Gazette 091514

Monday September 15th 2014

Islamic State crisis: World leaders pledge Iraq support

Thirty countries have pledged to help Iraq fight Islamic State (IS) militants "by all means necessary".

A joint statement by foreign ministers taking part in a major conference in Paris talks said support would include "appropriate military assistance".
The talks had been called to agree a strategy to combat the group, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria.
The conference followed a whirlwind tour of the Middle East by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Kerry, who attended the summit, has been drumming up support for a plan of action unveiled by President Barack Obama last week.
The murder of British aid worker David Haines by IS militants, shown in a video released by the group on Saturday, has added momentum to the plans, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in Paris.
Opening the summit, French President Francois Hollande said the threat posed by IS militants needed a global response.
The CIA estimates that Islamic State - formerly known as ISIS - has between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
'Bigger threat' Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who co-hosted the conference with Mr Hollande, said the international community must pursue the jihadists "quickly".
"If this intervention and support to Iraq is late, that means that Islamic State could occupy more territory and the threat it poses will be even bigger," he said.
Related: Arab Nations Offer to Fight ISIS From Air

British PM David Cameron says he will 'drain this poison' after latest ISIS beheading video

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday he will work with allies to defeat the terrorist group Islamic State, and that countries must “drain this poison from our society,” after the militants released a video showing the beheading of British aid worker David Haines.
Cameron, who was attending a wedding on Saturday, raced back to London overnight to chair a meeting of his security Cabinet, including his advisers, officials and intelligence chiefs. The Prime Minister described the murder of Haines as "an act of pure evil" in a tweet from his official account. 

The 44-year-old Haines was abducted in Syria in 2013 while working for an international aid agency. The British government had managed to keep his kidnapping secret out of concern for his safety until another video recently released by Islamic State, also known as ISIS, identified him as a captive.

Iran Rejects A Global Strategy Against Islamic State Militants

Diplomats from around the world pledged to fight Islamic State militants "by any means necessary" as Iraq asked allies to thwart the extremists wherever they find sanctuary. Iran and the United States ruled out coordinating with each other, leaving Baghdad's government caught between two powerful and antagonistic allies.

Neither Iran nor Syria, which together share most of Iraq's borders, was invited to the international conference in Paris, which opened as a pair of French reconnaissance jets took off over Iraqi skies. But the State Department left open the possibility of new discussions with Iran later in the week, while precluding any military cooperation.
"We are asking for airborne operations to be continued regularly against terrorist sites. We must not allow them to set up sanctuaries. We must pursue them wherever they are. We must cut off their financing. We must bring them to justice and we must stop the fighters in neighboring countries from joining them," President Fouad Massoum said.

With memories of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq still raw, the U.S. has so far been alone in carrying out airstrikes and no country has offered ground troops, but Iraq on Monday won a declaration by the conference's 24 participant nations to help fight the militants "by any means necessary, including military assistance." An American official said Sunday several Arab countries had offered to conduct airstrikes, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, and there were no public commitments on Monday.

Airstrikes by unknown party target Libya's Islamist-allied militias near Tripoli, killing 1

CAIRO –  Commanders and a spokesman for Libya's Islamist-allied militias say four airstrikes by unidentified parties hit a western town near the capital Tripoli, killing one person and wounding five.
Mohammed al-Gharyani, spokesman for the Libya Dawn alliance, said on Monday that the airstrikes targeted Gharyan, 50 miles south of Tripoli. He said militiamen told residents to leave targeted areas.

A militia commander said the strikes targeted Libya Dawn ammunition warehouses and were aimed at helping rival militias return to Tripoli. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
U.S. officials have said similar airstrikes in the past were carried out by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Cairo has denied intervening in Libya, and the Emirates has not commented on the allegations.

