Obama pledges support--but rules out ground troops--for Iraq's Shiite government, aligning us with Iran; attack on Syria considered....Click here for free audiobook download from Audible, and earn $15 for the PBC Podcast!
--Groundhog Day in Iraq, as Maliki government loses control and hawks imagine that the US can stand it back up
--US and Iran are strongest supporters of Maliki; US media portrays ISIS as equivalent to al Qaeda, but ISIS is in dispute with al Qaeda; I think they use the al Qaeda brand just to tweak Americans
--US may use air strikes in Iraq and Syria….but defeating Sunni insurgents won’t restore the Shiite government’s credibility—partitioning of Iraq is likely
--in nuke talks, Iran releases its own predictions of “breakout time” as Gareth Porter scores interview with Iran’s negotiator
--second US drone strike on Pakistan
--Bergdahl is back in US, hatestorm will likely escalate
--Greece in turmoil as fired workers win lawsuits against government
--WIRED’s story about Stingray cellphone surveillance hits mainstream media, with addition of blame for secrecy pinned on White House
--Methodist pension board votes to divest of Israeli stocks
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