Outgoing attorney general Eric Holder made a stunning assertion at the National Press Club yesterday by suggesting that America isn’t at a time of war.
The American people, who see the Islamic radicals of ISIS beheading Christians and burning people alive probably think differently.
Tim Mak of The Daily Beast reported:
Eric Holder: ‘We’re Not at a Time of War’U.S. and coalition forces have conducted nearly 2,300 airstrikes hitting more than 4,800 targets in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, as part of the ongoing campaign to defeat the so-called Islamic State. Three service members have already perished in these ongoing operations against ISIS.But according to Attorney General Eric Holder, “we’re not at a time of war.”The comments, during a luncheon at the National Press Club, came just days after the White House sent Congressional leaders a draft bill that would authorize the continuation of the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.President Obama declared an end to the ‘Global War on Terror’ in 2013, but that was before the emergence of the so-called Islamic State and the operation the president launched to fight them. Last week, the White House proposed a war authorization that set out no geographical limits on the use against ISIS and its affiliated groups, which was criticized by some of the left who said it allowed the president too much leeway to conduct military action.Holder made the remarks Tuesday while responding to a question about the Department of Justice’s prosecution of journalists over national security matters.
Here’s a clip of Holder’s appearance.
You’ll notice that while Holder was agitated over questions about the administration’s refusal to say radical Islam, he was quite comfortable naming their biggest perceived threat: FOX News.
Allahpundit of Hot Air makes an excellent point:
Didn’t his boss just send a very open-ended war authorization request to Congress last week? Did I dream that?I can’t tell anymore if the White House’s weird pronouncements on ISIS and radical Islam are examples of fine lawyerly parsing or crude blunt-force denial.
Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review has more:
Attorney General Eric Holder, now on his way out the door, clearly feels liberated to let fly with his various interesting views on things. But in light of his assertion today that the nation is “not in a time of war,” one has to wonder when he came to that conclusion. Not only, as Brendan notes, are thousands of American soldiers still in harm’s way in Afghanistan and Iraq. The commander-in-chief is still ordering air strikes and/or drone strikes in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia.
No worries. Just give everyone in ISIS a job, that should take care of it.
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