FACING THE TRUTH – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  Field Marshal Obama assures us that ISIS is on the run, and that he has a plan to destroy it.  But even David Ignatius of the Washington Post, someone friendly to the administration, can't accept that.  ISIS, is in fact, getting stronger.   From WaPo: 

Republican and Democratic presidential candidates should be able to agree on one stark foreign policy reality: The tide hasn’t turned in the war against the Islamic State. In the 18 months that the United States has been working to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the group, it has grown to become a global force that can strike targets in Europe, Asia, Africa and America.

The self-declared “caliphate” that in June 2014 was localized in Iraq and Syria now has nearly 50 affiliates or supporting groups in 21 countries. It has declared 33 “official provinces” in 11 of those countries.

Though it has lost about 25 percent of the territory it held at its peak in Iraq and Syria, it has meanwhile established an international presence, on the ground and in cyberspace.

“Follow ISIS and you will see the huge momentum that the group has harnessed across the globe,” says Rita Katz, co-founder of the SITE Intelligence Group, using a common shorthand for the Islamic State. “The government’s first step in fighting ISIS must be to stop dismissively characterizing the jihadists as a mere gang of guys in pickup trucks. It should be called what it is: a threat to global security.”  (Editor's note:  Rita Katz is not related to the editor of Urgent Agenda.)

And...

What seems to engage Obama most is countering the jihadists’ narrative that this is a war between Islam and the West. He made an eloquent presentation of his case for tolerance in a speech this week at a mosque in suburban Baltimore. But there’s little evidence that this message of outreach to Muslims is checking the Islamic State’s growth.

COMMENT:  I agree with Marco Rubio that Obama knows exactly what he is doing.  ISIS is a pesty distraction to him.  His main goal is to enhance the standing of Islam in its relations with the West.  Witness his appeasement of Iran.  The next president, and the next president's forces, will have to deal with ISIS.  Obama will just go into presidential retirement claiming he ended two wars, which he didn't.

February 8, 2016