LIVE: MI6 chief speaks at the British embassy in Paris - YouTube - 3O NOV 2024 - Reuters

NATO Secretary General doorstep statement at the EU Foreign Affairs Council,19 NOV 2024

1,000 days since Russia invaded Ukraine

NATO Secretary General press conference at Foreign Ministers Meeting, Prague,Czechia CZ 31 MAY 2024 -YouTube

Decisions: 1.Greater NATO role in equipment and training; 2.Alliance commits to multiyear financial pledge for Ukraine; 3.We discussed Ukraine's path to NATO membership and Ukraine's future in NATO.

Fmr. Top NATO official pens letter to Biden warning of threats from authoritarian powers - MSNBC - YouTube

with Johnathan Capehart*Note:The Senate approved by a large bipartisan majority the 95 billion dollar foreign aid bill for Ukraine,Israel,Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific on 23 April 2023 and President Biden will sign it on 24 April 2024.

Bulletin:US Limits Involvement in Israel vs. Iran Conflict

A Biden administration source has disclosed that the US will not participate in offensive operations against Iran.While US fighter aircraft assisted in the defense of Israel by shooting down Iranian drones and ballistic missiles,President Biden has drawn a red line at offensive operations.He communicated this to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call.

NATO Secretary General with 🇺🇸 US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, O3 APR 2024

NATO Secretary General with 🇺🇸 U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan,O7 FEB 2024

IS Leader Kills Himself During Raid by US Troops in Syria

On Wednesday 7 December 2022,US Special Operations Forces conducted a night raid in Idlib,Northwest Syria,resulting in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi,US President Joseph R. Biden announced Thursday morning.Mr.Biden said: Thanks to the bravery of our troops,this horrible terrorist leader is no more.Knowing that terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families,including children,we made a choice to pursue a Special Forces raid at a much greater risk to our own people rather than targeting him with an airstrike.* Such missions are in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR),which seeks the lasting defeat of IS.Al-Qurayshi took control of IS when US troops neutralised former IS mastermind Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019.* In the course of the approximately two-hour combat operation,up to thirteen people were killed,including civilians as well as militants,according to a Syrian Civil Defence group.The Pentagon is conducting an after-action review of the raid.* Al-Qurayshi blew himself and his family up with an explosive device when the US SOFs announced their presence outside the multi-family residence.The suicide blast caused the residence's partial destruction.Al-Qurayhsi's deputy and the deputy's wife were on the first floor and were killed by the SOFs when he engaged them in a firefight.No US troops were harmed during the raid.It is believed a few other militants were killed by attack helicopters as the militants approached the compound and were deemed hostile.* According to the monitoring organisation the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR),since early December,IS has stepped up its activity in areas held by US Ally the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).These activities include the assassination of,and attacks on,SDF members and members of the Autonomous Administration.At least eight IS operations were documented by SOHR activists against SDF members in the Deir Ezzor and al-Hasakah areas that killed three SDF members and wounded six others,including a civilian.There were also clashes in the Deir Ezzor countryside between the SDF and IS cells.The IS cells threaten everyone in the area,SOHR said.* There are about 900 US troops in Syria,and 2500 in Iraq,serving in support of OIR.Through August 2022,US troops in Iraq and Syria combined had come under 30 indirect-fire attacks-mainly rocket attacks,according to OIR.Several attacks were launched against US troops by Iran-backed militants.* IS no longer controls territory in Iraq or Syria.It just conducts sporadic attacks with its militant cells.*

Coalition: Iran-backed militia attacks a dangerous distraction from mission

Coalition: Iran-backed militia attacks a dangerous distraction from mission: Coalition forces were targeted this morning by eight rounds of indirect fire at Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small Coalition advisory presence, in northeast Syria. According

Iraq:British Soldier Killed in Action Identified

The British Soldier killed  during an Iran-backed militia attack on Camp Taji,Iraq has been identified by the Ministry of Defence as LCPL Brodie Gillon.She was a reservist member of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry.*
In civilian life,LCPL Gillon was a self-employed sports physiotherapist.She had joined the regiment in 2015 as a Combat Medical Technician (CMT),and qualified as a Class I CMT in 2018.*
LCPL Gillon had volunteered to serve in Iraq.She was highly regarded both within the Regiment and beyond.*

