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I the town of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border falls, thousands of people will be slaughtered, which is tragic, Graham said. But beyond the humanitarian disaster, there are national security risks for the United States: "[T]he stronger they get over there, the more endangered we are here. President Obama's strategy of half-measures is making it much more likely that America will be hit by another terror attack. "If they take Kobani, they will be able to recruit more and more jihadists from Europe and other places. They can come back here and strike us at home. His strategy of air attacks is not working. His insistence not have boots on the ground is a death blow to our efforts to destroy ISIL and, quite frankly, puts our country very much at risk," Graham told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren.
On Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters, "We've been nothing but brutally honest about the fact that there is a limit to what military power is going to do here." He said "competent ground forces" are needed to deny safe haven to ISIS "over the long haul." Asked if he expects Kobani and other Syrian towns to fall to ISIS, Adm. John Kirby said, "I think we all should be steeling ourselves for that eventuality, yes." Graham said he can't belive Obama is not reacting "more forcefully." He also said he's "very disappointed" in Turkey, which has done very little to combat ISIS/ISIL, even as the terrorists appeared on the Turkish border in Kobani. "I'm very disappointed in Turkey. But here's the problem. Syria is a disaster. Complete disaster. Here is what Turkey understands. If Assad stays in power, then Syria will continue to be a failed state. There is no way the Syrian people will accept a Syria where Assad controls part of it. Turkey is reluctant to get involved with the ISIL problem until they see a clear commitment from us to give the Syrians a fresh start by removing Assad."
ISIS Flag
Graham said Turkey has allowed foreign fighters, including some from the U.S. and other Western nations to go into Syria to fight with ISIS. "Turkey is a symptom of a greater problem," he said. "Nobody in the region is following Barack Obama because they are not sure if he is committed to success and to winning." Graham noted that Turkey is a NATO nation. "They have tanks within just a couple miles of this town (Kobani). It is stunning that they won't go in to help the people on the other side of the border. But I think the root cause of this problem is that our allies are not sure about America, and our enemies are no longer afraid of America. And that is a formula for disaster."
At Wednesday's Pentagon briefing, Adm. Kirbey said the U.S. approach to Turkey is to wait for contributions: "We're not coming at them with specific requests...or demands. It's a coalition of the willing, so we need to be willing to let people contribute what they can, and that's what our expectation and our hope is for Turkey." Kirby said Turkey has a "competent, professional military," and their own interests are at stake: "They know that. They've expressed that to us. And we are having active consultations and discussions with them about what their participation would look like in form and character and in speed. But we're not making demands of them. We're not coming at them with a specific ask."
Even former President Jimmy Carter thinks the U.S. "waited too long" to respond to ISIS/ISIL. "We let the Islamic state build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria,” Carter told the Fort worth Star-Telegram. “Then when [ISIS] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn’t object to their being there, and about a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned.” Carter also told the newspaper that ground troops are essential to success in destroying ISIS/ISIL: “If we keep on working in Iraq and have some ground troops to follow up when we do our bombing, there is a possibility of success,” he said. Asked about Carter's criticism of Obama's anti-ISIS efforts, Graham said, "I don't know when you hit bottom in foreign policy, but when you are being criticized by Jimmy Carter, you are pretty damn close."
Graham on ISIS The Stronger They Get Over There The More Endangered We Are Here CNS News
"Kobani could be taken. We recognize that," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters. "We're doing everything we can from the air to try to halt the momentum of ISIL against that town," he added, using a common acronym for the Islamic State group. "Air power is not going to be alone enough to save that city." Kirby said Pentagon officials are not planning to ask President Barack Obama to commit ground forces to the fight inside Syria. The U.S. and partner countries, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria under Obama's order to degrade and destroy the group. But administration officials have cautioned that the going will be slow.
"We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages — and perhaps Kobani — will be taken by ISIL," Kirby said, adding that the key to eventually defeating the militants is to train and enable indigenous ground forces. "We don't have a force inside Syria that we can cooperate with and work with," Kirby said. That is why the administration is planning to train and arm 5,000 moderate opposition Syrian fighters at sites elsewhere in the Middle East and then insert them back into Syria to take on Islamic State forces, Kirby said.
Kirby said there are mixed reports about how many Islamic State militants pulled back from the town under pressure from the air. Airstrikes hit six locations around Kobani on Tuesday. Eight airstrikes destroyed or damaged targets near Kobani on Wednesday, including armed vehicles, a supply depot, a command and control compound, a logistics compound, and eight occupied barracks, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
It appeared that Kurdish militia continued to control most of the city and were holding out against the militants, Central Command said. Obama went to the Pentagon on Wednesday to consult with military leaders on progress in the campaign to counter the Islamic State group. The office of Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he will host a meeting Oct. 14 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with his counterparts from about 20 of the countries that have joined the U.S. in combating the Islamic State group.
