Just over a year ago, in an interview with The New Yorker, President Obama likened ISIS to a “JV team,” lacking “the capacity and reach of a bin Laden.”  Seven months later (late-August, 2014), ISIS had rolled through Syria and Iraq, yet President Obama admitted to having no strategy for ISIS.  In a September 10 speech from the White House, he announced a vague 4-part plan to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS.  Finally, in another interview on September 28, Obama admitted that the US had underestimated the rise of ISIS.  To date, ISIS is far from degraded and destroyed.  Rather, they are moving into places like Libya and Yemen to further perpetrate and export terror.

Meanwhile, throughout that same time frame, security experts such as former Obama Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, US Special Ops instructor Sebastian Gorka, Retired Lt Gen (and commander of Delta Force)  Jerry Boykin, former National Security Advisor Bud McFarlane, and others continually warned against the lack of strategy (and offered their own) necessary to battle the threat of extremism.  Yet the White House has failed to show substantive commitment to stop ISIS and other radical Islamists.

Most recently, despite already having sufficient authority via a 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), President Obama made a separate request a few days ago.  To many, it reeks of political ploy, at peril of hamstringing our nation’s ability to defend our Middle East allies, and ultimately our own homeland, against extremists.  Here are key points:

• Having used Executive Orders on numerous occasions to bypass Congress, Obama now ironically turns to Congress for authorization that he already has. Though, in principal, it seems best to balance power between the president and Congress, it appears President Obama “picks and chooses” how he does that.
• US Congress is very obviously split on most matters. This request for AUMF is sure to draw stiff opposition between the right (who, in general, prefer to take much more aggressive military action) and the liberal left (who, in general, prefer not to act aggressively when it comes to dealing with evil regimes).  Look for this decision to garner much debate, and for it to string out for months or longer…leaving ISIS plenty of time to continue its deplorable schemes while the US argues over authorization in Congress.
• The White House will then undoubtedly point the finger at the Republican-led Congress for lack action against ISIS. With elections less than 2 years away, look for this to balloon into a huge issue.  Is the President playing political games at the expense of national security?  I sincerely hope not, but only time will tell.
• The current administration is desperately trying to build its legacy as “peaceful” and the one that ends the war on terror. Secretary of State John Kerry has made countless trips to the Middle East and spent enormous amounts of time attempting to force a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.  Meanwhile, President Obama and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have carried out secret communications (here and here), which is very likely to lead to a very bad agreement that will enable Iran to gain nuclear capability.  Iran has vowed to wipe Israel (“little Satan”) off the map, and sees the US as the “great Satan.”

It appears clear that, short of another Great Awakening in our land, the United States may soon become, at best, a minor player in the Middle East.  However, an interesting coalition appears to be building between once-unlikely allies.  Israel, Jordan, and Egypt are each facing grave threats from radical Islamists, and are now not-so-secretly building a coalition.  For more about that coalition, I highly recommend Amidst Obama retreat from Mideast, three regional leaders are forming a quiet but fiercely determined alliance against Iran and ISIS.

Yes, let’s pray for that coalition to grow strong, and for God to grant wisdom to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel), King Abdullah (Jordan), and General al-Sisi (Egypt).  But let’s also pray for our president and his administration.  Psalm 21:1 tells us, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  We see this playing out in the Israel-Jordan-Egypt coalition and the same goes for presidents!  Our God can change leaders’ hearts, so let’s pray to that end before it is too late.

Christian friends, we are in desperate need of a Great Awakening, and though we (believers) have security and great hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, we live in a world soon to face unimaginable tribulation.  I know some of you have jumped on the bandwagon with me to pray for a Great Awakening.  (Welcome aboard!)  If you are not one of those, why not jump on board now?  Let’s load the bandwagon with prayer warriors willing to rattle the gates of heaven on behalf of our churches, our nation, and our allies in the Middle East!