Today's Headlines and Commentary

This week, President Obama will ask Congress to approve $3.2 billion in additional funding for U.S. operations against the Islamic State. This figure comes as an amendment to the pending $58.6 billion war operations budget for this fiscal year. According to Bloomberg News, the money will be used for intelligence gathering, retraining the Iraqi military, and replacing munitions. Yesterday, at an event at the Atlantic Council, the head of U.S. Central Command General LLoyd J. Austin III announced that he is not yet ready to recommend ground troops in Iraq, but if the time comes for that advice, he is prepared to give it. According to Military.com, the four-star general approximated that the Islamic State has between 9,000 and 17,000 “core fighters.” Gen. Austin is scheduled to meet with congressional leaders today. The Daily Beast examines the large range in the American government’s rough calculations of the number Islamic State militants, noting “the truth is that the United States lacks the intelligence to form a trustworthy estimate of the group’s strength.” Although Iraqi Kurdish forces have yet to turn the tide in the fight against the Islamic State for the Syrian border town of Kobani, they have successfully stopped a number of militant attacks and halted the arrival of jihadist reinforcements. The Wall Street Journal shares details from a telephone interview with Brig. Gen. Halgord Hekmat, the spokesperson for the Kurdish troops in Erbil, Iraq, who noted that, so far, “there has been no radical change on the ground... but the battle is moving from a defensive to an attacking phase.” CBS News reports that some foreign fighters are now reaching Syria by way of cruise ships. Therefore, Interpol officials are asking countries to beef up security at all transportation entry points, including “airports and, more and more, cruise lines." Last month, President Obama sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, noting the shared American and Iranian interest in halting the advance of the Islamic State. The secret missive affirmed that any future cooperation on this common goal is contingent upon the successful conclusion of nuclear negotiations by the self-imposed November 24 deadline. The Wall Street Journal has more on the contents and import of the correspondence. The Washington Post shares the identity of the Navy SEAL responsible for killing Osama bin Laden during the raid on his Abbottabad compound on May 2, 2011. As the story seemed likely to break “with or without his consent,” former SEAL Robert O’Neill has come forward to describe “in unprecedented detail” the mission, which ultimately led to the death of bin Laden. According to an internal review commissioned by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, since 2003, over 600 U.S. service members have reported exposure to chemical weapons in Iraq. Although the Pentagon had not previously acted on this data, it now intends to “expand outreach.” The New York Times has the story. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Security Council to discuss the “deterioration of the situation” in eastern Ukraine, as a result of “repeated violations of the ceasefire” by the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian military has denied these accusations, and Reuters affirms that its “witness in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk said there was no sign the conflict was escalating.” Reuters also reports that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet Saturday in Beijing, ahead of next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Yesterday, the White House released a statement, following National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s meeting with Chinese human rights advocates, during which she “expressed the administration’s deep concern regarding the treatment of human rights defenders” by the Chinese government. The Post notes that this statement comes just days before the opening of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing. At a press conference yesterday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that NATO will not abandon Afghanistan when its International Security Assistance Force concludes operations there at the end of the year. Instead, a smaller mission, entitled “Resolute Support,” will begin, providing training, advice, and financial assistance to the country. Defense News has details. Internal political disputes may prevent Japan from meeting the year-end deadline to update its defense alliance with the United States. Reuters shares the story. During an interview on Monday with Euronews television channel, Mohammed Javad Larijani, the leader of Iran’s human rights council, announced that Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who has been held in an Iranian prison since July, may be released in less than a month. The Post has more on Larijani’s statements. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating former U.S. diplomat and Pakistan expert Robin Raphel. According to the Post, “two U.S. officials described the investigation as a counterintelligence matter, which typically involves allegations of spying on behalf of foreign governments.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen Manohar Parrikar, the chief minister of the western state of Goa, to be his Minister of Defense. Reuters reports that the U.S. may impose sanctions on Libya’s duelling militia factions in an effort to prevent the eruption of a “full-blown civil war.” Yesterday at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey announced that U.S. military deployments to combat Ebola in western Africa are part of a “stability operation” that is likely to last 18 months. Stars and Stripes has the story. Wired examines the effect that the midterm elections will have on proposed reform of the National Security Agency (NSA). Defense One reports that the Defense Department has issued a request for information on new technology to combat drones equipped with biological and chemical weapons. On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the public has a significant interest in the FBI’s facial recognition database. In her ruling, Judge Tanya Chutkan validated a Freedom of Information request filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The National Journal shares the story. Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald informs us that Guantanamo chief prosecutor Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins announced yesterday that a number of detainees would be permitted “near real time interactive discussions” with family members. His statement comes just a day after Air Force Col. Judge Vance Spath agreed to review the prison’s policy against allowing former CIA prisoners to make Skype calls. Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.