U.S. Intelligence: Assad May Use Those Chemical Weapons Obama Said He Didn't Have
Barack Obama, speaking at the White House, May 14 of this year, discussing Syria: Assad gave up his chemical weapons. And that's not speculation on our part. That, in fact, has been confirmed by the organization internationally that is charged with eliminating chemical weapons. The news, today: U.S. intelligence agencies believe there is a strong possibility the Assad regime will use chemical weapons on a large scale as part of a last-ditch effort to protect key Syrian government strongholds if Islamist fighters and other rebels try to overrun them, U.S. officials said. Analysts and policy makers have been poring over all available intelligence hoping to determine what types of chemical weapons the regime might be able to deploy and what event or events might trigger their use, according to officials briefed on the matter. Last year, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad let international inspectors oversee the removal of what President Barack Obama called the regime's most deadly chemical weapons. The deal averted U.S. air strikes that would have come in retaliation for an Aug. 21, 2013, sarin-gas attack that killed more than 1,400 people. Since then, the U.S. officials said, the Assad regime has developed and deployed a new type of chemical bomb filled with chlorine, which Mr. Assad could now decide to use on a larger scale in key areas. U.S. officials also suspect the regime may have squirreled away at least a small reserve of the chemical precursors needed to make nerve agents sarin or VX. Use of those chemicals would raise greater international concerns because they are more deadly than chlorine and were supposed to have been eliminated. A White House letter to Congress, April 25, 2013: The president has made it clear that the use of chemical weapons --or transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups -- is a red line for the United States of America. The Obama administration has communicated that message publicly and privately to governments around the world, including the Assad regime.
Socialists Approaching Head-On Collision With Reality. Get Some Popcorn! I know Greece isn't as fun a topic as gay marriage or the Confederate flag, but if debate over those topics has tired and depressed you, pop some popcorn and get a good seat as a left-wing entitlement mentality slams into the brick wall of reality at about 250 miles per hour: Greece has moved to close its banks and impose capital controls to prevent financial chaos following the breakdown of bailout talks with its international creditors. The dramatic move on Sunday night came after the European Central Bank announced it would freeze the amount of emergency loans it supplied to keep the Greek banking system afloat. Officials said the bank closure would last for several days and would be accompanied by limits yet to be announced on bank transfers abroad and withdrawals from cash machines. The cashing of cheques would be halted and fixed term deposits would be locked down. The Athens stock exchange was also set to be closed. The day's events followed the surprise move by the Greek government to call a referendum on new bailout terms offered by the country's international creditors, triggering a rupture with Athens' eurozone partners and pushing the country closer to exiting the single currency… Greece is a left-wing entitlement mentality run amok, far worse than here in the United States, and we may be about to witness an epic economic 'teachable moment." We're familiar with the Margaret Thatcher line that the problem with socialists is that they always run out of other people's money. In Greece, they look like they're about to run out of other people's money and it's going to be delicious as a nutty far-left government, made up of 'Maoists, Marxists and supporters of Che Guevara" gradually recognizes that no one is willing to loan them anything. George Will is, in his polite, learned, blue-jeans-denouncing manner, chanting, 'burn, baby, burn!": Greece, from whose ancient playwrights Western drama descends, is in an absurdist melodrama about securing yet another cash infusion from international creditors. This would add another boulder to a mountain of debt almost twice the size of Greece's gross domestic product. This protracted dispute will result in desirable carnage if Greece defaults, thereby becoming a constructively frightening example to all democracies doling out unsustainable, growth-suppressing entitlements. It cannot be said too often: There cannot be too many socialist smashups. The best of these punish reckless creditors whose lending enables socialists to live, for a while, off other people's money. The world, which owes much to ancient Athens's legacy, including the idea of democracy, is indebted to today's Athens for the reminder that reality does not respect a democracy's delusions. Party's over, Zorba! You can only spend what you take in -- and that's a heck of a lot less than you've been spending lately. Of course, this is disastrous news for anybody who invested a lot in Greece's financial sector, but who in the world would be dumb enough to… oh. The hedge fund co-founded by Bill and Hillary Clinton's son-in-law suffered losses tied to an ill-timed bet on Greece's economic recovery, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Eaglevale Partners LP, founded by Marc Mezvinsky and two former colleagues from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., told investors in a letter sent last week they had been 'incorrect" on Greece, helping produce losses for the firm's main fund during two of the past three years, according to the letter. Mr. Mezvinsky married Chelsea Clinton, the former first daughter, in 2010.
Is Chief Justice John Roberts Intimidated By His Critics? Carl M. Cannon of RealClearPolitics – and formerly of all kids of serious mainstream Washington journalism institutions, meaning no wide-eyed conspiracy theorist -- takes a long, serious look at the idea that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts greeted recent Obamacare decisions because he's intimidated by the threat of vociferous liberal criticism destroying the Court's reputation. The very next day, Kennedy authored a 5-4 decision upholding same-sex marriage as the law of the land, a decision which seemed imbued with politics. Roberts voted this time with the conservatives, underscoring an unsettling truth: the justices appointed by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama almost never deviate from their party's orthodoxy. This also underscores another way of looking at what happened when Obamacare came before the Supreme Court in 2012 and 2015: It's that Roberts wasn't above politics—he was bested by politics. 'Why does he want to preserve Obamacare?" asked conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer. 'I'm not sure it's because he believes in the policy. I think he's afraid that if the court overturns something so broad, so deep, so important that was debated for a year and a half, it will damage the court. And he sees his role as a protector of the reputation of the court." The reason Roberts believes the court's reputation is at stake may be the key to understanding what's happened. Roberts doesn't feel protective of the institution because of parochial vanity or romantic nostalgia. He's protective of the court because it's been under relentless attack from the left as long as he's been there. Whether it's Clinton-appointed Stephen Breyer talking darkly at the Aspen Institute about conservative justices or Rachel Maddow's anti-Supreme Court screeds, or President Obama repeatedly assailing the justices in public, the threat from Democrats to the court is this stark: If you don't decide cases in our favor, we will delegitimize you in the eyes of the American people. This is a dangerous game, but it may have worked. Conservatives feel betrayed by Roberts, as perhaps they should. But it's possible that when we look back on the first 15 years of the 21st century, it will be remembered as the time the Democrats vowed to blow up this country's democratic institutions unless they got their way. And that's not 'a very good thing." See, Mr. Chief Justice, if you're the kind of guy who can be swayed by outside criticism, that's the sort of thing presidents and the American people would like to know before you get appointed to a lifetime job, not after. And how come he's not intimidated by criticism from the Right? ADDENDA: This week's pop culture podcast: Why Jurassic World is a perfect summer hit, only warning about human hubris and delightfully devoid of climate-change parables; a Playboy Bunny is shocked to learn that life as Hugh Hefner's girlfriend can be objectifying and demeaning; we ask whether age is really just a number in relationships; ESPN The Magazine unveils its annual 'Body Issue" and we debate whether it's a genuine attempt to celebrate athletes or a less honest version of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue; and a sneak preview of our upcoming all-90s-nostalgia episode. This week's show is brought you by Isla Nublar Realty. Are you looking for that perfect tropical island getaway? Do you wish you could get back to nature, and feel like you're in a whole other world? Then come visit a land before time! Conveniently located just 120 miles off the west coast of Costa Rica, the InGen Corporation is now offering large tracts of land that have unexpectedly become available for housing development! There's no better place to go for a run, and there's always something delicious to eat! At Isla Nublar Realty, we're sure you'll be en-raptored by our offerings; many of our island residents say the charm and wildlife just devours them whole!  -30- | 
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