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September 2, 2014

Iraqi Forces Gain on Islamic State After New U.S. Strikes 
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President Obama has notified Congress of new U.S. airstrikes on Iraq
nearly one month after they began. Over the weekend, U.S. warplanes
bombed targets around the Iraqi city of Amerli, which has been under a
two-month siege by the militant group Islamic State, or ISIL. Iraqi
forces and Shi'ite fighters were able to break the siege on Sunday. The
attacks come as President Obama weighs strikes on ISIL in neighboring
Syria. Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," Democratic Sen. Dianne
Feinstein said when it comes to taking on the Islamic State, President
Obama has been "too cautious."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein: "I've learned one thing about this president, and
that is, he's very cautious — maybe, in this instance, too
cautious. I do know that the military, I know that the State Department,
I know that others have been putting plans together, and so hopefully
those plans will coalesce into a strategy that can encourage that
coalition from Arab nations."

The United States has carried out more than 100 strikes on Iraq since
Obama ordered the bombing campaign on August 8. On Monday, the U.N.
Human Rights Council voted to investigate the Islamic State for crimes
and abuses at the request of the Iraqi government.

 

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