Taliban sneak back into Kandahar, dressed as grape farmers

Around 400 people die in August after two weeks of fighting as many blame Afghan election gridlock for aiding the insurgency

 

The men were dressed as migrant workers. Over the course of two or three days, as many as 600 of them made their way through the checkpoints dotted around the southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar. Many of them hauled trolleys carrying crates of freshly picked grapes as they headed towards the outlying district of Zheri, some 24 miles (38km) west of Kandahar city.
Some of the men shared idle banter with the police officers, speaking laconically of this year's grape harvest in neighbouring districts. The police officers let them pass; if they had looked more carefully they may have spotted the guns and ammunition hidden under the shipments of grapes.
"That is how the Taliban came to us," explained the local police commander of Zheri district, Daad Gul, his voice weary.
Most of the news from Afghanistan in recent months has focused on the struggle for power in Kabul in the aftermath of a hotly disputed presidential election, but in Kandahar the struggle is one for survival. A dozen interviews in the restive southern region have revealed a growing resentment at the political deadlock and a sharp worsening of the security and economic situation on the frontlines of the civil war.
Battles against the Taliban in recent weeks have been more intense than previously reported, local elders and security officials said: according to one estimate around 400 people died when Taliban infiltrators fought Afghan troops in Zheri for a dozen days in August.
"The bodies were everywhere," said an elder from the area who asked not to be named. "In streams, orchards, people's gardens, my own garden, on the side of the road, in front of the mosque." The smell of rotting flesh, he said, had hung in the air for several days after the fighting stopped. On some days, he could still feel it on the tip of his nose, he said.

6 killed, 15 wounded in worst fighting since Ukraine cease-fire began; 146 combatants freed

KYIV, Ukraine - Shelling killed six people and wounded 15 others in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, the city council said Monday — the worst reported violence since a cease-fire between Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian troops took effect on Sept. 5.

Nonetheless, the cease-fire deal has brought some normalcy to parts of eastern Ukraine and allowed prisoners on both sides to go home.
Another 73 Ukrainian soldiers were freed Sunday night in an exchange with the rebels, Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council, said Monday. Donetsk rebel leader Andrei Purgin was quoted by Interfax news agency as confirming that 73 rebels had been released in return. It was the largest reported prisoner exchange amid the fighting that began in mid-April.
Fighting around Donetsk's government-held airport has left many northern neighbourhoods in the crossfire. Over the weekend, Ukraine said its troops repelled an attack of 200 rebel fighters, but suffered no military casualties.
Two northern neighbourhoods in Donetsk were shelled heavily Sunday, leading to the casualties and damaging both homes and offices, the city council said.
While the neighbourhoods hit by shelling are under the control of the rebels, the Ukrainian government blamed the militants for the civilian casualties.
"Neither today nor yesterday nor in the previous days did Ukrainian forces shell any residential areas and settlements," Lysenko said in Kyiv on Monday.
Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who are overseeing the implementation of the cease-fire, said Sunday they were 200 metres (650 feet) away as four shells burst in Donetsk. The team saw one woman lying on the ground.

US and Nato troops begin Ukraine military exercise

About 1,300 troops from 15 countries - including the US and other Nato members - have begun a military exercise near Lviv in western Ukraine.

The US says the drill had been planned before the current crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been battling pro-Russian rebels.
Clashes have continued in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the city of Donetsk, despite a ceasefire deal.
Russia denies sending troops to aid the rebels, as alleged by Ukraine and Nato.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian Defence Minister Valery Heletey said Nato countries had begun arming his nation in the fight against the rebels.
He did not specify the type of weapons being delivered or name the countries involved.

Remember #BringBackOurGirls? This Is What Has Happened In The 5 Months Since

On the night of April 14, 2014, hundreds of schoolgirls at the Chibok boarding school in northeastern Nigeria awoke to the sound of gunfire. They saw men in camouflage approaching and thought soldiers were coming to save them from a militant attack, according to survivors' accounts.

Instead, more than 270 of the schoolgirls found themselves in the clutches of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Their abduction sparked global outrage and a huge campaign calling for their rescue, partly propelled by the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Sunday marks five months since the girls were kidnapped. Here's what has happened since.
 

