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China executes attack 'masterminds'
8/24/2014 11:22:50 PM
- China executes 8 people convicted of terrorism
- Three were executed for their roles in an attack on Tiananmen Square in October
- China has cracked down on violence in Xinjiang involving Uyghurs
Hong Kong (CNN) -- China has executed eight people convicted of terrorism, including three for their roles in an attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in October, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities.
Authorities in Xinjiang, an ethnically divided province in China's far west, said that three of those executed "masterminded" a terrorist attack on October 28 when a vehicle drove through security barriers and into a crowd on the square in the capital.
It crashed into a pedestrian bridge and burst into flames, killing five, including three in the vehicle, and wounded 40 others.
The other five had been found guilty of crimes including murder of government officials, setting up a terrorist organization and the illegal manufacturing of explosives, Xinhua said.
China has cracked down on violence in Xinjiang involving Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim ethnic group after a series of high profile attacks in the past year.
Religious extremists
Twenty-nine people were killed and 130 injured when men armed with long knives stormed a train station in Kunming, southwest China in March.
The following month, an attack on a train station in Urumqi, the regional capital, left three dead, including the attackers, and an attack on an Urumqi market in May killed at least 39.
China has blamed religious extremists for violence in the region.
Some Uyghurs have expressed resentment toward China's Han majority in recent years over what they say is harsh treatment from Chinese security forces and Han people taking the lion's share of economic opportunities in Xinjiang.
Uyghurs also say their religious and cultural freedom has been curtailed.
Earlier this month, a town in Xinjiang temporarily banned people from wearing Islamic-style clothing and large beards on buses.
READ: China bans beards, veils on buses
More lives lost in Gaza conflict
8/24/2014 6:34:29 PM
- NEW: Sixteen Palestinians killed Sunday, Ministry of Health says
- NEW: Some 117 rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, Israel says
- Israel targets Hamas financial leader, military says
- Egypt destroys five tunnels under border with Gaza
(CNN) -- The recently renewed violence in the Mideast claimed more lives Sunday as Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people in Gaza and a Hamas attack on a border crossing wounded four Israeli civilians.
The 16 Palestinian victims included a mother and her three children in their home, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra.
One of the targets was Mohamed Al-Oul, who supervised Hamas' financial transactions, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF said a "hit was confirmed."
The four Israelis were hit at the border crossing near the town of Erez. THe IDF tweeted that several rockets and mortars struck the checkpoint. One civilian was moderately wounded and three were injured, the IDF said, without elaborating on their conditions.
The civilians had come to the crossing to aid people needing humanitarian assistance, Israel's Ministry of Defense said in a written statement. The crossing remains closed.
Hamas said it fired 23 mortar shells at the site. At least 117 rockets were fired at Israel on Sunday, the IDF said via its Twitter account.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated before his weekly Cabinet meeting that airstrikes will continue and that Israel targets militants.
"The Hamas is paying and will pay a heavy price for the crimes it is carrying out. I call on the citizens of Gaza to leave every place that the Hamas is carrying out terror activity. Every place like this is a target for us. ... This is true on all fronts and for all countries," he said.
He compared Hamas to ISIS, the militant group that now calls itself the Islamic State.
"Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas. They simply work in the same way. They are branches of the same poisonous tree," Netanyahu said.
Israel, the European Union and the United States consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
Al-Qidra told CNN that 92 people in Gaza have been killed since a ceasefire ended five days ago and more than 2,100 have died in this weekslong conflict.
There were other effects of the violence, which began in early July. The United Nations, which runs many schools in Gaza, said 500,000 children were unable to begin classes on Sunday. A spokesman for the Palestinian ministry of education said more than 100 government-run schools are closed while others are being used as shelters.
Fire from Syria
Also Sunday, the Israeli military said rockets from Syria hit various locations through the Golan Heights.
It was unclear who was responsible for the rockets from Syria or whether they had anything to do with Israel's ongoing fight with Hamas that has raged for weeks. The Golan Heights is under Israeli government control but is considered to be occupied territory by the international community.
The announcement came hours after a rocket from Lebanon struck an open area in northern Israel in a separate attack. No injuries were immediately reported in either of those attacks.
Last month, a rocket was fired into northern Israel from southern Lebanon, and the Israeli military responded with an artillery strike. At the time, Israel said it held the Lebanese government responsible for the attack.
Israel has waged an offensive in Gaza against the militant Palestinian group Hamas and the stream of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza. Hopes for a ceasefire appear dim despite calls from world leaders for the two sides to stop the violence.
During the offensive, Israel destroyed more than 30 concrete-lined tunnels that led from Gaza into Israel.
Sources, including one who witnessed an explosion, told CNN that the Egyptian army Sunday blew up five tunnels on the border with Gaza.
Hamas request
Hamas is urging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to go before the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli leaders for war crimes.
The Palestinians are not currently under the jurisdiction of the ICC, but would be if they sign the court's Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.
Back in May, a group of 17 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, signed a letter to Abbas encouraging him to join the ICC.
The United States and Israel and some other nations have pressured Abbas not to take this step, arguing that it would harm peace talks.
Hamas' announcement comes a day after one of the group's leaders admitted that its militants were responsible for the abduction of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June.
Hamas Political Bureau member Saleh Aruri added that the kidnappers did not tell their leaders about the action. The kidnappings were not approved by Hamas leadership or its military wing, he said, stressing that this acknowledgment does not equate to a claim of responsibility.
The three teens were later found dead, sparking the violence that has raged since then.
READ: Israel's 'refusers': Why we too feel 'occupied'
READ: Gaza's zoo animals caught in crossfire
CNN's Ian Lee in Gaza and Michael Schwartz in Jerusalem, and Katia Hetter in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Chris Brown's VMA party turns violent
8/24/2014 9:01:52 PM
- NEW: Former rap mogul Suge Knight is one of the 3 people shot, deputy says
- "It's disappointing," Chris Brown tweets about the outbreak of violence at party
- All three victims are expected to recover from their gunshot wounds, deputy says
- Sheriff's Department investigating; no arrests have been made
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Gunshots inside a celebrity-filled Sunset Strip party hosted by Chris Brown wounded three people early Sunday, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.
Former rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was among the wounded, a sheriff's deputy confirmed.
All three victims, two men and a woman, are expected to recover from their gunshot wounds, Deputy Jeff Gordon told CNN.
The shooting happened inside the 1 Oak club on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood at 1:30 a.m., Gordon said.
Brown posted a tweet after the incident: "It's disappointing that we as a society can't have fun or enjoy ourselves without any altercations sometimes. Miss me with the bulls**t!!!"
Brown, who is still on probation for beating singer and then-girlfriend Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammys, was hosting the party as a celebration of the MTV Video Music Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday.
A grainy cell phone video posted on Instagram shows Brown standing on the back of a couch and yelling in the aftermath of the shooting. Brown's bodyguard can be seen trying to get him down. The singer has colored his hair blond and is wearing a white shirt and jeans in the video.
Sheriff's investigators are handling the shooting investigation, and no arrests have been made, Gordon said.
One person inside the club tweeted, "So 1oak just got shut up. Everyone ducked and ran. Walked out of the club with 20 cops pointing rifles at us. Chris Brown was pissed."
Knight, 49, rose to fame and fortune after founding Death Row Records in 1991 and signing artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
Knight was driving the car which which Shakur was a passenger when the rapper was shot to death in Las Vegas in 1996.
Shortly afterward, Knight spent several years in prison for violating parole on assault and weapons convictions. That prison time -- along with Shakur's death, feuds between Knight and a number of rappers and desertions by Dr. Dre, Snoop and others -- contributed to the label's bankruptcy in 2006.
This was not Knight's first time being shot at a pre-VMA party. He was shot in his leg at a party hosted by rapper Kanye West at a Miami hotel on the eve of the 2005 VMA show.
Brown makes 'strides' to sobriety, 'personal growth,' doctor says
'This doesn't happen to white people'
8/25/2014 8:39:39 AM
- Kimberly Norwood, a black woman and lawyer, lives in a suburb 12 miles from Ferguson
- She has been ignored or seen as shoplifting risk in stores, as has her young daughter
- She notified police when her sons were walking to school so they wouldn't harass them
- Norwood hopes Ferguson will start conversation on black Americans' daily experiences
Editor's note: Kimberly Norwood is a law professor at the Washington University School of Law and editor and co-contributor of "Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Post Racial America." The opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
(CNN) -- I am a 54-year-old black woman -- a mother, lawyer and law professor. I teach at the Washington University in St. Louis Law School and live 12 miles away from Ferguson, Missouri.
The median household income in my suburb is $85,000 per year. In Ferguson, it is $36,000. In my suburb, 3.5% of the people are black. In Ferguson, almost 70% are black. These are stark contrasts. Yet I share things in common with black people in Ferguson and, indeed, throughout the United States.
When I shop, I'm often either ignored as a waste of time or scrutinized as a potential shoplifter. In June, my daughter and I walked into the china and crystal department at a Macy's department store. I was about to speak to the salesperson directly in front of me. She walked right past me to welcome the white woman behind us.
