22 Aug 14. The Defense Department believes the best way to confront the threat presented by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists will require a regional, international, and interagency approach, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. Part of the mission in thwarting ISIL now involves “supporting, advising, assisting, helping Iraqi security forces and Kurdish forces blunt the momentum,” Kirby said. “We believe we’ve succeeded in blunting that momentum. But it’s also about protecting U.S. personnel and facilities, including some of the airstrikes that we’re conducting inside Iraq.” Kirby acknowledged that ISIL’s swift growth in capability stems from the group’s criminal activity resourcing, as well as donations, ransoms and the group’s sanctuary in Syria. He said the U.S. military should be one of many components in use to prevent ISIL from leveraging those resources. “You’re not going to see the answer to all ISIL problems through a military lens,” Kirby said. “We are conducting operations inside Iraq against this group, in support of Iraqis and Kurdish forces, but we’re not going to be the only tool in the toolbox that can or should be used.” Assessment teams will continue to monitor ISIL’s activities, Kirby said. “It’s what led us to where we are today,” he said, “which is that we believe it does pose an imminent threat, and it’s a threat that we need to take seriously.” (Source: US DoD)
22 Aug 14. The Defense Department has expressed its concern to Chinese diplomatic officials about an Aug. 19 incident in which an armed Chinese fighter jet conducted a dangerous intercept of a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. The aircraft was on a routine mission when the intercept took place over the Pacific Ocean about 135 miles east of Hainan Island in international airspace, Kirby said. “We have registered our strong concerns to the Chinese about the unsafe and unprofessional intercept, which posed a risk to the safety and the well-being of the aircrew, and was inconsistent with customary international law,” he said. Kirby also noted that DoD officials believe the Chinese jet made several passes and crossed under the aircraft with one pass having only 50-100 feet of separation. “The Chinese jet … passed the nose of the P-8 at 90 degrees with its belly toward the P-8 Poseidon, we believe to make a point of showing its weapons load out,” Kirby said. “They flew directly under and alongside the P-8, bringing their wingtips … to within 20 feet and then conducted a roll over the P-8, passing within 45 feet.” The admiral asserted that the incident undermines efforts to continue developing military-to-military relations with the Chinese military. “This kind of behavior, not only is unprofessional, it’s unsafe,” Kirby said, “and it is certainly not keeping with the kind of military-to-military … relations that we’d like to have with China.” On April 1, 2001, a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance aircraft — the P-8 Poseidon’s predecessor aircraft — that was flying a routine mission in international airspace over the South China Sea. Wang Wei, the Chinese pilot whose fighter jet collided with the EP-3, was killed. The damaged EP-3 made an emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island, where its crew was held by Chinese authorities and eventually released. (Source: DoD)
22 Aug 14. NATO Secretary General condemns entry of Russian convoy into Ukraine. I condemn the entry of a Russian so-called humanitarian convoy into Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian authorities and without any involvement of the International Committee of the Red Cross. This is a blatant breach of Russia’s international commitments, including those made recently in Berlin and Geneva, and a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty by Russia. It can only deepen the crisis in the region, which Russia itsel