TRNS News Notes is brought to you by Victoria Jones. Victoria Jones is the Chief White House correspondent and global analyst of the Washington DC based Talk Radio News Service, where her insight and analysis are made available to over 400 news talk radio stations around the country and internationally.

 

In the News

  • Obama: Ebola “spiraling out of control”
  • Alexander: Ebola as serious as ISIS
  • Dempsey for ground forces in Iraq?
  • “Whack-a-mole” campaign
  • Congress divided on Obama’s Syria plan
  • Benghazi Select Committee hearing today
  • Adrian Peterson: Banned from team activities
  • Fed meeting: 5 things to watch
  • Scotland: Are the polls wrong?
  • Ukraine: Rebels granted self-rule / amnesty
Obama: Ebola “Spiraling Out of Control”
• President Obama on Tuesday warned that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is “spiraling out of control” and could see “hundreds of thousands of people infected” if the world doesn’t act. “It’s getting worse,” Obama said after a briefing with officials at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta (NYT, Politico, Reuters, Fox, TRNS, me)
• Obama labeled the Ebola outbreak a “potential threat to global security” and called on Congress to immediately appropriate $88 million in funds the admin has requested as part of an international response to the outbreak
• Obama announced an intensified U.S. response to the epidemic that will “work across the entire govt.” The effort will involve military medical personnel setting up a joint-force command in Liberia to coordinate logistics and train up to 500 health workers a week. Also military engineers helping to build 17 medical centers with 100 beds each
• The force could grow to as many as 3,000 Americans, according to one senior admin official. Obama said the U.S. military would create an “air bridge” to get aid and personnel on the ground fast in the five affected countries
• West Africa’s latest numbers show reported cases have climbed to 4,985, including 2,461 deaths. Half of the infections and deaths occurred in the past 21 days – acceleration. Although WHO is forecasting at least 20,000 cases, some health experts expect an exponentially greater toll before the epidemic’s brought under control

Alexander: Ebola as Serious as ISIS
• The U.S. has already committed $100 million to address the outbreak, mostly through USAID, and sent an unprecedented 100 experts from the CDC to the region. Before leaving for Atlanta, Obama met with Dr Kent Brantly, the American physician who contracted Ebola when he was treating patients in Liberia
• There was a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the Ebola threat. Underscoring lawmakers’ growing concerns, Sen Lamar Alexander (R-TN) warned that the U.S. “must take the serious, deadly threat of Ebola as seriously as we take ISIS” – a statement that he repeated three times
• Several health experts say the risk to U.S. service members who go to West Africa is low – assuming they follow strict protective procedures. And the Pentagon says it plans to do exactly that. Should a service member contract Ebola, they would be evacuated to the U.S.
• The UN Security Council meets on the Ebola crisis Thursday and could adopt a resolution to expand the global response to the outbreak by calling on countries to lift travel restrictions and provide urgent assistance. But some diplomats warned that questions may be raised as to whether it falls under the council’s purview

Dempsey: Ground Forces in Iraq?
• At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday on ISIS, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen Martin Dempsey said, “My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true. – – – (Politico, NYT, Hill, CNN, CBS,TRNS, WaPo, me)
• – – – If it fails to be true and there are threats to the U.S., then of course, I would go back to the president and make the recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces.” Even though President Obama has ruled out ground troops, Dempsey said the president had instructed him to “come back to him on a case-by-case basis.”
• Dempsey also said, “To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that to the president.”
• The WH pushed back against speculation that Obama could order troops into Iraq. Dempsey was “referring to a hypothetical scenario in which there might be a future situation in which he might make a tactical recommendation to the president as it relates to … the use of ground troops,” WH spox Josh Earnest said
• “I am confident, if you asked Gen Dempsey if he is on the same page as the commander in chief, he would say he is,” Earnest added