My daughter looked at me and said: "Really? Did she just ignore us?" My daughter is a young teenager at the crossroads of "skin color doesn't matter" and "oh yes, it does." She is in transition. I felt hurt, anger and embarrassment.
But this kind of encounter happens routinely.
Driving, I tend to have a bit of a lead foot -- hitting 45 in a 35 mph zone. The few times I have been stopped in my suburb, the first question I'm asked is whether I live "around here." Not one of my white friends has been asked that question when they were pulled over by a police officer.
Last summer, my teenage daughter was shopping with four white friends at a mall in an affluent St. Louis suburb. As they left the store, two mall security guards approached my daughter. They told her the store had called them and reported her as a shoplifter, and asked her to come with them. After a search, they found she had nothing. So far in her young life, mall security guards have stopped her on suspicion of shoplifting three times. Each time she was innocent.
I also have three sons. My two oldest are 22. They are 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4 and each weighs more than 220 pounds. One recently graduated from college; the other will graduate in 2015. The youngest is 13. All three like to wear jeans and the latest sneakers. They love hoodies. They like looking cool. These three young men have never been arrested or even been in a fight at school.
Every time my sons leave the house, I worry about their safety. One of my sons loves to go out at night to clubs. I worry about potential unrest at the clubs -- yes, black-on-black crime is a problem, and despite what many people think, black people complain about it all the time in their communities and churches and in newspapers and on radio stations.
I also worry about his drive home and his being stopped by police.
The data in Ferguson are an example of the larger picture in the St. Louis County area. Police stop, search and arrest black people at a disproportionate rate, even though they are less likely to possess contraband than white people.
This son of mine who likes to go out at night is big and tall and he has brown skin. He graduated from college in May but cannot find employment. He is an intelligent, clean-cut young man.
But the negative stereotypes automatically assigned to his skin color follow him everywhere, even in job interviews, like extra weight. It reminds me of the airline employee who asks before you can check your suitcase: Did a stranger ask you to carry something or pack your bag? In my son's case, the answer is yes. He is carrying extra weight, unfairly, and without his knowledge or consent, packed in his luggage.
A few years ago my husband and I went on a cruise. My older boys were teenagers at the time and were taking summer enrichment classes at a school about a mile from our home. They planned to walk to school in the morning. At the top of a long list of things to do before we left for our trip was "e-mail chief of police."
I explained to the chief that my husband and I were going on a cruise, I was a member of the community and that my two sons would be walking to school. I attached pictures of the boys, explaining that only a couple of black families lived in the neighborhood. My sons did not normally walk in the neighborhood, so they would draw attention.
I offered to bring my sons to the police department so officers could meet them. The police chief and I met and all went well.
But I've asked myself: How many parents of white sons have thought to add to their to-do-before-leaving-town list, "Write letter to local police department, introducing sons and attaching photos, so police do not become suspicious and harass them"?
Even though my older boys are men, I still worry about them. I worry about my 13-year-old. This worry is a stressful, and sadly normal, part of my daily existence. My youngest will be 6 feet tall in the coming weeks. He has brown skin.
These young black men have arrows pointed and ready to shoot at them daily -- black-on-black crime, police encounters, societal bias and mistrust. Shortly after the Michael Brown shooting, I met with a group of my 13-year-old's black male friends to explain to them what happened in Ferguson, and what to do and how to respond if they are ever stopped by the police. My words reminded me of stories and fears my grandfather used to share with me about his encounters with police during the Jim Crow era.
These are just a few of the many ways in which people in America are treated differently based on the color of their skin. This has been going on for a long time. I hope the events in Ferguson will encourage people to see the stark differences in the experiences of black people -- not just black people who struggle economically but also black people like me -- and white people as they go about their routine, daily lives.
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Talking to kids about race and class
8/25/2014 8:39:48 AM
- "Talking about race ... explaining race is hard," writes an African-American blogger
- Some parents are either afraid, uncomfortable or unwilling to bring the topic up with their kids
- Exposing children to diversity through books and travel can be a way to have the conversation
- "The way that we get better at talking about race is talking about race," said an author
Editor's note: Kelly Wallace is CNN's digital correspondent and editor-at-large covering family, career and life. She is a mom of two girls. Read her other columns and follow her reports at CNN Parents and on Twitter.
(CNN) -- Talking about race and class makes people uncomfortable.
If that were not the case, we'd have more open conversations about these issues with our friends, families and co-workers, and would no doubt be a more understanding and loving society across the board.
The situation in Ferguson, Missouri, after the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager, throws America's problem with talking about race into sharp relief. So if adults are having trouble talking openly about race and class, it's easy to see why some parents are either afraid, uncomfortable or unwilling to bring the topics up with their children.
"Talking about race, dealing with race, explaining race is hard," blogger Brandi Riley wrote on her Facebook page.
Riley, who is African-American, told me her main priority when she talks to her 5-year-old daughter Ayva about race and class is teaching her that it's OK to be different.
"I don't want her to think that we're all the same, or to grow up not seeing color," said Riley. "That's not realistic, and what happens to children that grow up like that is they aren't able to empathize or understand when things like Ferguson happen because 'they don't get what the problem is.' "
READ: Within black families, hard truths told to sons amid Ferguson unrest
Riley, who blogs about parenting at Mama Knows It All, encourages parents not to be afraid to talk about race with their kids. One of the easiest ways to discuss it, she said, is to read books with children that showcase diversity.
"Expose them to cultures outside of their own through classes, or travel, and be intentional about it," she said. "As much as we'd like to believe it, racial tolerance (and) acceptance doesn't just happen. It takes work. It takes being open to understanding and learning about each other's history, and making the commitment to teach our children as well."
Felicia King, a mother of three in Willingboro, New Jersey, said her family hasn't really had an on-going conversation about race because they have friends from so many different countries and cultures and haven't personally had to deal with racism.
That said, King did talk to her son, who is 25 and almost 6 feet tall, about dealing with police officers -- a conversation many parents of color say they've had with their sons. She's made it clear that he has to be prepared for the possibility that some authority figures will judge him by his race before anything else.
Opinion: Are we Ferguson?
"I taught him you must, when you're with an officer or anyone else say, 'Yes sir.' Give them that respect first and it benefits you."
The fact that African-American parents have to have that conversation with their sons -- a conversation most white moms would never think of having, pains Marcy Cohen, a white mom with a 1-year-old son in New York City.
"To talk to your child as if your child is seen as a threat is so upsetting," she said.
Cohen said even before her son can talk, she and her husband are doing what they can to expose him to people of all walks of life, races and income levels. As a white boy growing up in a family with economic means, she also wants him to realize he's lucky and to see all human beings, regardless of race and class, as equal to him.
"I feel like there's a fear of others that we put into our children and I desperately do not want to put that on him," the stay-at-home mom said.
For some white parents, there is a discomfort about talking about race especially since it's not something they live every day. There is also the painful realization of some of the social and economic benefits for whites of systemic racism, said blogger Elizabeth Broadbent, creator of the site Manic Pixie Dream Mama.
READ: Talking Trayvon with kids isn't exclusive to African-American parents
In a blog post that has been widely shared in social media, the mom of three sons challenged white parents to recognize and talk with their children about "white privilege."
"For a mother, white privilege means your heart doesn't hit your throat when your kids walk out the door. It means you don't worry that the cops will shoot your sons," Broadbent wrote.
"It carries another burden instead. White privilege means that if you don't school your sons about it, if you don't insist on its reality and call out oppression, your sons may become something terrifying. Your sons may become the shooters."
It is uncomfortable and scary for some people to recognize the "unfairness and injustice" in a country that was, in some ways, "founded on the principles of white supremacy and continues to maintain itself on principles of white supremacy," said Stephen Pimpare, author of "A People's History of Poverty."
"What I think is often very frustrating to poor and low income people who tend to be disproportionally people of color is the sense that people in positions of power don't recognize that and are still sort of in denial about that," said Pimpare, who is also an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University and New York University.
Parents who live that reality day-in and day-out can't help but share their experiences with their children.
Shelly Watson of Berkeley, California, an African-American woman with a biracial father, said her parents talked with her about race when she was very young and she has had similar conversations with her daughter, now 21.
"I've always taught my daughter that racism is still there and a lot of times it's very subtle," said Watson, who works at a major health care company as a computer coder specializing in electronic medical records.
She said she's always told her daughter that as an African-American woman, she is "going to be looked at differently."
Watson experienced that herself the day before our conversation when, during a visit to a New York City department store, she says she was followed around as she shopped.
"So when people say race doesn't matter, that is not true," she said. "Racism will never die in this country until people change the way they perceive others and otherness in general."
Watson's daughter, Persiah Acorn, said she didn't really understand what her mother was talking about until she encountered racism in high school. Since then, she has watched people perceive her a certain way just because of the color of her skin.
"If I had on, let's say, clothes just like you, let's say I even worked at CNN, it wouldn't make a difference. People still treat me the same way because I'm African-American," said Acorn, a senior at Howard University.
Opinion: Ferguson: The signal it sends about America
"People still scoot away from me on the subway. I've had open seats and no one sits next to me, and it makes me wonder why. ... For some reason, there's still almost a fear or a distaste for me just because of my race."