US,British Troops Killed in Rocket Attack on Coalition Base - Updated

Two US troops, reportedly a US Army Soldier and a US Air Force Airman,as well as a British service member, were killed in a rocket attack on the Operation Inherent Resolve base Camp Taji,Iraq on 11 March 2020, several official sources reported.Twelve other Coalition members were wounded.Identities are being withheld pending family notification.*
Camp Taji hosts Coalition personnel for their train, advise and assist mission to the Iraqi Security Forces.The base was hit by about 18 107mm Katyusha rockets.The ISF located an abandoned rocket launcher truck a few miles from Camp Taji.*
Subsequently the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an airstrike by unidentified aircraft hit Iranian-backed militia bases in the al-Hasyan area of Syria near the Iraqi border, killing 26 militia members and wounding more than 15 others.Apparently this was a retaliatory strike.Both US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised to hold those responsible for the rocket attack to account.*
Update:The US says it launched airstrikes on five bases containing advanced Iranian weapons such as Katyusha rockets.The bases belong to the Iranian-backed militia Kitaib Hezbollah,which US CENTCOM commander Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie,USMC,notes is the only militia that has attacked Coalition bases with such weaponry.At the same time,the US denies that it participated in the airstrikes reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Possibly Israel carried out those strikes.*
Most likely the rocket attack by Iranian proxies in the region is a continuation of Iran's hostility to the West in general, and the United States in particular, which flared up in 2019 with similar attacks on OIR bases that killed an American contractor.In response, the US carried out an airstrike that killed Major General Qasem Soleimani of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.*

Afghan War:Army Ranger Killed in Battle with al-Qaida

A US Soldier killed in action over the weekend has been identified.On 24 November 2018,a US Army Ranger,SGT Leandro A.S. Jasso,25,of Leavenworth,Washington State,was killed as a result of a firefight with al-Qaida militants,the Pentagon said.Struck by small arms fire,he was medevaced to the neighbouring Helmand Province for advanced treatment,where he died.The battle occurred in Khash Rod District of Nimruz Province in Southwestern Afghanistan.Nimruz has desert borders with both Pakistan and Iran.The incident is under investigation.*
SGT Jasso was a team leader with Alpha Company,2nd Battalion,75th Ranger Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington.He was on his third tour in Afghanistan,serving in support of the US counterterror mission there,Operation Freedom's Sentinel.SGT Jasso had earlier received the Combat Infantryman Badge,indicating he was already a combat veteran at the time of Saturday's battle.According to 2nd Battalion commander LTCOL Rob McChrystal:
SGT Jasso was a humble professional who placed the mission first,lived the Ranger Creed and will be deeply missed.*
It was the second American death in the Afghan War this month,and the tenth of 2018.On 7 November,MAJ Brent R. Taylor,Mayor of North Ogden,Utah,was killed in a green on blue attack in the Afghan capital,Kabul,while serving with the Utah Army National Guard.

Natural Notebook:Female Asiatic Cheetah Killed in Iran,Highlighting the Subspecies' Precarious Position