Not one student has been rescued
In the first days after the abduction, 57 of the girls managed to escape from their captors. But not one has escaped or been rescued since then.
Even though they were reportedly located months ago

In May, a Nigerian military official claimed he knew where the girls were being held. A month later, U.S. surveillance planes also spotted a group that officials believed to be the girls.

Stephen Davis, an Australian cleric and mediator, said in June that a deal to free the girls had fallen apart three different times in one month. He says that powerful people with "vested interests" are working to sabotage a deal, and he has accused Nigerian politicians of funding Boko Haram. Nigeria's government has defended its approach to the crisis and warned that a rescue effort might risk the girls' lives.
 

Other countries have made little progress
According to the Associated Press, it took more than two weeks for Nigeria to accept offers of international assistance to find the schoolgirls.

When other countries did start to help, they didn't get very far. The U.S. sent 80 troops in late May to coordinate an aerial search from neighboring Chad. Canada, France, Israel and the U.K. also sent special forces to Nigeria. But six weeks later, the Pentagon press secretary announced that the U.S. mission would be scaled back, saying: "We don't have any better idea today than we did before about where these girls are."

The troops are still in Chad and the U.S. has surveillance and reconnaissance flights looking for the girls each week. U.S. officials have expressed concern about sharing intelligence on Boko Haram given the Nigerian military's poor human rights record.
Meanwhile, the girls' hometown is still in danger

Residents in Chibok face the unrelenting threat of an attack by militants. In June, a Boko Haram offensive on nearby villages crept within three miles of the town where the girls were kidnapped.

Tragically, at least 11 parents of the kidnapped girls have been killed by militants or died of illness.
 

Boko Haram violence rages on
Since April, Boko Haram claims to have taken over at least five towns in northeastern Nigeria, although the military says it has won some of these back. The militant group has also kidnapped at least three more smaller groups of girls as well as dozens of boys and young men -- some of whom were later rescued.

More than 2,100 people are reported to have been killed by Boko Haram since April 14, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations. And during a span of 10 days in August, some 10,000 people were displaced by fighting in northeastern Nigeria.

Air France pilots begin week-long strike over jobs move

Pilots for Air France have begun a week-long strike.

The carrier will run less than 50% of normal flights, it said.
The pilots are protesting against a transfer of jobs by the airline to a low-cost carrier to keep up with competition.
Air France is urging passengers around the world to change or postpone travel. Last week it said it would transfer much of its European operations to low-cost carrier Transavia.
The same difficult conditions are faced by large airlines across Europe, facing tough rivalry from budget airlines and Gulf state carriers, that are often backed by royal families.
Lufthansa strike Chief Executive Frederic Gagey told France Inter radio that the strike would cost the airline 10m to 15m euros (£8m - £12m) a day.
The airline said it would consider negotiation on benefits based on seniority for Air France pilots who agree to work for Transavia.
However, it said it would not agree to trade union demands that the contracts of Transavia pilots carry the same terms as those flying under Air France.
Separately, the Vereinigung Cockpit union, which represents Lufthansa's pilots, says they will cease working from Frankfurt airport for eight hours on Tuesday, preventing departures by Germany's biggest airline from its busiest airport.
There have been several strikes in the past three weeks by Lufthansa pilots in Munich and pilots at Lufthansa's Germanwings business.
That strike is over early retirement terms.

Scottish Independence: George Galloway Compares Britain's Political Class To Hitler

