Syrian activists: At least 10 airstrikes overnight on ISIS in eastern Syria (AP)
In the News
- Officials: Khorasan plot involved planes
- Plot had reached advanced stages
- U.S. carrying out most strikes on ISIS
- Complicated: Obama & Iraq war authorization
- Admin sought to rescind the same law
- Are pols going to vote?
- WH intruder:5 rings of protection failed!
- HHS sec: Obamacare is working (really)
- Ebola cases: 1.4m in 4 months?
Obama Speaks to UN Today
• President Obama is scheduled to address more than 140 heads of state and govt gathered for the 69th annual UN General Assembly this morning. Obama will cast the U.S. as the linchpin in efforts to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria, admin officials said (AP, Time, me)
• Obama is addressing the UN as a commander in chief overseeing a war against militants in two Middle Eastern nations. The U.S. launched more strikes against ISIS in Syria overnight
• Officials said Obama will also address ways the U.S. has sought to mobilize international action to resolve the Ukraine and Ebola crises as well, including getting deepening economic sanctions on Russia and dispatching 3,000 U.S. troops to West Africa to help deal with the Ebola outbreak
• But the growing U.S. military role in the Middle East will be the centerpiece of the president’s sixth address to the UN General Assembly. It comes at a time when Obama had hoped to be nearing the end of the second of the two wars he inherited in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Obama will also hold his first one-on-one meeting today with new Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi. Later today, Obama will convene an unusual meeting of the Security Council, during which members were expected to adopt a resolution that would require all countries to prevent the recruitment and transport of would-be foreign fighters prepared to join terrorist groups
Officials: Khorasan Plot Involved Planes
• AG Eric Holder told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric Tuesday that President Obama ordered American airstrikes against the Khorasan Group in Syria because the shadowy al Qaeda offshoot was close to launching attacks on the U.S. or its allies. The group’s plotting led to a tightening of air travel restrictions this summer, Holder said
• U.S. officials said that the Khorasan terror plot involved American and European aircraft. Holder didn’t confirm that but linked the group directly to Homeland Security Sec Jeh Johnson’s decision in July to forbid uncharged cellphones, laptops and other electronic devices on some U.S.-bound flights originating overseas (Yahoo, AP, NYT, TRNS, WSJ, me)
• Khorasan comprises “seasoned” or “veteran” al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, according to U.S. officials. It’s thought to be led by Muhsin al-Fadhli, a Kuwaiti who was so close to Osama bin Laden that he was told about the terror strikes of 9/11 before they happened. Al-Fadhli is/was in his early 30s
• The group has ties to notorious Yemeni bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri, who’s part of al Qaeda’s branch there, AQAP. Asiri is believed to be responsible for making the underwear bomb used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in 2009. Khorasan also has ties to the Nusra Front
• Members of the group converged on Syria, forged links with militant rebel groups and worked to enlist Westerners, including Americans, for “external operations” – attacks made possible by the new recruits’ European or U.S. passports. Its members were “constructing and testing IEDs,” one official said
Plot Had Reached Advanced Stages
• “We were monitoring active plotting that posed an imminent threat to the U.S. and potentially our allies,” one senior official told reporters at a background briefing. U.S. officials had picked up intel that the plot to attack Western aircraft had reached advanced stages and “there were timetables on it,” one official said
• Several officials said Khorasan had an advanced plan for an attack involving a bomb that could pass undetected through airport security systems, perhaps by lacing nonmetallic objects like toothpaste tubes and clothes with explosive material, though officials offered no details in public – and no specifics on when
• It was this intel that led to Monday night’s strike. The strikes also targeted al-Fadhli. Senior admin officials expressed hope that they’d killed him. Extremists writing on Twitter were mourning him
• The comments Tuesday about a possible imminent attack by Khorasan were especially striking since they appeared to contradict repeated assurances from senior U.S. govt officials in recent weeks denying there was any specific or credible info about any plots against U.S. soil
• Amid concern in Washington that the group could recruit Americans, Holder said that the U.S. and its allies would soon unveil a new approach to tagging potential terrorist threats among citizens returning home after fighting alongside jihadis overseas
• “The strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America’s fight alone,” President Obama said Tuesday in brief remarks on the South Lawn (TRNS)
U.S. Carrying Out Most Strikes on ISIS
• Lt Gen William Mayville Jr, director of operations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that the majority of strikes were carried out in Syria by American warplanes and cruise missiles, with the aim of hindering the ability of ISIS to cross the border into Iraq and attack Iraqi forces: “buying them some space.”
