’ plight was supported by United Nations humanitarian officials, who on Thursday were unequivocal that there remained a major crisis among the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar.

“The crisis on Mount Sinjar is by no means over,” said David Swanson, the spokesman for the United Nations coordinator of humanitarian affairs in northern Iraq, interviewed by telephone from Dohuk, in northern Iraq. “Although many people managed to escape from the north side, there are still thousands of others up there, under conditions of extreme heat, dehydration and imminent threat of attack. The situation is far from solved.”

Hmm. I can see why Yazidi and UN officials might want to exaggerate, but I can also see why the Pentagon might feel pressured to declare everything to be hunky-dory. Normally it is CNN news crews that find and promote the next humanitarian crisis, so I guess we need to stay tuned.

Comments

[Eric in Boise]

the car had an issue or two.

At 50MM, I'd say the same about the purchaser.

[narciso]

what could be the common factor

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/14/isis-still-baffles-us-intelligence-agencies.html

[Dave (in MA)]

Boy, they really crawl out from under rocks to comment over at gatewaypundit.

[daddy]

"About three more watts."

Eric, I like your Dad!

Currently sitting in the LAX Terminal waiting to deadhead out on a broken SouthWest plane. We're about 3 hours late, but 3 margarita's filled the gap and my co-worker is a good man to jabber and girl watch with. Hopefully we';; be boarding in about 10 minutes.

[Ignatz]

This one only went for $38 mill Eric.
Supposedly one changed hands for $50m+ last year in a private sale.
Craig McCaw paid $35m a couple of years ago which was an amazing escalation of about double or more what any one had paid before.

[Danube on iPad]

Loon v. Loon:

"NBA player Gilbert Arenas really went off on Al Sharpton yesterday. Arenas was really incensed at Sharpton’s presence in Ferguson, Mo., and even went so far as to call the civil rights leader a 'coon' and asking people to stop inviting him into their communities for help. Arenas posted a rather lengthy rant on Instagram that’s since been deleted, but UPROXX captured the full text before it was taken down, and man, it’s a doozy. Arenas sent his best wishes to Michael Brown‘s grieving family but immediately went on to blast African-Americans for resorting to looting and rioting."

Coon?

[Threadkiller]

Wow!

[daddy]

Arenas was really incensed at Sharpton’s presence in Ferguson, Mo., and even went so far as to call the civil rights leader a 'coon'

I am disgusted at the comments by Gilbert Arenas concerning Al Sharpton. How dare he call Sharpton a "Civil Rights Leader."

For refresher:

CNN: Some are accusing George Zimmerman of using the racial slur "coons"

Wonder who those "Some" are?

Daily Kos: #Zimmerman Edits out "F'cking Coon."

etc...

[daddy]

Gilbert Arenas's full comment:

“I would like to start off by saying too the family of the victim GOD BLESS#RIPmichealbrown you will be missed: too EVERY African American out there..how dumb are we really???every time we hear some bad news, the first thing we do is #RIOT #ROB #STEAL #BURN sh-t in our OWN neighborhoods..this racism fight has never been #blackvswhite, it’s ALWAYS been #blackvsblack from what the stats.. About 10 riots from the black community over the years and the only thing damaged ,was the BLACK COMMUNITY by The BLACK COMMUNITY..only reason they issue riot police isssss just in case you actually got smart enough to walk 6 blocks ,YALL ain’t f-cking up white rich sh-t smdh

“FAMILiES of the victims pleaseeeeee stop asking #alsharpton to speak or ur behalf,you have a better chance having #caesar the monkey from #planetoftheapes to get justice for you..the stats also show AL coon sharp ton has not helped one situation he has protested at,he actually made it worst and because of him the jury goes the other way..(think about it) Jena six,trayvon and the list goes back way back..#AL ur like a #THOT in the club,lookn for attention what u said at trayvons rally #enoughisenough ur right were tired of u PRETENDING”

I speak Jive

Translation of SMDH: Shaking My Damn Head (with variations on the D word.)

