Morning Must Reads: June 11

3 minute read

  • After Capture of Mosul, Militants Extend Control in Iraq [NYT]
    • Iraq’s Terrorists Are Becoming a Full-Blown Army [Daily Beast]
    • “The capture Tuesday of Mosul, the hub of northern Iraq, by al-Qaeda-linked militants is an alarm bell that violent extremists are on the rise again in the Middle East. And it’s a good time for President Obama to explain more about how he plans to fight this menace without making the mistakes of the past.” [David Ignatius/WashPost]
  • “Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will face angry lawmakers as he becomes the first Obama administration official to testify publicly about the controversial prisoner swap with the Taliban.” [AP]
  • How Eric Cantor Lost [TIME]
    • “The bespectacled college professor who toppled House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican primary Tuesday earned a masters of divinity from Princeton with a thesis on the philosophical doctrine of logical positivism. He was a rare breed of giant slayer: the kind that nobody saw coming.” [TIME]
    • “When Election Day came, the turnout was high: About 65,000 people voted, which was up from 47,037 two years ago (when Cantor captured 79 percent of the vote).” [WashPost]
    • “Since the beginning of last year, Mr. Cantor’s campaign had spent about $168,637 at steakhouses compared with the $200,000 his challenger, David Brat, had spent on his entire campaign.” [NYT]
    • “Immigration reform is almost certainly dead on Capitol Hill this year.” [Politico]
    • Ryan Lizza’s March 2013 profile of Cantor [New Yorker]
  • “Kicking the crap out of the Tea Party is the most fun Senator Lindsey Graham has ever had.” [Atlantic]
  • Iraq’s Terrorists Are Becoming a Full-Blown Army [Daily Beast]
  • “The capture Tuesday of Mosul, the hub of northern Iraq, by al-Qaeda-linked militants is an alarm bell that violent extremists are on the rise again in the Middle East. And it’s a good time for President Obama to explain more about how he plans to fight this menace without making the mistakes of the past.” [David Ignatius/WashPost]
  • “The bespectacled college professor who toppled House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican primary Tuesday earned a masters of divinity from Princeton with a thesis on the philosophical doctrine of logical positivism. He was a rare breed of giant slayer: the kind that nobody saw coming.” [TIME]
  • “When Election Day came, the turnout was high: About 65,000 people voted, which was up from 47,037 two years ago (when Cantor captured 79 percent of the vote).” [WashPost]
  • “Since the beginning of last year, Mr. Cantor’s campaign had spent about $168,637 at steakhouses compared with the $200,000 his challenger, David Brat, had spent on his entire campaign.” [NYT]
  • “Immigration reform is almost certainly dead on Capitol Hill this year.” [Politico]
  • Ryan Lizza’s March 2013 profile of Cantor [New Yorker]
  • More Must-Reads from TIME

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