Britain’s political class may soon achieve what Hitler failed to do, controversial MP George Galloway has said, by destroying Britain in the case of a 'Yes' vote on Thursday.
As the debate over the fast-approaching Scottish referendum reaches fever pitch, the Respect MP, who is supporting the Better Together pro-unionist campaign, has said the three main leaders have left Scots disillusioned by politics.
"Lord Snooty, aka David Cameron, could be the Prime Minister who presides over the death of Great Britain," he said.
Writing for The Independent, Galloway - who was born and raised in Scotland - said that even though the polls still show a lead for the No camp, it is getting "uncomfortably close."
"It’s not just the punter who wagered £800,000 on the preservation of the Union entering squeaky bum time," he states.
If the Yes camp triumphs, Galloway warned, the next 18 months will be a nightmare as "the divorcing couple squabble over the national CDs, DVDS, house, dog and car."
But if No succeed, it will be "despite the mainstream parties rather than because of them," he said.
While David Cameron may lose his premiership over the loss of Scotland, Ed Miliband, even if elected, could have office torn from him within 12 months, Galloway said. Nick Clegg, meanwhile, has "never seemed more irrelevant."
Describing Scotland as England's "colonial partner in crime," Galloway told the Independent that out of the three major political leaders "all are held in derision, even contempt." 

California wildfires force hundreds of residents to flee

Blaze, which started outside Oakhurst, prompted authorities to evacuate about 1,000 residents out of 400 homes
Two out-of-control wildfires in California forced hundreds of residents to flee from their homes, including one near a lakeside resort town that has burned 21 structures, authorities said.
The blaze, sparked shortly after 1:30pm Sunday near Bass Lake in Central California, prompted authorities to evacuate about 1,000 residents out of 400 homes, Madera County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Erica Stuart said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said flames damaged or destroyed 21 structures. The Fresno Bee reports one neighborhood was hit especially hard, with several homes turned to ash and smoldering embers.
“This is gut-wrenching,” CalFire Battalion Chief Chris Christopherson told the newspaper. “It makes you sick.”
The fire started off a road outside of Oakhurst, a foothill community south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park, and made a run to the edge of Bass Lake. Stoked by winds, it quickly charred at least 320 acres (130 hectares), CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
The fire is 20% contained.
The area is a popular destination throughout the year. There were no reports of the blaze affecting the park.
Further north, a wildfire about 60 miles (96km) east of Sacramento forced the evacuation of 133 homes. El Dorado County Sheriff’s officials said residents of another 406 homes were being told to prepare to flee.
Berlant said the blaze started in a remote area Saturday, but exploded on Sunday when it reached a canyon full of thick, dry brush. It has blackened 4 square miles (10 square km), and was 10% contained.

Hillary Clinton Keeps Iowa Crowd Guessing About Her Presidential Plans

Hillary Clinton, who has a huge lead in many early presidential polls, returned to Iowa on Sunday. The woman who says she has not yet decided on a 2016 presidential run appeared along with former President Bill Clinton in a state she has not visited since she lost the 2008 Iowa caucuses to Barack Obama.
Her speech at the annual steak fry hosted by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a must-attend event for state Democratic activists, revealed little about her intentions. But also did nothing to dampen the widespread belief that she will indeed run.
Harkin has hosted his steak fry for 37 years. Sunday's was his last, because he'll leave office in January after five terms. The buzz in the crowd, however, was all about Hillary Clinton. The group Ready For Hillary — call them a pre-campaign organization — was everywhere with yard signs, bumper stickers and more.
Cindy Pollard, 57, wasn't looking for a new Hillary T-shirt — she was wearing the one she's had since Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
"I was a precinct captain for Hillary. I've been decided. These people are wearing these Ready For Hillary. I have been ready," Pollard says.
It was a gorgeous September Iowa day as the event took place on a huge open field in Indianola. The stage featured a giant American flag and bales of straw. In the background, rolling hills and corn fields.
After speeches by Iowa Democrats running in 2014 for the U.S. Senate, Congress and governor, Sen. Harkin spoke, and then he introduced Hillary Clinton.
He mentioned her new memoir: "There are 25 chapters in the book. I'm here to tell you that there are many more chapters to be written in the amazing life of Hillary Clinton."
As the crowd chanted her name, Clinton stepped up to the microphone: "Hello Iowa. I'm baaaack."

Ex-official claims Clinton allies scrubbed Benghazi documents in secret session

A former State Department official has told lawmakers that Hillary Clinton allies privately removed politically damaging documents before turning over files to the supposedly independent board investigating the Benghazi terror attack. 
The account from Raymond Maxwell, former head of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), was first published in The Daily Signal. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, confirmed to FoxNews.com on Monday that Maxwell told him and other lawmakers the same story when they privately interviewed him last year about the attacks and their aftermath. 