Translation: #THOT a newly popular slang term: thot. "'Thot' stands for 'That Ho Out There.'"

[Beasts of England]

@Ig - in one post mortem this morning, a commenter suggested that the inflated expectations for the 250 GTO were a concerted effort to drive off a particular bidder. Sounds a bit suspect, but I don't truly travel in those circles.

By the way, Bonhams has the range pegged at $30 - $40M. Maybe they know what they're doing. ;)

[matt]

Just back from St. Tropez, where our unit was specially honored in the commemorations. Wow!

A smaller but very special ceremony than the previous ones. Yesterday was amazing. I met 3 British Generals, a couple of French Generals, and a French Admiral. The French expressed their gratitude time and again.

There. Was.Not.One.American.Officer.

Today we had two retired officers who work in the Army History Unit who do this at their own cost.

There was no budget at DoD. Or at USAEUR. Or at 3rd ID. Or anywhere. And not one of them gave a shit.

Us and a few old WW II guys from the 3rd ID have been the only Americans engaged in this part of Provence for the commemorations. The funny thing is that all of the re-enactors present are dressed in 509th gear.

The 509th took the most casualties in proportion to its size of any unit in the invasion. We paid tribute with a MIA commemoration to 17 soldiers who were lost when they were accidentally dropped in the sea which was very touching.

Tomorrow is our last day here, when we will lay wreaths at the Rhone American Cemetery.

[Ignatz]

Hillary fading vs 2016 GOP matchups.
You may have to flip or flop again DoT.:)
Come on over to the light side to stay where no matter how bleak the day we can always cheer ourselves up knowing Hillary will never be president.

[narciso]

Right this is right around the time that the Southern landing was launched 70 years ago:

http://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2014/08/14/required-reading-511/

well when you do the wrong thing or with the wrong faction

[Old Lurker]

OK, now we're talkin.

LUN

[Ignatz]

Looks like we're going to have to throw 26% of Tea Partiers into Boston Harbor cuz that's the number of them who have a favorable opinion of socialism.

[Old Lurker]

And for Daddy in the WSJ...he can run but cannot hide:

"A New Mosque Rises—in Alaska
Construction Is Part of a Building Boom Nationwide as Muslim Population Rises"

[Jane]

Very cool Matt.

[Ignatz]

The thing the left and the bureaucracy fear more than anything OL is someone actually eliminating some of these programs and departments and the country waking up in the morning to discover it didn't make a damn bit of difference in their lives.
If the GOP ever has the sack (h/t somebody here) to do it, watch out below.

[narciso]

FWIW:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/14/tea-party-backed-cochran-foe-challenges-loss-in-mississippi-state-court/?intcmp=latestnews

[Miss Marple]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-15/ebola-outbreak-moving-faster-reported-cases-suggest-who-warns-may-be-far-worse
.
Suspected case in Ireland.

Good morning!

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

from narciso's link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/wesley-lowery-joe-scarborough_n_5678050.html?&ir=Politics&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016

the WaPo reporter -

This is how Lowery responded on CNN's "New Day":

"I would invite Joe Scarborough to come down to Ferguson and get out of 30 Rock where he's sipping his Starbucks smugly...I have little patience for talking heads. This is too important. This is a community in the United States of America where things are on fire. This community is on edge. There is so much happening here and instead of putting reporters on the ground we have people like Joe Scarborough running their mouth who have no idea what they're talking about."

Welcome to our world Wesley Lowery. How bout you or some of your buddies make it down to South Texas. Not just right on the border, but in the towns all over South Texas (& Calif., NM, and Arizona) that are flooded with crime, poverty, & disease so you & your like can pat yourselves on the back about being kind-hearted to illegals.

