SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:46 P.M. ET: 

CRAZY – The U.S. has released details of a plan emerging to retake the city of Mosul, Iraq, now under ISIS control.   Many military people, especially intelligence operatives, are furious at the fact that such information has been made public.  From Reuters:  "An Iraqi and Kurdish military force of some 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture the city of Mosul from Islamic State fighters, probably in the April-May time frame, an official at the U.S. Central Command said on Thursday."  Remember the concept of surprise?  Why would anyone want to release information like this?  I guess the Obama administration wanted an image boost.  Who cares about the lives of soldiers?

FAILING UPWARD – Jen Psaki, Kerry's poodle as State Department spokeswoman, is getting a new gig.  From Hot Air:  "Alongside her colleague Marie Harf, State Department Spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki has become the focus of a significant amount of scrutiny in the right-leaning press. After serving as a press liaison for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, Psaki moved on to the State Department. There, she was responsible for such hits as scolding Moscow for not living up to the "promise of hashtag," conceding that the administration is utterly without a policy approach toward the most populous Arab nation on Earth, and being incapable of naming a single lasting military accomplishment secured by America’s indigenous “boots on the ground” in Iraq.  On Thursday, Psaki failed up. Way up.  The White House revealed this week that Psaki would be moving on from her role as spokeswoman for America’s chief diplomat and will be diving back into the political fray. She will soon transition back into the White House to serve as Obama’s new director of communications."  Psaki has the most important qualification – utter loyalty to Obama's absurdity.

NATO TRUTHS – From WaPo:  "The German army has faced a shortage of equipment for years, but the situation has recently become so precarious that some soldiers took matters into their own hands.  On Tuesday, German broadcaster ARD revealed that German soldiers tried to hide the lack of arms by replacing heavy machine guns with broomsticks during a NATO exercise last year. After painting the wooden sticks black, the German soldiers swiftly attached them to the top of armored vehicles, according to a confidential army report which was leaked to ARD. "  Shades of 1940, when the U.S. Army, on maneuver in Louisiana, mounted signs on cars saying TANK because no real tanks were available.  NATO has always been the United States and some others.  And with Field Marshal Obama in the White House, it is increasingly a paper tiger.

SERIOUS THREAT – From London's Daily Mail:  "More than 500 refugees from Syria's bloody civil war have already been resettled in the United States, and U.S. officials and members of Congress are becoming increasingly worried that jihadis linked to the ISIS terror army could slip into the country along with them.
Since war broke out in Syria nearly four years ago, America has welcomed 524 people from the rapidly disintegrating country with open arms. U.S. intelligence agencies lack the resources to vet them properly, but the Obama administration plans to admit a few thousand more this year.  'The United States has admitted 524 Syrians since 2011,' State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Feb. 13."  I'm sure Obama wants to give them all executive positions in American corporations, which should snuff out any Islamist ideas.  It would, wouldn't it?

February 19, 2015