In a news briefing on Thursday, President Obama urged restraint and calm amid the continuing violence in Iraq and Ukraine, but he drew criticism when he said “we don’t have a strategy yet” for military action against Sunni extremists in Syria. Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, appeared on several networks that evening to clarify the comment, saying that Mr. Obama was only speaking of Syria, and that the White House did have a strategy to combat the ISIS extremists who have crossed into Iraq.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and one of Mr. Obama’s fiercest foreign policy critics, took to Twitter to lambast the president. He will explain his disapproval of Mr. Obama’s reluctance to intervene on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Representatives Peter T. King, Republican of New York, and Adam Smith, Democrat of Washington, will also debate the White House’s options in dealing with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” will feature Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who has called for “coordinated and sustained action” against ISIS. NBC will also host a foreign policy round-table discussion, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, Michèle A. Flournoy, former White House under secretary of defense for policy, and Michael Leiter, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, will discuss the threat ISIS poses on “Fox News Sunday.” Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, Democrat of Maryland, and Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, will weigh in on the crisis in the Middle East on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, and former Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will appear on ABC’s “This Week.”
In Ukraine, Russian troops and armored vehicles crossed the border to help the separatist rebels, a development that was pushing the conflict toward “the point of no return,” said the president of the European Union’s executive arm on Saturday. On a visit to Ukraine, Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, will give an update on the country on CNN.
The midterm elections are nine weeks away, and two pollsters will share some predictions: Mark Mellman, president of the Mellman Group, and Bill McInturff, co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, will appear on Fox to talk about elections. In light of those elections, Mr. Obama may delay action on immigration laws through executive action. Representative Luis Gutierrez, Democrat of Illinois, will give his thoughts on this possible political move on Univision’s “Al Punto.”
Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, will also appear on Univision, to talk about the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and how the peace will hold.
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, on charges of abusing his gubernatorial power by pressuring a Democratic district attorney to resign by threatening to cut off funding to her office. Tom DeLay, former House majority leader and Texas congressman, urged Mr. Perry to convene a special session to investigate the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit. Mr. DeLay will give the advice he has for Mr. Perry on CNN.
Doug Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, will appear on C-Span’s “Newsmakers.”