Middle East/North Africa ISIS Yet for all the vivid rhetoric in recent days, the Obama administration has yet to articulate a clear course of action to dismantle the radical group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, and is struggling to lay out a precise vision to respond to the new threats in chaotic areas of Iraq and Syria where ISIL has thrived in recent months. - Politico The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee warned Monday that the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria [ISIS, also referred to as ISIL] is already a great threat to the United States. – The Hill Eli Lake reports: U.S. warplanes striking targets in Iraq. Iranian tanks are reportedly moving into the northern part of the country. But the two foreign militaries fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) are not talking to one another. – The Daily Beast Editorial: If Mr. Obama formulates a coherent goal and a strategy to achieve it, and explains both to the American people, he will have a reasonable chance of winning congressional authorization, which he should seek. The options are indeed unappetizing, but the longer the United States waits — and the more firmly the barbarous Islamic State ensconces itself — the worse they will become. – Washington Post FPI Senior Policy Analyst Evan Moore writes: The beheading of American journalist James Foley at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (also known as ISIS or ISIL) is a brutal reminder of the group’s threat not just in the Middle East, but also against Americans. To defeat this threat, the United States should expand the range of its airstrike campaign, increase the number of personnel deployed to Iraq, and empower its regional allies to roll-back ISIS’ territorial gains. – Foreign Policy Initiative Frederick Kagan writes: The problem is horrifically complex, the potential solutions are painful and dangerous. But the question we must answer is, unfortunately, very simple. Are we willing to live with the Caliphate - or not? – The Telegraph Raymond Tanter writes: To save what is left of the Obama presidency, now is a time for him to have a carpe diem moment -- rolling back IS gains, expanding the battlefield to Syria, and reaching out to the Iranian opposition to send a signal that eventually regime change from within might be on the table. – Foreign Policy’s Shadow Government Bret Stephens writes: Are we going to fight terrorists over there—or are we going to wait for them to come here? Do we choose to confront terrorism by means of war—or as a criminal justice issue? Can we assume the cancer in the Middle East wont spread so we can pivot to Asia and do some more nation-building at home? Can we win with a light-footprint approach against a heavy-footprint enemy? Say what you will about George W. Bush: He got every one of these questions right while Mr. Obama got every one of them wrong. Its a truth that may at last be dawning on the likes of Mr. Packer and the other neo-neocons, not that I expect them ever to admit it. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Dafna Rand and Anthony Vassalo write: “Bringing the Fight Back Home” argues that the changing dynamics on the ground in Iraq are accelerating the urgency of the threat from the approximately 3,000 foreign fighters with Western passports, including the over 100 Americans. These individuals, many of whom are young, self-radicalized fighters from Western Europe, are fighting with ISIS, al-Nusra and other Sunni extremist groups in Syria and Iraq. Even before the United States initiated military action in Iraq in mid-August, this threat was growing. This brief lays out the four areas where the United States and its allies are currently focused but where additional creativity, persistence and planning could amplify existing efforts - Center for a New American Security Iraq The offensive by the Sunni militants is threatening to reshape the demographics of once-mixed communities by dividing territory along ethnic and religious lines, Iraqi and Kurdish officials say. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Shortly after Iraq’s new prime minister-designate called for national unity at his first official news conference on Monday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a Shiite mosque here, killing 13 people and underscoring the great challenges the country’s leaders face in trying to hold the nation together. – New York Times A Texas court Monday threw out an order to seize one million barrels of oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, potentially opening the way for its delivery to the U.S. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) U.S. fighters, surveillance, supply and refueling aircraft have flown more than 1,500 patrols, or sorties, over Iraq since President Barack Obama authorized air strikes Aug. 8, according to the U.S. Central Command. - Bloomberg Iraq’s prime minister-designate called Monday on the country’s numerous Shiite militias and tribes to come under government control and stop acting independently, as violence killed at least 58 people in areas where the Muslim sect dominates. – Associated Press The United Nations on Monday condemned appalling, widespread crimes by Islamic State forces in Iraq, including mass executions of prisoners that could amount to war crimes. - Reuters Syria President Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria, a precursor to potential airstrikes there, but a mounting concern for the White House is how to target the Sunni extremists without helping President Bashar al-Assad. – New York Times Syria’s foreign minister said Monday that his government was ready to cooperate with international efforts to fight the extremists of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. But in a nod to the possibility of expanded American airstrikes, he warned that any action inside Syria without the government’s approval would be considered “aggression.” – New York Times Islamic State militants stormed a Syrian airbase over the weekend, routing the remaining elements of the country’s army from northern Raqqah province and reportedly seizing a cache of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. – Washington Post The White House on Monday refused to commit to asking for congressional authority for airstrikes in Syria. – The Hill The U.S. has begun surveillance flights over Syria after President Barack Obama gave the OK, U.S. officials said, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against Islamic State militant targets there. – Associated Press Humanitarian access in Syria has improved since the U.N. Security Council last month authorized the delivery of emergency aid across the Syrian border without the governments consent, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report. - Reuters Iran The European Union and Iran will meet next Monday in Brussels to pave the way for a fresh round of international negotiations on Tehrans disputed nuclear program, the European Commission said Monday. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Irans deputy foreign minister will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first bilateral talks between the Middle Easts most intractable Muslim rivals since Irans political landscape shifted in 2013, media in both countries reported. - Reuters Behnam Ben Taleblu writes: Any deal with Iran must be cognizant of the strategic context from which Iran’s nuclear and missile ambitions arose. It must also clearly define the status of what Iran’s missile and nuclear infrastructure will look like in a post-deal environment. By addressing this, arms control can play a more supportive role in the effort to check the threats posed by the Islamic Republic. That’s the reason that the JPOA was enacted in the first place: to deal with Iran’s preponderant (read nuclear) threat. But alas, continuing to discuss Iran’s nuclear program absent this strategic backdrop renders any illicit activity by Tehran, nuclear or ballistic-missile related, a mere technical endeavor. – War on the Rocks Libya The U.S. and four of its European allies on Monday condemned escalating violence in Libya and what they called outside interference in the nations political crisis, in which Islamist militias are battling for control of the capital. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Twice in the last seven days, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly launched airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli, Libya, four senior American officials said, in a major escalation of a regional power struggle set off by Arab Spring revolts. – New York Times Two airstrikes in the past week on Islamist militias fighting for control of Tripoli, Libya, are raising questions about who was behind the attacks and whether the United States knew about or condoned them. – Foreign Policy’s The Cable Foreign ministers of countries bordering Libya on Monday called for an international push to disarm militias and support the newly elected parliament in the war-torn North African state. – Financial Times Salah Badi has a reputation for resorting to other means when politics do not go his way. A hero of the 2011 uprising against Muammer Gaddafi and head of a militia affiliated with the coastal city of Misurata, the former member of parliament is now waging war in the capital, Tripoli, as he tries to maintain the dominance of Islamists – and his home town – in the face of overwhelming voter opposition to his agenda in June 25 general elections. – Financial Times The Libyan parliament that was replaced in an election in June reconvened on Monday and chose an Islamist-backed deputy as the new prime minister, leaving the chaotic country with two rival leaders and assemblies, each backed by armed factions. - Reuters Arabian Peninsula The Obama administration said Monday that it brought the family of the American hostage Peter Theo Curtis together with the government of Qatar in an effort to secure his release, but insisted that it told the Qataris not to pay a ransom for the captured journalist. – New York Times Qatar is working to help free four Americans held hostage in Syria by various armed groups, a Gulf source familiar with the matter said on Monday, a day after the Gulf Arab states diplomacy helped free a journalist held since 2012. - Reuters A Saudi court has jailed 17 men for up to 33 years on a range of militant Islamist charges, including fighting in foreign conflicts and joining terrorist cells inside the kingdom, state news agency SPA reported on Monday. - Reuters Members of a Shiite rebel group on Monday presented Yemen’s government with new demands in order to stop their protests, hardening their positions and prolonging a standoff in the capital. – Associated Press Israel With no clear resolution in sight to the battle between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, who has been largely sidelined as his popularity sank during the conflict, is making a new play to reassert his role and cast himself as the leader of all Palestinians. – New York Times After 49 days of war, the armies of Israel and Hamas appear to have run out of new ideas — but not bombs. They are now slugging it out in a lopsided war of attrition. – Washington Post Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip launched more than 115 rockets at Israel on Monday, and Israeli forces hit back with airstrikes that killed at least three suspected militants and struck targets including two mosques and a school, Israeli officials said. – Los Angeles Times Israel evacuated hundreds of families from small towns near the border with the Gaza Strip as Israel and Hamas militants exchanged fire, amid signs of uncertain prospects for a near-term diplomatic solution. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) The president of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday named a former New York judge to be the third member of a three-person panel established to investigate possible international law violations by Israel and Hamas in the Gaza conflict. – New York Times Israel bombed more of Gazas tallest structures on Tuesday, bringing down a 13-storey apartment and office tower and destroying most of a 16-floor residential building after warning occupants to get out. - Reuters Founded by just seven people in Gaza, Hamas now has political and military leaders spread across the Arab world, complicating its ability to send a unified message for negotiating an end to a seven-week war with Israel. - Reuters The Israeli army has released what it says is a page from a seized Hamas training manual that would appear to support its case that Palestinian militants deliberately use the cover of residential areas for combat operations. - Reuters Aaron Menenberg writes: In its quest to improve America’s standing abroad, the Obama administration has failed to properly identify its true friends and foes, and in so doing has established opportunities of influence for anti-American forces. While all the world’s big problems should not be blamed on these poor decisions, it will be effectively impossible to address them if these mistakes are not corrected. If the U.S. cannot clarify its own vision of the world, its own image will be that of a feckless friend and feeble foe. – RealClearDefense Turkey The Netherlands will end its contribution to NATOs deployment of Patriot anti-ballistic missile systems in Turkey at the end of January, the government said on Monday. - Reuters Suspected Kurdish militants have kidnapped three Chinese engineers in southeast Turkey near the border with Iraq and Syria, security sources said on Monday. - Reuters Russia/Europe Ukraine Ukraine said Tuesday its forces detained a group of Russian paratroopers who crossed the border into eastern Ukraine, and the U.S. ambassador to Kiev warned of a possible “Russian-directed counteroffensive” by pro-Moscow separatists, raising tensions between the two countries ahead of a planned meeting between their presidents at a regional summit. – Washington Post Ukraines newly inaugurated president dissolved the contentious parliament Monday and set early elections for Oct. 26 in a move that will probably put further pressure on the countrys east-west divide. – Los Angeles Times Russia said it wants to send a second convoy of what it calls humanitarian aid into Ukraine in the coming days, while Kiev accused Moscow of moving tanks across the border, further damping hopes for peace talks between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents set for Tuesday in Minsk. – Wall Street Journal The public humiliation of prisoners came as the presidents of Russia and Ukraine prepared to meet for peace talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on Tuesday. The taunting and provocation appeared to be aimed at dissuading the Ukrainian government from accepting a settlement that might forestall a broader Russian intervention, a development that separatists here are banking on as their military fortunes wane. – New York Times The Kremlin’s self-styled humanitarian convoy into eastern Ukraine could be a guise to distract the west from a build-up of regular Russian forces in Ukraine, Nato’s secretary-general has warned. – Financial Times Leon Aron writes: For domestic political reasons, Poroshenko and Putin each needs not “peace” but victory, neither can afford to yield, and you don’t negotiate in good faith if you can still reasonably hope to achieve more on the battlefield than at the negotiating table. Expect the war to continue and intensify. – Fox News Matthew Kaminski writes: John Kerrys rejection of Mr. Putins 19th century moves can only come with the victory of liberalism over autocracy in Europes east. A muddied compromise over Ukraine would be a moral and a strategic calamity for Europe and America. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Desmond Lacman writes: At a minimum, one has to hope that the main burden of additional external financial support to Ukraine be borne by official bilateral creditors, rather than by the IMF, and that this is done with explicit approval of the respective elected legislatures. One also has to hope that a meaningful part of additional external support to Ukraine is provided by a rescheduling of its external private-sector obligations. - The Hill Europe Europe has limited options for finding natural-gas supplies from outside of Russia despite tensions over Ukraine, the International Energy Agencys chief executive, Maria van der Hoeven, said on Monday. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) The killing of American journalist James Foley has renewed a debate in Britain about counterterrorism laws that allow police to curb the liberty of citizens without a trial as a way to prevent the countrys Muslims from traveling abroad to wage jihad—or to allow them a foothold in society upon their return. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) A day after infighting over economic policy led to the collapse of the government, Prime Minister Manuel Valls was expected to appoint a cabinet of centrist political allies on Tuesday, a move aimed at trying to crush an open rebellion on the left of his Socialist Party that threatens to hobble France and undermine a eurozone recovery. – New York Times Hungarys prime minister said his country is anchored firmly in Western culture and political institutions despite earlier declarations that his policy would be inspired by autocratic regimes. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Edward Lucas writes: The Asmus letter was drafted and signed in 2009 because people hoped that American inattention was just a temporary wobble. Its worrying that in the run-up to the NATO summit next month, few would now bother with such a letter—not because American interest is already restored, but because they fear it never will be. That is the legacy the Obama administration is leaving in Europe. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Asia Afghanistan Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission on Monday began reviewing ballots for signs of fraud more than two months after the disputed second round of the nation’s presidential election. – Los Angeles Times Next week, if all goes to according to plan, a new Afghan president will take office and inherit an immediate crisis: a government that is running perilously low on cash. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) One of two candidates competing to succeed Afghan leader Hamid Karzai threatened on Tuesday to pull out of a U.N.