Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- June 19, 2014

The Good And The Bad: President Obama's Military Options In Iraq -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama announced Thursday he is sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq, and could down the road authorize targeted military action, if necessary.

Advisers will help train and support Iraqi forces, while gathering intelligence on the militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which has taken several cities in the north and west of Iraq.

Obama said such action was necessary to help prevent a civil war in Iraq that could destabilize the region, and also prevent creation of a terrorist safe haven.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- June 19, 2014

Obama Speaks On Iraq, Says Little, Rejects Blame -- David Adesnik, Forbes

The plan for saving Iraq begins by ousting Maliki -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Iraq crisis: Why Baiji refinery matters for Iraq – and beyond -- David Unger, CSM

Why Iraq’s Awakening Councils Can’t Save the Country From al-Qaeda This Time -- Aryn Baker, Time

White House beginning to consider conflicts in Syria and Iraq as single challenge -- Scott Wilson, Washington Post

Kurds win land and oil in Iraq's chaos but face new challenges -- AP

How The Kurds Could Benefit From Iraq's Crisis -- Quil Lawrence, NPR

Senators to Pentagon brass: Did we waste billions in Iraq? -- James Rosen and John Moritz, McClatchy

How Arab backers of the Syrian rebels see Iraq -- Marc Lynch, Washington Post

The deadly cycle of terror that has Iraq and Syria in its grip -- Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, The Spectator

Don't Look Now, But Afghanistan is Spiraling Towards Crisis Right Along with Iraq -- Sune Engel Rasmussen, New Republic

Will Afghanistan Be an Iraq Redux? -- Philip Ewing, Politico

Putin is afraid of any real opposition – just like he was afraid of Pussy Riot -- Nadya Tolokonnikova, The Guardian

In Latin America, Biden rolls out rhetoric to increasingly deaf ears -- Ezra Fieser, CSM

The War on Christians -- Paul Marshall, Weekly Standard

Obama's Confusing Al Qaeda Strategy -- Jonathan Schroden, National Interest