The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A ceasefire between the warring sides in a Syrian town and two villages has been extended until Sunday, sources on both sides said on Friday.

Islamic State attacks in and around Iraqi refinery town
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:38 PM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attacked the outskirts of Iraq's northern oil refinery town of Baiji overnight with car bombs and clashed with the army and Shi'ite militias in the town's western districts, the local mayor and security sources said on Friday.

Turkey nationalists reject minority government in blow to Erdogan
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:38 PM

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's nationalist opposition made clear on Friday it would not roll over and back a minority government, making President Tayyip Erdogan's aim of taking the country to a snap election with the ruling party in control look increasingly difficult.

Four Turkish soldiers killed, six wounded, in clashes with Kurds: security sources
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:37 PM

AP Top Headlines At 3 P.M. EDT

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers were killed and six more were wounded in a clash with Kurdish militants in the southeasterly Hakkari province on Friday, security sources told Reuters.

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Man dresses up in full bear costume to harass bear and her two cubs
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:37 PM

- World RSS Feed

Authorities in Alaska have said they want to talk to a man who was spotted wearing a full bear costume and harassing three real bears while they hunted for pink salmon in a river.

Kerry Watches US Flag Rise Again Over Havana Embassyby webdesk@voanews.com (Jeff Custer)
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:36 PM

Voice Of America

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Havana, where he presided at a ceremony raising the U.S. flag at the American Embassy -- reopened in a ceremony that confirmed the two nations' re-engagement after more than half a century. VOA's Jeff Custer reports from Washington.

John Kerry says Cuba and America 'no longer enemies or rivals, but neighbours' by Harriet Alexander
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:36 PM

World News

America has officially reopened its embassy in Cuba, as John Kerry became the first Secretary of State to visit the island in 70 years

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UN rights experts to Iran: Immediately release US reporterby By CARA ANNA
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:35 PM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.N. human rights experts on Friday called on Iran to immediately release a Washington Post reporter who has been detained for more than a year on charges including espionage and distributing propaganda against the Islamic Republic. A verdict on Jason Rezaian's case could come as early as next week....

US Eases Crude Oil Export Ban; Allows Trading With Mexico
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:35 PM

US to allows some crude oil trading with Mexico, further easing longstanding export ban

Russian Folk Crafts Struggle in Hard Economic Timesby webdesk@voanews.com (Daniel Schearf)
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:34 PM

Voice Of America

Russia is in danger of losing its traditional, handmade folk crafts as enterprises across the country struggle against recession and a shortage of skilled workers. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports.

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ISIS Leader Sexually Abused Female American Hostage: Officials
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:33 PM

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi personally assaulted Arizona-born aid worker, U.S. official

Cheers as U.S. flag is raised at Havana embassy
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:32 PM

Home - CBSNews.Com

John Kerry urges Cuba to embrace a democracy "where people are free to choose their leaders, express their ideas and practice their faith"

How Obama Administration Worked the 'Straight Outta' Meme
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:32 PM

The White House tweets about Iran using the "Straight Outta ____" meme, and the internet freaks out.

Deal Reached in Arab Bank Lawsuit Over Attacks on Americans
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:32 PM

House Judiciary Committee - Google News

Settlement reached in US lawsuit accusing Arab Bank of helping Hamas in attacks on Americans

Lawmaker presses colleges to update free speech codes - The Hill
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:18 PM

The Hill

Lawmaker presses colleges to update free speech codes
The Hill
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has asked 162 public colleges and universities to update their free speech codes. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) sent letters to the schools on Friday following The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education ...

Men sentenced to federal prison for stealing FBI weapons, gear - TBO.com
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:18 PM

Fbi - Google News

TBO.com

Men sentenced to federal prison for stealing FBI weapons, gear
TBO.com
The follow-up audit described in the 2007 report found 160 weapons missing from the FBI in a 44-month period. “We recognize that in an organization the size of the FBI, some weapons and laptops will inevitably be stolen or go missing,” the inspector ...

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Ukraine posts video of captured Russian rebel; he asks Vladimir Putin for help by Kellan Howell
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:17 PM

Www.Washingtontimes.Com Stories: Security

Ukraine's state security agency has released a video purporting to show a captured Russian army officer appealing to President Vladimir Putin for help securing his release.

The soldier in the video was identified by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) as Maj. Vladimir Starkov who was captured last month in eastern ...