US Admits Airpower Alone Not Enough to Save Kobani CNS News
Your link isn't working. Takes me to just a yahoo news page.ISIS advance in Iraq forces Gulf donors to rethink their patronage
Looks like with the victories in Iraq, ISIS is starting to get funding from people who previously opposed it.
Generals have been stating that we will have to put boots on the ground to destroy ISIS/ISIL.......The current administrations goal is that "We Will DESTROY ISIS"............Military commanders have been ordered to Destroy them, but then they are not allowed to do what they know is necessary to do so........Air strikes will take a toll on ISIS, but it will not win a War. Iraqi forces are getting their collective asses kicked. They are an INEPT fighting force and most of them deserted from the get go.Granny says, "Dat's right - dey gonna take over the world an' come over here...
Graham on ISIS: 'The Stronger They Get Over There, The More Endangered We Are Here'
October 9, 2014 - President Obama's air strikes on ISIS targets are "not containing or degrading ISIS in any significant way," and that puts America at risk, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Wednesday.
I the town of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border falls, thousands of people will be slaughtered, which is tragic, Graham said. But beyond the humanitarian disaster, there are national security risks for the United States: "[T]he stronger they get over there, the more endangered we are here. President Obama's strategy of half-measures is making it much more likely that America will be hit by another terror attack. "If they take Kobani, they will be able to recruit more and more jihadists from Europe and other places. They can come back here and strike us at home. His strategy of air attacks is not working. His insistence not have boots on the ground is a death blow to our efforts to destroy ISIL and, quite frankly, puts our country very much at risk," Graham told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren.
On Wednesday, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters, "We've been nothing but brutally honest about the fact that there is a limit to what military power is going to do here." He said "competent ground forces" are needed to deny safe haven to ISIS "over the long haul." Asked if he expects Kobani and other Syrian towns to fall to ISIS, Adm. John Kirby said, "I think we all should be steeling ourselves for that eventuality, yes." Graham said he can't belive Obama is not reacting "more forcefully." He also said he's "very disappointed" in Turkey, which has done very little to combat ISIS/ISIL, even as the terrorists appeared on the Turkish border in Kobani. "I'm very disappointed in Turkey. But here's the problem. Syria is a disaster. Complete disaster. Here is what Turkey understands. If Assad stays in power, then Syria will continue to be a failed state. There is no way the Syrian people will accept a Syria where Assad controls part of it. Turkey is reluctant to get involved with the ISIL problem until they see a clear commitment from us to give the Syrians a fresh start by removing Assad."
ISIS Flag
Graham said Turkey has allowed foreign fighters, including some from the U.S. and other Western nations to go into Syria to fight with ISIS. "Turkey is a symptom of a greater problem," he said. "Nobody in the region is following Barack Obama because they are not sure if he is committed to success and to winning." Graham noted that Turkey is a NATO nation. "They have tanks within just a couple miles of this town (Kobani). It is stunning that they won't go in to help the people on the other side of the border. But I think the root cause of this problem is that our allies are not sure about America, and our enemies are no longer afraid of America. And that is a formula for disaster."
At Wednesday's Pentagon briefing, Adm. Kirbey said the U.S. approach to Turkey is to wait for contributions: "We're not coming at them with specific requests...or demands. It's a coalition of the willing, so we need to be willing to let people contribute what they can, and that's what our expectation and our hope is for Turkey." Kirby said Turkey has a "competent, professional military," and their own interests are at stake: "They know that. They've expressed that to us. And we are having active consultations and discussions with them about what their participation would look like in form and character and in speed. But we're not making demands of them. We're not coming at them with a specific ask."
Even former President Jimmy Carter thinks the U.S. "waited too long" to respond to ISIS/ISIL. "We let the Islamic state build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria,” Carter told the Fort worth Star-Telegram. “Then when [ISIS] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn’t object to their being there, and about a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned.” Carter also told the newspaper that ground troops are essential to success in destroying ISIS/ISIL: “If we keep on working in Iraq and have some ground troops to follow up when we do our bombing, there is a possibility of success,” he said. Asked about Carter's criticism of Obama's anti-ISIS efforts, Graham said, "I don't know when you hit bottom in foreign policy, but when you are being criticized by Jimmy Carter, you are pretty damn close."
Graham on ISIS The Stronger They Get Over There The More Endangered We Are Here CNS News
See also:
US Admits: Airpower Alone Not Enough to Save Kobani
October 8, 2014 WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and coalition airstrikes have forced some Islamic State militants out of the Syrian border town of Kobani, but it may yet fall under the extremists' control because air power alone cannot prevent it, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.