A critically endangered Asiatic cheetah,also called Iranian cheetah,was killed in a road accident in North Khorasan Province,Iran recently,the Provincial Department of the Environment announced.The loss of a female,one of the approximately 50 Asiatic cheetahs left in the wild-all of them in Iran-was especially hard to bear.She had sustained a severe spinal cord injury and died while being transported to the DOE.Several road signs in the area were apparently unheeded.The wreck caused irreparable harm to Iran's biodiversity and the conservation of a valuable species,the DOE said.*
Between 32,000 and 67,000 years ago,a new subspecies of cheetah branched off from the African cheetah and established itself from the Arabian Peninsula,the Near East and the Caspian Sea region to Pakistan and India.The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubilatus venaticus) has now been extirpated from most of its range,only occurring on the Iranian central plateau, a remote  and mountainous desert area which is sparsely populated.
The Asiatic cheetah has been shown to be genetically distinct from the African cheetah by a mitochondrial DNA study.It is morphologically distinguished from its African cousin by a smaller head;shorter legs;a thicker coat in winter,particularly on the ruff and belly,when it encounters snowfall;and a longer,more powerful neck.It preys on smaller mammals such as gazelles and hares.*
Road accidents are a major source of mortality for the Asiatic cheetah and its prey alike,with guard dogs being another significant threat.Habitat has also been fragmented by mining operations and roadbuilding.Fencing along roads is supposed to be done,but has been incompetently handled by the Transport Ministry,environmental officials complain.Cheetahs are wide-ranging,covering up to several thousand square kilometers a year.
The UN supports Iran's cheetah conservation programme,which consists of a network of 92 specially trained park wardens spread over a total of six million hectares of habitat in Central and Northern Iran.*
The Asiatic cheetah is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List,the standard conservation status reference in use among environmental professionals.

At a facility near the Defense Intelligence Agency,Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling,Washington,DC:US Ambassador NIKKI HALEY Presents Evidence of IRAN's UN Violations 12/1...

Iranian Boats Challenge US and Royal Navy Ships in Strait of Hormuz - can Iran really close the strait?

On 4 March 2017,an Iranian fast attack speedboat got within 600 yards of the USNS Invincible,a Special Missions ship of the US Navy-led Military Sealift Command,a US defence official revealed.The Invincible,which is crewed by civil service mariners,is a missile surveillance ship.It has two radomes:a large one on its stern,and a smaller one on its bridge area.These contain dual band radars that can track ballistic missiles.The US had imposed sanctions on Iran when it tested a new ballistic missile in February,so conceivably this most recent harassment incident was in response to that.
In the first phase of the incident,an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy fast attack speedboat got within 600 yards of the Invincible and stopped dead in the water,blocking the Invincible's path,so that it had to steer around the Iranian boat to avoid a collision.Part two of the drama unfolded when another Iranian fast attack craft got within 350 yards of one of three Royal Navy ships escorting the unarmed Invincible,and the British ship,too,had to change course.Both Iranian obstructive actions were considered unsafe and unprofessional.The Iranian vessels ignored repeated attempts to contact them.*
In addition to its ballistic missile test in February,Iran has also recently installed a Russian S-300 missile defence system that can shoot down third and fourth generation fighter aircraft,but not fifth generation such as the F-35 Lightning II.*
Iran has made several threats to close the Strait,through which about 20% of the world's oil supply flows;but can it actually do so?In 2012,US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey said that Iran has invested in capability that could,in fact,for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz,which narrows at one point to only 54 kilometers/32.4 miles across (one estimate said Iran could close or impede the Strait for up to a month).At the same time,however,we've invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens,we can defeat that.*
The US Military Sealift Command exists to support the warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations.MSC provides on-time logistics;strategic sealift;as well as specialised missions anywhere in the world,under any conditions,24/7,365 days a year.With unified resolve,MSC says,we boldly sail the world's oceans to provide essential assured logistics and service support to the warfighter as the nation's premier maritime transport organisation.*
The current commander of MSC is Rear Admiral Dee L. Mewbourne,USN.Commander,MSC Central is Captain Edwin D. Kaiser,USN.Some of the MSC ships have blended civil service/military crews;others,such as Invincible have purely civil service mariner crews.

