Mixed Messages On Iraq 

The Wall Street Journal reports today that the Obama Administration has once again ruled out immediate air strikes in Iraq. This afternoon, congressional leaders will meet with the president at the White House, where he is expected to lay out his "comprehensive strategy," which may "potentially" include a military component. 

Meanwhile, ISIS jihadists have laid siege to Iraq's largest oil refinery. Iraq is OPEC's second-largest producer, and the attack spooked oil markets. Gas prices in the U.S. are approaching a six-year high at a time when experts predicted they would be falling. 

NBC News reports that foreign policy experts and members of Congress are stunned by the administration's inept response to the crisis in Iraq. Some are trying to blame the intelligence community. But there were plenty of warning signs that this jihadist menace was coming. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki was in Washington last October warning about ISIS, which was described even then as a "transnational threat network." Two months after Maliki's visit, Fallujah fell. 

In the weeks that followed, he repeatedly begged for U.S. air strikes. The White House repeatedly refused. Now major oil facilities and the Iraqi capital are under siege. Whatever the administration does, if anything, may be too little too late. The consequences of inaction could be another disaster for U.S. foreign policy and national security. 

"What Took So Long?" 

That seems to be the general reaction to yesterday's news that U.S. special forces captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah, an alleged ringleader in the 2012 Benghazi attacks. In fact, CNN asks that very question in an article headlined, "Hiding In Plain Sight." The report notes: "[Khatallah] didn't hide in the months after the September 11, 2012, assault on a U.S. diplomatic compound, instead giving media interviews in public…" 

Fox News reporter James Rosen pressed State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki yesterday about this issue, asking whether U.S. special forces should have posed as journalists to capture Khatalla. In a testy exchange, Rosen said, "You're still not answering the central question, Jen. You're not answering the question of why a reporter was able to get within six inches of this guy, and U.S. special forces weren't for more than two years." 

But according to the New York Times, a plan to capture Khattala "was on Obama's desk awaiting approval" … "for more than year." 

New Low On Foreign Policy 

Two new polls -- Gallup and NBC News/Wall Street Journal -- find President Obama's approval rating at 41%. But events overseas are clearly taking their toll. According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journalpoll: 
 

• Just 37% of Americans approve of Obama's handling of foreign policy, a new low. 
   
• Asked whether the Obama Administration was competent in managing the federal government, Americans split 50/50. That finding is lower than George W. Bush's 54% post-Katrina competence rating. 
   
• 42% said Obama was an effective leader who could get things done, while 54% said he was not an effective leader. 
   
• 30% support Obama's decision to trade five Taliban leaders for Bowe Bergdahl. 
   
• 26% support Obama's efforts to close the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. 
   
• 25% of Americans said the country is headed in the right direction.

  NBC's chief political reporter, Chuck Todd, said this morning, "This poll is a disaster for the president. … Essentially, the public is saying, 'Your presidency is over.'"

  Todd may be right about the public's perception, but it would be a mistake to conclude that Obama believes he is "over." The president has demonstrated over and over again that the executive branch possesses considerable power and that he is willing to use his phone and his pen. 

  Bad News For Hillary? 

  The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 55% of registered voters said Hillary had the knowledge and experience to be president. But voters also found her to be out-of-touch, aloof and dishonest. 

  Only 38% said Hillary shared their positions on the issues, and 40% said she was "easygoing and likeable." Moreover, only 38% said Clinton was "honest and straightforward." 

  By the way, Hillary may have trouble with that whole "war on women" theme. Clinton once successfully defended a child rapist. Her client served only one year, instead of 30 years. 

  Clinton was assigned the case by an Arkansas court, and did her best to defend her client. But one Washington Post columnist takes issue with the aggressive manner in which Hillary attacked the "12-year old victim's character" -- much like the way she and her husband would later deal with women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.

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