US Marines who lowered embassy flag in 1961 back in Havana
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:17 PM

Stars And Stripes News

Three U.S. Marines who lowered the flag at the U.S. Embassy in Havana more than five decades ago were given a position of honor at Friday's ceremony to raise the Stars and Stripes once again.

California legislators to eye police push for use of dronesby FENIT NIRAPPIL
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:17 PM

Www.Washingtontimes.Com Stories: Security

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California law enforcement agencies are looking to fly drones as an affordable and efficient way to monitor crime scenes, pursue suspects and search for lost hikers.

But the capability of the unmanned aircraft to intrude on private spaces and videotape people from afar has raised major ...

The Dark Side of Peace Enforcement: Sexual Exploitation in CAR by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:17 PM

Just Security

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

Media reports continue to trickle through detailing rape and indiscriminate killing by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR). Despite condemnation by UN Headquarters and some moves toward accountability by those states providing troops, the reports of sexual violence and exploitation continue unabated. Some background to the most recent allegations is set out below. I also explore some of the underpinning legal and political gaps that enable a culture of impunity to thrive in a number of peacekeeping operations.

Sexual Violence

In April 2014, Anders Kompass leaked the United Nations report to French authorities, which detailed the “rape and sodomy of starving and homeless young boys by French peacekeeping troops” at a camp for internally displaced people in Bangui. The report detailsabuse by French and nationals of other contributing countries from December 2013 to June 2014. (Access to leaked report as published by Aids Free Project here.) More reports of sexual violence continued through the summer, with the reported rape of a girl under the age of 16 by Moroccan peacekeeping forces. Most recently, a 12 year-old girl was raped and two civilians were indiscriminately killed.

UN Responses

“I cannot put into words how anguished and ashamed I am by recurrent reports over the years of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN forces,” said Ban Ki Moon. On August 13, 2015, the Secretary General also requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council. UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric added, “He (the Secretary General) stressed that zero tolerance means zero complacency and zero impunity and that when allegations are substantiated, all personnel whether military, police, or civilians must be held accountable.” In a May interview with Newsweek, Tony Banbury, the UN’s assistant secretary-general for field support, stated: “We have challenges in achieving criminal accountability justice, but immunity is not one of them.” He did not focus on criticizing or analyzing the placement of prosecutorial responsibility with contributing states, but rather “discussed the “challenges with criminal responsibility and criminal prosecution.” Banbury continued, saying: “The objective is zero cases, but this is an imperfect world. There probably are going to continue to be some cases.” Graça Machel stated, “the evidence is that things have not changed or improved. Currently, they have gotten even worse.” Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire claims that the “chaos” of the conflict and atmosphere “merely makes it available for those who might be so inclined, who might actually tip over and might actually do it.”

France

The Huffington Post reports that “[m]ilitary authorities and the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation and investigators went to Central African Republic in August.” The French Ministry claims to be in pursuit of criminal prosecution, which will result in “the strictest sanctions against those responsible for what would be an intolerable attack on the values of a soldier.” François Hollande has stated: “If some soldiers behaved badly, I will be merciless. If this information is confirmed, there will be exemplary punishment.”

Central African Republic Officials

Central African Republic Justice Minister, Aristide Sokambi spoke out to say that the Central African Republic will also be pursuing prosecution of the French soldiers responsible. He added: “I deplore the fact that we haven’t been joined about this investigation when we have cooperation agreements with France. So I’ve instructed the public prosecutor to open an inquiry and then try to collect evidence already available to the French.”

Despite these protestations of horror at the infliction of sexual harm on minors and women in the CAR, the challenge of addressing sexual violence caused by peacekeepers and international personnel is not a new one. During missions in various African states in the mid-1990s to the present, Belgian, Canadian, Italian, and Pakistani peacekeepers were implicated in crimes ranging from torture to rape to murder. Reports of survival prostitution and human trafficking remain amainstay of the peacekeeping economy.

What would change this? It is fair to say that peacekeeping has a positive impact in many countries experiencing or emerging from conflict and its absence would create multiple other insecurities for populations in conflict-affected states. Taking away the peacekeepers is not the solution. However, when readily identifiable troop contributing states have been consistently implicated in sexual violence, and have consistently shown an unwillingness to train, discipline, and make their soldiers criminally accountable, then the privilege of UN service should be withheld. The bottom line on preventing sexual violence by peacekeepers in the CAR and elsewhere is accountability.