"Kobani could be taken. We recognize that," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters. "We're doing everything we can from the air to try to halt the momentum of ISIL against that town," he added, using a common acronym for the Islamic State group. "Air power is not going to be alone enough to save that city." Kirby said Pentagon officials are not planning to ask President Barack Obama to commit ground forces to the fight inside Syria. The U.S. and partner countries, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been bombing Islamic State targets in Syria under Obama's order to degrade and destroy the group. But administration officials have cautioned that the going will be slow.
"We all need to prepare ourselves for the reality that other towns and villages — and perhaps Kobani — will be taken by ISIL," Kirby said, adding that the key to eventually defeating the militants is to train and enable indigenous ground forces. "We don't have a force inside Syria that we can cooperate with and work with," Kirby said. That is why the administration is planning to train and arm 5,000 moderate opposition Syrian fighters at sites elsewhere in the Middle East and then insert them back into Syria to take on Islamic State forces, Kirby said.
Kirby said there are mixed reports about how many Islamic State militants pulled back from the town under pressure from the air. Airstrikes hit six locations around Kobani on Tuesday. Eight airstrikes destroyed or damaged targets near Kobani on Wednesday, including armed vehicles, a supply depot, a command and control compound, a logistics compound, and eight occupied barracks, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
It appeared that Kurdish militia continued to control most of the city and were holding out against the militants, Central Command said. Obama went to the Pentagon on Wednesday to consult with military leaders on progress in the campaign to counter the Islamic State group. The office of Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he will host a meeting Oct. 14 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with his counterparts from about 20 of the countries that have joined the U.S. in combating the Islamic State group.
US Admits Airpower Alone Not Enough to Save Kobani CNS News
Here's what every caliphate apparently needs: its own money, so Islamic State leaders plan to mint their own gold, silver and copper coins. The decision aims to remove Muslims from the "tyrant's financial system" and a global monetary operation "based on satanic usury," said a statement by the Islamic State's Beit al Mal, or treasury, and posted on websites used by jihadist movements. The exchange rate of the new currency — which will consist of seven coins — and where it can be found will be spelled out in a future statement.
The Islamic State plans to issue two gold, two copper and three silver coins featuring images including a mosque, a crescent moon, wheat, a shield and a spear
Unlike many other radical movements, which often rely on financing from the outside, the Islamic State is largely self-funded, raising money from oil, ransom, taxes, stolen artifact sales and thefts from banks and jewelry stores. "This is the wealthiest terrorist organization that the world has ever known, and so with that kind of money ... what's the potential?" former U.S. Treasury undersecretary Jimmy Gurule wondered on CNN. The difficulty is that "you can't just put that money in shoe boxes," he added. "It has to enter into the financial system at some point. I think the Treasury needs to be focusing on banks — banks in Qatar for example, and in Kuwait — that may be the recipients."
Leaders likely consider the currency one more sign that the organization meets an important requirement to be an independent state. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ordered the coins to be circulated, and the group's shoura council approved the measure, according to the statement.
Islamic State minting own currency - UPI.com
David Cohen, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury Department, told lawmakers Thursday that oil sales that used to net IS $1 million a day have been slashed to a few million dollars a week — a significant difference when it comes to maintaining a fighting force of 30,000 or more. “We have information that they pay their fighters about $1,000 a month," Cohen said. "That comes to $360 million a year in just the expenses for fighters.” Cohen said IS also needs vast amounts of money to govern and provide services in territory it is trying to hold.
But lawmakers like New Mexico Republican Representative Steve Pearce question why more is not being done. “You know which oil fields are under the control [of IS]," Pearce said. "I wonder why you are not stopping the oil today. ... Now, you can either blow up the tanks, you can blow up the trucks or you can blow up the connection between the two.”
'Shocked and surprised'
Democrat Maxine Waters of California, her party's ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, said she also was worried that U.S. intelligence efforts were still lacking. “Many of us were shocked and surprised that we appeared to know so little about ISIS (ISIL) when the information finally reached public view,” she said. Cohen countered that "I do think we have good information. We need better information. But we are not, by any means, completely blind to how ISIL is raising its funds.” Cohen cautioned that eating away at the Islamic State’s “substantial wealth” will take “time and patience.” It will also take help from officials in Iraq and other countries in the region, like Qatar and Kuwait, where illicit money has been known to change hands.
Laws not enforced
Matthew Levitt, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that would not be as easy to obtain. “Mostly, these are countries that have passed fantastic laws," Levitt said. "But when you get them privately and you ask them, 'This is a great law, 3.1 — have you ever implemented it?' 'No.' 'Have you ever used it?' 'No.' " There are also concerns about the amount of money IS has generated through kidnappings and ransoms — at least $20 million this year — and the money Islamic State fighters have taken at gunpoint as they extend control over new territory.
US Official Says Islamic State Overreaching on Finances
