Today's Headlines and Commentary

This morning, CNN asks “Will anyone stop ISIS?” It may be that the New York Times has the answer: “President Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis.” Some 40,000 Iraqis, most of them members of the Yazidi sect, are trapped on Mount Sinjar, perishing from heat and thirst. “A lack of ammunition and advanced weaponry forced” Kurdish troops, who had been protecting Sinjar and the Yazidi, to retreat. According to the Washington Post, Iraqi politicians begged for emergency assistance. Islamic State militants have now taken control of the Christian town of Qaraqosh and the border around the semi-autonomous Kurdish state. Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Post have details on the extremists’ gains. The Times notes that, though ISIS “is on nearly every nation’s public enemy list,” coordinating international action against the group has so far proven difficult. Meanwhile, the Associated Press informs us that two car bombs in Shia districts of Baghdad have killed 21 people and wounded 34 others. The Wall Street Journal has more on the chaos in the Middle East, as the U.S. Treasury Department has moved to sanction three Kuwait-based financiers for allegedly funding extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Two are accused of being major fundraisers for the Al Nusra Front, while one was a financier for the Islamic State. The final day of the 72-hour Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire began this morning. Reuters informs us that negotiators are working to extend the agreement and transition to discussions for a more permanent peace. Reuters also notes that U.S. State Department official Frank Lowenstein is among the mediators. According to the Times, yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “Every civilian casualty is a tragedy, a tragedy of Hamas’ own making.” At a press conference yesterday, U.S. President Barack Obama remarked, “Hamas acts extraordinarily irresponsibly when it is deliberately siting rocket launchers in population centers, putting populations at risk.” Time details his statements. The Wall Street Journal explains how close security cooperation between Israel and Egypt contributed to the current conflict. The Times reports that yesterday, two insider attacks on Afghan police personnel killed eleven officers. These assaults follow the death of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene at the hands of a gunman at Camp Qargha, a training base in Kabul. According to the AP, the shooter “hid in a bathroom before the assault and used a NATO assault rifle in his attack.” Reuters informs us that the killer previously served in the Afghan army for three years. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the death of Maj. Gen. Greene “is not going to affect our decision or resolve to continue moving forward on an enduring presence post-2014.” Indeed, the AP shares that “President Barack Obama’s decision to cut the number of troops in Afghanistan ... will stand.” Tensions continue to mount in eastern Ukraine as Ukrainian government forces advance on rebel strongholds while Russia continues to add forces along Ukraine’s border, in what some officials fear may be a sign of a coming invasion. The AP reports that violence is marching ever closer to the city-center of Donetsk, as Ukrainian forces make gains against pro-Russian separatists. The AP also reported yesterday that U.S. and NATO officials are concerned that Russia may use the violence as a  pretext for a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission to send in troops, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel saying that “it’s a threat; it’s a possibility – absolutely." According to Reuters, President Obama said that Ukraine did not need additional U.S. military assistance at the moment, but signaled that a Russian invasion could change his thinking, saying that an invasion would pose “a different set of questions.” The White House also warned that Russia’s round of retaliatory sanctions against U.S. agricultural imports would only “deepen Russia’s international isolation, causing further damage to its own economy.” The Hill has more. Reuters reports that the United States will spend $110 million each year over the next three to five years to assist African nations in developing peacekeeping and counterterrorism forces that can fight domestic militant threats. The U.S. will spend an initial $65 million to support security forces and institutions in Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Tunisia. Other country partners include Senegal, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, Defense News tells us that some lawmakers on Capitol Hill remain skeptical of the “US military and intelligence pivot to Africa.” U.S. nuclear negotiators resume talks with Iran today in Geneva. The AP reports that Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Deputy Secretary of State William Burns are among the U.S. delegation members. According to the Post, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Ghashghavi announced that the arrest of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, his wife, and two other reporters “is an internal matter in which the United States has no say.” In a Post op-ed, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, remarks that President Obama’s foreign policy choices demonstrate that he cannot be relied upon during international crises. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John Bates, the current director of the Administrative Office of the Courts and a former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) judge, sent a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about the Senator’s recently proposed NSA reform bill. In it, Judge Bates explains why a FISC public advocate poses a problem from both a privacy and national security standpoint. The Wall Street Journal has the story, while Ben shares the news with Lawfare here. Edward Snowden’s attorney announced today that the Russian government has approved a three-year extension of the former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor’s asylum. The Times has details; Ben highlighted the story for us here. The Daily Beast examines the White House’s declassification review of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on post-9/11 use of torture by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Apparently, the Obama administration is still considering “whether or not masked references to specific foreign countries and individuals who helped the CIA will be allowed to come out.” The Post reports that USIS, a contractor for the Department of Homeland Security responsible for conducting background checks, was the victim of a cyber assault with “all the markings of a state-sponsored attack.” According to DHS spokesperson Peter Boogaard, “some DHS personnel may have been affected.” The Times informs us that Hold Security, a cybersecurity firm based in Milwaukee, has discovered that a Russian crime syndicate “has amassed the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials, including 1.2 billion user name and password combinations and more than 500 million email addresses.” The Wall Street Journal describes U.S. intelligence agencies’ use of social media, including “Facebook, Twitter, and overseas regional networks,” for information-gathering. The Times provides an update on the investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s abduction by the Taliban: yesterday, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl conducted his first interview with Bergdahl. 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.