--- description: In the news: Iraq's struggling army; Domestic drones; Incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's views on Ex-Im and immigration; Chris Christie's compassionate conservatism; Scott Walker's "unelectable whiteness"; New Yorker's 9,000 word profile of Ted Cruz title: Morning Must Reads: June 23 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Morning Must Reads](/tag/morning-must-reads/) ## Morning Must Reads Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Morning Must Reads: June 23 by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 12:21 PM CUT  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2014 12:21 PM CUT * “As Iraqi Army forces try to rally on the outskirts of Baghdad after two weeks of retreat, it has become increasingly clear to Western officials that the army will continue to suffer losses in its fight with Sunni militants and will not soon retake the ground it has ceded.” \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/world/middleeast/iraqs-military-seen-as-unlikely-to-turn-the-tide.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined")\] * “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Iraq’s prime minister in Baghdad on Monday to push for a more inclusive government, even as Baghdad’s forces abandoned the border with Jordan, leaving the entire Western frontier outside government control.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0EY0Q120140623 "undefined")\] * What’s the Pentagon’s endgame in Iraq? \[[TIME](http://time.com/2909885/iraq-isis-pentagon-baghdad/ "undefined")\] * Crashes mount as as military flies more drones in U.S. \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/06/22/crashes-mount-as-military-flies-more-drones-in-u-s/?hpid=z2 "undefined")\] * “Incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Sunday he wouldn’t support reauthorizing the charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, placing in doubt the future of a major agency that facilitates U.S. exports.” \[[WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/articles/mccarthy-wont-reauthorize-export-import-bank-charter-1403450288 "undefined")\] * McCarthy’s role is debated in his land of immigrants \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/us/mccarthys-role-is-debated-in-his-land-of-immigrants.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] * How Rep. Steve Scalise smoked Rep. Peter Roskam in the House Whip race \[[Breitbart](http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/06/19/How-Steve-Scalise-Smoked-Peter-Roskam-For-Whip "undefined")\] * Paul Ryan Hammers the IRS \[[Slate](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/politics/2014/06/paul%5Fryan%5Fyells%5Fat%5Firs%5Fcommissioner%5Fjohn%5Fkoskinen%5Fthe%5Fhypocrisy%5Fangers%5Fmost.html "undefined")\] * Inside the Vast Liberal Conspiracy \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/inside-the-vast-liberal-conspiracy-108171.html?hp=t1 "undefined")\] * The Unelectable Whiteness of Scott Walker \[[New Republic](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118145/scott-walkers-toxic-racial-politics "undefined")\] * Ted Cruz, The Far Right’s Most Formidable Advocate \[[New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/06/30/140630fa%5Ffact%5Ftoobin "undefined")\] * “New Jersey governor Chris Christie has a new cause: treatment, not prison, for nonviolent drug addicts. Can it soften his image—and the Republican Party’s?” \[[Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/chris-christies-new-compassionate-conservatism/373186/ "undefined")\] * “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Iraq’s prime minister in Baghdad on Monday to push for a more inclusive government, even as Baghdad’s forces abandoned the border with Jordan, leaving the entire Western frontier outside government control.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/23/us-iraq-security-idUSKBN0EY0Q120140623 "undefined")\] * What’s the Pentagon’s endgame in Iraq? \[[TIME](http://time.com/2909885/iraq-isis-pentagon-baghdad/ "undefined")\] * McCarthy’s role is debated in his land of immigrants \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/23/us/mccarthys-role-is-debated-in-his-land-of-immigrants.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2911518/morning-must-reads-june-23/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2911518/morning-must-reads-june-23/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: June 23","datePublished":"2014-06-23T12:21:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:33:51.541Z","description":"In the news: Iraq's struggling army; Domestic drones; Incoming House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's views on Ex-Im and immigration; Chris Christie's compassionate conservatism; Scott Walker's \"unelectable whiteness\"; New Yorker's 9,000 word profile of Ted Cruz","url":"https://time.com/2911518/morning-must-reads-june-23/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads","Chris Christie","Iraq","John F. 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