Chaffetz said that Maxwell claimed Clinton's chief of staff and deputy chief of staff were overseeing the operation, which allegedly took place on a weekend in a basement office of the State Department. 
"What they were looking for is anything that made them look bad. That's the way it was described to us," Chaffetz said. 
According to Chaffetz' account of his interview with Maxwell, as well as the Daily Signal report by Sharyl Attkisson, Maxwell said those scrubbing the documents were looking for information that would cast Clinton and senior leaders in a "bad light." 
Chaffetz said such documents were said to be removed, so that Congress and the Accountability Review Board -- the board probing security lapses as well as the attack's aftermath -- would not seen them. 
Chaffetz described Maxwell's account as "consistent" all this time. The congressman said he is speaking publicly about Maxwell's allegations because Maxwell himself has gone public with them. 
State Department spokesman Alec Gerlach denied the allegations in a statement to FoxNews.com.

Justice Department Launches Programs To Counter American Extremists

The Justice Department is launching a series of pilot programs to deal with American extremists intent on joining the fighting in countries like Syria and Iraq.

Attorney General Eric Holder says in a video message released Monday that the pilot programs will involve religious leaders, prosecutors and community representatives.
He says the goal is to counter violent extremism, share information on best practices and improve training.
The White House, meanwhile, is scheduled to host a summit on the topic next month.
American law enforcement and intelligence officials have for months expressed concerns about Westerners who have traveled to Syria to take part in the fighting there. Last week, a 19-year-old Colorado woman pleaded guilty to trying to help the militant Islamic State group.

Hope fades for Obama nominees seeking Senate approval

The Senate begins its last full week in session on Monday before the November elections, so the odds are slim that many of you long-suffering Obama nominees will be confirmed before the lawmakers leave town.
Last week, the post-nuclear-option Senate continued to stumble along, managing to confirm a dozen nominees, including federal appellate Judge Jill Pryor, and career Foreign Service Officer John Hoover, who’d been waiting 13 months be ambassador to Ebola-afflicted Sierra Leone.
That leaves about 150 other nominees stalled on the floor, most all of them, under current rules, requiring eight hours of floor debate (though the Dems can cede back their four hours.)
Given the press of some pretty urgent business — such as keeping the federal government open and dealing with the administration’s request for approval of its planned actions against the Islamic State – that leaves little time for confirmations this week.
So that leaves you in the post-election “lame duck” period in November and December when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may call the Senate back into session for a few weeks before Thanksgiving and before Christmas. But confirmations aren’t going to be a priority.

Federal Appeals Court Permits Wisconsin Voter ID Law

CHICAGO — A federal appeals court on Friday permitted Wisconsin to restore a requirement that voters provide photo identification before casting their ballots, allowing the long-debated state law to take effect in time for a hard-fought election on Nov. 4.

The order, which came surprisingly swiftly, on the same day that lawyers made their arguments before a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, was seen as a significant victory for advocates of such voting requirements. Opponents of the laws had viewed the Wisconsin case as opening a novel legal basis for their efforts in federal courtrooms.

In their order, the panel of three judges described Wisconsin’s requirement as “materially identical” to a statute in Indiana, which was upheld in 2008 by the Supreme Court. The panel also noted that Wisconsin had introduced new procedures to make it easier to obtain photo identification cards, reducing concerns raised months ago by a federal court judge who had blocked Wisconsin’s law, saying that it disproportionately affected blacks and Latinos.

“This reduces the likelihood of irreparable injury, and it also changes the balance of equities and thus the propriety of federal injunctive relief,” the appeals panel, which stayed the earlier court’s injunction, said. The order was unsigned, but the panel included Frank H. Easterbrook, who was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan, and Diane S. Sykes and John Daniel Tinder, both of whom were nominated by President George W. Bush.

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