[guest post by Dana]

Today Sen. Dianne Feinstein appeared to contradict those who have steadfastly maintained that ISIS and al-Qaeda do not pose a direct threat to the U.S. as she warned that there is indeed an increasing threat from these terrorist organizations:

The Islamic State terrorists, she said, “have killed thousands, they are marching on, they have an army, they’re well-organized. Many of us believe they’re aimed at Baghdad, perhaps our embassy there, and who knows what else.” Feinstein also said AQAP has tried to sneak bombs into the U.S. on four occasions, and poses a threat to national security alongside the Islamic State.

This comes on the same day that editor of The Nation Katrina vanden Heuvel claimed that ISIS does not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. and that “regional diplomacy” or a “political solution” is the appropriate way to combat them:

“The president articulated what I think is a pretty good foreign policy organizing principle: don’t do stupid stuff…He resisted military strikes in Syria last august. He said at West Point in May that our biggest mistakes have been willingness to rush into military adventures without thinking through the consequences.”

“I regret, I think the president has surrendered to war party in both parties, to a media that has lathered up hysteria about a threat that is not an immediate threat to this country. There is a barbarism and a gruesomeness to the video tapes that have moved the American people at this stage to support strikes, but the support for ground troops is not there. The support is very thin.”

The main problem is that too often in this country that we equate doing something with doing something militarily, when what is needed now is tough regional diplomacy, political solution. We’ve spent 13 years of military misadventure in this region. Let us find a different way. Don’t do stupid stuff.”

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

In a bit of nastiness lobbed at Sarah Palin, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic unintentionally revealed far more about himself than of Palin:

Soon after posting the photo, and playing the victim, he deleted the photo:

“I’m deleting that Sarah Palin tweet because I don’t want to read threats made against my family,”

One is left wondering why Palin still provokes and threatens those on the left. What other reason could there be to make this photo about her? She is no longer in office, she is a private citizen who lives far outside the Beltway and seems fully focused on her family and new show. It’s amazing that a former governor, small-town wife, mother of five (and grandmother!) still wields enough power to be such a threat that she remains the default target of attack for a large swath of the population. And how sadly telling to see a grown man make such a maliciously petty tweet, and then vainly use the opportunity to blame others in order to play the victim. Certainly this behavior can’t seriously be the measure of any man! Goldberg knew what he was opening the door to when he made the tweet. He is not new to the online world where the unhinged often make their presence known: such as when Palin herself faced numerous death threats by Twitter users. And most tellingly of all, Goldberg did not apologize to Palin, thus revealing that he still remains a speck of a man.

On a side note: The photo used in the tweet is of Afghanistan’s first female police officer Lieutenant Colonel Malalai Kakar, who was killed in 2008 by the Taliban – as her son watched.

–Dana

Update: I see that Goldberg continues to dig himself deeper into the hole:

Jeffrey Goldberg @JeffreyGoldberg · Sep 19

But FWIW, I thought it was a badass photo, actually.

Still no apology.

Update 2: I just saw this tweet from Goldberg at Mollie Hemingway’s place:

Jeffrey Goldberg ✔ @JeffreyGoldberg
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@MZHemingway I apologize. I did not mean to suggest that Sarah Palin is the equivalent of a Taliban supporter.

I did not see it on his actual Twitter feed, though, but I suspect that speaks to my ignorance about tweets and the dates/times or location of replies.