Today's Headlines and Commentary

Yesterday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi criticized Saudi intervention in Yemen. The Wall Street Journal reports that, in remarks that laid bare growing divisions between U.S. allies in the Middle East, Prime Minister Abadi said that “there is no logic to the operation at all in the first place.” The Prime Minister went on to say that the intervention could trigger a broad sectarian conflict in the region and that President Obama agreed with his view, which the White House quickly denied. According to the New York Times, a Saudi official replied that there was “no logic to those remarks.” The newly-appointed Yemeni Vice President also expressed concern about the future of the Saudi coalition, Reuters reports. Speaking from Riyadh, he said “We still hope that there is no ground campaign in line with the air strikes.” The remarks come ahead of planned military exercises in Saudi Arabia that some fear presage a ground operation in Yemen. Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reports that former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been seeking safe passage out of Yemen, despite reports that he has joined forces with Houthi rebels in an attempt to regain power. According to a Gulf Cooperation Council official, the former strongman has sent emissaries to several GCC nations asking for safe exit. This comes as Reuters notes that at least five pro-Saleh military brigades have defected, one of which has begun fighting the Houthi rebels pro-Saleh forces had previously aligned with. ISIS is pushing toward Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just a week after Anbar officials announced the start of an offensive to retake the province from the group, ISIS militants attacked several settlements yesterday, forcing thousands of families to flee their homes. Local Sunni tribal leaders blamed the government for the attacks’ success, claiming that Iraqi security forces retreated before the attacks. ISIS’s parallel advance in Syria is pushing Syrian rebels to make difficult choices about who, exactly, to fight. In the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, which the Assad regime has blockaded and bombarded for over two years, a Palestinian rebel group has been forced to side with Pro-Assad militias to repel ISIS militants who stormed the camp earlier this month. The Wall Street Journal writes that this cooperation, though it remains limited to supplies of food and ammunition, represents a symbolic gain for the Assad regime, which has tried to cast itself as the key actor in the fight against ISIS. Despite these ISIS advances, an article in Politico Magazine points out that al Qaeda has actually won more territory than ISIS over the past six months. These gains, often ignored in favor of coverage of the more media-savvy ISIS, portend a violent struggle between the two groups. the authors write.

What we are likely to see now is a titanic war of ideology and tactics between two vicious, radical groups that together probably command more prestige among Arab peoples than the weak, often delegitimized governments they have outsmarted and outfought.

Arshad Mohammed argues in Reuters that, while the compromise Iran review bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday will certainly make negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran harder, it doesn’t “drastically weaken President Obama's ability to deliver on a final agreement.” But the Times writes that the Iran review bill signals that President Obama may have reached the outer limits of his executive authority. After relying on executive authority in the face of congressional gridlock to alter both domestic and foreign policy, Congress “actually broke the gridlock. Against him.” Amid the debate over what role Congress should play in approving an Iranian nuclear agreement, an Iran deal appears to have won another (guarded) supporter. Admiral Mike Mullen, the former joint chiefs chairman, has an opinion piece in Politico today entitled “Why I Like The Iran Deal (Sort Of).” While noting Iran’s violent operations beyond its borders, he argues that “As of today, there is no more credible path of reducing the likelihood of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon than this potential deal.” Even as Iran continues negotiations with global powers about its nuclear program, it has significantly increased both the frequency and the sophistication of its cyberattacks. According to a report being released tomorrow by cybersecurity firm Norse and the American Enterprise Institute, most of the attacks have involved espionage while some, like the February attack on Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands, have been purely destructive. The Times explains that this emphasis on quieter espionage attacks represents a shift from its earlier penchant for cybervandalism. The Washington Post describes efforts by Pakistan to train its military to better confront Islamic militants at a training camp in Punjab province. While Pakistan’s military is built for a large-scale confrontation with India, the training emphasizes face-to-face combat and appears to have had some success. Nearly two-thirds of the troops involved in the campaign gaining ground against militants in the country’s northwest have been trained at the camp. In other Pakistan news, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the country next week to launch a series of joint energy and infrastructure projects worth $46 billion. Reuters explains that the projects are part of a planned “Pakistan-China Economic Corridor” between China’s Xinjiang region and the Pakistani deepwater Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea. The visit also comes as the two countries look to finalize the long-planned sale of eight Chinese submarines to Pakistan. While it looks to firm up ties with Pakistan, China is also laying the groundwork for a greater military presence in the South China Sea. Satellite photos of the Spratly Islands released today show that China is building a runway on one of the islands in the archipelago, which is claimed by at least three other countries. The Times writes that the runway will be capable of handling military airplanes when completed, allowing China to project military power far beyond its shores. Peter Dutton, a professor of strategic studies at the Naval War College, spoke to the gravity of the discovery: “This is a major strategic event. In order to have sea control, you need to have air control.” The Department of Homeland Security’s network monitoring program will cover all of the federal government’s networks by the end of the 2016 fiscal year, according to a DHS official. The program, which helps identify malicious actors within networks, currently covers just over half of government networks. The Hill notes that “It's a much-needed tool, as foreign hackers have repeatedly infiltrated government networks this past year.”

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Bobby laid out some of the legal questions raised by U.S. involvement in the Saudi air campaign in Yemen. Jack identified some errors in the New York Times’s editorial on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. 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.