Why is your sympathy always with looters & illegals & molotov cocktail throwers?
How bout your entire damn profession start opening your eyes to ALL the communities that have to live with the consequences of your liberal agenda.
A borrowed phrase -
**bleeding-heart ignoramuses**

[Ignatz]

Here's a guy with exactly my take on the Ferrari GTO;

“It’s a cult car,” the London-based Ferrari dealer Joe Macari said in an interview. “If you’re a billionaire, you feel you have to have one. I don’t understand the appeal of them. They’re not very beautiful and they never won Le Mans. I’d rather have a Testa Rossa.”

I'd rather have a 250 LM myself or an old Alpha, Hispano Suiza, Bugatti or Bentley from the 30s.
The crazy priced ones aren't even the nicest GTOs; the 1964s are much more attractive, IMO.

[Old Lurker]

Ditto that, Iggy.

[Old Lurker]

I was agreeing with your 8:48 but your 9:01 works for me too.

[Beasts of England]

Too bad that there isn't a plank to reduce the head count and agency budgets by 3% per year. A fair amount of that could be painlessly accomplished via attrition (because I sincerely care about the feelings of agency bureaucrats...) and the rest through strategic firings. Enough to send a message.

One can dream, right?

[Old Lurker]

But if it is a dream, I like the vision of millions of money sucking bureaucrats wandering the streets starving to death better.

But that's just me!

[Extraneus]

If the GOP ever has the sack

If I remember, the guy who said this did so in a heavy Boston accent. He might have said sarc for all we know.

[Beasts of England]

I'd like to just shoot 'em, OL!

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Too bad that there isn't a plank to reduce the head count and agency budgets by 3% per year.

What ends up being cut though is the few core, legitimate functions.
The PC crap doesn't get cut.
The Park Service blocks citizens from outdoor memorials & monuments...but the "green" propaganda stays.

[narciso]

the disparate attitude I mentioned earlier:

http://www.redstate.com/diary/sententia/2014/08/13/bundy-last-victim-professional-police/

I would say the response in Ferguson was belated, hence the overkill.

[DebinNC]

Wesley Lowery is a John Lewis wannabe, but his report of Ferguson police brutality toward him was laughable. Or maybe I'm the only one who chucked at his horror at being "slammed" into the McD drink machine so hard the "Coke dispensor engaged"... just because he ignored the police order to show ID at a business they were closing and which Lowery had described as "a staging area for reporters" due to its proximity to the mayhem.

[Rick B]

OL,

The OPM Famine can be used to start a decent War of the Parasites if Heartland and others start focusing on salaries in addition to total department or program costs. Put benefit reductions on the table next to program consolidation (the first step towards elimination), focus on the elimination of superfluous $150K managers and watch the reaction of the Parasite First Class in the trenches.

The top line numbers from Walmart and McDonalds strongly suggest the pathetic failure of the Maladministration to restore any confidence whatsoever is being felt right in the middle of the Muddle. The GOP has a very real opportunity to squander in November.

[Extraneus]

The Park Service blocks citizens from outdoor memorials & monuments...but the "green" propaganda stays.

And ICE releases convicted illegal alien criminals onto the streets.

[peter]

happy ferragosto everyone, the Italian feast day to celebrate mid-August

[Captain Hate]

They're already missing the Monkey Boy:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2014/08/14/ouch-politico-kicks-david-gregory-he-exits-nbc

[Extraneus]

Intel official: ISIS sees conflict with US as “inevitable”

Gee. Really?

Quran (2:191-193) - "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief] is worse than killing... but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone. But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun (the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)"

[GMax]

Well for my dream dinner party I would like to invite Anson Dorrance, the most successful women's soccer coach ever who I know, Pat Metheny the awesome guitarist, and Shannon Bream. If I get bored talking soccer and jazz, I can always drool over Shannon. No damn politicians are welcome.

[BB Key]

new thread

[sbw]

Dave (MA) - nice SI link. Thanks.