• Mufid Alfgeeh, 30, who owns an upstate NY food store, funded ISIS, tried to send jihadists to Syria to fight with the group and plotted to do some killing himself, by gunning down U.S. troops who had served in Iraq – federal authorities alleged Tuesday (CNN)
“Whack-a-Mole” Campaign
• At the Senate hearing (above), committee members weighed in. Chair Carl Levin (D-MI) said, “If Western nations act in Iraq and Syria without visible participation and leadership of Arab nations, it will play into the propaganda pitch of the violent extremists that we are interested in dominating in Iraq and Syria.”
• Sen Angus King (I-ME), who usually votes with Democrats, said he was concerned about what appeared to be a “whack-a-mole” approach
• Sen Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said to SecDef Chuck Hagel, who also was testifying, “Sec Hagel, I appreciate your honesty when you described ISIL on Aug 21 as ‘an imminent threat to every interest we have, whether it’s in Iraq or anywhere else,’ I agree with you.”
• Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) said, “I’m just saying our past performance for 13 years in that region hasn’t given us the results. We took out Saddam
[Hussein]; we thought that would change; Iraq’s in worse shape. We take out [Muammar] Qaddafi; we thought that would change; things got so bad in Libya we had to pull out our own embassy and our people in the embassy.”
• Manchin spoke at some length, breaking down the finances of training and coming out against any ground troops. “It makes no sense to me. And I can’t sell it. You can’t sell this stuff. And no one believes the outcome will be different.”

• ISIS released a 52 second video late Tuesday night called “Flames of War.” Looks like a trailer. Seems to say that ISIS would kill American ground forces should Obama deploy them
Congress Divided on Obama’s Syria Plan
• The House is scheduled to vote today to give President Obama new authority to train and equip Syrian rebels. In phone calls to Republicans and Democrats alike, the admin – including the president himself – is trying to convince lawmakers to support the proposal. Here’s what some lawmakers are thinking:
• “I know he talks about a 40-country coalition – is it a papier-mache coalition, or is it for real?” Sen Jon Tester (D-MT) said Tuesday. “Are these guys putting the same kinds of resources that we are? … I asked those questions; I did not get an answer.” (Hill, Politico, Roll Call, me)
• Rep Matt Salmon (R-AZ) thinks the Obama strategy doesn’t go far enough. So does Rep Steve Womack (R-AR), an Army veteran, who said in an interview he’s “wondering if this plan is robust enough to actually do the mission.”
• “It’s not written as clearly as it should be. We’re talking about going into Syria at this point, which is a dog’s breakfast of violence and terrorism,” said Sen Dick Durbin, the chair of the Senate Appropriations’ Defense Subcommittee
• “I can speak for the American people, and I think they are sick and tired of seeing Americans being beheaded by ISIS,” said Rep G.K. Butterfield (D-NC). “And they want us to go in there and do what we can to stop the spread of this terrorism. … There’s only 30,000 of them.”
• President Obama’s scheduled to get a briefing from his military commanders at the Pentagon’s CentCom HQ in Tampa FL today. WH describes it as part of his effort to mobilize public support for the mission. But it’s also to soothe tensions with the military over who’s in charge after Obama named retired Gen John Allen to head things up (NYT, me)
Benghazi Select Committee Hearing Today
• The GOP-convened House Benghazi Select Committee will hold its first public hearingtoday. The hearing will focus on State Dept’s Accountability Review Board, a panel created by State after the attacks, to review the govt’s security systems abroad (Politico, Fox, Hill, Guardian, CNN, me)
• The review found “systemic” management and leadership failures at State surrounding the militant attacks, which left Amb Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead. The panel issued 29 recommendations in Dec 2012 to help the U.S. govt tighten its security controls. The committee will focus on how implementation has proceeded
• On the eve of today’s hearing, a group of five Democrats on the committee issued a report called “Benghazi on the Record,” aimed at tackling controversies head on, as well as protecting former SecState Hillary Clinton from renewed political pressure as she considers a run for the presidency
• Led by Rep Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a former federal prosecutor, the special committee is expected to focus on several recent allegations, including those from a group of security contractors working at a nearby CIA annex in Benghazi who claim in a new book they were delayed from rescuing Stevens and told to “stand down” by superiors
• The new report cites various witnesses who contradict their account. It also quotes Intelligence chair Rep Mike Rogers (R-MI) concluding, “it wasn’t even a dispute – it was the commander on the ground making a decision. It think it took 23 minutes before they all, including the commander by the way, got in a car and went over and rescued those individuals.”
Adrian Peterson: Banned From Team Activities
• The Minnesota Vikings have placed star running back Adrian Peterson on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list, which means he will not play in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The team announced early Wed morning that Peterson won’t play or practice with the team until his legal issues are resolved
• Peterson has been indicted on charges of child abuse after he was arrested for whipping his 4-year-old son with a switch and leaving open wounds across the boy’s legs, back, buttocks and scrotum. Peterson has said he was disciplining his son and didn’t intend to hurt him (AP, ESPN, CNN, TRNS, me)
• Tuesday, the Radisson hotel chain suspended its sponsorship with the Vikings. Castrol Motor Oil, Special Olympics Minnesota and Mylan Inc all severed ties with Peterson and Twin Cities Nike stores pulled Peterson’s jerseys from its shelves. University of Minnesota Health, another sponsor, said it was “evaluating the situation”
• Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in a statement, “We want to be clear: we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to be sure we get this right. At the same time we want to express our support for Adrian and acknowledge his seven-plus years of outstanding commitment to this organization and this community.”
Fed Meeting: 5 Things to Watch
• The Federal Reserve wraps up a two-day meeting today. 1) Guidance. Will the Fed keep its months-long commitment to wait a “considerable time” after its bond-buying ends to start raising rates? Everyone is watching to see what Fed chair Janet Yellen will do with the phrase – if anything (WSJ, me)
• 2) Description of economy. How the Fed characterizes its views of the economy in the statement usually offers hints into its policy views. In July, the statement was positive. Now, we’ve had a disappointing employment report – 142,000 jobs in August, but unemployment fell to 6.1%
• 3. Quarterly forecast revisions. Fed officials will issue their latest estimates for growth, unemployment and inflation today. June maintained projections for a solid 3%-plus increase in output for 2015. Rising geopolitical uncertainty – U.S. involvement in Iraq + Russia/Ukraine – could restrain some of their optimism
• 4. The dot chart. Fed officials offer charts indicating, anonymously, what individual policy makers perceive as the likely path of interest rates. The so-called dot chart has become a bit of an obsession for Wall Street analysts despite Yellen’s attempt to downplay the graphic during a presser
• 5. Yellen’s press conference. Viewers will be looking for hints about whether she’s open to raising rates sooner rather than later. She will likely be pressed on her level of confidence in a strong second-half economic rebound – an essential prerequisite for interest rate increases

