U.S. General Says Raiding Syria Is Key to Halting ISIS
The New York Times reports that Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria cannot be defeated unless the U.S. and its allies attack ISIS positions in Syria.
“‘This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end-of-days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated,’ he said Thursday. ‘Can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization that resides in Syria? The answer is no.’”
The paper adds that despite the statement, “General Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who both spoke at a Pentagon news conference, gave no indication that President Obama was about to approve airstrikes in Syria. General Dempsey also was circumspect in describing the sort of broad effort that would be required to roll back ISIS in Syria and Iraq.”
He said: “It requires a variety of instruments, only one small part of which is airstrikes. I’m not predicting those will occur in Syria, at least not by the United States of America. But it requires the application of all of the tools of national power — diplomatic, economic, information, military.”
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s Channel 4 interviews Bouthaina Shabaan, a well-known adviser to the Syrian government, who sparked suggestions that the U.S. and President Bashar al-Assad could become allies in the fight against the Sunni militant group.
Western reactions to ISIS “are coming too little too late,” he told the network. “The whole world should be against ISIS.”
Syria Death Toll Tops 180,000
AFP reports that the death toll in the Syrian conflict has now climbed past 180,000.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-backed monitoring group, said it had documented the deaths of 58,805 civilians, including 9,428 children and 6,036 women. It also said 49,699 members of the opposition had died, including fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra. It did not break the figures down further. The new toll also includes 66,365 fighters aligned with the Syrian regime.
GlobalPost Releases Email from ISIS to Foley Family
Providing a rare window into communique from ISIS to the West, GlobalPost – the organization that employed James Foley – has released the full text of the letter his captors e-mailed his family the week before video surfaced of the freelance journalist being beheaded in the Syrian desert.
“A message to the American government and their sheep-like citizens: We have left you alone since your disgraceful defeat in Iraq. We did not interfere in your country or attack your citizens while they were safe in their homes despite our capability to do so!” the letter reads. “As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION’S DEN AND WHERE [sic] EATEN!”
The man who beheaded Foley spoke with a British accent. The Telegraph reports that more British Muslims – upwards of 1,500 – are now fighting in Syria than fight in the British armed forces.
Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team
Reuters: Syria Sees Islamist Threat Bringing Détente with West, But Not Anytime Soon.
Economist: Iraq, Syria and the Islamic State: A War that Crosses National Boundaries.
BBC Conflict: How the Syria Conflict Has Spread.
Foreign Policy: I was Gassed by Bashar al-Assad.