US Air Force Briefing - new bomber,tanker,F-22s for Europe

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh briefed reporters at the Pentagon Monday on the major programmes and issues the US Air Force is dealing with.The new long-range strike bomber,reportedly designated the B-3,will be intended to replace the B-52H and B-1B aircraft starting in the mid-2020's and over the next 25 years,GEN Welsh said.The B-52's going to try to make 100 years,but we really should take a look at that.We're at the point today where we don't have enough planes to keep our air crews trained.We have four types of planes that are over 50 years old.*
Secretary James spoke about the new air refueling tanker,the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus,which is based on the 767 airliner.Its first Air Force flight has been delayed by a month because an incorrect fuel substitute was placed in the fueling boom.It was already flown briefly by Boeing in December 2014.Boeing still believes it will deliver 18 aircraft by August 2017,Ms.James said.The margin in the schedule is all but gone.Would there be any operational impacts?It's a disappointing delay,but any cost overruns will not be borne by the government.*
As to whether the US could effectively respond to an Iranian crisis,GEN Welsh said our job is to be ready.I'm confident that the US military would be able to complete any mission that was assigned.
On North Korea having a missile that can strike the US,we know where North Korea is going toward.I think it's something we have to watch.They may have a missile capable of reaching the West coast.Certainly they have a missile capable of reaching Hawaii or US facilities in the Pacific,and that's our main concern.Whether they can deliver a payload with them,that's something beyond my understanding.*
The impending deployment of F-22 Raptors to Europe in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine was addressed by Secretary James.The timing and basing details are classified.The F-22 is part of the European Reassurance Initiative.It's an air-to-air capability.We need to be able to interoperate with the Eurofighter,for example,and that's what this training is for.*
We will get to F-35A initial operational capability next year,GEN Welsh promised.The new Gen 3 helmet has just been delivered.It is much more than a helmet.It is a workspace,providing situational awareness of the battlespace.All the people flying the F-35 since I've been here,the three years,say I want to use it.It's pretty incredible,amd they're very adaptable.
In Iraq and Syria,dynamic targeting,or an aircraft loitering until it is assigened a target,is not a new approach.We don't want to drop bombs indiscriminately.If we can't get the targeting done,we bring the aircraft home and they try again in the next sortie.*
Talks with Turkey are ongoing about a second Turkish air base,apart from Incirlik,being used in search and rescue operations for the anti-ISIL air campaign,Operation Inherent Resolve,Ms.James added.
The seven Air Force jobs that women cannot yet qualify for are currently being evaluated.These are difficult jobs,mostly in the special operations forces,and based on the reports I'm getting,I'm optimistic.We in the Air Force lead the services in the number of jobs women can qualify for,Secretary James pointed out.*
Boeing(BA)

Threats To North America:US Northcom and NORAD Commander

Admiral William Gortney,US Navy,commander US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command,appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday,12 March,to submit the Command's fiscal 2016 budget request.Included with the request was an assessment of current and future threats to the continent.ADM Gortney said what is most concerning to him is the seams that exist between Northcom,Southern Command and Pacific Command;between US interagency partners and the combatant commands;between the US and partner nations;and seams within those nations.In these seams,people are moving drugs and money.They're moving products for profit through the seams.We need to close these seams,because if someone wants to do something that will cause great damage to the nation,that is where they will come.*
2.Homegrown violent extremists are using an effective and sophisticated social media campaign to stir up distrust and incite harm to American citizens.*
3.A cyber attack could directly affect critical infrastructure that I rely on to defend the nation,and that we rely on for our nation to operate.I see that as a significant threat.A cyber attack in Ottawa would take out the Northeast quadrant of our air defence sector.It would effectively be a mission kill.So it would not only affect my abiity to do my mission;more importantly,we as a nation rely on this same infrastructure to operate-whether it's banking,rail,aviation,power or movement of water.All of these things have critical infrastructure that we must have,and they need to be hardened against an adversary.Northcom is responsible for defending known networks and helping lead federal agencies in the aftermath of a cyber attack.
4.Russian heavy bombers flew more out of area patrols in 2014 than in any year since the Cold War.We have also witnessed improved interoperability between Russian long-range aviation and other elements of the Russian military,including air and maritime intelligence collection platforms positioned to monitor NORAD responses.Such patrols serve a training function for Russian air crews,but some are clearly intended to underscore Moscow's global reach and communicate displeasure with Western policies,especially those involving Ukraine.Russia is also progressing toward its gosl of developing long-range,conventionally armed cruise missiles with increasing stand-off launch distances on its heavy bombers,submarines and surface combatants.Should these trends continue,NORAD will face increased risk in our ability to defend North America against Russian air,maritime and cruise missile threats.
5.North Korea has successfully test-detonated three nuclear devices,and through its space program has demonstrated many of the technologies required for an ICBM that could target the continental United States.North Korean military parades have showcased the new KN08 road-mobile ICBM.When deployed,the system will complicate the US ability to provide warning and defend against an attack.
6.Iran has likewise committed considerable resources to enhancing its ballistic missile capabilities,and has already placed another satellite into orbit this year,usinga new booster that could serve as a demonstrator for ICBM technologies.
7.Sequestration poses the likeliest and most dangerous threat.It leads to a hollow force,slowing development of the US technological advantage that makes it possible to outpace future threats.It also affects missile defence,putting on hold the long-range discrimination radar;improvements to the advanced kill vehicle;and the multi-object kill vehicle of the US Ballistic Missile Defense System.It would hinder the United States' ability to outpace the growing proliferation of ballistic missiles.
7.The Arctic requires advocacy and partnerships from within and outside the Northcom area of responsibility as the region grows in importance to our national security over the next few decades.