• Military officials described the successful beginning of a long campaign to degrade and destroy ISIS. The five Sunni Arab monarchies and emirates that joined or supported the attacks were Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar (NYT, Guardian, Reuters, WaPo, CNN, me)
• Military analysts say the weak link in the strategy for combating ISIS remains the ability to train and equip Iraqi forces and Syrian rebels. It will take time to build up forces in both countries that will be strong enough to capture and hold territory from the militants. “It is not going to be soon,” said a senior State official – anonymous
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• Meanwhile, Hadi al-Bahra, the president of the Syrian opposition, said in an interview Monday that some sort of no-fly zone would have to be imposed over Syria once the trained troops take to the battle field so the fighters wouldn’t be attacked by President Assad’s air force
• President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, which is allied with the govt of Assad, said the strikes were illegal because they weren’t conducted with the approval of Syria’s govt. a point later echoed by Russian President Putin, another ally of Syria’s
• Syria seemed to be OK with it, probably because it was glad to see military power brought to bear against forces that have been fighting Assad and recently killed many of his soldiers. Indeed, some analysts speculate that he’s privately wanted this outcome
• U.S. ambassador to the UN Samantha Power informed her Syrian counterpart ahead of time, but didn’t seek permission or disclose the timing of the targets. Israel was also informed. Reuters reports that Iran was informed ahead of time
Complicated: Obama & Iraq War Authorization
• This is a bit convoluted. Less than two months after President Obama’s admin called for repeal of the Congressional authorization for the 2002 Iraq war, he’s formally citing the 12-year-old measure on a basis for newly expanded airstrikes against ISIS (Politico, me)
• Since June, Obama has been sending official war-powers notifications to Congress about the campaign he authorized against ISIS. Admin aides have repeatedly cited the 2001 war authorization against al Qaeda and the Taliban as grounds for strikes in Iraq
• Obama invoked the Iraq war authorization in a letter to Congress Tuesday. The authorization cited the measure only with a reference to its Public Law number, 107-243
• The admin’s embrace of the 2002 Iraq war authorization through this obscure citation is awkward because it paints the anti-ISIS campaign as a successor to President G.W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq 12 years ago. Today, Obama will address the General Assembly the day after having essentially extended that effort
Admin Sought to Rescind the Same Law
• In addition, Obama’s reliance on the measure is jarring because national security adviser Susan Rice wrote to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) in July to urge Congress to rescind the law. “The Iraq AUMF is no longer used for any U.S. govt activities and the administration fully supports its repeal,” she wrote
• Asked about the president’s invocation of the 2002 congressional measure, an anonymous senior U.S. official said Tuesday that the WH was in fact relying on the 2001 war authorization which is also cited in the letter
• However, the official added, “The president would have the statutory authority to conduct airstrikes against ISIL in Syria under the 2002 Iraq
• Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) said in a statement, “I support military action against ISIS but continue to believe the Constitution requires the president to receive congressional authorization.”
