ISIS simply misplaced its senior-most Iraqi chief in an airstrike, the U.S. navy introduced this morning. It occurred on Wednesday about two hours north of Baghdad.
His title: Abu Yasir, and he was killed south of Tikrit in a joint operation with coalition forces that additionally killed 10 suspected ISIS fighters, coalition spox U.S. Military Col. Wayne Marotto tweeted. “The Coalition will proceed to take away key leaders from the battlefield and degrade the terrorist group,” mentioned Marotta in a follow-up tweet. “Terrorists-you won’t ever dwell in peace- you can be pursued to the ends of the earth.”
Context: The realm round Tikrit “has been an ISIS fallback zone and management sanctuary since 2018,” tweeted regional safety analyst Alex Mello. In reality, he added, Iraq particular operations forces “killed the [ISIS] deputy wali of Iraq in an air assault on this similar space in Dec[ember],” and that mission possible drove the operation to kill Yasir.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is celebrating on Twitter, writing, “We promised and fulfilled. I gave my phrase to pursue Daesh terrorists, we gave them a thundering response. Our heroic armed forces have eradicated Daesh commander Abu Yaser Al-Issawi as a part of an intelligence-led operation. Lengthy dwell Iraq and its patriotic armed forces.”
From Protection One
Northrop Grumman Says It Will Stroll Away From Cluster Bomb Contract // Marcus Weisgerber: The corporate’s CEO says the choice is a part of a transfer to “be considerate about potential human rights implications” of its merchandise.
New Biden Directive Shields Federal Scientists From Political Interference // Eric Katz, Authorities Govt: President additionally calls on companies to overtake their car fleet.
The Subsequent Steps For the Pentagon’s AI Hub // Chris Bassler and Bryan Durkee: Six methods the Joint Synthetic Intelligence Heart can speed up the navy’s use of AI.
The Pentagon’s Probability to Get Severe About Local weather Change // Sharon Burke: Biden’s govt order is a welcome first step — however there’s solely a lot the navy can do.
Beijing’s Warning Shot to Biden // Ashley Feng and Edward Fishman: U.S. policymakers should start treating sanctions by different international locations as a critical nationwide safety menace.
Welcome to this Friday version of The D Temporary from Ben Watson. Ship us suggestions out of your group proper right here. And in case you’re not already subscribed to The D Temporary, you are able to do that right here. On today in 1964, the traditional Chilly Battle-era movie, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Discovered to Cease Worrying and Love the Bomb,” was first launched in theaters.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is talking this morning with NBC Information Correspondent Carol Lee. It’s a part of the Aspen Safety Discussion board’s International Leaders Collection of occasions, and it started at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Additionally this morning: POTUS46’s Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan is sitting down with POTUS45’s NSA Robert O’Brien in a dialog moderated by POTUS43’s NSA Condoleezza Rice. It’s an occasion referred to as “Passing the Baton 2021: Securing America’s Future Collectively,” and it’s hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace. That one begins at 11 a.m. ET. Particulars and extra right here.
The White Home has a brand new Iran envoy, and it’s Robert Malley, president of the Worldwide Disaster Group. “Malley was a key member of former President Barack Obama’s staff that negotiated the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran,” Reuters reported Thursday.
As envoy, Malley gained’t require Senate affirmation, the New York Instances reviews amid criticism from aggressive conservatives like Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
Right here’s a window into present White Home considering in terms of Iran and a potential try to revive a nuclear deal: “[I]f Iran comes again into full compliance with its obligations beneath the JCPOA, america would do the identical factor,” Secretary of State Tony Blinken mentioned Wednesday.
President Biden is planning a go to to Walter Reed Nationwide Army Medical Heart this afternoon for about two hours “to go to with wounded service members,” in accordance with the White Home’s public schedule right now.
Italy simply blocked the $485 million sale of some 20,000 missiles to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Reuters reviews right now from Rome.
What’s occurring? The deal was reached “in 2016 beneath a centre-left authorities led by Matteo Renzi,” however Renzi “triggered a authorities collapse in Rome this week by pulling his Italia Viva celebration from the coalition.”
“That is an act that we thought of obligatory, a transparent message of peace coming from our nation,” Italy’s International Minister Luigi Di Maio mentioned. “For us, the respect of human rights is an unbreakable dedication.” A bit extra right here.
Are America’s particular operators (and their bosses) doing sufficient to comply with the legal guidelines of conflict? The Protection Division’s Inspector Common goes to look into the matter now, the New York Instances reported Thursday after information of the coverage and techniques evaluate first surfaced earlier this week.
Hey CIA peeps: Higher not try to work for a overseas authorities after your time at Langley is up. That was the gist of an uncommon e-mail Monday from Sheetal Patel, the C.I.A.’s assistant director for counterintelligence, in accordance with the NYTs reporting Wednesday.
Additionally in that e-mail: Retired officers really want “to fastidiously weigh their feedback on tv, social media, and podcasts.”
Context: “What’s modified is with the digital revolution, the web and social media, everyone’s obtained a platform,” Nicholas Dujmovic, former company historian and present professor on the Catholic College of America, instructed the Instances. “It’s not possible for the company to even concentrate on, a lot much less actively monitor, each time a former says one thing,” he mentioned. Extra right here.
Lastly this week: The Pentagon slammed its brakes on advisory boards, which “successfully prevents numerous Trump allies, together with Corey Lewandoski and David Bossie, from really serving” on at the least 5 completely different boards or advisory panels, Politico reported Thursday.
Value noting: The brand new directive from SecDef Austin reportedly solely “utilized to Trump nominees who have been nonetheless within the technique of in search of safety clearances and being seated,” the Wall Road Journal added. “Different nominees already had accomplished the onboarding course of and had joined their advisory panels.”
Have a protected weekend, everybody. And we’ll see you once more on Monday!