Today's Headlines and Commentary

Poor weather around Mosul has delayed Iraqi forces trying to clear the city’s eastern outskirts, the Wall Street Journal reports. Government troops plan to hold their positions until dissipation of the cloud cover currently obstructing coalition air support’s view of the battlefield. The sandstorm could provide the Islamic State with minor tactical advantages by providing cover, obstructing air support, and clogging coalition machinery, argues CNN. During the pause, elite Iraqi counter-terrorism forces are going house-to-house to clear Gogjali, the eastern neighborhood they penetrated before the weather turned. The AP has more.

The Guardian notes that fighting continues to Mosul’s south, where Islamic State militants have more robustly challenged the advance of Iraqi forces. Coalition forces recaptured five villages south of the city, Reuters comments. Iraqi troops are also approaching the town of Hammam al-Alil, where the Islamic State has executed civilians en masse. Beyond such executions, Iraqi forces are concerned about the militants’ use of civilians for human shields, writes the Journal. Extremists have been rounding up civilians and moving them to Mosul’s urban center in preparation for the final showdown with elite Iraqi military units. The Journal also profiles the efforts of government forces to assuage locals’ fears of sectarian violence and reprisals when Mosul is recaptured.

Russia announced plans for a new “humanitarian pause” in Aleppo this Friday, the Journal reports. Moscow is urging rebels and civilians to flee the besieged rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo. Both groups have rejected such opportunities in the past, citing distrust of regime forces. One of the main rebel forces remaining in Aleppo has already denounced the pause as an illusion for “public consumption,” writes the AP. Nominally, Russia has not carried out airstrikes in Aleppo since 18 October, although on-ground observers have at times challenged this claim. Russia seemed to imply that it might resume strikes on whatever rebels remained in Aleppo following the pause. The New York Times has more.

Rebels launched a counteroffensive last Friday to break the siege on Aleppo. The effort appears to have floundered, but it has led to numerous civilian casualties and Russian threats to resume airstrikes, the Telegraph notes. Moscow cited the civilian deaths as a justification for indefinitely stopping negotiations for a renewed ceasefire in Aleppo. Nevertheless, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry continues to insist that the international community is working on resurrecting the moribund ceasefire. The Guardian has more.

Authorities in Moscow changed the locks and shut off the power to Amnesty International’s Moscow office, the Washington Post writes. City officials claimed the international human rights group did not pay its rent, which Amnesty International denies. The organization released a statement yesterday denouncing Russia’s treatment of a human rights activist. Notably, Russian authorities have increasingly targeted groups critical of the government

The Ukrainian military is rebuilding its navy after losing two-thirds of its fleet in the Russian annexation of Crimea, which includes the fleet’s former home port at Sevastopol. The United States is providing $30 million in military aid to expedite the Ukrainian naval armament. The effort is, in part, a response to growing Russian military activity in Crimea. The Kremlin has begun refurbishing former Soviet military facilities, especially near Sevastopol. Reuters has more.

Pakistan appears poised to accuse five Indian diplomats of espionage and expel them from the country, Reuters writes. The threatened expulsion is likely retaliation for India’s arrest of a Pakistani diplomat on espionage charges last week. The tit-for-tat diplomatic retaliation is accompanied by recurring skirmishing and cross-border raids along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte denounced U.S. officials as “fools” and “monkeys” for not following through with an arms sale of 26,000 rifles, Reuters reports. Duterte threatened to turn to China and Russia for arms after the United States halted the sale over concerns about extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s war on drugs. He later backtracked on claims he would turn to China for military equipment after pressure from the Philippine military, the AP tells us.

Duterte became so frustrated that he slipped up and exclaimed, “Son of a bitch, we have many home-made guns here. These American fools.” This seemingly innocuous insult represents a shocking reversal of Duterte’s promise to God last week that he would clean up his language. The Philippine president reported that God threatened to down his plane if he continued cursing. Time will tell.

The CIA is restructuring its organizational structure to better integrate operations, analysis, and digital operations. CIA Director John Brennan established a new Directorate of Digital Innovation as well as 10 mission centers that will integrate teams from across the directorates to collaborate on regional and functional threat areas. Some have praised the reforms and their emphasis on technology and integration, while others have criticized the focus on digital methods at the expense of human intelligence. Reuters has more.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

J. Dana Stuster reset the Middle East Ticker with analysis on Yemen, Lebanon, and Morocco.

David Bosco flagged the comments of former U.S. ambassador Stephen Rapp on the ICC’s investigation of the war in Afghanistan.

Quinta Jurecic reupped our reader questionnaire on how to best structure Today’s Headlines & Commentary.

Graham Webster discussed the U.S. FONOP last week.

Herb Lin assessed the DOJ’s policies on intake and charging for computer crimes.

Stewart Baker posted the latest episode of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast.

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