[The US has for the first time commenced using its too formidable air power to hit the ISIS (and the Khorasan, reportedly an affiliate of the al Qaeda and at the moment engaged in bitter battles against the ISIS on ground) strongholds within Syria, going beyond the territorial confines of Iraq, in association with some of its regional allies, viz. Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, early Tuesday morning local time. Being very much aware of the legal implications involved in the absence of any request from the internationally recognised government of Syria, or any UNSC authorisation, and its consequent political fallout, it had already written to the UNSC Secy. General invoking Article 51 of the U.N. Charter in order to rationalise its action in legal terms. Apparently, it had also kept the Iranian and the Assad regimes in the loop. But that was all.
To sum up, while no one expects the campaign to be anything less than long drawn out and pretty much bloody, the airstrikes can only supplement an effective combat force on the ground, it cannot just supplant it. And, the success or otherwise of the operation will also critically hinge on the success of luring the Sunni tribal, and other, groups away from the camp of the ISIS while retaining the support of the Shia, the Kurds and other minorities in the region.] I/III. http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/23/us-arab-coalition-attack-isis-in-syria U.S., Arab Coalition Attack ISIS in Syria Drones, bombers, fighters target Islamic State group while U.S. also begins strikes against a deadly al-Qaida offshoot.In this video screengrab, missiles bound for Islamic State group targets in Syria are launched off a U.S. Navy ship on Tuesday. Officials said the airstrikes began around 8:30 p.m. EDT Monday and were conducted by the U.S., Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. By Paul D. Shinkman <http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/paul_d_shinkman> Sept. 23, 2014 | 8:40 a.m. EDT The U.S. and a group of five Arab nations began airstrikes against Islamic extremist targets in Syria late Monday, following through on President Barack Obama's promise to expand the war against the Islamic State group while also targeting a separate insurgent network there believed to be a direct threat to the U.S. homeland. A mix of American fighters, bombers and drones, along with ships operating in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf bearing Tomahawk cruise missiles, began targeting key Islamic State group strongholds in Syria, including Raqqa, Dayr az Zawr, al Hasakah and Abu Kamal late Monday. In all, 14 strikes were conducted by aircraft from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The USS Arleigh Burke and USS Philippine Sea launched 47 Tomahawks. In this video screengrab posted on an activist social media account early Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, an explosion hits the village of Kfar Derian, Syria. An explosion hits the village of Kfar Derian, Syria, in this video screengrab posted on an activist social media account early Tuesday. Also participating in the strikes were the militaries of Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Arab participation was a key component in the plan Obama first outlined earlier in September to fight the Islamic State group, which he said would only be successful if other predominantly Muslim countries denounced the group's hard line brand of Islam and shared the burdens of war with the U.S. The American military, under the authority of U.S. Central Command, continued its ongoing attacks against the Islamic State group in Iraq on Monday, bringing the total strikes carried out this year in the former U.S. war zone up to 194. [ALSO: Obama Forges Coalition to Battle Extremists] The new offensive in Syria included U.S. attacks against the Khorasan Group, an extremist network the Pentagon says is comprised of "seasoned al-Qaida veterans," who have established a safe haven in Syria. The Pentagon said in a statement it had disrupted an "imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests." The Khorasan Group has used its base in Syria to develop external attacks, build and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to carry out these operations. U.S. warplanes operating under CENTCOM carried out eight strikes against this group in training camps near the Syrian city of Aleppo. A Twitter user in the city of Raqqa began live-tweeting some of the events as they unfolded late Monday. The airstrikes were concentrated near government buildings, he said, observing "the sky is full of drones over Raqqa now." *Vox News first reported these tweets.* [For tweets, go to the site. Could not be copied/pasted.] It remains unclear whether the Syrian regime under President Bashar Assad followed through on his threats of retaliation of the U.S. violated Syrian airspace and began conducting strikes there. Syrian air defenses are considered among the most advanced in the world. But Washington did inform Syria's U.N. envoy of the pending strikes, according to The Associated Press. The Pentagon said all coalition aircraft participating in Monday's strikes exited Syrian airspace safely. In a seemingly unrelated event, the Israeli military says it shot down a Syrian fighter jet over Israel early Tuesday morning. There are as many as 30,000 Islamic State group fighters according to some government estimates. The group began as al-Qaida in Iraq and was chased out of the country during the Iraq War. It fled to Syria where it rearmed and regrouped, and began a sweeping advance across the Syrian border toward Baghdad earlier this year, catching Western governments by surprise. Following U.S. strikes and ground attacks by Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, the extremist fighters have largely retreated into urban centers, such as Fallujah and Mosul, where fighting continues. Part of Obama's plan includes relocating Syrian rebel fighters, weary from more than three years of a brutal civil war against Assad, to training bases in Saudi Arabia to become a more advanced and well-organized militia. The vetting process for selecting the rebels to train could take as long as 5 months, Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said last week. The subsequent training could take as long as a year. The Defense Department estimates it may be able to produce 5,000 trained Syrian fighters each year once the process starts. II/III. