OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Cost of ISIS fight so far: $424 million

THE TOPLINE: The U.S. mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has cost $424 million so far, a Pentagon official announced on Tuesday.

Spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said the price tag, since the U.S. expanded its bombing campaign on Aug. 8, has averaged $7.6 million per day.

{mosads}So far, U.S. forces have launched more than 260 airstrikes in Iraq and more than 100 in Syria after expanding the mission to that country in September.

The operation, though, is well below the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, with President Obama ruling out the use of combat troops to fight the militant group.

The Associated Press estimated earlier this month that the Pentagon had spent as much as $1.1 billion on operations against ISIS. That figure, though, includes spending from mid-June when Obama first ordered U.S. advisers to assess the situation in Iraq.

 

DID AIRDROPPED ARMS FALL TO ISIS? The Pentagon said Tuesday it did not know whether military aid was accidentally dropped to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria fighters instead of the Syrian Kurdish forces they were destined for. 

On Sunday, U.S. aircraft dropped 28 bundles of small arms, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish fighters battling ISIS in the Syrian town of Kobani. Defense officials said one bundle was later destroyed by airstrikes, to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. 

However, a video uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday showed an ISIS fighter rifling through what appeared to be one of the airdropped bundles, filled with grenades and ammunition. 

Pentagon officials said they were analyzing the video. However, they acknowledged the supplies in the video were of the same kind the U.S. dropped in Kobani. 

“They are certainly … of the kinds of material that was dropped … small-arms ammunition and weaponry. So it’s not out of the realm of the possible in that regard,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said. 

“I do want to add, though, that we are very confident that the vast majority of the bundles did end up in the right hands,” he added.

Kirby said Kurdish fighters were in control of the majority of Kobani, though he warned the town which is only miles from the Turkish border, could still fall. 

 

LAWMAKER: TURKEY SLOW TO ACT ON ISIS:  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) blasted Turkey’s government on Tuesday, saying it has not done enough to battle the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Turkey recently said it would allow Kurdish Peshmerga forces from Iraq to enter Kobani and help repel an ISIS advance. But defense officials said they have not seen any such movements yet. 

“It has done so little. It has been a player, not for the solution, but part of the problem,” Ros-Lehtinen said of Turkey during an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday. 

Ankara has been reluctant to aid the Syrian Kurdish fighters, since they are affiliated with a separatist group in Turkey that it and the U.S. considers a terrorist group. 

The U.S. and partners have stepped up airstrikes in and around Kobani, with the total now reaching 144 — roughly half of all airstrikes conducted in Syria to date. 

 

DHS ISSUES NEW EBOLA PROTOCOLS: The Homeland Security Department unveiled new rules for travelers from countries affected by the Ebola epidemic, requiring them to arrive at one of five major U.S. airports for a health screening.

The move comes after lawmakers in both parties demanded the government take additional steps to ensure no one carries the virus into the U.S., with a new poll showing it has become a top concern of Americans.

People arriving from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be required to travel through five airports: Washington Dulles International Airport, O’Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Once they’ve touched down they will undergo an interview and a temperature check. The new policy will take effect on Wednesday.

“We are working closely with the airlines to implement these restrictions with minimal travel disruption,” DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said.

Senior House Republicans blasted the new restrictions, saying they do not go far enough and renewed their calls for a full travel ban.

“Funneling all passengers through these five airports helps close a gap that could have allowed affected travelers into our country with no screening at all,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committees, said. “But certainly not a complete solution.”

 

VOTEVETS UNVEILS NEW ADS: VoteVets Action Fund is dropping $1.25 million on new ads to boost a pair of candidates in high-profile races.

The advocacy group launched television and radio ads for Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Bruce Braley (D), and a commercial for Democrat Seth Moulton, who defeated Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) in a September primary.

The TV spot for Braley features Clair Harper, a World War II veteran, and Ione Shadduck, who served in the Women’s Army Corps during the Korean War.

“A lot has changed, especially politics. When New York billionaires attack a good man like Bruce Braley, that’s wrong,” they say. “As the son of a Marine, Bruce always fights for vets. He helped hundreds of troops get overdue combat pay. Trust us. Bruce is on our side.”

The commercial is the latest attempt to fend off attacks from Republican Iowa Senate hopeful Joni Ernst and other conservative groups who have spent months charging that Braley missed a majority of the House Veterans Affairs Committee’s hearings..

The ad will run for one week, costing $550,000. The group is also spending $100,000 to reserve radio time, bringing the total price tag to $650,000 for the toss-up race

VoteVets is spending another $600,000 on a television ad in Massachusetts supporting Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, and comparing his views against GOP opponent Richard Tisei.

“Who will bring fresh leadership to Congress? A career politician who votes against funds for veterans? Or a courageous veteran who served four tours in Iraq?” a female narrator asks in a string of questions over photos of the two candidates.

The national group says the cable and broadcast commercial will run for over a week. The latest buy puts the group’s total investment in the House race at more than $1 million.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

— NSA official ends work for private security firm

— House Dem: Block benefits of Americans in ISIS

— Could US handle biologic attack?

 

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