OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: US steps up aid to Kobani

THE TOPLINE: The U.S. is ratcheting up efforts to save the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic militants, launching another wave of airstrikes Monday and dropping more arms and supplies to besieged Kurds.

The town, which is only miles from the Turkish border, has become a flashpoint in the coalition’s fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

{mosads}Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), two outspoken critics of the Obama administration’s foreign policy, welcomed the move.

“We support the administration’s decision to resupply Kurdish forces in Kobani with arms, ammunition and other supplies,” they said in a joint statement, calling it a “good step” in the battle against ISIS.

However, they added, “this tactical adjustment should not be confused for an effective strategy, which is still lacking.”

The pair said that ISIS forces are also “advancing” in Anbar province, Iraq, as well as near the capital city of Baghdad.

“We continue to urge the administration to quickly adopt a comprehensive strategy and avoid the perils of gradual escalation — in Kobani and in the broader fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” they said.

Some critics say the air campaign has been ineffective at halting ISIS and question if the group is gaining strength.

On Monday, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby pushed back against media reports that the terror group had acquired warplanes.

“We don’t have any indication that they actually have fighter jets in their capability or even the capability to fly them, and we don’t have any indications they have any air defense or anti-air capability at all right now,” Kirby said.

A report last week from a Syrian human rights group claimed that ISIS had captured three fighter jets.

 

TIGHTROPE WITH TURKEY: The Obama administration is also walking a delicate line to not alienate Turkey, which has raised objections to arming ethnic Kurds in the region. 

Turkey has a long history of conflict with Kurdish separatist groups. 

Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday insisted the weapons supplies to Kobani were only a temporary measure.

“We talked with Turkish authorities — I did, the president did — to make it very, very clear this is not a shift of policy by the United States,” Kerry said during a visit to Indonesia.

On Monday, Turkey’s chief diplomat announced that Ankara had reversed its stance and will allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as the Peshmerga, to cross through Turkey into Syria to fight ISIS.

“We are assisting Peshmerga forces to cross into Kobani,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

“We have no wish at all to see Kobani fall,” he added.

 

MORE MONEY FOR EBOLA? The White House is holding preliminary talks with the Senate about a new funding request to fight Ebola, according to a pair of congressional sources.

Any request would come on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars already allocated from the Pentagon for the fight against the deadly virus, and would likely trigger a battle with congressional Republicans over the Obama administration’s handling of the crisis.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) announced Monday her full panel would meet to discuss the Ebola crisis on Nov. 6, two days after the midterm elections.

The request for more money would open a new battle with Congress in the Ebola fight, as many members press for a travel ban on affected countries.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) plans to introduce legislation banning travel between the U.S. and three West African countries hardest hit by the deadly Ebola virus, his office announced Monday.

“While Ebola’s deadly reach has proven to be a complex and unique international challenge, the many uncertainties surrounding this virus continue to threaten U.S. national security,” Rubio said in a statement.

Lawmakers earlier this month approved the Pentagon’s request to reallocate $750 million in war funds to help fight the disease. 

That was in addition to $263 million already committed to fighting Ebola, including a $88 million emergency request passed as part of the continuing resolution, which funds the government through Dec. 11. 

Seventy-two members of the House, including nine Democrats, as well as more than a dozen senators are in favor of a travel ban in some form, according to The Hill’s tally.

The Defense Department said Sunday it was readying a 30-person rapid-response Ebola team that could provide assistance for civilian medical professionals in the United States.

The team will be able to “respond quickly, effectively and safely,” officials said.

But a former top White House adviser on ObamaCare on Monday questioned the Pentagon’s plans for an Ebola team, calling it “overkill.”

“I’m a little confused by it, why we need the Pentagon to do it. We have a lot of incredibly competent healthcare people in the federal government at the [National Institutes of Health] and other facilities,” said Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on MSNBC.

Emanuel cautioned against overreacting to the three confirmed cases in the U.S., and pointed to Nigeria, which the World Health Organization declared Monday to be Ebola-free.

“It shows you that with a good, well-functioning healthcare system, this is readily controlled and we can reduce transmission,” he said. “With the added education by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] we really are going to put this thing in a box.”

 

HOLDER PANS PANETTA MEMOIR: Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday blasted former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for writing a book critical of President Obama’s leadership.

“I think [what] Leon said in the book is unfortunate,” said Holder, Obama’s outgoing attorney general, in an interview with CNN. 

“Frankly, I don’t think it’s something that a former Cabinet member should do while the president he served is still in office,” he added. 

Panetta wrote in his new memoir “Worthy Fights” that Obama damaged U.S. credibility by not attacking Syria after it crossed his “red line” by using chemical weapons. He also cast the president as too willing to “step back and give up” when confronted by problems. 

In subsequent interviews, Panetta criticized Obama’s inability to make tough decisions, including arming vetted Syrian rebels fighting Bashar Assad and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The White House rejected those criticisms and Vice President Joe Biden called it “inappropriate” for Panetta to have written the book. 

“I’m finding that former administration officials, as soon as they leave, write books, which I think is inappropriate,” Biden said. “I’m serious. I do think it’s inappropriate. At least give the guy a chance to get out of office.”

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

—Report: ISIS oil production worth $800M per year

—Levin, Inhofe: Give Ukraine lethal weapons

—White House: Cutting Congress out of Iran deal ‘preposterous’

—Texas Republican: ‘No better place ‘ than Fort Sam Houston for Ebola training

—‘Crypto wars’ return to Congress

 

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