Obama Worried About Looking Hawkish, Rand and Hillary Formally Flip Their Parties' Roles, St. Louis Cop Defends D-Day Tactics: P.M. Links

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  President Obama frets that asking Congress for approval to strike against ISIL in Iraq and Syria might blemish his insistence that he's an anti-war kind of guy. Just a tad late for that, Barry.

• The tussle that dare not speak its name: Russian troops and armor may have crossed Ukraine's border and battled local forces, but American and EU officials balk at calling the situation "war." It just seems so…judgmental.
• Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) lays the arming and empowering of ISIL at the doorstep of "interventionists like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." Democrats shoot back that Paul "blames America for all the problems in the world." In politics, this qualifies as kinky role reversal.
• Coming on like a D-Day reenactment was exactly the right way to deal with protests in Ferguson, insists St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar. He faces just a bit of criticism for the cops' militarized tactics.
• The fun may be going out of politics for Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.). With his party poised to lose its Senate majority, analysts predict that he'll decline to run for reelection in 2016.
• Ailina Tsarnaeva—yes, of those Tsarnaevs—was arrested in New York City for, allegedly, threatening to bomb a woman with whom she shares a baby daddy. This family really needs another go-to for conflict resolution.
• GDP actually grew more than many economists expected in the second quarter, but the economy still looks sluggish.

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