One way to bridge the distance, Pimpare said, is to embrace the scary and uncomfortable -- and have conversations about race with our children.
"We're terrible about talking about race in particular and the way that we get better at talking about race is talking about race, and we have to find ways to do it," he said.
What do you think is the best way to talk to children about race and class? Tell Kelly Wallace on Twitter or CNN Living on Facebook.
Romney to run for president in 2016?
8/25/2014 10:09:26 AM
- Mitt Romney's former advisers are denying rumors that he might run for presidency in 2016
- Julian Zelizer: If Romney does decide to run, he may end up at the top of the GOP ticket
- He says each of the current presidential contenders in the GOP is flawed
- Zelizer: Romney's stance on issues appeals to Republicans, and he's great at fund-raising
Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress and the Battle for the Great Society." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- The Christian Science Monitor recently reported that Mitt Romney's former political advisers are adamantly denying rumors that their boss might run for the presidency in 2016. "I take Mitt at his absolute word," said Ron Kaufman. "He's not running."
Whether or not Romney wants to run, or if his family is comfortable with his doing so, will be up to them.
But should he decide to put his hat in the ring, it's not crazy to think that Romney would be able to end up at the top of the Republican ticket in 2016.
Most pundits believed that his political career had come to an end following his loss to President Obama in 2012. But a sympathetic portrayal in a Netflix documentary, entitled "Mitt," combined with his fund-raising for midterm candidates in the 2014 elections, has generated considerable buzz.
The odds are obviously not great. Republicans would naturally be jittery about selecting a candidate who couldn't make it through the primaries in 2008 and then crashed and burned against Obama. While many Republicans were sure that Obama should be a one-term president -- another Jimmy Carter, in their minds -- the Democrats devastated Romney as a candidate who only cared about the rich and who had no inner core.
So how could someone recover from this kind of loss? How could Romney end up as the next Republican nominee?
If he were interested in running, Romney could take some comfort from the fact that some political losers have been able to rebuild themselves. Richard Nixon seemed like he would vanish into political thin air after losing to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election and then losing to Pat Brown in the California gubernatorial election in 1962.
"You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore," he said after losing. That turned out to be incorrect, not because Nixon vanished from politics but because he came back stronger than ever in 1968. After building his reputation as a statesman and playing a key role in helping Republicans in the 1966 midterm campaign, Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey to become president in 1968.
Ronald Reagan, after coming close to defeating President Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican primaries, spent the next four years expanding his audience and refining his message through his weekly radio shows. He became the front-runner in 1980 and beat Carter to become president.
Like Nixon in 1966, Romney has been proving his worth on the campaign trail in 2014. He is the "man in demand." Romney "is the most prominent and engaged elder statesman the GOP has on the national stage right now," one Republican consultant told CNN, watching how the former presidential candidate has been a star at fund-raising events.
While a number of figures in the Republican Party are clearly preparing to jump into the presidential race, each of them is flawed. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky espouses a kind of libertarianism that doesn't sit well with most of the party. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie might rebuild his career, but "bridgegate" has greatly tarnished his reputation. Wisconsin Republican Scott Walker has a scandal of his own. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is untested on the national stage and will try to run as the "immigrant" candidate in a party that has stood by a very hardline position on immigration. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has to contend with the Bush name in an electorate that still harbors negative feelings about his brother's time in the White House. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who is becoming the most plausible candidate, is too closely associated with the right wing of his party and comes from a caucus of House Republicans who rank incredibly low in the polls.
Despite all the animosity that emerged toward Romney's wealth and his record on economic issues, the fact is that Romney's preference for strong deregulatory and regressive policies fits very comfortably with the major thrust of the party. Since Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, the heart of GOP policies has not been about social and cultural issues, but rather about aiming to weaken the regulatory arm of the government over the economy. On these issues, Romney has impeccable credentials. As a result, Romney will still hold considerable appeal among major donors and conservative activists, like the Koch brothers, as the candidate who will aggressively pursue their core agenda. The money and endorsements can go a long way.
It is not that difficult to see how the nation might witness a presidential campaign in 2016 that includes Mitt Romney. Whether he would be able to take on Hillary Clinton or some of the other potential Democratic nominees remains unclear. But speculation that he might end up as the person the GOP turns to is not that out of the bounds of reason.
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Did a second ISIS militant kill Foley?
8/26/2014 4:22:42 AM
- One forensics expert says there are definitely two militants in video
- The one who spoke with a British accent may not have been the executioner
- Speaker has a holster suitable for a right-handed person, but apparent killer used his left
- A blogger thinks he has used satellite photos to figure out where Foley was killed
(CNN) -- The shocking video of James Foley being beheaded in Syria has set off multiple investigations into the mystery of who killed the American journalist.
A day after the British ambassador to the United States said that experts in his country are close to identifying the killer, two U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN that counterterrorism experts are still unable to ID Foley's executioner.
U.S. analysts said it's not knowable from the video released by ISIS who carried out Foley's killing, because the entire slaying is not shown. A man moves a knife across Foley's neck, then the picture fades to black.
Now one forensics expert has raised the issue that there appear to be two militants in the video.
It's one of several puzzles, but there are a number of clues as to who committed this horrible act and where.
1. Accent
The focus has been on a man in the video who has a British accent. Peter Westmacott, British ambassador to the United States, said Sunday that British agents have been using "very sophisticated technologies, voice identification and so on" to identify the suspect. "We are very close to identifying who this guy is," he said.
Martin Barry, an audio expert, told CNN it sounded like the way someone in a certain area of London would talk.
"The speaker is using a variety of English known as multicultural London English and that's a kind of melting pot accent that's emerged in recent years, particularly in deprived, multi-ethnic areas of inner London," Barry said.
There is only one voice heard on the audio track.
2. Stature
But Ross Patel, a forensics expert who spoke to CNN, said there is another man, and he might be the actual killer.
The second militant appears on the video after an obvious edit.
"There's definitely a change of actor," Patel said. "There are noticeable, there are subtle but there are also noticeable changes in their build, their physical appearance."
The video contains other data like the measurements of a face, even though it is hidden. That could help investigators sift through databases of passport photos.
3. Knives
The man who speaks holds a knife in one of his hands. It looks to be a different knife than the one that was left next to Foley's body.
The dimensions and style of the knives are slightly different, Patel said.
4. Holster
When trying to determine whether the British-accented man is also the killer, it helps to examine where his pistol is holstered. It is underneath his left armpit -- that is for use by his right hand. But the executioner appears on the video to be left-handed. It's unclear why this happened.
5. Location
Blogger Eliot Higgins looked at the background of the video. Behind the men is a road going over the hilly terrain. On the right side of the frame is a dip in the hills, one Higgins matched to a break he found in an image on Google Earth. There was another camera angle used in the video and in the distance there is a field and some buildings. He believes the clues show the video was recorded south of the town of Raqqa in north central Syria.
READ: 5 key questions in the fight against ISIS
READ: Former CIA chief: Matter of time before ISIS tries to attack West
READ: Voice, words may provide key clues about Foley's killer
CNN's Evan Perez contributed to this story.
How I overcame depression
8/26/2014 7:41:10 AM
- Rick Martin: When I heard the news about Robin Williams' death I felt heartbroken
- Martin: It brought back memories of my own battle with depression as a youth
- He says depression is overwhelming, but it can be overcome - it takes a village
- Martin: Don't be afraid to share your feelings, ask for help and reach out for support
Editor's note: Rick Martin is a Senior News Editor for the Affiliate Content Center at CNN. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Monday night's tribute to Robin Williams at the Emmy Awards was moving and powerful and funny, like the man himself.
When I first heard the news about Williams' apparent suicide, like millions of his fans, I felt heartbroken. He was so brave, talented, funny and brilliant. What a loss of a great actor and a great man.
In days that followed, I learned that Williams had been battling severe depression. This brought back memories of my own battle with depression many years ago when I was a teenager. I never told anyone about it because I was terrified that I would be judged.
But the time has come for me to share this with my family, friends and the world. Earlier this year when I read that six students from a high school in Virginia committed suicide during a three-year period, my eyes welled with tears and I felt incredibly sad. I knew I could not remain silent anymore. I didn't want to read about another student taking his own life who had to deal with the same intense, complicated challenges that I dealt with.
I called the school district and was invited to speak at its Teen Suicide Prevention Summit. I felt humbled and honored, and scared at the same time. After speaking at the summit, guests of all ages lined the aisle to tell me how my message gave them hope.
In essence, what I shared in that speech was that depression can be overcome, but it takes a village. You never know what sharing your concern may mean to someone in pain. My pastor recently told me I have become a living testimony of how a support network can help others find rest in the midst of storm.
Living life as a husband, a father and a journalist assigned to overnight shifts is not easy. Even the best of us will be tested to their limits. Some days, I don't know if I'm getting it right at all.
Those who suffer depression have it tough. I would like to share how I found hope in the midst of my storm. I created a system for myself to remain focused, LASER focused, on staying free from storm.
For young people who face storms of their own, here's my story.
I was that kid, in the midst of storm. I am the son of proud immigrant parents who drilled into me a sense of duty to repay the opportunity afforded me. With American "success" comes the responsibility to accept the full weight of their dreams of a better life for their children. I thank my parents for setting standards that stay with me to this day.