-supervised audit of a disputed presidential election, undermining a process meant to defuse a standoff between the contenders. - Reuters Paul Miller writes: The president has outlined clear criteria for the use of force abroad: primarily situations in which U.S. interests are at stake, but also those in which humanitarian crises are possible. That is a good standard. Afghanistan clearly meets the standard. That is why two administrations from both parties have repeatedly promised for more than a decade that we will stand by the Afghans. President Obamas decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 is inconsistent with his own standard for the employment of force abroad. – Foreign Policy’s Shadow Government Pakistan Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the powerful army chief on Tuesday, a source in his administration said, as a political deadlock over mass protests for the governments resignation showed no signs of resolution. - Reuters Toppled in a 1999 coup, jailed and then exiled, Sharif made a triumphant comeback as prime minister for a third time in last years general election…But critics say that his slow pace of reforms, apparent detachment and poor relations with the military emboldened his challengers and encouraged the anti-government protests. - Reuters China Chinese authorities have arrested an 18-year-old man from a village near the oasis city of Kashgar, in far western China, accusing him of inspiring and planning a fatal attack last month on the imam of the nation’s biggest mosque, according to state news media reports. – New York Times Chinese authorities are looking at how Microsoft Corp. distributes its media player and browser in the country, an antitrust official said Tuesday, providing a further glimpse into a probe that led to surprise inspections of the software giants China offices in recent weeks. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) China has poured billions of dollars into building a nationwide surveillance network – by one 2013 estimate, the country had 30 million surveillance cameras in parks, on highways and even in taxis. Now, there’s one more very powerful eye in the sky allowing authorities to keep tabs on things: the Gaofen-1 satellite, which is capturing high-resolution images from 300 miles above the Earth. – Los Angeles Times At a time when the restive region of Xinjiang has witnessed executions of alleged separatists, knife attacks on train passengers, and clashes between the Chinese government and forces it has identified as Muslim extremists, a film company believes that it has the answer: a cartoon princess. – Washington Post Democracy activists in China’s casino hot spot of Macao have challenged the house with an informal poll to size up support for political reforms. But police have intervened, arresting organizers of the nonbinding referendum. – Los Angeles Times China’s top legislature will weigh in this week on an electoral dispute in Hong Kong that could fuel mass demonstrations if the demands of protesters are not met, according to reports. – Washington Free Beacon U.S. and Chinese military officials will hold talks on rules of behavior at the Pentagon on Wednesday and Thursday, a U.S. official said, days after the United States denounced a dangerous Chinese jet intercept of a U.S. Navy patrol plane. - Reuters China’s air force said it deployed an armed drone to multinational anti-terrorism drills on Tuesday, underscoring the country’s rapid progress in developing unmanned aerial vehicles. – Associated Press Former Senator James Talent writes: I don’t believe the Chinese intend war with the United States. What they intend is to credibly threaten war, while continuing to shift the balance of power decisively in their favor and thereby achieve their objectives by intimidation. So far they are succeeding. – National Review Online East Asia U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korea is building a submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles, potentially increasing the threat posed by the nuclear-armed rogue state. – Washington Free Beacon Life as a lawmaker in Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic party used to be a lot like life as a corporate salaryman: the longer you stuck around, the higher you rose…. Today things have changed, however, and that is creating a challenge for Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, as he plans his first cabinet reshuffle since taking office in December 2012. – Financial Times Taiwan said on Tuesday it had scrambled jets to intercept two Chinese military aircrafts, which breached its airspace four times. - Reuters Toshi Yoshihara writes: Tokyo must sustain the political will and invest in the capabilities necessary to take up the Chinese challenge. Only thus can Japan hope to stay in a competition that promises to be a long one. – American Enterprise Institute Southeast Asia Vietnam and the European Union are expected to complete negotiations on a free-trade agreement in October, officials said Monday, paving the way to further boost a trade relationship that reached $36 billion last year. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Vietnams Communist Party will send a senior official to China to discuss ways to ease the tensions between the two countries that flared after Beijing parked an oil rig in contested waters in the South China Sea. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Thai rubber farmers who supported anti-government protests that led to a military coup in May say they feel betrayed because the ruling military is failing to help soften the blow of plunging rubber prices. - Reuters From Ranai, it takes an imaginative leap to see Natuna - a scattering of 157 mostly uninhabited islands off the northwest coast of Borneo - as a future flashpoint in the escalating dispute over ownership of the South China Sea, one of the worlds busiest waterways. But thats precisely what many people here fear. - Reuters Indonesias Joko Widodo will announce his cabinet team in early October, according to a senior adviser to the president-elect, as he steps up preparations to become the next leader of the worlds third largest democracy. - Reuters Karen Brooks writes: Indonesia is an open, tolerant, multiethnic, multireligious democracy with an economy that is now the tenth-largest in the world, but continued success will require a new wave of sustained reform. Voters hope that their improbable new president—the first ever with no military background, no connections to the Suharto era and no family ties to Indonesias traditional elite—is just the man for the job. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Australia Australia unveiled counter-terrorism measures on Tuesday to prevent young people from becoming radicalized and going to fight in overseas conflicts such as Iraq and Syria, where scores of Australians have joined militant jihadist groups. - Reuters Security Defense The number of employees at the five largest U.S. defense firms has dropped 14 percent from a peak in 2008 — and 10 percent over the past decade, according to a POLITICO analysis of employment figures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. - Politico The Army’s test of an advanced hypersonic weapon failed shortly after takeoff early Monday, the Pentagon said in a statement. – Washington Free Beacon The U.S. Navy bills its submarine fleet as the world’s most advanced, a boast that few in the Asia-Pacific region would argue….However, the one thing that the U.S. fleet hasn’t been able to do is escape the realities of both age and cost. – Stars and Stripes The Pentagon wants next-generation armored vehicles that are more mobile, maneuverable and survivable, but without more armor. – Defense Tech Proving affordability is the biggest challenge facing Bell Helicopter as well as the Sikorsky/Boeing team as they build and fly advanced rotorcraft demonstrators aimed at the U.S. Army’s requirement to replace its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the mid-2030s. – Aviation Week Bryan McGrath writes: The CNO is doing his level best to play the terrible hand he has been dealt in order to keep from going hollow. I fear that without significant, near-term increases in Navy’s top-line, he is fighting a losing battle. His Navigation Plan is a straightforward and sensible method of managing the decline and playing out the clock, but it should not be confused with a plan to provide the nation with the Navy that its strategic interests warrant. – RealClearDefense Lauren Demos writes: As the glitches continue to be worked out in its remaining phases of production, the F-35 remains a worthwhile investment for our military and that of our allies because of its essential fifth-generation capabilities and the far-reaching benefits that have come from its development. – AEI Ideas The War Current and former intelligence officials told The Washington Times they are furious that the Senate panel, headed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, did not interview the senior managers of the interrogation program launched after the Sept. 11 attacks or the CIA directors who oversaw it. – Washington Times The Obama administration said Monday it will not review the country’s long-standing policy against negotiating with terrorists who have American hostages. – The Hill General Michael Hayden, USAF (Ret.) writes: These are the first steps in any campaign and they are designed to maximize the chances of success before the campaign even begins — or at least before everyone recognizes that it has begun. We’re seeing this now in the prerelease comments by people eager to support the Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats’ report on CIA detentions and interrogations. – Washington Times NSA The National Security Agency uses a “Google-like” search engine designed to share more than 850 billion records about people’s communications with nearly two dozen other government agencies, according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden. – The Hill Americas United States of America President Obama needs to seek explicit congressional approval for his airstrike campaign against Islamist militants operating in Iraq and Syria, a prominent Senate Democrat said Monday. – The Hill Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) blasted President Obama’s “inaction” as the reason the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been able to grow. – The Hill’s Floor Action House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Monday that a government watchdog report had verified his view that the Obama administration broke the law when it transferred five Guantánamo Bay detainees for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. – The Hill’s Floor Action Africa Though few Americans or even South Africans realize it, the nation owes much of its success to a single United States program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or Pepfar, started in 2003 under President George W. Bush…Now that aid pipeline is drying up as the program shifts its limited budget to poorer countries, so the South African government must find hundreds of millions of dollars, even as its national caseload grows rapidly. – New York Times The leader of Nigerias Islamist group Boko Haram said his fighters were now ruling the captured northeastern town of Gwoza by Islamic law, in the first video to state a territorial claim in more than five years of violent insurrection. - Reuters Seventeen people have been killed in fighting between Seleka rebels in the north of Central African Republic, the military spokesman for the rebels said on Tuesday. - Reuters Democracy and Human Rights Arch Puddington writes: To a certain extent, democratic culture has contributed to the rise in modern propaganda. Propositions that there is no such thing as objective truth and that history is nothing more than a contest between competing narratives owe their popularity to radical theorists who have gained a strong foothold in academia and even among some who call themselves journalists…In meeting the challenge of the propaganda state, a good place to start would be a reaffirmation of the central role occupied by high-quality, traditional journalism in democratic societies. – Freedom House’s Freedom at Issue
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 06:20:57 +0000
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