On Tuesday, ISIS released a video reportedly showing thebeheading of a second journalist by the terror group. In a press conference ridiculed as "pointless and frustrating," however,State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki refused to say if the beheadings constitute an act of war, The Blaze reported.
“I’m not going to put new labels on it,” she said when asked if the execution of Steve Sotloff means the U.S. is at war. “We certainly consider this reported act, [and] the act of the killing of James Foley, as a horrific terrorist act that… has been one of the motivating factors in the effort… to undergo the creation of an international coalition to address this threat.”
When pressed, Psaki said the video has not been authenticated and Obama's actions so far prove the administration is taking the threat seriously, even though Obama has said there is no strategy in place for dealing with ISIS. She also told reporters Obama has "authorized more than 100 strikes in Iraq as has been confirmed by the Department of Defense.”
But one reporter reminded Psaki those airstrikes are supposedly intended to protect U.S. assets in Iraq while ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid, and are not intended to directly engage ISIS. The reporter also said the strikes were in Iraq, not Syria.
Pete Kasperowicz said Psaki's briefing lacked the seriousness some might expect given the news. Kasperowicz also said Psaki started the briefing with jokes and what he called "two irrelevant announcements." Later in the briefing, she refused to say if Russian troops had invaded Ukraine, choosing to call it "an illegal incursion."
The briefing was soundly criticized by many on Twitter, Twitchy added. A number of people called Psaki "useless" and Twitchy said she "promptly confirmed that the Obama administration is made up of spineless clowns."
http://www.examiner.com/article/state-dept-spokeswoman-refuses-to-label-beheadings-by-isis-acts-of-war
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