Today's Headlines and Commentary

Only hours ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unexpected announcement, saying that the “main part” of Russian military forces will withdraw from Syria. Putin explained that “the principal tasks set for the armed forces of Russia in Syria have been accomplished” and moreover, that the Russian campaign had “radically changed the situation” on the ground in Syria, paving the way for “a sharp reduction in the scale of the bloodshed in the country, improving the humanitarian situation,” and creating the conditions “for the start of the peace process under the aegis of the U.N.” According to the Kremlin, the announcement followed a phone conversation between Mr. Putin and embattled Syrian President Bashar al Assad, wherein Mr. Assad agreed to the reduction in Russian presence. White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said that U.S. officials were unaware of the plan. Putin did not give a deadline for the withdrawal or explain what forces were not the "main part" of the Russian military.

The puzzling announcement comes on the day that the U.N. mediated peace talks designed to bring an end the the conflict are scheduled to resume in Geneva. Yet Reuters tells us that the United States and France have already accused the Syrian government of trying to disrupt the talks, after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moualem said that his government would not discuss presidential elections. Moualem also said that the opposition is operating under “delusions” if they believe that “they will take power in Geneva that they failed to take in battle.”

On Sunday, according to Reuters, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russian forces are ready to coordinate with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria in order to push the Islamic State out of their de-facto capital city of Raqqa. Lavrov told reporters that Russia is “ready to coordinate our actions with the Americans, because Raqqa is in the eastern part of Syria, and the American coalition is mainly acting there.” It is not clear how this offer would work if Russia is withdrawaling its forces.

Another suicide terrorist attack rocked the streets of Ankara, Turkey yesterday, killing at least 37 people and wounding around 125 others. The suicide car bomb detonated near a bus stop in the heart of Turkey’s capital. According to the Associated Press, Turkish police suspect that Kurdish militants are behind the bombing. Agence France-Presse reports that one of the suicide bombers is believed to be a woman linked to the Kurdistan’s Workers’ Party, or PKK. The suicide attack was the third in Ankara in the last five months.

Following the deadly attack in the capital, Turkey’s air force hit Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq today. The AP tells us that fighter jets bombed 18 PKK positions in northern Iraq, including the Qandil mountains, where the group’s leadership is based. Among the targets hit were ammunition depots, bunkers, and shelters.

An American member of the Islamic State has defected to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq. The AP shares that Maj. Gen. Feisal Helkani, of the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, identified the Palestinian-American man as Mohamad Jamal Amin. Amin was carrying a large amount of cash, three cell phones, and three forms of identification, including a U.S. driver's license upon his surrender. CBS News reports that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad could not confirm the detention of the American.

The Military Times tells us that U.S. troops stationed in Jordan have attacked the Islamic State for the first time in what appears to be a “new facet” of the American-led coalition’s ground fight against the pseudo-state. The U.S. troops launched a rocket artillery attack into Syria near Jordan’s border in support of Syrian rebels who seized an ISIS military base near the city of al Tanf.

The battle for Mosul continues to take shape as U.S. military commanders in Iraq are drafting plans for U.S. troops to accompany Iraqi brigades in an effort to recapture the strategic city from the Islamic State. The Hill tells us that, if the plans are approved, “it would be a significant change for U.S. troops, who would be able to get much closer to the front lines of what is expected to be a fierce battle for Iraq’s second largest city.”

According to the Long War Journal, over the weekend, the al Nusra Front attacked U.S-supported rebels, arresting fighters and seizing weapons provided to the Free Syrian Army by the United States. The AP reports that the group seized anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, light arms, and even a tank.

Sixteen people were killed on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on picnickers and swimmers at three beach resorts near the Ivory Coast’s capital. The New York Times reports that al Qaeda’s North African affiliate, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued Sunday night praising the three “knights” who had carried it out. The Times adds that the Ivory Coast attack is the third major attack in West Africa since November, exacerbating fears that the spread of terrorism across the region was far from over.

Jihadists groups clashed in Yemen over the weekend, with affiliates of al Qaeda and the Islamic State battling in the city of Aden. The AP shares that 22 people were killed, of those two were civilians.