Suffering Defeats,ISIL Takes Assyrian Christians Hostage

When Kurdish forces pushed ISIL out of some 30 villages in Northeast Syria recently,sweeping in from their retaking of Kobani,the Islamist jihadists responded by entering a lightly guarded village in al-Hasakeh Province at 4 am local time,invaded homes and dragged their Assyrian Christian hostages,including women,children and the elderly,away to an uncertain fate.According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,about 90 of the indigenous Assyrian Christians were seized,mostly from the village of Tal Shamirzm 85 km southwest of the provincial capital Qamishli.The Assyrians predate the arrival of Islam in the region,tracing their heritage back to the ancient Mesopotamians.Their traditional language is the Syriac dialect of Aramaic,a language spoken by Jesus Christ.The Assyrian Network for Human Rights believes they were taken to the village of Umm al-Masamir on Mt.Abdulaziz,around 25 km south of their home village.
At the same time,about 700 Assyrian Christian families,or 3,000 people,fled to al-Hasakeh city and took refuge in a church.Later reports say another 150 families found refuge in Qamishli,and that several of the Assyrian Christians were moved to the ISIL headquarters of Raqqa,Syria.
This comes after last week's massacre of 21 Coptic Orthodox Christian men from Egypt by ISIL in Libya.*
It was reported by the Iranian FARS news agency on Monday 22 February that Iraqi troops had killed more than seven ISIL Takfiri group militants in fighting south of Tikrit,Salahuddin Province.Then FARS reported on 23 February that Iraqi warplanes and artillery pounded the ISIL Takfiri group extremists in Tikrit itself,killing dozens and destroying two houses they were using as headquarters.
The Iraqi Air Force has several Russian ground attack aircraft,such as the Su-25,as well as a number of helicopter gunships.*
Ideal for surveillance and reconnaissance of ISIL,as well as the Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan,are the US Air Force U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft stationed at an undisclosed Southwest Asia base.According to industry sources,however,it is al-Dhafra Air Base,UAE.Gathering intelligence is one of the main roles the US performs for the anti-ISIL coalition it leads in Operation Inherent Resolve.

