The White House urged its allies on Monday to do more in the campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group, while US President Barack Obama faced pressure in return to show the US-led coalition would intensify efforts in response to the Paris terror attacks, even without a major shift in strategy.
Requests for more counterintelligence, military and humanitarian assistance came a day before French President Francois Hollande was to arrive at the White House to discuss the fight against the extremists believed to be behind the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people.
Hollande, who next visits Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to seek more coordinated military operations that would include both Washington and Moscow.
Obama has shown no inclination to rethink the US strategy or significantly expand the US’ commitment, despite pressure from Hollande, Republican critics and some members of his own Democratic Party. However, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Abu Dhabi that both he and the president would like to see progress against the Islamic State “go faster.”
At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said the US might step up efforts supporting strategies believed to be working — airstrikes and train-and-assist missions in Syria and Iraq — but he played down the possibility of any surge of new US resources into the fight.
The US is “pulling more than our weight” in the coalition, Earnest said. “And we believe that there is more that can be done if countries are willing to contribute additional resources.”
US Vice President Joe Biden sought those resources from allies at a meeting with ambassadors from 59 of the 65 nations in the coalition. The discussion focused on what more the nations could do to cut off financing for the Islamic State’s global network, and how to stem the flow of fighters crossing into Syria and Iraq to join the group, the US Department of State said.
Biden spoke separately on Monday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Meanwhile, the US military said it had destroyed 283 tanker trucks used by Islamic State militants to transport oil from producing fields in eastern Syria to smuggling points, an acceleration of attacks aimed at crippling the group’s oil revenues. The attack by four A-10 attack planes and two AC-130 gunships was carried out on Saturday at a site near Deir el-Zour and al-Hasakah, but not made public until Monday.
After meeting with Obama, Hollande is headed to Moscow to meet with Putin, who has also expressed his intention to ramp up a campaign against the Islamic State. The White House has not ruled out greater cooperation with Russia, but has expressed skepticism that Putin would focus the fight on the common enemy rather than use its airstrikes to undermine the moderate forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Earnest said on Monday the US would “continue the conversation” with Putin, but suggested Obama would make no promises to Hollande during yesterday’s visit.
Rather, the meeting would be focused on the US showing support, he said.
“This is a time when the French people are grieving and knowing that they can count on the most powerful country in the world to have their back,” Earnest said. “I think it will be a source of significant comfort to the French people.”
Kerry suggested the US was exploring some new ideas. Between meetings with Arab officials in Abu Dhabi, the top US diplomat told reporters that Obama was asking everyone in the US government for new concepts to speed up the fight.
Some steps were in motion before the Paris attacks, he said, such as a decision to deploy a small number of US special forces to Syria and the continuing efforts toward a ceasefire between the Syrian government and rebel groups.
“The key is to destroy Daesh rapidly in Syria and in Iraq,” Kerry said, using an alternative term for the Islamic State group. “I’d like to see us go faster. The president would like to see us go faster.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number