Great Moments in Presidential Inertia

“Obama assures nation his political commitment to inaction trumps international security,” Noah Rothman quips at Hot Air:

While political reforms inside Iraq are critical, the president’s priorities are misplaced. There is no question internal reforms in Iraq are necessary. The pressing threat to international security posed by the possible collapse of the Iraqi state, however, is not setting the conditions conducive to a prolonged reconciliation process. That comes later. The first step should be ensuring stability.

The American people do not want to reengage in Iraq, and many wish that the United States had never toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in the first place. But no one can rewrite history. The reality is that America has a responsibility for Iraq’s security today, and the president is shirking that responsibility.

The threat posed by Syrian instability is clear – it has engulfed Iraq. The threat posed by Iraqi instability is clear – it is now drawing in Iran. A regional war is now a very real possibility. The United States can engage in that theater on its terms now, or wait and engage in it on less favorable terms down the road. But, for the globe’s only superpower, there is no avoiding engagement.

The president, meanwhile, must come to terms with the fact that his legacy achievement, the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, is coming apart. But he better not take long. The world is on fire.

But as always with this White House, fun fantasy trumps harsh reality, and thus it’s off to Palm Springs for the weekend, optics be damned:

Not sure a statement before cameras about Iraq should be done in front of a helicopter. pic.twitter.com/2ON3Re6z16

— J.P. Freire (@JPFreire) June 13, 2014