And how french movies are trying to grab a slice of the mumbai Film Festival. Well, turkish war planes head kurdistan workers and this is the first significant operation against the pkk since the launch of a Peace Process two years ago. While the pkk is a Kurdish Military organization that fought an almost 30year battle against the turkish government it wants autonomy in turkey but 2030 they went to the kurdistan region of northern iraq. The Iraqi Government meanwhile accused of allowing war crimes to happen in the fight against Islamic State in iraq and lavant and Amnesty International say groups with government backing are using guise of fighting terrorism to make revenge attack on sunni and sierra armed groups have carried out what it calls execution style killings and families paying 10s of thousands in ran some and once the money is handed over many hostages are still killed and the crimes are fueling a dangerous cycle with sierra fighters exempt from punishment. My rack cherokees
September 11 and iraq to prosecute the action and as the president stated the new prolonged military campaign. So first of all did you agree that we should be pursuing a new aumf . We should be presenting the new aumf. Its a java revision for the use of military force should be specific and include a authority to authority to go after individuals and organizations fighting for or on behalf of isis and limited trade reasonable timeframe to propose the largescale combat mission that we saw in iraq in 2003 to 2011. Do you agree those are appropriate to address the specific threat . Without negotiating the specifics, it would be appropriate. Weve had an opportunity to discuss them and it would be the basis for developing a new aumf. Of the committee the committee has taken a forward leaning basis about something that is financially and also us and weapons. We are going to provoke the russians. I dont think they need much provoking and we need to be acting without provocation when they deba
Are not simply putting out the fires. We also have to think longterm, it seems to me, or we are in for a 100year war. Exactly right, sir. This morning at an open meeting, nsa director rogers said there should be no doubt in our mind that our nation states and groups with the capability festa to forestall our ability to operator basic infrastructure whether it is generating power or moving water and fuel. How concerned are you about terrorist groups using their capacity for what i call hackers for hire to attacker infrastructure . How serious is this cyberattack threat . I would agree with the nsa director in what he said this morning. As i understand it, the threat he is referring to is more acute from state actors that present them for an individual terrace or establish terrorists. Isil has shown a pretty good capability with the internet. Exactly. Certainly one they aspire and exercise. And so, knowing that, we are looking for ways to be ahead of them in our ability to defend her inf
Include isil or assad, as you stated in your testimony and that relying on moderate rebels to defeat them both and usher in a political settlement, will the assad regime being supported by iran and russia as they are and with isil being so well financed, how will a group of rebels be able to defeat them both . And what would they need in order to accomplish that goal . The administration doesnt have a comprehensive policy to deal with all of the threats in iraq and syria and iran, nor does it seem to want one. These arent realistic plans that can truly destroy isil, can defeat al news ra and defeat the assad regime. We havent even begun the train and equip mission and were about a year away from even standing that minimal force up, if ever at all. Is that the case . Where are we with that mission, sir . In my testimony, i did focus on the concern about the militias and Prime Ministers batty to reign those in, all armed groups within the structures of state. I also focussed on the desir
Or second us a tweet at comments. Like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. Now on efforts to combat isis in iraq and syria. Deputy mckirk testified before the House Foreign Affairs committee about the obama administrations strategy and efforts to build a more Effective National government in iraq. This is two hours and ten minutes. This hearing will come to order, i will ask those in the audience to take their skates at this time. This morning we welcome back ambassador mcgirk who was one of the few sounding the itsis alar as early as you did. We were having hearings last february to discuss the need to use airpower to turn back isis. After four months of the u. S. Led air campaign in iraq and in syria, isis still controls essentially the same amount of territory than it did in the summer. And one of the reasons for this in my opinion is the limited nature of this effort. We have conducted only about 1,000 air strikes to date, to date. Now if you if you compared that to when Saddam H