Scotland: Are the Polls Wrong?
• Polls for Thursday’s independence vote are neck and neck, but a leading pollster thinks they could be wrong and lead to a shock when results come in – and embarrassment for the polling industry (Daily Mail, me)
• A surge in Yes voters may not have been picked up by the polls because a lot of the support has come from people who don’t normally vote and aren’t likely to have been polled
• Figures showing Yes support might be underestimated because young voters are less likely to sit down to answer online questions, or stop in the street and talk to canvassers. They’re also less likely to have their own phone line and therefore be missed by polling using that method
• No figures could be inaccurate because of so-called “shy Nos’ who are afraid of letting people know they’re against independence. With the Yes campaign being so rooted in Scottish nationalism, many No voters are concerned it can appear unpatriotic to be against Scotland going alone
• That means when asked by a pollster, a No voter may say they’re undecided or even that they’re going to vote Yes, out of fear they’ll appear unpatriotic. However, these ‘shy Nos’ have every intention of voting against independence in the privacy of the polling booth, so the real figures of No voters could be much higher

• Pic: OMG has the Loch Ness Monster left Scotland and gone south to England’s Lake Windermere? There’s a new sighting of a monster in the picturesque lake (been to the loch and the lake). Is it real or fake? Is it too coincidenc-ey with the vote coming up? Lake Windermere has its own “Bownessie” monster, after all…

Ukraine: Rebels Granted Self-Rule / Amnesty
• Ukrainian MPs have granted self-rule to parts of two eastern regions, and an amnesty to pro-Russian rebels there. The law affecting Donetsk and Luhansk regions – in line with the 5 Sept ceasefire – was condemned by some MPs as “capitulation.” (BBC, me)
• The amnesty affects the rebels, but doesn’t cover the shooting down of the MH17 passenger plane in July. Western leaders believe rebels shot down the Malaysian Airlines jet with a Russian missile – a charge the rebels and the Kremlin deny
• Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of backing the separatists with soldiers and heavy weapons. The Kremlin denies doing so. Many rebels are demanding full independence and speak of creating a new state called “Novorossiya,” something President Putin has also mentioned in speeches
• Tuesday, the Ukrainian and European parliaments also voted to ratify a major EU-Ukraine association agreement that aims to bring the ex-Soviet republic closer to the EU. It was former President Yanukovych’s refusal to sign the deal last November that triggered mass protests and his eventual fall from power

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Victoria Jones

TRNS’ William McDonald and Nicholas Salazar contributed to this report
 The Talk Radio News Service is the only information, news booking and host service dedicated to serving the talk radio community. TRNS maintains a Washington office that includes White House, Capitol Hill and Pentagon staffed bureaus, and a New York office with a United Nations staffed bureau. Talk Radio News Service has permanent access to every breaking newsevent in the Washington, D.C. area and beyond.