In the News
Syrian warplanes strike in Iraq, killing 57 civilians, official says
Mohammed Tawfeeq, Holly Yan, Chelsea Carter / CNN
At least 57 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 120 others were wounded by what local officials say were Syrian warplanes that struck several parts of Anbar province Tuesday.
Iraq crisis: Kurds winning the battle for self-rule as country disintegrates
Patrick Cockburn / The Independent
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, has urged Kurdish leaders to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni Arab revolt but the Kurds appear to have concluded that Iraq is finished as a unitary state.
Syrian Qaeda wing pledges allegiance to ISIL in border town
Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters
Syria’s al Qaeda wing has pledged allegiance to rival group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a Syrian border town, a monitoring group said, strengthening ISIL’s control of both sides of the Syria-Iraq frontier.
Iraq PM Nouri Maliki rejects calls for unity government
BBC
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has rejected calls for a national salvation government to help counter the offensive by jihadist-led Sunni rebels.
Iran Secretly Sending Drones and Supplies into Iraq, U.S. Officials Say
Michael Gordon, Eric Schmitt / NY Times
Iran is directing surveillance drones over Iraq from an airfield in Baghdad and is secretly supplying Iraq with tons of military equipment, supplies and other assistance, American officials said.
450,000 displaced as Pakistan attacks militants
Aliza Kassim / CNN
More than 450,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes for safer areas in the past two weeks as the military has attacked suspected anti-government militant hideouts in northwestern Pakistan, disaster management officials said Tuesday.
Cairo subway station blasts spark panic
CBS News
Egyptian security officials say explosions have struck several subway stations in Cairo, wounding at least two people and causing widespread panic among morning commuters.
Amid tensions, polls open in key Libyan elections
Jomana Karadsheh / CNN
Polls opened in Libya on Wednesday in the country’s second parliamentary elections since the fall of the Gadhafi regime in 2011.
Chinese warships to join US in drills off Hawaii for first time
Channel NewsAsia
Chinese warships will join US-led naval drills off Hawaii for the first time this week, in a significant but mainly symbolic effort by the two powers’ fighting forces to make friends, not war.
On Our Flashpoint Blog
The Ex-Im Charter Debate and U.S. National Security
Dan Day
On September 30, 2014, the charter for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) is set to expire and right now politics are playing with a vital tool of American economic and national security – the future of Ex-Im hangs in the balance.
U.S. Bids Farewell to Important Central Asia Air Base
Alexander Gupta
This month marks the official closing of the Transit Center at Manas in north Kyrgyzstan. The Transit Center at Manas was an American air base setup after the September 11th attacks to support the war in Afghanistan.
#SaveFulbright: Senate Subcommittee Rejects Fulbright Budget Cuts
Thomas Campbell
In a preliminary success for the #SaveFulbright campaign, the Senate State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee rejected the proposed Fulbright budget cuts on June 19th.
The post What We Are Reading… June 25, 2014 appeared first on American Security Project.