My parents moved us to a nice D.C. suburban neighborhood surrounded by opportunity, but it was isolating. At age 16, I fell into a deep and dark emotional hole. The stress of school, sports and assimilation became too much to bear. I felt guilty for wanting to abandon my cultural heritage. I stopped feeling loved. I quit caring. I would later learn that this despair I felt was actually a suffering from depression. But at the time, I only knew that I was in unimaginable darkness and loneliness, even if I were surrounded by people.
One day after school, I was at home babysitting my napping, 7-year-old sister. I became overwhelmed with anxiety. Tears rolled down my face. I was scared, but didn't know what I would do. I picked up the phone and called a classmate named Lori Lee. I don't recall exactly what I said, but I know I was at my end. She listened intently. After we hung up, she called a teacher, Mrs. Jo Henry, in my high school and within minutes Jo appeared on my doorstep. Suddenly, I was not alone.
She called my parents, and suddenly I was surrounded by a village. A village that gave me the courage not to hide from them my pain.
I held on to that village and never looked back. I used those experiences to form a list of guiding principles that I have honed through life that I use to weather those everyday storms of life. I call it the LASER system. LASER is an acronym for Listen, Assess, Support, Execute and Respond. It's designed to provide a systematic, positive and consistent approach to help individuals endure challenges and perform through stress.
In my role at CNN as a Senior News Editor, I help decide what gets covered. Unfortunately, all too frequently, I cover stories of youngsters, professional athletes and personalities who didn't find a way out of despair and die tragically. Robin Williams, sadly, is one of many on the list.
The common thread we often learn in those cases is that there was no village. There was no network. There was no one there to Listen and Act, to show them that life is full of possibilities and promise, and there are people who love them. That they have value.
I write to reach those who find themselves slipping, and to urge those around them to help. You can manage through crisis. How?
Listen (intently to when someone is in trouble)
Assess (what the problem could be)
Support (the person to live and dream)
Execute (a plan to get help)
Respond (if initial actions don't help)
The first letter in each of the words just mentioned forms the word laser, like a beam of light that can help you in the dark.
I was on the verge of being defeated more times than I care to count. At each challenge, I found a way out of the storm with the village. I was armed with a LASER focus that in life I am not alone, that storms come and go.
Can you be a part of a village to someone? Can you be their haven from storms? The difference begins with you. Each and every one of you.
To anyone who might be struggling -- you're not alone. Struggle is natural. It's OK to be afraid. It's OK to hurt. What's not OK is keeping those feelings to yourself. It takes courage to share those feelings. Reach out to your village.
To those around someone who's struggling, know that it took me 10 years to fully share with my school friend how her single, simple act of making a phone call to a caring teacher set a chain of events that changed the course of my life.
Who would have thought that that kid who struggled to succeed academically and socially then would be flourishing at arguably the most prestigious and influential media organization in the world?
I thank God every day that someone showed up with an umbrella in the midst of my storm, and gave me a haven, and that a village came to make me believe in my promise and my purpose, and that I can look in the mirror every day now with LASER focus, with hope, in spite of the storms, and use my principles to live and thrive.
My heart goes out to Robin Williams' wife and family. For all those who are struggling with depression, don't slip into the darkness, because it doesn't have to be that way.
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Armed Russian soldiers detained in eastern Ukraine
8/26/2014 7:58:48 AM
- NEW: Russian President Vladimir Putin says military escalation will not end conflict
- Ukrainian President says his country will ratify EU deal next month
- Ukraine's Security Service says 10 Russian soldiers were detained in the Donetsk region
- Russian state media cites a source saying the soldiers crossed the border accidentally
Slovyansk, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ten Russian soldiers were detained in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, that country's Security Service said Tuesday, as tensions simmered over the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels.
The Russian soldiers were captured with documents and weapons on them, the Security Service said.
Russia has repeatedly denied claims by Kiev that it has sent troops and weapons over the border into Ukraine, where the Ukrainian military is fighting pro-Russian rebels.
Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited a source in the Russian Defense Ministry as saying the soldiers had been patrolling the border and "most likely crossed by accident" at an unmarked point.
The development comes as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet for the first time since June.
The two leaders are in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for trade talks related to the Eurasian Customs Union, a trade bloc made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Senior European Union officials, headed by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, are also in Minsk for the summit.
"The EU is attending to see if discussions can help create momentum for a new political solution to the crisis in Ukraine," said Ashton's spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic.
Putin: Military escalation won't solve crisis
Putin was cited by Russian state media as telling fellow leaders that the crisis in Ukraine "cannot be solved through further escalation of the military scenario."
He said Russia was "ready to exchange opinions" on the conflict and urged dialogue to find a peaceful resolution, state news agency Itar-Tass reported.
Earlier, Poroshenko spoke with Ashton about the situation in his country's east and the detention of the 10 Russian soldiers, his office said.
He urged the world to support Ukraine and its efforts to secure its border with Russia "to prevent cross-border infiltration of weapons, military equipment and mercenaries." This, he said, would swiftly resolve the situation.
The conflict was first sparked last year by a political crisis over whether Ukraine would seek closer ties with Europe or with Russia. The ouster of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych in February was followed by Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March and a declaration of independence by separatist leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Poroshenko in June signed a landmark EU trade pact, despite opposition from Russia.
On Tuesday, after meeting with Ashton, the President said Ukraine would ratify the Association Agreement with the European Union in September and immediately send the ratification documents to Brussels.
The move "is in no way aimed against anyone," Poroshenko said, according to a statement from his office. "Instead, the agreement will positively affect relations with all our neighbors, especially in the economic sphere. We would like our international partners to accept our decision."
He added that parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26 should not affect the EU agreement. Poroshenko's trip to Belarus comes a day after he dissolved Ukraine's parliament.
However, Putin warned that it would cost Ukraine billions of euros to try to meet EU trade standards and that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan would also lose out. Ukrainian imports would no longer be given preferential treatment, he added.
It's not yet been confirmed whether Putin and Poroshenko, who last met briefly during D-Day commemorations in France, will hold bilateral talks while in Minsk.
Which Western companies are taking a hit in Russia?
'I just want to survive'
Meanwhile, fighting continues for control of Luhansk and Donetsk, both strongholds for the rebel fighters.
Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council said Tuesday that militants and the Russian military have become more active in the east and south of Donetsk, as well as along the border, with 29 clashes in the past day.
Rebel fighters continue to cross the border, backed up by the Russian military firing over the border, NDSC spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko told reporters at a briefing.
Four Ukrainian border guards died and three were injured when two Russian Mi-24 helicopters fired on them, he said.
Russia denies direct or indirect involvement in the fighting and says Ukraine's assault against the rebels is precipitating a humanitarian crisis.
The besieged city of Luhansk has been without water and power for over three weeks, city officials said Sunday. Shelling has caused major damage there and in surrounding villages over past weeks.
Members of the Mahounin family told CNN how they fled their town two days earlier. Intense shelling meant they'd had to spend 24 hours a day in an underground bomb shelter with more than 100 others.
"I don't care what they're fighting for, I just want to survive -- I want my son to survive," said Lilia Mahounin.
Aid convoy
Lavrov told reporters that Russia hopes to send a second humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine this week to help civilians caught up in the conflict.
Last Friday, a convoy of 227 Russian trucks crossed that country's border into eastern Ukraine without Kiev's authorization, a move condemned by international powers as a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. Officials in Kiev referred to it as an invasion.
The trucks left a day later, having successfully delivered supplies to Luhansk, Russian authorities said. Ukrainian authorities said they suspected the delivery had been used to bolster rebel forces.
U.N. officials estimate that more than 2,000 people have died and nearly 5,000 have been wounded in eastern Ukraine since mid-April.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a weekend visit to Kiev, promised Ukraine loans worth 500 million euros to help rebuild shattered infrastructure and homes.
Rebels parade captured Ukrainian soldiers in streets of Donetsk
Donetsk: Photos of a besieged city draining of life
CNN's Diana Magnay reported from Slovyansk, journalist Victoria Butenko reported from Kiev and CNN's Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London. CNN's Alla Eshchenko and Matthew Chance in Moscow contributed to this report.
Will U.S. forces hit ISIS in Syria?
8/26/2014 2:49:27 AM
- Administration considers hitting ISIS targets in Syria
- But there are political, international law questions
- And intervention could have other effects
Washington (CNN) -- As President Barack Obama decides whether to strike ISIS inside Syria, he has political considerations as well.
U.S. lawmakers are watching critically as Obama weighs options on how to deal with the threat from ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Many have argued the surge of ISIS is the direct result of lack of strategic action to date from Obama, while others are questioning how broadly Obama's executive authority extends when it comes to taking militarily action.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, tells CNN that unless the United States or its citizens face an imminent threat from ISIS, Obama must seek approval from Congress before extended airstrikes against ISIS inside Syria.
"I do think the president should come to Congress if he intends to embark on airstrikes in Syria for the purpose of trying to defeat ISIL," Schiff said Saturday. "If we're talking about the same kind of more general airstrikes we're undertaking in Iraq, that's something that would broaden the mission significantly. And, frankly, I think the case hasn't been made for that yet."