That accountability starts at the very top. Where a force has been implicated in sexual violence then, the United Nations Secretary General has an obligation to seek the resignation of the force commander. This realisation emerges in the decision taken by the Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon asking General Babacar Gaye, the head of UN peacekeeping operations in the Central African Republic to resign. In a universe of military command responsibility, the head of a peacekeeping mission is ultimately responsible for the systematic exploitation and violence against populations that troops have a responsibility to protect.

The second step is to meaningfully implement investigation and prosecution procedures. In most cases of sexual violence, a UN investigation takes up to or beyond 18 months. By the time the investigation is over, the evidence has disappeared, victims are more vulnerable and the soldiers have been whisked off home. Investigations have to be resourced intensively and become effective mechanisms to show those harmed that their injuries are taken seriously.

The third step is punishment. In most cases of peacekeeper violence, there are few consequences for the perpetrators. Consistent standards must be enforced by the terms of Status of Force Agreements with troop contributing states. These standards must set out consistent processes and penalties for sexual violence without exception. When soldiers know that the penalties and costs are near zero for violence committed in places far from home, a culture of impunity reigns.

The United Nations continues to issues platitudes to the victims, and occasionally senior heads will roll. In reality though, unless there is consistent articulation and enforcement of penalties within the military chain of command, including for commanding officers, the litany of sexual violence will not go away.

Read on Just Security »

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Senior U.S. Officials Believe Islamic State Used Chemical Weapons Against Kurdish Fighters by Morgan Chalfant
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:16 PM

Washington Free Beacon

Senior U.S. officials confirmed reports that the Islamic State may have used chemical weapons in an attack on Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq late Wednesday that left 60 with breathing difficulties.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Islamic State militants probably used mustard agent against Kurdish fighters in the attack near the town of Makhmour that wounded four.

The terrorist group could have obtained the chemical weapons in Syria, as Bashar al-Assad’s regime admitted to possessing large amounts of chemical weapons in 2013 that it agreed to relinquish. However, U.S. intelligence agencies recently determined that Syria did not give up all of its chemical weapons.

One senior U.S. official contended that the possibility of IS obtaining mustard agent from Syria “makes the most sense.” Officials also speculated that the agent could have been harvested in Iraq from preserved stockpiles from Saddam Hussein’s reign.

While U.S. intelligence agencies had speculated behind closed doors that IS had obtained at least some mustard agent, the attack this week–if confirmed to have involved chemical weapons–would represent the first concrete evidence that the Islamic State has gotten ahold of the chemicals.

The German Defense Ministry and Kurdish fighters on Thursday accused IS of using chemical weapons during the attack in northern Iraq, though they did not offer specific information regarding the type of weapons believed to have been used.

According to the defense ministry, approximately 60 Kurdish fighters endured throat injuries indicative of a chemical weapons attack.

Mustard agent causes burns, blisters and immobility, but does not become deadly unless used in large amounts.

U.S. intelligence agencies are currently investigating the situation.

The Islamic State has been accumulating territory in Syria and Iraq and implementing traditional methods of governance there, such as issuing identification cards and dispersing fishing guidelines.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last month that the Obama administration’s bomb campaign launched in 2014 against IS has yielded no perceivable degradation of the terrorist organization’s forces.

Still, President Obama has insisted that there are no plans to send more troops overseas to fight the Islamic State.

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France to rally aid for religious minorities targeted by Islamic State
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:16 PM

France is hosting a conference next month to raise money and rally support for Mideast Christians and other minorities persecuted by the Islamic State group.

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Why Russians decorate their cars with World War II battle cries
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:16 PM

The German tabloid Bild was outraged on Wednesdey over a "macabre maneuver" in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Not that Russian military drills on the Baltic Sea have been that uncommon this past year. What struck the newspaper this time were pictures of missiles with the World War II battle cries "To Berlin!" and "For Stalin!" inscribed on them.

How the Air Force's new No. 2 officer survived getting shot down over Serbia
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 3:16 PM

Shortly after midnight on May 2, 1999, Lt. Col. David Goldfein became the second U.S. pilot in Operation Allied Force to be shot down. A surface-to-air missile exploded near the belly of his aircraft in an operation near the city of Belgrade, Serbia, forcing him to put down his F-16CJ and eject and parachute into an open field by moonlight.

Turkey halts its airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria
Friday August 14th, 2015 at 2:56 PM