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has now acknowledged that there will be some sort of debate this fall in his chamber (- huge shock -) Senate Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McCOnnell (R-KY) appear to be on the same page
• The train-and-equip program for Syrian rebels that passed both chambers last week will expire on 11 Dec, forcing further congressional consideration, and lawmakers are reluctantly eyeing the annual defense bill as a vehicle for a new war authorization (they didn’t deal with it earlier because they wanted to go home and campaign – and avoid tough votes)
• President Obama Tuesday challenged China to make the same effort to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions as the U.S is doing. The president declared that the world’s two largest economies and polluters bear a “special responsibility to lead.” “That’s what big nations have to do.” (NYT, TRNS)
WH Intruder: 5 Rings of Protection Failed
• WaPo reports today that five rings of protection failed to stop WH fence jumper Omar Gonzalez last Friday. A plainclothes surveillance team was on duty that night outside the fence, meant to spot jumpers and give early warning before they made it over. They didn’t notice Gonzalez (WaPo, me)
• There was an officer in a guard booth on the North Lawn. That officer didn’t stop him. For some reason not yet explained, no officer was close enough to collar Gonzalez on his mad dash to the building
• The next line of defense was supposed to be the Belgian Malinois attack dog trained to hit an intruder like a canine missile. A video of the event shows a dog running onto the scene, possibly on a leash, but only after Gonzalez opened the front door
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• The next level was supposed to be a heavily armed SWAT team that roams the WH grounds. Created specifically in the wake of a Delta Force study in the 1990s which warned the WH was vulnerable to jumpers. Unclear where they were. May have relocated to the South Lawn, where Obama’s helicopter had lifted off 10 minutes before
• Finally, an officer is always supposed to be stationed at the front door. In this case, no officer was there, several people – anonymous – familiar with the incident said. Video shows an officer on the far eastern side of the porch with his gun pointed at Gonzalez – but not clear what the officer’s assignment was that night
• Inside, Gonzalez was subdued by a plainclothes agent – the sixth ring of security that night. That agent’s job is to patrol a place that intruders are never supposed to reach: the interior of the executive mansion. Monday evening, the Secret Service put up a second fence around the WH’s north side. Metal barricades – supposedly temporary – sure…
HHS Sec: Obamacare is Working
• Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec Sylvia Burwell on Tuesday talked up Obamacare. “When you consider the law through the lens of affordability, access and quality, the evidence points to a clear conclusion. The Affordable Care Act is working – and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result.”
• Speaking at the Brookings Institution in DC, Burwell said the ACA has lowered the number of uninsured adults by 25% and lent security to families who might otherwise struggle with medical debt. She announced that the number of insurers in the marketplaces will increase by 25% next year (Hill, me)
• With the second enrollment period looming, HHS is grappling with questions about the status of healthcare.gov. Two independent audits of the site recently found existing vulnerabilities that have raised concerns that the system is unprepared for another sign-up rush. Burwell said her team is “very focused on security.”
• Meanwhile, an audit released Monday said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has spent at least $3.7 billion to build and promote online marketplaces under Obamacare, but it can’t prove exactly where it all went (!)
• The GAO said CMS tracks its healthcare spending in an outdated records system that can’t easily respond to data requests such as salaries or public relations contracts in certain depts. Instead, officials rely on manually prepared spreadsheets that can take months to produce. HHS, which oversees CMS, said its system was up-to-date
• Susan Bachar, Executive Director of the African School Assistance Project, tells Talk Radio News Service how the organization wants to help African girls help themselves – with the support of the Clinton Global Initiative (TRNS)
Ebola Cases: 1.4m in 4 Months?
• In a report released Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control issued a worst-case scenario for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. It projected that Liberia and Sierra Leone could have 21,000 cases by 30 Sept and 1.4 million cases by 4 Jan if the disease keeps spreading without effective methods to contain it
• The projection was based on computer modeling. The report doesn’t include Guinea because case counts have gone up and down in ways that can’t be reliably modeled. In a best-case model, the epidemic would be “almost ended by 20 Jan,” the report said (NYT, Hill, CNN, Fox, me)
• “My gut feeling is, the actions we’re taking now are going to make that worst-case scenario not come to pass,” said Dr Thomas Frieden, CDC Director. “But it’s important to understand that it could happen.” The current official case count is 5,843, including 2,803 deaths
• The World Health Organization published its own estimates of the outbreak on Monday, predicting more than 20,000 cases by 2 Nov if control doesn’t improve. The figure’s more conservative than the CDC, but the WHO report noted that many cases were unreported
• WHO raised the possibility, for the first time, that the disease wouldn’t be stopped but would become a constant presence in West Africa. The report from the CDC acknowledged that case counts were rising faster than hospital beds were being provided, even with the promised arrival of 3,000 American troops in the region
• More than a dozen anti-addiction groups are calling for FDA Commissioner Dr Margaret Hamburg to step down, saying the agency’s policies have contributed to a national epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse (AP)
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Victoria Jones
TRNS’ Ellen Ratner, Justin Duckham, Luke Vargas and Washington Desk contributed to this report