Rep. Ed Royce, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and a Republican from California, told CNN that he'd support the use of armed drones on ISIS in Syria.
"I think strikes at this point, against the Syrian ISIS, which has bled into Iraq, those steps should be taken," Royce said. "Had they been taken some time ago, I think ISIS would not have as much influence on the ground as it has now."
U.N.: 'Unspeakable' suffering in Iraqi town besieged by ISIS fighters
Royce said he would not, however, support putting U.S. troops on the ground.
"There is no support in the United States on either side of the aisle for introducing ground troops there," Royce said. "The question is: do we support the Kurds? Do we support the Free Syrian Army in their effort to turn back ISIS? And in doing that, we need to give them the heavy equipment such as anti-tank missiles that desperately they need."
"The most important aspect of this is that this needs to be a dialogue between Congress and the administration in terms of having a strategic plan forward in supporting the Kurdish forces on the ground," said Royce. "That's the infantry that is right now advancing against ISIS, and they need the support."
Perry piles on President
Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas tied the ISIS threat into a broader critique of six years of the Obama doctrine.
"When we think about where we are in the international scene, we think about the lack of leadership," Perry said. "When we see what's happened in Libya, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Ukraine and now back in Iraq that we were told three years ago was secure and al Qaeda was on the run and we see the enemy that we are having to deal with."
Perry, who is considering a bid for the Republican nomination in 2016, made the remarks at a rally for New Hampshire Republican activists.
The United States on Saturay carried out another airstrike in near the strategically important Mosul Dam in Iraq, according to the Defense Department. It's the 62nd such strike in support of Kurdish forces fighting for control of the dam and the 94th of the campaign against ISIS, which began August 8 and has included daily strikes.
U.S. intelligence agencies are gathering information on the locations of ISIS leadership and troops in Syria, two U.S. officials have told CNN. Separately, U.S. officials said the military has been talking about increasing airstrikes in Iraq and possibly carrying out tailored airstrikes inside Syria against ISIS targets.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey signaled the United States was gearing up for a significant change both in rhetoric and action regarding ISIS in Syria.
"Can [ISIS] be defeated without addressing that part of their organization which resides in Syria? The answer is no," Dempsey told reporters Thursday. "That will have to be addressed on both sides of what is essentially at this point a nonexistent border. And that will come when we have a coalition in the region that takes on the task of defeating ISIS over time."
Peter Bergen, a CNN national security analyst who has researched terror groups for decades, said it will be difficult to defeat ISIS without ground forces.
'What does day two look like?'
But American's gloomy feelings of war fatigue will make consensus building for action in Syria a difficult sell.
"President Obama has been very reluctant to get involved in Syria because what does day two look like?" Bergen said. "Two of the most effective fighting forces in Syria are al Qaeda or al Qaeda splinter groups, or groups like Hezbollah, backed by Iran. So if you intervene, you may be helping Iran and Hezbollah and [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's] regime."
Royce told CNN, however, that there are groups in Syria with which the United States can align.
"We should be arming the Free Syrian Army," Royce said. "It was the opposition to Assad. It was clear that ISIS in a vacuum would move into that position. That's what we have seen happen."
Adding another layer to the political and security calculus for the White House, intervention in Syria is more complicated than the ongoing airstrikes in Iraq due to international law, Bergen said.
"You could imagine some combination of U.S. Special Forces in small numbers, drone strikes, and airstrikes in Syria just as has been taking place in Iraq. But it's a pretty big bridge to cross," Bergen said.
"The Iraq government is inviting us to do these strikes in Iraq. The Syrian government certainly wouldn't be inviting us to intervene militarily in Syria. So there's a good question of international law, which after all the administration and the United States has good reasons to uphold."
U.S. to fly Syria recon missions as ISIS advances
8/26/2014 1:42:16 AM
- The flights are seen as a forerunner of possible airstrikes against ISIS
- White House: Obama has not made a decision to take additional military action
- The Syrian regime warns the U.S. against unilateral action without its permission
- "There's no intention to coordinate with Syrian authorities," a Pentagon spokesman says
Washington (CNN) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has authorized reconnaissance flights over Syria as ISIS militants continue to gain ground in the war-ravaged nation, a U.S. official told CNN.
The flights -- seen as a forerunner of possible U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Syria -- could begin at any point, the official said Monday.
"In general, when you're thinking about conducting operations like that, you certainly want to get as much of a view on the ground as you can," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said earlier Monday in a conversation with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
"Satellites can provide you good visibility, but you always want closer eyes on target if you can," Kirby said, before Obama's decision was made public.
Concerns have been intensifying over the threat posed by ISIS after the extremist group posted a video last week showing the beheading of captive American journalist James Foley.
The United States has already been gathering intelligence on the locations of ISIS leadership and troops in Syria, two U.S. officials told CNN on Friday.
U.S. reconnaissance assets are likely to be looking for a variety of sites including "equipment parks, training centers, encampments, the sorts of facilities and buildings where ISIS perhaps has its governing facilities," said retired Col. Peter Mansoor, an ex-aide to former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus.
The U.S. military began carrying out airstrikes against ISIS positions in Iraq this month, helping Kurdish and Iraqi forces halt the Islamic extremists' murderous advance. It has also sent military advisers to Iraq.
'A nonexistent border'
But the area under ISIS' control straddles the Iraq-Syria border.
"Can they be defeated without addressing that part of their organization which resides in Syria? The answer is no," Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week. "That will have to be addressed on both sides of what is essentially at this point a nonexistent border."
It remains unclear to what extent Dempsey, Obama's top military adviser, supports immediate U.S. action on the Syrian side of the frontier. He has advocated going after ISIS in Syria when it presents a direct threat to the U.S. homeland.
But both he and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel left open the possibility of strikes against ISIS in Syria in comments last week.
And the White House didn't rule the option out on Monday.
"While the President has not made a decision to take additional military actions at this time, we don't restrict our options by geographic boundaries when it comes to the central mission of protecting our people," said U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
Col. Edward Thomas, a spokesman for Dempsey, confirmed that the general "is preparing options to address ISIS both in Iraq and Syria with a variety of military tools including airstrikes."
But the lack of action so far is prompting criticism from those who want more to be done, like the hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
"The White House is trying to minimize the threat we face in order to justify not changing a failed strategy," he said Monday.
Warning from Syrian regime
Any U.S. military action in Syria would have to contend with the complexities of the vicious conflict that has torn the Middle Eastern country apart over the past several years. The civil war has killed more than 191,000 people, according to U.N. estimates.
Last year, the Obama administration tried to build support for military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which it accused of using chemical weapons against opposition forces and civilians.
But Obama ultimately held back from the politically unpopular move after Russia proposed a plan to dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.
Now, the potential target of U.S. airstrikes is ISIS, which has been fighting al-Assad's forces in Syria. On Sunday, the militants seized control of a key air base in the northern province of Raqqa.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that al-Assad's regime was ready to accept support from the United States and others working under the U.N. umbrella to fight "terrorists" -- a reference to ISIS.
Moallem warned against any unilateral action or strikes in Syrian territory without permission.
"Any effort to fight terrorism should be done in coordination with Syrian government," Moallem said.
U.S. not planning to work with al-Assad
When asked to what extent the United States would need to work with the Syrian government to strike ISIS, Kirby said, "Not getting into the hypothetical operations, there's no intention to coordinate with Syrian authorities."
U.S. officials have on many occasions demanded that al-Assad step down.
In a discussion about whether the United States military would need Syrian government approval to act against ISIS in Syria, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest referenced the assassination of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011.
"The President has already demonstrated a willingness, where necessary, to protect the American people, has demonstrated a willingness to use military force to protect the American people, regardless of borders," Earnest said Monday.
Last month, U.S. special forces went into Syria to try to rescue Foley and other hostages held by Islamic militants, but they failed to find the captives.
The White House said last week that Obama would consult with Congress before taking action in Syria. The President also would seek to forge a coalition including regional allies as well as U.N. and European Union support, officials have made clear.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on Monday urged the Obama administration to "use the next two weeks to clearly define the strategy and objectives of its mission" against ISIS.
Kaine, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern, South and Central Asian Affairs, said the plan should then be brought to Congress "for a debate and authorization vote."
'The lesser of two evils'
But attacking ISIS could have some undesired side effects in the region for the United States, said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.
"If you intervene, you may be helping Iran and Hezbollah and (al-Assad's) regime," he said.
"This is the very definition of choosing between the lesser of two evils," said CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta.
Airstrikes would be effective in blocking the momentum of armed forces on the offensive, Mansoor said.
"It doesn't take too many people around you getting blown up to make you not want to get out into the open," he told CNN.
But U.S. officials have said that a lasting solution to the chaos in Iraq and Syria requires a broader approach.
"Secretary Hagel and Chairman Dempsey both said last week that the military solution is not going to be enough," Kirby said, mentioning the need for diplomatic, political and economic measures.
"The real answer long term is stable governance in Syria and in Iraq to address the needs of people," he said.
READ: Ex-CIA chief: ISIS will try to attack West
READ: Opinion: Should we call ISIS 'evil'?
