W.H. Blames ‘AWOL’ GOP Congress for ISIS Overtaking Ramadi

KARL: “The Authorization for Military Force, I know from the very start the White House’s position is, We would like to have this, you’ve sent up your draft, but you don’t need it.”
EARNEST: “As a legal matter that is just a fact.”
KARL: “So will you consider it a setback, I mean it certainly appears to be going nowhere. I mean I can’t really find any Democrats who have gotten behind what the White House sent up. Is it going to be a major setback if you don’t get this, as it looks?”
EARNEST: “As I told Justin, I think it would be a significant disappointment if Congress continues to be AWOL when it comes to the AUMF. That, for members of Congress to stand up as often as they have and insist that the president respect the role that they have to play when it comes to national security, and for them to demand meetings with the administration that were organized by the administration; to demand language from the administration, that the president sent out; to demand that administration officials participate in congressional hearings on this matter, and we sent out the secretary of Defense and the secretary of State to testify on. I mean, at some point, somebody in Congress is going to have to accept responsibility for this, and not just complain about it the whole time.”
KARL: “But if you look all of this that’s happened since the White House sent up the draft of the use of — Authorizing the Use of Military Force. You’ve seen setback after setback. You’ve seen some successes, but you’ve seen huge setbacks like we’ve seen in Ramadi, probably the most significant. You’ve seen the reports that ISIL is not only operating in Syria and Iraq but they’re exporting operations to Libya. Doesn’t it make sense to say, maybe the strategy needs to be overhauled. I mean, since you’ve sent that document up to Capitol Hill, the situation in a whole variety of ways has gotten much worse. Maybe it’s time for a different strategy? That’s not unreasonable is it?”
EARNEST: “Well I think it’s a different question. The fact is, I think I tried to acknowledge this to Jim, is that the president and his team are constantly testing the strategy. And evaluating what elements of the strategy are working well and where can those lessons be applied in other areas, and what elements of the strategy aren’t having the intended effect and need to be reformed or changed. This is something the president and his national security team are alway focused on. And there are a number of discussions we’ve had with members of Congress about this issue. The fact is, that it’s the responsibility of Congress to send a clear signal to the world, to our enemies, and to our men and women in uniform, that the United States Congress is committed to the effort to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. And, again, when it comes to making their voice heard and fulfilling their constitutional responsibility to do that, Congress and their leadership in both parties has been AWOL.”