President Obama's goals in Iraq continue to grow every time he gives a speech, and the shifting sands are giving hawks more ammo in their constant push to escalate the new US war as much and as quickly as possible.

Obama's goals have gone from protecting Irbil to protecting Irbil and Baghdad, and now to prevent the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Iraqi territory, as well as keeping all "strategic" sites in the nation from ISIS control. That's a big shift, in only about 72 hours since he announced the war.

Retired Gen. Carter Ham today insisted that the latest US goals are going to be "very difficult" to pull off with only the 108 warplanes involved in the air campaign, and will likely require troops on the ground.