READ: What will it take to beat ISIS?
CNN's Barbara Starr reported from Washington, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong.
Prelude to air strikes?
8/26/2014 1:26:22 AM
CNN's Jim Acosta reports that the Obama administration has authorized reconnaissance flights over Syria.
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Israel blasts Gaza residential tower
8/25/2014 7:56:41 PM
- NEW: Israel says the residential building was a Hamas command center
- The airstrike injured 20 people, the Palestinian Health Ministry says
- Israel also says it destroyed rocket launchers hidden near medical facility, schools
- Palestinian official says nine people were killed Monday
(CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike blasted a residential tower in Gaza on Monday night.
CNN video and Hamas-run Aqsa TV showed rockets hitting the structure known as the Italian Tower.
Residents evacuated the tower after an earlier drone airstrike known as a "knock on the roof."
The Palestinian Health ministry said 20 people were injured in the airstrike.
The Israeli military said the building housed a Hamas "command and control center."
Two days ago, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza reduced a 14-story residential building to rubble.
Earlier Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had destroyed rocket launchers concealed inside a shelter for evacuees in Gaza.
The IDF said Palestinian militants had fired rockets from spots next to several civilian facilities in the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, including the Shuhada medical facility and the Even Sina and Zlach Halif schools.
Both schools had been used as shelters for Gaza residents who had to leave their homes.
On Sunday, the IDF said it told residents in the area to evacuate to avoid injury.
In the subsequent bombing, the rocket launchers were hit, and the "rocket arsenal concealed within the facility" was destroyed, causing several secondary explosions and extensive damage, the IDF said.
It's unknown whether there were any casualties.
Hamas-run Aqsa TV reported that one person died and three people were critically injured in an airstrike on a vehicle in Gaza City.
Ashraf el-Qedra, a spokesman for the Palestinian ministry, posted on his Facebook page that nine people were killed Monday, making a total of 2,131 killed and 10,890 injured in the past 50 days.
READ: Israel's 'refusers': Why we too feel 'occupied'
READ: Gaza's zoo animals caught in crossfire
CNN's Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.
Can peace come to Ferguson?
8/26/2014 7:22:30 AM
- Granderson: At Michael Brown funeral, people spoke of peace, but that's more than no protests
- He says black community's underrepresentation, targeting by police are longstanding
- Peace can't come until that's solved, he says, and voting is the way to do it
- 4,500 people attended funeral; turn that energy into political power, he urges
Editor's note: LZ Granderson is a CNN contributor, a senior writer for ESPN and a lecturer at Northwestern University. He is a former Hechinger Institute fellow and his commentary has been recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
St. Louis (CNN) -- The lines to get a seat inside Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church started forming before 8 a.m. By then the sun was already high and the air thick.
Many of the elderly who arrived early for Monday's funeral retreated to the few pockets of shade around the rim of the building, while a handful of younger women used their Sunday hats as fans. The few men who bothered to put on suit jackets joked about a change of heart. Their smiles, framed by streams of sweat, greeted friends and strangers alike.
It would appear that after protests, riots, tear gas and rubber bullets in Ferguson gripped national headlines for a week, this Missouri summer waited until cooler heads prevailed before unfurling one of its hottest days.
"I just want peace, girl, peace," I overheard a woman saying.
"Yes, Lord," was the reply.
The word "peace" was heard a lot during Michael Brown's homegoing. For many, this was a day of peace because there were no protests. I find that notion misguided. For to pin all of the events that have brought chaos over the past two weeks on Officer Darren Wilson firing six bullets into an unarmed 18-year-old is to oversimplify a much more complicated problem.
Blacks in and around Ferguson have felt targeted by police and disenfranchised for decades. They are overrepresented in police stops and arrests and underrepresented as police officers and lawmakers. They have been frustrated by this dynamic since long before Michael Brown was born -- so no, it is not this day that would confer peace, no matter how many hugs and smiles came with it.
That's because nothing has changed.
It might have been a day devoid of violence in these streets, but the unrest within the souls of the people who walk them remained. How can there be peace? The power structure must change. And when you know that just 6% of eligible black voters made it to the polls in the last municipal election in a city that is nearly 70% black, where to start that change is clear.
"We have got to vote," said Shirley Minter, a mature woman, who arrived early because, she said, "I needed to be here."
"There is not a whole lot we can do to fight this injustice if we're not willing to make our voices heard. And the main way to make our voices heard is by voting. Especially our young people."
Her friend, Stella Dermin, agreed.
"I'm originally from Louisiana. I can remember when they used to charge us $3 to vote. And you had to pass a test. And if you didn't pass that test, you couldn't vote," she said. "Now the young people don't even bother voting and it's holding us back. All of this protesting -- this boy's death will mean nothing if we don't start doing what we can to change the way things are."
Makeshift voter registration booths had popped up around Ferguson, most notably at the burned-down QuikTrip which has served as ground zero for protesters, and another near where Brown was shot and killed. But signing up is not the same as following through. And following through does not guarantee a slate of candidates who are sensitive to their constituents' needs.
The day of Michael Brown's funeral may have been without violence, but that should not be mistaken for peace.
"I vote, but many of my friends don't because they think it doesn't matter," said 21-year-old Joshua Jones, a native of Ferguson who said he recently graduated from DePauw University and is starting graduate school at St. Louis University this fall. He said he didn't know Brown but came to his funeral because "he could've been me."
"The thing is, my friends think the system isn't looking out for them. And it's hard for me to argue with them when so many things around support what they are saying," Jones said. "But I don't think anything in Ferguson is going to change unless black people start voting."
A statement that is as true as it is sad and frustrating. So much blood was shed to fight for the black community's right to vote and too many of us choose not to -- still. It's hard to point an angry finger at an unjust system when we surrender any power that we have to change it.
Though on this day, there are signs that true peace may be on the horizon here. The oppressive heat drew plenty of complaints, but it did not stop the people from coming.
So when the pews of the sanctuary were full, church greeters directed those who came to pay their respects to Michael Brown and his family to the overflow building next door. And when the designated overflow area was full, the community was sent to the gymnasium, where a sea of folding chairs waited. And when that was full, people were sent across the street to another overflow area where the funeral was being broadcast on portable screens.
More than 4,500 came to say goodbye to Michael Brown, many of whom did not know him personally. If that energy can be converted into political power, who knows? Maybe peace isn't that far away.
"I'm here because I believe we can turn things around here," said Gary Orr Sr. "We've got to. It's not up to white people to make things better for us, it's up to us. We've got to care about each other more, look out for each other more, get involved."
Orr, who brought his family to the ceremony, was standing in front of one of the overflow buildings during my interview with him. Afterward, I went inside. That's when I saw a mural bearing Isaiah 40:31:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.
That's what the people of Ferguson must do when the cameras are gone. The tears have all dried. The protests done. Whether Wilson is indicted or not, they must run and not be weary.
Walk and not faint.
Vote -- lest the outrage that followed Michael Brown's passing be for naught, and true peace remain unattainable.
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French political turmoil: No end in sight
8/26/2014 7:22:55 AM
- On Monday morning, the French government presented its resignation
- Economic and ideological reasons are behind the turmoil, Agnes Poirier says
- Many ask why it took so long to get rid of Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg, she says
- Poirier: The French government must now decide what direction it wants to take
Editor's note: Agnes Poirier is a French journalist and political analyst who contributes regularly to newspapers, magazines and TV in the UK, U.S., France, Italy. Follow @AgnesCPoirier on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
Paris, France (CNN) -- When France's Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg was quoted in French daily newspaper Le Monde over the weekend attacking the economic policies of his very own government, he knew what he was doing: Pulling the pin out of a grenade. And he certainly seemed to have no regrets.
France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls, appointed 147 days ago after President François Hollande's Socialist Party took a severe beating in local elections, was not going to take such overt rebellion kindly. "It's me or him," he is reported to have told Hollande. On Monday morning, the whole French government presented its resignation and Valls was immediately asked to form a new cabinet.
Apparently savoring the effects of his political sortie, the cocky Montebourg, in a televised address from the ministry of the economy, said that he would follow into the steps of Cincinnatus, a kind of gentleman farmer Roman senator, who in 500 BC came to represent civic virtue for his modesty and restraint. Cincinnatus was also known for his beautiful curly mane, just like Arnaud Montebourg. Many observers were quick to point out that vanity, rather than political restraint, were probably what the French minister shared most with the great Roman senator.
Why is the French government imploding and its members at loggerheads? It's the economy and it is ideological. Montebourg, at the left of the French Socialist Party, advocates the end of austerity measures that supposedly kill economic growth, while Valls, at the right of the French socialist party, as well as President Hollande who long dithered about what economic direction to take, both favor a more German approach, with policies focusing on reducing public deficits and corporate tax breaks.
In fact, many people in France are asking why it took more than two years to get rid of Montebourg, whose histrionic style and interventionist mantra have made him more enemies than friends, especially in the business world. You may remember how he lectured French and foreign investors such as the Peugeot family and Lakshmi Mittal over their plans to scale down their activities in some of their French factories.