On Friday, militants in Gaza fired four rockets into Israel. On Saturday night, Israel responded, firing four missiles at Hamas sites, according to the Israeli Defense Forces. One missile, reported aimed at a Hamas training camp, struck a small home instead, killing two Palestinian children. The violence, according to the Post, represents the largest salvos between the two factions since the end of the 50-day summer war in 2014.

Earlier today, “three Palestinians carried out back-to-back gun and car-ramming attacks on Israelis near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank,” reports Reuters. All three attackers were shot dead by the army.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters yesterday that Iran could face new sanctions “if necessary” following talks between U.S. and E.U officials regarding Tehran’s recent missile tests. Those comments come as U.S. lawmakers are pushing for new sanctions legislation as well. And today, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said that the recent missile launch “merits a council response,” accusing Russia of “lawyering its way to look for reasons not to act.” Russia recently stated that it did not view Iran’s ballistic missiles tests as a violation of Security Council resolution 2231, which formally endorsed a historic nuclear deal with Tehran.

Reuters shares that China’s Chief Justice Zhou Qiang announced yesterday that the country plans to establish an “international maritime judicial center” in order to “safeguard China’s national sovereignty, maritime rights and other core interests.” Qiang gave no other details and did not describe what types of cases the center would review or how it would work to “improve the work of maritime courts.” Later, Qiang told China’s national legislature that Chinese courts had convicted 1,419 people last year of national security and terrorism crimes that carry potential death sentences. That number is double the 712 people sentenced under similar charges last year, before the passage of China’s sweeping new national security law.

More sabre rattling from North Korea today as DPRK Today, a state-run media outlet, reported that the country could wipe out Manhattan, saying that North Korea’s “hydrogen bomb is much bigger than the one developed by the Soviet Union,” and “if this H-bomb were to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile and fall on Manhattan in New York City, all the people there would be killed immediately and the city would burn down to ashes.” The Post notes that the threats come as U.S. and South Korean forces take part in annual military drills, which North Korea views as a pretense for an eventual invasion.

Elsewhere, Jonathan Corrado in Foreign Affairs writes that North Korea’s propaganda just doesn’t go as far as it used to.

The Department of Justice may be about to open a new front in the encryption wars against messenger giant WhatsApp, at least according to Matt Apuzzo from the New York Times, who reports that “government officials are privately debating how to resolve a prolonged standoff” with the company “over access to its popular instant messaging application.” While details are sealed, the Times shares that DOJ officials are “discussing how to proceed in a continuing criminal investigation in which a federal judge had approved a wiretap, but investigators were stymied by WhatsApp’s encryption.” If the DOJ were to proceed in attempting to force WhatsApp to comply, the case would likely have larger implications regarding the future of wiretaps targeting data in motion, as opposed to the Apple fight, which targets data at rest. U.S. officials have not yet decided whether to move forward.

Speaking at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas this weekend, President Barack Obama weighed in on the ongoing court fight between Apple and the FBI, suggesting that society cannot allow an “absolutist view on this.” Politico shares that Obama said that a hardline view on strong encryption amounts to “fetishizing our phones above every other value,” and that such a stance “does not strike the kind of balance that we have lived with for 200, 300 years.”

Parting Shot: The National Intelligence Council needs your help in preparing the next President of the United States—seriously! The NIC is releasing the early findings of its quadrennial Global Trends report on Tumblr, and as part of its efforts, is requesting your “thoughts on how the key trends, their local and geopolitical effects, and choices of individuals, organizations, and states will shape the future.” Get involved and help the U.S. prepare for these “4 not-so-rosy scenarios for the world.”

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

In Sunday’s Foreign Policy Essay, Zack Cooper and Eric Lorber argued that limited and targeted sanctions can make China more hesitant to engage in aggressive behavior.

Ellen Scholl released the newest edition of Hot Commodities, flagging the latest news in energy.

Alex shared the The Week That Was, featuring all of Lawfare’s activity from last week.

Cody posted the latest Lawfare Podcast, highlighting Lisa Monaco’s recent lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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