Raqqa , the de facto capital of the Islamic State ’s self - styled caliphate , are on hold because of tensions between Kurds and Arabs over who would participate and how to govern the city after it has been taken . The YPG has declared a breakaway federal region that does not include Raqqa , while U.S. plans to train and equip an Arab force to fight for the town are lagging . Likewise , preparations for an offensive for Mosul , the biggest city under Islamic State control , are being held up by disputes over who should take part and how to govern the northern Iraqi city after it falls .
And again , depending on where they 're captured , arrested , will determine how they go . But we always look for opportunities to capture individuals , to arrest them . There is a determination made whenever the U.S. government decides to conduct a direct action against individuals , that there is not the option to capturejustice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetainthem . And that calculus takes into account what the risks might be to the forces that would be used to capture . But as you well know , the U.S. military has engaged in some spectacular activities in terms of capturing individuals , and being able to bring them to an environment where they can be debriefed .
Our experience over two decades has shown unequivocally that the global terrorist threat can not be contained . It must be defeated , and it can not be defeated without strong , targeted and sustained offensive action . Trump rails frequently against the Iraq and Libya wars , but shows no understanding of what has actually worked well in counterterrorism strategy : intense and sustained Predator strikes , special operations raids and joint capturejustice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetainoperations , and mobilizing tribal resistance . When he says that he would cede Syria to Assad , Iran , Lebanese Hezbollah and Russia — a policy that would further alienate and weaken our Sunni allies in the region and allow global jihadis a continued sanctuary from which to plan attacks against the American homeland — he shows no appreciation for the larger strategic context in which counterterrorism strategy must operate in order to be effective . Trump ’s bluster about ordering our national security professionals to waterboard detainees and “ more ” is deeply troubling on multiple levels .
Palin : " They stomp on our neck , and then they tell us , ' Just chill , OK , just relax . ' Well , look , we are mad , and we 've been had . They need to get used to it ... Well , and then , funny , ha ha , not funny , but now , what they 're doing is wailing , ' Well , Trump and his Trumpeters , they 're not conservative enough ' .... And he , who would negotiate deals , kind of with the skills of a community organizer maybe organizing a neighborhood tea , well , he deciding that , ' No , America would apologize as part of the deal , ' as the enemy sends a message to the rest of the world that they capturemovement.transportartifact.preventexitand we kowtow , and we apologize , and then , we bend over and say , ' Thank you , enemy . ' " They share the same views on cultural assimilation Namely : they think immigrants should do it , or get out .
The shooting in broad daylight of Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev – a key Chechen Islamist figure who fought with an al - Qaida affiliate in Syria – is the latest in a series of audacious killings of enemies of the Russian state in the Turkish city Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev survived for years hiding in the Chechen mountains , launching attacks on Russian security forces and evading capturemovement.transportperson.preventexit. He survived the battlefields of Syria , and those of east Ukraine . But in November his life came to an abrupt end in a flurry of bullets : he was shot dead in broad daylight in Istanbul as he embarked on a shopping trip with his three - year - old niece .
They had been studying for their GCSEs at the school in Tower Hamlets , east London - where they have been described as " straight - A students " . Mr Akunjee said Kadiza had expressed a desire to return . He said : " The problem with that was the risk factors around leaving are quite terminal also , in that if ISIS [ IS ] were able to detect and capturemovement.transportperson.preventexityou then their punishment is quite brutal for trying to leave . " In the week where she was thinking of these issues a young Austrian girl had been caught trying to leave ISIS territory and was by all reports beaten to death publicly , so - given that that was circulated in the region as well as outside - I think Kadiza took that as a bad omen and decided not to take the risk . " Mr Akunjee added : " I think she found out pretty quickly that the propaganda does n't match up with the reality . "
The impending end of the Obama administration is likely to mean a hiatus in U.S. diplomacy while his successor , whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton , takes up the reins . ACCUSATIONS At the same time , pressure is rising for a halt to a ferocious , three - week - old Syrian government offensive to capturemovement.transportperson.preventexitthe eastern zone of the city of Aleppo , where the United Nations says 275,000 civilians still live and 8,000 rebels are holding out against Syrian , Russian and Iranian - backed forces . Western powers have accused Russia and Syria of committing atrocities by bombing hospitals , killing civilians and preventing medical evacuations , as well as targeting an aid convoy with the loss of around 20 lives . Syria and Russia counter that they are only targeting militants in Aleppo and accuse the United States of breaking the ceasefire by bombing scores of Syrian troops fighting Islamic State insurgents , over which the United States has expressed regret .
Trump has led nearly every reliable public poll of Republican primary voters in the Palmetto State for the past 200-plus days and I just do n't see that changing . As for who will finish second , the edge goes to Cruz over Rubio , given that South Carolina is 62 percent evangelical Christian on the Republican side and Cruz has invested more than any other candidate in the ground game . But should Rubio eclipse Cruz and capturemovement.transportartifact.preventexitthe silver medal , that would be an ominous sign for the senator from Texas with the " SEC primary " looming on the horizon ; also , the calls for Bush to exit the race will be deafening . O'Connell is the chairman of CivicForumPAC , worked on John McCain John McCainGOP defense spending battle delays Republican budget Otto Warmbier , US student held in North Korea for 17 months , dies What the next round of American military base closures will look like MORE 's 2008 presidential campaign and is author of the book " Hail Mary : The 10-Step Playbook for Republican Recovery . " NEVADA DEMOCRATIC CAUCUSES
The coalition " is about to cut off , by gunfire , the supply route into regime - controlled districts " of the city , Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said . The road , which passes through a southwestern suburb of Aleppo city called Ramussa , is the last open route into Aleppo city . If the rebels capturemovement.transportartifact.preventexitit , they would simultaneously cut off regime forces and open up a new road for their own besieged forces in the city 's east . The former Al - Nusra Front -- renamed Jabhat Fateh al - Sham after breaking from Al - Qaeda -- on Saturday announced having captured the two military academies and a third military position . State television , meanwhile , reported fighting in the three locations .
A nation that would n’t see civilian deaths as acceptable collateral damage from drone assassinations of suspected terrorists . That would n’t advocate and laugh at murder — even of admitted terrorists . You ’d expect something more along the lines of “ We tried our best to capturejustice.arrestjaildetain.arrestjaildetainhim alive so that we could bring him back to face justice starting with a fair trial , but , sadly , he died in a firefight . ” With a serious face , becoming of a Presumptive Future President . Not with a cackle that dismisses the value of human life , a value enshrined in the American conception of justice : innocent until proven guilty . Yep , Robert Gates ; Gang of Three ; Dick Cheney ( “ Vice”)—those are the Comrades with whom she shares her voluminous experience .