Montebourg has been a thorn in the side of President Hollande ever since his appointment as minister, however he is also the symbol of Hollande's confusing and mostly unreadable economic choices.
When the French president finally decided back in March to reclaim some control over his unruly government, and to impose a new series of business-friendly measures, the appointment of Valls was seen as a coherent and strong sign that political and economic uncertainty had finally ended.
However, Hollande insisted that his new prime minister keep Montebourg in government and give him the economy portfolio. As The Economist put it: "Hollande calculated that the risk of a confusing economic policy was less high than that of having his firebrand left-winger sniping from the outside." How wrong Hollande was.
In fact, Hollande seems to have been governing France as if he was still leader of the Socialist Party, trying desperately and at all costs, to hold a divided family together. If such strategy can work for a political party, it may be disastrous when governing a country.
To be president and to govern is to make clear choices. Since his arrival in power in May 2012, Hollande has given the country the impression of playing it by ear, steering the wheel on the right or the left as events came along. This has certainly not proved popular. With an approval rating of barely 20%, Hollande is one of the most unpopular presidents of the Fifth Republic, founded in 1958.
Will the exit of the most rebellious socialists from the government be enough for the president and his prime minister to restore some credibility and be able to implement at last a string of pro-Business measures? If this heralds the end of Hollande's political contradictions, this will be most welcome.
However, the new French government, which will be announced later today, will have to convince French MPs and be backed by a majority in Parliament. Montebourg and the anti-austerity crusaders within the socialist party may want to systematically hinder the government's actions and force Hollande to dissolve parliament and call for new elections. However, this would not necessarily be good news for the opposition, as the French Right, shaken by a series of scandals, has almost disappeared from political debate.
The facts remain that economically, France is not performing as well as expected. With unemployment at more than 10% and two consecutive quarters without growth, France is not going to reach its deficit target of 3.8% of GDP in 2014.
The French government must now decide what direction it wants to take and have the courage to stay the course. France is not performing in a vacuum and Hollande's ability to work in tandem with its European partners, Germany in particular, will prove key to a much-needed coherence.
In fact, as Brussels-based journalist Ian Traynor rightly points out: "The turmoil in Paris presages more battles ahead in Brussels and between EU capitals as the existential crisis that was the euro emergency turns more political."
READ: French government dissolved amid turmoil among ministers
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Agnes Poirier.
'This doesn't happen to white people'
8/25/2014 4:04:59 PM
- Kimberly Norwood, a black woman and lawyer, lives in a suburb 12 miles from Ferguson
- She has been ignored or seen as shoplifting risk in stores, as has her young daughter
- She notified police when her sons were walking to school so they wouldn't harass them
- Norwood hopes Ferguson will start conversation on black Americans' daily experiences
Editor's note: Kimberly Norwood is a law professor at the Washington University School of Law and editor and co-contributor of "Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Post Racial America." The opinions in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
(CNN) -- I am a 54-year-old black woman -- a mother, lawyer and law professor. I teach at the Washington University in St. Louis Law School and live 12 miles away from Ferguson, Missouri.
The median household income in my suburb is $85,000 per year. In Ferguson, it is $36,000. In my suburb, 3.5% of the people are black. In Ferguson, almost 70% are black. These are stark contrasts. Yet I share things in common with black people in Ferguson and, indeed, throughout the United States.
When I shop, I'm often either ignored as a waste of time or scrutinized as a potential shoplifter. In June, my daughter and I walked into the china and crystal department at a Macy's department store. I was about to speak to the salesperson directly in front of me. She walked right past me to welcome the white woman behind us.
My daughter looked at me and said: "Really? Did she just ignore us?" My daughter is a young teenager at the crossroads of "skin color doesn't matter" and "oh yes, it does." She is in transition. I felt hurt, anger and embarrassment.
But this kind of encounter happens routinely.
Driving, I tend to have a bit of a lead foot -- hitting 45 in a 35 mph zone. The few times I have been stopped in my suburb, the first question I'm asked is whether I live "around here." Not one of my white friends has been asked that question when they were pulled over by a police officer.
Last summer, my teenage daughter was shopping with four white friends at a mall in an affluent St. Louis suburb. As they left the store, two mall security guards approached my daughter. They told her the store had called them and reported her as a shoplifter, and asked her to come with them. After a search, they found she had nothing. So far in her young life, mall security guards have stopped her on suspicion of shoplifting three times. Each time she was innocent.
I also have three sons. My two oldest are 22. They are 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4 and each weighs more than 220 pounds. One recently graduated from college; the other will graduate in 2015. The youngest is 13. All three like to wear jeans and the latest sneakers. They love hoodies. They like looking cool. These three young men have never been arrested or even been in a fight at school.
Every time my sons leave the house, I worry about their safety. One of my sons loves to go out at night to clubs. I worry about potential unrest at the clubs -- yes, black-on-black crime is a problem, and despite what many people think, black people complain about it all the time in their communities and churches and in newspapers and on radio stations.
I also worry about his drive home and his being stopped by police.
The data in Ferguson are an example of the larger picture in the St. Louis County area. Police stop, search and arrest black people at a disproportionate rate, even though they are less likely to possess contraband than white people.
This son of mine who likes to go out at night is big and tall and he has brown skin. He graduated from college in May but cannot find employment. He is an intelligent, clean-cut young man.
But the negative stereotypes automatically assigned to his skin color follow him everywhere, even in job interviews, like extra weight. It reminds me of the airline employee who asks before you can check your suitcase: Did a stranger ask you to carry something or pack your bag? In my son's case, the answer is yes. He is carrying extra weight, unfairly, and without his knowledge or consent, packed in his luggage.
A few years ago my husband and I went on a cruise. My older boys were teenagers at the time and were taking summer enrichment classes at a school about a mile from our home. They planned to walk to school in the morning. At the top of a long list of things to do before we left for our trip was "e-mail chief of police."
I explained to the chief that my husband and I were going on a cruise, I was a member of the community and that my two sons would be walking to school. I attached pictures of the boys, explaining that only a couple of black families lived in the neighborhood. My sons did not normally walk in the neighborhood, so they would draw attention.
I offered to bring my sons to the police department so officers could meet them. The police chief and I met and all went well.
But I've asked myself: How many parents of white sons have thought to add to their to-do-before-leaving-town list, "Write letter to local police department, introducing sons and attaching photos, so police do not become suspicious and harass them"?
Even though my older boys are men, I still worry about them. I worry about my 13-year-old. This worry is a stressful, and sadly normal, part of my daily existence. My youngest will be 6 feet tall in the coming weeks. He has brown skin.
These young black men have arrows pointed and ready to shoot at them daily -- black-on-black crime, police encounters, societal bias and mistrust. Shortly after the Michael Brown shooting, I met with a group of my 13-year-old's black male friends to explain to them what happened in Ferguson, and what to do and how to respond if they are ever stopped by the police. My words reminded me of stories and fears my grandfather used to share with me about his encounters with police during the Jim Crow era.
These are just a few of the many ways in which people in America are treated differently based on the color of their skin. This has been going on for a long time. I hope the events in Ferguson will encourage people to see the stark differences in the experiences of black people -- not just black people who struggle economically but also black people like me -- and white people as they go about their routine, daily lives.
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Actor Richard Attenborough dies
8/25/2014 2:22:13 AM
- NEW: Attenborough "a truly great man of the cinema and the arts," his agent tells CNN
- He is perhaps best known for his work on the 1982 film "Gandhi"
- The cause of death was not immediately clear
- Attenborough also starred in "Jurassic Park" and a remake of "Miracle on 34th Street"
(CNN) -- Acclaimed actor-director Richard Attenborough has died at 90, the actor's agent said.
Attenborough is perhaps best known for his work on the 1982 film "Gandhi," which won eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.
The film took Attenborough some 20 years to make.
"I was bankrupt several times. I had to mortgage my house. My family suffered to a certain extent," he said. "I placed things at risk because I cared about it so much."
He died Sunday, according to his agent, Dallas Smith. The family is expected to make a statement Monday, Smith told CNN.
"Our thoughts are with them and his friends at this very sad moment as we mourn the passing of a truly great man of the cinema and the arts," Smith said.
Attenborough began his career as a classically trained English actor and went on to star in such films as "The Great Escape," "Jurassic Park" and a remake of "Miracle on 34th Street." He was knighted in 1976.
British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Sunday: "His acting in 'Brighton Rock' was brilliant, his directing of 'Gandhi' was stunning -- Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema."
The cause of his death was not immediately clear.
Attenborough's marriage to actress Sheila Sim spanned seven decades and produced three children.
"My philosophy has always been that I believe that art is not an elitist gift for a few select people. Art is for everyone," he once said.
Attenborough also appeared as Santa Claus in the 1994 remake of "Miracle on 34th Street."
After playing several characters in movies, he moved to the other side of the camera.
"It's what I love. I'm not a great movie director. I'm not an auteur," he said of directing. "I'm a storyteller. I'm a craftsman. And I love beyond anything else working with the actors and finding a way to make the actor believe that what they're about to do is the best performance they've ever given."
He also appeared in several war movies, including "The Great Escape" with Steve McQueen.