Oxford Grad Approved for Defense Secretary Post

Ashton B. Carter was unanimously approved to be the new Secretary of Defense with a bipartisan 25-0 vote by the Senate Armed Services Committee today on Capitol Hill.The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote.Dr.Carter was Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2011-13,and had held two other high level Pentagon posts before that.He is a physicist by training and was a Rhodes Scholar who received his doctorate from Oxford University.He never served in the military,yet commands a lot of respect for his longtime dedication to civil service,national security expertise and forthright manner.
At his confirmation hearing before the Committee last week,Dr.Carter provided a summary of his views on the global challenges he is certain to face.Not only is our civilian infrastructure subject to cyber attack right now,but we have to be concerned about our military.One problem is the defence of our networks in DOD.That is not where it should be,if our forces should be engaged with an enemy.We're not anywhere near where we should be as a country.If people would understand how vulnerable we are in cyber space,they would clamour for more.
I certainly hope that we defeat ISIL quickly,but that won't be a lasting defeat.This is a movement that changes and morphs as it moves around the world.I think we need to be thinking about terrorism generally as a continuing threat to national security.They may not be thinking in the ISIL way;they may have something else-or nothing-on their minds.As you know,there are aberrant people out there.
You have to be thinking about the quality,not just the quantity of ships.I certainly think we are the paramount Navy in the world.That's one of the things that makes us a global power.I have a strong interest of maintaining not just the quality,but the quantity of ships as well.
The campaign in Afghanistan has been close to my heart.I've been there a number of times.If I'm confirmed and I ascertain,as the years go by,that we need to change the plan,I will recommend those changes to the President.Our end with regard to ISIL needs to be their lasting defeat.It's important that we have those on the ground there that make sure that once they are defeated,they stay defeated.I very much incline in the direction of supplying defensive arms to Ukraine.
I think that we have two immediate dangers in the Middle East.One is ISIL;and the other is Iran.We're in the early stage of building the force that will keep ISIL defeated.The issue looming over this is the role of Iran in the whole region.
I think it's important to retake territory with local forces on the ground as soon as e can sustain ISIL's defeat.It's important to get that territory back soon,because we don't want them to settle in,or for the people to settle in under their terrible regime.
The issues in the Middle East and Ukraine have developed since we formulated the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.It is,in my eyes,to continue the pivotal American stability role in that region that has allowed the South Korean miracle.While ISIL and Ukraine are terribly important in their own regard,we have to remember that one-half the population and half the economy of the world is in that region.We're adding ships,electronic warfare,a new bomber-we're buying new capabilities that aren't necessarily useful in Europe or the Middle East;but are in the Asia-Pacific.
I have a long history with the nuclear enterprise.Continuing quality and excellence in the nuclear enterprise is very important,and I am committed to that.
If I am confirmed,I will be confronting some of the most challenging national security problems in a very long time.I would say the world continues to pose challenges to the international order,and the US is indispensable to the solution of these challenges.I'm familiar with what we're doing in the Baltics.We are rotating forces in there to serve as a warning and a tripwire.If we are going to have the greatest military in the world.we can't move in 15-year increments.I think we are in a time where the number and severity of the risks is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life,Dr.Ashton B. Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Chuck Hagel will remain in the post until the full Senate approves his successor.
Update:Dr.Carter was confirmed by the full Senate with a 95-3 vote on 12 February.

Irregular Warfare:Rand Corporation Analyst on the Battle for Iraq

We don't have a clear strategy for Iraq right now,said Major Ben Connable,US Marine Corps Retired,International Policy Senior Analyst at the Rand Corporation.We have an ongoing military campaign.Several Iraqi divisions have collapsed,and several are near collapse in Anbar.What is it that the President wants to accomplish at the end of the campaign?Clarity would be very helpful to the US officers who are designing and implementing the campaign.*
Most of the Gulf countries' troops are designed for internal security and would be resented by the Iraqi people.A lot of these countries are providing bases,trainers and aircraft.An advisor is someone who is going in to advise commanders on what decisions to make in logistics,communications or as air controlers.*
The US Navy has a strong presence in Bahrain.It's a very touchy relationship with Iran.We have had a difficult relationship with them.They may already have a Quds force there advising Iraqi troops.The Jordanians have been tremendously helpful.The Emirates and Saudi have been very helpful.I know a lot of Iraqis who risked their lives to build a democratic state.*
There has been progress recently that has degraded the Islamic State and forced them to act in small groups,but if you kill or destroy the Islamic State,there has to be something that fills that void that we leave behind.Irregular warfare is incredibly difficult.Every decision is a tradeoff not leading to a clear victory.It frankly exceeds the capacity of the human mind to fully and completely understand the complexity of this scenario and a US military campaign:not understanding the crisis,you can't count them,and you don't know where they are;the Islamic State broke away from al Qaida;al Nusra is affiliated with al Qaida,but somewhat separate.If we do want to defeat and destroy the Islamic State,I don't know how we can do that without large US ground forces.Just through air power and advisors is extremely difficult,MAJ Connable observed.