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/23/world/meast/isis-airstrikes/ 'The Turk' is dead: Al Qaeda-linked terror group says leader died in Syria airstrikes By *Chelsea J. Carter <https://twitter.com/ChelseaCNN>**, Elise Labott *and *Jim Sciutto*, CNN September 24, 2014 -- Updated 0912 GMT (1712 HKT) *(CNN) *-- The United States is doing what it must to "take the fight to terrorists," leading a coalition of Arab nations in a series of airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State terror group in Syria, U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday. At the same time, the United States took action -- on its own -- against another terrorist organization, the Khorasan Group. Obama described its members as "seasoned al Qaeda operatives in Syria." U.S. officials said the group was plotting attacks against the United States and other Western targets. The plots against the United States were discovered by the intelligence community in the past week, an intelligence source with knowledge of the matter told CNN. The source did not say what the target may have been, but said the plot potentially involved a bomb made of a nonmetallic device like a toothpaste container or clothes dipped in explosive material. A plot involving concealed bombs on airplanes "was just one option they were looking at," a U.S. official said. "Once again, it must be clear to anyone who would plot against America and try to do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people," Obama said in televised remarks from the White House. Concern over a possible backlash by the terror groups has prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to issue a bulletin warning law enforcement agencies to be on heightened alert for lone-wolf terror attacks on U.S. soil in wake of the airstrikes, a U.S. law enforcement official with knowledge of the warning told CNN. The bulletin calls for vigilance as well as scrutinizing social media for anyone encouraging violence in response to the strikes, according to a U.S. law enforcement official with knowledge of the warning's contents. It points to the use of social media as a tactic by ISIS to spread its message and call for violence. It also advises agencies to look for changes in appearance or behavior in those they're tracking, the official said. *Terror group: 'Turk' is dead* The airstrikes, meanwhile, appear to have taken a toll on another terror group, killing the leader of the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, according to a statement released by the group. It identified the leader as Abu Yousef al-Turki, also known as "The Turk." The al-Nusra statement posted on Twitter was accompanied by a so-called proof-of-death -- a photograph -- of the former fighter. CNN cannot independently verify al-Nusra's claims, but the monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the terror group was among those targeted during the airstrikes. The United States has not identified al-Nusra as a group targeted in the strikes. The airstrikes that began early Tuesday morning local time "were only the beginning," Pentagon spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said. He declined to comment about future military operations. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan took part in airstrikes on ISIS targets, the U.S. military said. Qatar played a supporting role, the U.S. military said. Saying he "made clear that America would act as part of a broad coalition," Obama said: "That's exactly what we've done." "The strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America's fight alone," the President said. Obama met hours later with officials from the five Arab nations who make up the coalition. There was an a strong agreement that "the campaign against ISIS was a long-term one and they were all in it for the long haul," a senior State Department official with knowledge of the meeting said. "Everyone at the table agreed there are times in the world when you need to take a stand," the official said on condition of anonymity. But Syria warned the United States not to repeat the "American fiasco in Iraq by undertaking the same kind of blind military attacks," Bashar Ja'afari, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN. What is the Khorasan Group? *Strikes came in three waves* The airstrikes came in three waves, with coalition partners participating in the latter two, Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville Jr. said Tuesday. The first wave, which mostly targeted the Khorasan Group, started at 3:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. ET Monday) and involved U.S. ships firing missiles into eastern and northern Syria. The second wave, 30 minutes later, involved planes striking northern Syria, with targets including ISIS headquarters, training camps and combat vehicles. The third wave, begun shortly after 7 a.m., involved planes targeting ISIS training camps and combat vehicles in eastern Syria, Mayville said. It's too early to say what effect the U.S. strikes had against the Khorasan Group, Mayville said. Maps: Arab nations join U.S., expand fight against terror to Syria The airstrikes against ISIS focused primarily on the city of Raqqa, the declared capital of ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State. The operation began with a flurry of Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea, followed by attacks from bomber and fighter aircraft, a senior U.S. military official told CNN. The goal: Taking out ISIS' ability to command, train and resupply its militants. In all, 200 pieces of ordnance were dropped by coalition members, and four dozen aircraft were used, a U.S. official told CNN. About 150 weapons used were precision-guided munitions. The United States fired 47 Tomahawk missiles, eight of them against Khorasan targets. The strikes marked the first time the United States used F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft in a combat role. The military has previously run into problems with the aircraft. The number of casualties was not immediately clear. But U.S. Central Command said the strikes damaged or destroyed ISIS targets including fighters, training compounds, command-and-control facilities, a finance center and supply trucks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 70 ISIS militants were killed and more than 300 were wounded. But CNN and other news outlets were unable to confirm the figures. *Celebration amid fear* For months, civilians in Raqqa have been living under the harsh rule of ISIS after militants took over their city, which had been one of Syria's most liberal cities. The group now controls much of their lives, imposing a strict brand of Sharia law and doling out barbaric punishments, such as beheadings and crucifixions. Abo Ismail, an opposition activist inside Raqqa, said Tuesday that residents were elated to see the U.S. attacking ISIS targets there. But at the same time, he said, ISIS has increased security in the city. "I would dance in the streets, but I am too afraid," Ismail said. A U.S. intelligence official said that while law enforcement is aware the airstrikes against ISIS in Syria could incite a response, there is no evidence to suggest any terrorist strike is in the works against the United States. The inclusion of Sunni-majority countries fighting a radical Sunni militant group sends a strong message, former CIA counterterrorism official Philip Mudd said. "Prominent religious leaders have said ISIS is not representative of Islam, and now you have countries that are coming to the fore to attack it," he said. Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi welcomed news of the coalition airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, so long as they "do it right this time." While he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour it was good some Arab nations joined the fight, he said he wished they had understood and acted on the danger posed by ISIS sooner. "We have warned ... this is going to end in a bloodbath if nobody stops it," he said. "Nobody was listening." *Rouhani: No legal basis for airstrikes* Iran lashed out at the air campaign. Meeting with journalists at the United Nations, where world leaders are gathering for the General Assembly this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there was no legal basis for the strikes without U.N. authorization or an invitation from the Syrian government. But U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken told CNN that a number of countries, including Iran, were told the United States would be taking action. "We obviously didn't say exactly when or where. We wanted to make sure that nobody got in our way," he said. The United States defended its actions in a letter to the U.N. secretary-seneral, invoking Article 51 of the U.N. charter -- acting when a country is unwilling or unable to handle a threat itself. "The Syrian regime has shown that it cannot and will not confront these safe havens effectively itself," Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., wrote in a letter obtained by CNN. "Accordingly, the United States has initiated necessary and proportionate military actions in Syria." III. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-syria-airstrikes-continue-near-iraq-turkey-borders/ CBS/APSeptember 24, 2014, 6:38 AM ISIS on the move as airstrikes continue Last Updated Sep 24, 2014 7:48 AM EDT *BEIRUT *-- Syrian activists said aircraft conducted at least 10 strikes early Wednesday on suspected Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS <http://www.cbsnews.com/iraq-crisis/>) positions in an eastern town near the Iraqi border, and separately near Syria's northern border with Turkey. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it was not immediately clear who carried out the air raids Wednesday in and around Boukamal (also known as Abu Kamal), in ISIS' stronghold in eastern Syria But the Observatory cited locals as saying the intensity of the air raids was similar to that of strikes on the town early Tuesday by the U.S.-led military coalition <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-the-arab-coalition-against-isis-in-syria-came-together/>. CBS News' David Martin reported Wednesday that the U.S. had carried out at least one strike overnight on a staging area near the Iraqi border, in the vicinity of Boukamal. There was no immediate comment from America's Arab allies as to whether any of their aircraft had take[n] part in operations in the area, which could explain the higher number of strikes reported in the area by the Syrian Observatory. Boukamal is located on the Syria-Iraq border. ISIS, which is also known as ISIL and which calls itself simply the "Islamic State," controls both sides of the frontier. [Site map at original site.] To the north, along the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory said local sources had reported airstrikes near the town of Kobani by planes flying into the area from the Turkish side. The reports could not be confirmed and Turkey denied any use of bases in its territory. There were also reports of strikes against ISIS positions to the east of Aleppo on Wednesday morning, but again it was unclear who might be carrying them out. Kurdish forces have been battling ISIS militants trying to advance on Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, and the leader of those forces told Reuters on Wednesday that the militants had received reinforcements from further south in Syria. "The number of their fighters has increased, the number of their tanks has increased since the bombardment of Raqqa," Ocalan Iso told Reuters in a telephone interview. Play Video U.S., Arab aircraft attack ISIS targets in Syria Play Video How will airstrikes impact Syria, and President Obama? 16 Photos Syrian refugees flood into Turkey He said ISIS was reinforcing its positions around Kobani with fighters and hardware moved up to the border from Raqqa -- the militant group's base of operations and one of the areas hit hard by U.S. and allied Arab nations' airstrikes the previous day. "Kobani is in danger," Iso told Reuters, calling for the U.S. and its allies to lend their air power to help defend the city. Reporting Wednesday from inside Turkey, just across the border from Kobani, CBS News' Holly Williams said residents speaking to her by telephone said ISIS was shelling the outskirts of the town. More than 130,000 Syrian refugees have already streamed over the border into Turkey in recent days, trading the threat from ISIS for the hard conditions of makeshift camps inside mosques and schools. Williams reported that the United Nations fears as many as 400,000 refugees could try and pour into Turkey [if] Kobani falls to the militants. The regrouping and redeployment of jihadist assets was predicted Wednesday by the U.S. military commander in charge of the strikes in Syria. Martin reported that Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Operations Lt. Gen. William Mayville made no secret of the fact that the first night of U.S. strikes would not be the last. "You are seeing the beginnings of a sustained campaign and strikes like this in the future can be expected," he told reporters at the Pentagon. American officials expect ISIS, and the other group targeted by U.S. missiles this week, the al Qaeda unit known as "Khorasan," to try and adapt quickly to the new military pressure from the air. "They are a learning organization and they will adapt to what we've done and seek to address their shortfalls and gaps against our air campaign in the coming weeks," said Mayville of Khorasan, which was targeted further to the west in Syria, in the Idlib province west of the sprawling city of Aleppo. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
