The New York Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic Hof on President Obama’s hesitancy to strike against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in Syria:
“When he says he doesn’t have a strategy yet, I take it at face value,” said Frederic C. Hof, a former State Department official who has criticized Mr. Obama’s strategy. “I’m actually a bit relieved that the president is looking at this to be addressed by means of an objectives-based strategy rather than as a strategic communications issue.”
[…]
Mr. Hof said he was cautiously optimistic that Mr. Obama’s comments on Thursday suggested that the president was taking a “strong second look” at strengthening aid for the moderate opposition.