<http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28977365
This article is not so much notable for pointing out that there is no simple solution to the situation in Iraq as it is for the way it highlights the political perils of being honest about a difficult situation:
Honesty is either a political gaffe, “Mr Obama’s line is a textbook example of veteran journalist Michael Kinsley’s definition of a political gaffe, which occurs when a politician tells an “obvious truth that he isn’t supposed to say”.”
Or, according to the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, its bad strategy:
“The problem isn’t just the lack of strategy for a situation that should not have caught us by surprise but the decision to be extremely public about being tentative,” she writes. “There is just absolutely no reason to hand that kind of morale boost and public relations victory to all of your enemies.”
IR Theory & Practice 