Today’s Headlines and Commentary
The Associated Press cites conflicting reports as to whether Kurdish and Iraqi forces have retaken Mosul Dam from Islamic State fighters, with militants claiming it is still in control of the facility after two days of U.S. airstrikes despite the Iraqi army's statements to the contrary. The BBC writes that U.S.
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The Associated Press cites conflicting reports as to whether Kurdish and Iraqi forces have retaken Mosul Dam from Islamic State fighters, with militants claiming it is still in control of the facility after two days of U.S. airstrikes despite the Iraqi army's statements to the contrary. The BBC writes that U.S. Central Command carried out nine air strikes on Saturday to aid Kurdish forces in retaking the strategic dam, and cites new reports that Islamic State militants have massacred hundreds of people in northern Iraq and eastern Syria. Over the weekend, the AP also reported that Islamic extremists shot 80 Yazidi men to death before abducting their wives and children.
The AP reports controversy and uncertainty in Britain after statements from British government officials suggesting that the country's reconnaissance actions in Iraq can no longer be characterized as strictly humanitarian, although Prime Minister David Cameron has also vowed not to be putting boots on the ground.
The five-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is scheduled to run out today at 2100 GMT (5:00 EDT), but, as the Wall Street Journal reports, there have been no apparent breakthroughs in Egyptian-mediated negotiations on ending the Gaza war. The Times reports that Gaza's infrastructure has incurred more damage in the current conflict than in either of its last two wars. The AP cites the psychological devastation wrought by the violence in Gaza, with the U.N. estimating that about 373,000 children need direct psychological intervention after witnessing violence, losing a relative or being displaced.
Similarly, no progress has been made on negotiating a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, writes the WSJ, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that an agreement had been reached for the delivery of what Moscow has described as humanitarian aid to the region, via a convoy of almost 300 armored trucks. Reuters writes that on Monday, Ukraine accused pro-Russian separatists of hitting a refugee convoy with rocket fire near Luhansk, causing an unknown number of casualties. A Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down on Sunday morning while flying over rebel-held eastern territory; according to Al Jazeera, the Ukrainian military says pro-Russian separatists are responsible for the attack, and that Russia has sent over three missile systems and deployed drones that have violated Ukrainian air space.
Over at Foreign Policy, Michael Weiss wonders why Vladimir Putin has been allowed to perpetrate a humanitarian farce as part of a strategy to legitimize more transparent warfare.
This is win-win for Putin: If Ukraine declares war on Russia, he gets to ride in to save his faltering rebellion. If it doesn't, he keeps waging deniable "incursions" to send the rebels heavy machinery.
German magazine Der Spiegel claims that Germany's foreign intelligence agency eavesdropped on calls made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor Hillary Clinton. Al Jazeera notes that if true, the news would mark an embarrassing turn in the U.S.-Germany spy saga, emerging only a month after Germany asked CIA station chief in Berlin to leave the country in response to allegations of U.S. spying.
Speaking of Germany: the AP writes that German authorities have charged a German-Iranian man with supplying Iran with 463,000 euros' worth of components for use in its missile program.
Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made what he has described as a "useful" visit to Tehran, during which Iran committed to cooperating with the UN nuclear watchdog investigation into suspected atomic bomb research. Reuters has the story.
About 55,000 people have occupied two streets in central Islamabad to rally for the resignation of Pakastani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Reuters reports that opposition leader Imran Khan is urging Pakistanis not to pay taxes or utility bills until Sharif steps down.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has announced his plans to "soon" leave the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has spent two years avoiding extradition to Sweden for alleged sexual assault. So writes the Washington Post. Assange has been granted asylum in Ecuador but is expected to be arrested by British law enforcement if he ventures off embassy ground.
Foreign Policy notes that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself has taken to Twitter to criticize the eruption in Ferguson as evidence of U.S. hypocrisy on the human rights front. The Times reported this morning that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will deploy the National Guard to Ferguson in an attempt to quell the violence that has erupted on the streets this week in the wake of a police officer's killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, who was shot six times; law enforcement officers have used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters, allegedly without provocation; police claim that protesters have engaged in "premeditated criminal acts."
Over the weekend, Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald reported that the letter that Khalid Sheik Mohammed has written to President Obama, describing views on Gaza, Iran nuclear sanctions and other current affairs, may be dropped in the mail by U.S. troops if it clears prison review for non-legal communications.
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Jane Chong is former deputy managing editor of Lawfare. She served as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and is a graduate of Yale Law School and Duke University.