Rapper 'Young Jeezy' arrested
8/25/2014 7:25:26 PM
- Six people, including Jenkins, arrested for possession of an assault riffle
- Bail is set at $1 million for "Young Jeezy"
- Police: No arrests have been made for Wiz Khalifa concert homicide
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Famed hip-hop rapper Jay Jenkins, known as "Young Jeezy," was arrested on Sunday in relation to a deadly shooting at a Wiz Khalifa concert, police said.
"Six people, including Jenkins, were arrested at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, on Sunday for possession of an assault riffle," said Lt. Saul Jaeger of the Mountain View Police Department.
Law enforcement continues to pursue an active investigation, though no arrests have been made in Friday's homicide, Jaeger said. All six people were "cooperative" in the related arrest on Sunday, Jaeger said.
Bail is set at $1 million for Jenkins, who is being held at the Orange County Police Department close to where the arrest occurred, said Lt. Jeff Hallock of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities first got calls about gunshots at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Northern California, shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, the Mountain View Police Department said. Police arrived to find a 38-year-old man shot multiple times. The man was transported to a hospital and died from his injuries, according to police.
Mountain View investigators found the weapon on a tour bus after a search warrant had been authorized.
In the wake of the shooting, Wiz Khalifa canceled his concert on Saturday in Chula Vista, California.
Lorenza Brascia contributed to this report.
ISIS Achilles' heel
8/25/2014 10:31:02 PM
- ISIS' "ability to continually shape and control the conflict will be sorely tested," analyst says
- Its success so far is largely due to the weakness of its opponents, analysts say
- For now, observers say ISIS still has momentum, but opponents can turn the tide
(CNN) -- Surprise, mobility and the merciless treatment of opponents: the blueprint of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq as it has gobbled up territory in both Syria and Iraq over the past few months. But as its adversaries regroup, ISIS -- which now calls itself the Islamic State -- may begin to suffer setbacks on the battlefield, according to a new analysis of its capabilities and tactics.
"As a defensive force, the ISIS may struggle to hold terrain if it is attacked simultaneously at multiple points or if its auxiliary allies begin to defect," says Michael Knights, who has worked throughout Iraq and is now a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Knights says ISIS has a deep bench of talented military planners, veterans of the Iraq insurgency during the U.S. occupation and of the group's creation of a mini-state in Syria. It has foreign jihadists who have fought in Chechnya and the Balkans. "Yet the pace of the war against the ISIL is accelerating, and the group's ability to continually shape and control the conflict will be sorely tested," Knights writes in the latest edition of Sentinel, published by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
Military analysts say ISIS' success so far is largely due to the weakness of its opponents, as well as years of meticulous planning after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's "reboot" of the group in 2010.
Syria ready to cooperate with U.N.
This war of attrition included a campaign to intimidate and assassinate senior members of the Iraqi security forces last year, a campaign al-Baghdadi called the "Soldiers' Harvest." Al-Baghdadi built a command structure designed to combine centralized control with execution at the local level. This was highly successful during 2012-13 when the group synchronized waves of car bombings in different locations across Iraq. It was in evidence at the weekend in Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk, when a series of three car bombs and a roadside bomb killed at least 20 people.
ISIS has weaved this tactic into its current military campaign. Earlier this month, a well-planned attack against the Kurdish town of Jalula began with a suicide car bomb that killed more than 20 Peshmerga, "a second tanker truck suicide device in the town center, followed by individual suicide-vest bombings on 12 checkpoints by fighters wearing Kurdish-style uniforms," Knights says.
These multiple suicide bombings instil fear and panic in civilians and military opponents alike. They are ISIS' "shock and awe" tactic, complemented by the agility and speed of ISIS units. "The relative compactness of Iraq, where good roads allow large swathes of the country to be traversed in a single day, gives an aggressive force strong ability to concentrate forces at a given point of attack," says Knights.
There have been claims that ISIS is using U.S.-made M-1 Abrams tanks and Humvees seized from the Iraqi army. And sometimes heavy armor has made an important difference. ISIS used a single Iraqi T-55 tank of Soviet vintage earlier this month to fend off an attempt to break the siege of Amerli. But pinpoint U.S. airstrikes have already changed the local balance around the Mosul Dam and Sinjar.
5 key questions in the fight against ISIS
Knights told CNN: "Though ISIS have undoubtedly captured 200-300 Humvees and will be able to keep them operational for many months before they require spare parts, other U.S.-provided vehicles are present in very limited amounts. In part this is because they are complex to operate and maintain. Very few were captured in good working order because the Iraqis themselves were having trouble keeping them running."
Knights says that there is no evidence that ISIS fighters have been able to operate M-1 Abrams -- nor U.S. manufactured 155mm howitzers. It does have far more armored trucks with heavy machine guns than it did before June, allowing it to overrun lightly armed checkpoints. "But faced with U.S. airpower or even the slowly recovering Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, such vehicles become death traps," says Knights, citing the group's losses at the Mosul Dam.
Making resistance appear hopeless to potential opponents is a critical part of ISIS' strategy. A tribal revolt in Zowiya in Salahuddin province last month was met with sustained mortar fire that almost razed the town. Those who wanted to re-enter Zowiya had to "repent."
"If local populations cannot mount an effective resistance to ISIS, then they likely will not attempt to do so," says Jessica Lewis at the Institute for the Study of War.
ISIS may have as few as 15,000 fighters for a vast area stretching from northern Syria to the middle of Iraq. So deception is also critical to its success. On many occasions it has appeared to be launching an attack -- drawing defending forces toward it -- only to strike the place those forces have left. Earlier this month, ISIS hit Jalula, after Peshmerga had left the town to confront an ISIS thrust at Makhmour.
The fact that it has relatively few fighters per square mile may explain why it prefers to depopulate some towns because of an "accentuated fear of local uprisings and informers," says Knights. That could be a double-edged sword, because living among civilians in densely populated places should offer the group some protection. But there is evidence that the Iraqi air force strikes even when civilians are present. "My sense from talking to people along the ISIS front line is that the group welcomes being able to shuffle discretely around depopulated towns," says Knights.
And airstrikes, unless limited and carefully targeted, might even end up helping ISIS. "Airstrikes into the Sunni heartland of Iraq or Syria may exacerbate the sectarian conflict in the region by illustrating a passive or active alignment of the U.S. with Iran in order to bring firepower to bear against Sunnis," says Lewis.
ISIS has also traded on tribal rivalries to consolidate its position, "such as by plugging into the anti-Kurdish sentiments of Arab tribes around Jalula or allowing Arab tribes to harvest the ripe wheat fields of displaced Shi`a Turkmen farmers at Amerli," says Knights.
These local arrangements may work for a time, but ISIS is likely to encounter stiffer opposition. Its use of surprise will be slowly devalued, as its tactics are studied -- and especially as the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga begin to receive a flow of real-time intelligence from the U.S. surveillance. Knights says he was told by Kurdish sources that ISIS tried to infiltrate the town of Tuz Khurmatu after dark two weeks ago. But its fighters were detected by the U.S. military, which provided Kurdish artillery with the coordinates required to blunt the attacks.
Knights told CNN that "U.S. special forces seem to be operating along the front line, visually checking and designating targets. U.S. headquarters personnel at the joint operations center in Irbil [the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan] are helping the Kurds and the [Iraqi] air force to coordinate their actions and to avoid 'friendly fire'."
And then there is the weight of expectation among ISIS supporters. Its momentum has helped swell its ranks as both foreign fighters and young radicalized Iraqi Sunnis have flocked to join. But al-Baghdadi's declaration of a Caliphate means ISIS has to "demonstrate that its physical stronghold is defensible, or at least prevent rival militaries from attacking it," says Lewis.
ISIS has shown a rudimentary ability to defend its gains, building berms, booby-trapping approach roads and destroying bridges. It has successfully ambushed Iraqi troops and Shia militia trying to retake Tikrit. But defensive positions and predictable counterattacks leave its forces more exposed to airstrikes.
"ISIS' defensive style has two components," Knights told CNN. "They use roadside bombs and vehicle-carried remotely detonated bombs to create explosive emplacement hazards along key routes and in key towns. The U.S. has shown that, along with ground sources, it can remotely spot and destroy these from the air."
Bergen: A new ISIS worry?
"ISIS' other key preference is for counterattacks, almost as an instinctive reaction to losing ground. This is an organization that much prefers to be on the attack, even tactically, as part of a defensive operation. But counterattacking ISIS convoys are easy meat for U.S. airpower and even for Iraqi aviators," he adds.
And if ISIS has to do more defending than attacking -- as seems likely -- the Sunni communities that have supported, accepted or acquiesced to it may think twice.
"If the ISF and Kurdish forces undertake selective offensive operations on a widening number of battlefields," Knights says, ISIS and its allies "will undoubtedly become stretched, particularly if its ability to move and mass counterattacking forces is limited."
Another vulnerability may be lines of communication between Raqqa in Syria, ISIS' administrative headquarters, and its units in Iraq. "Snapping the ISIS caliphate in half is a key objective, both to undermine the narrative of a transnational caliphate that can be defended, and to reduce the synergies of two insurgencies fighting back-to-back," Knights told CNN.
For now, observers say ISIS still has momentum, and repeatedly demonstrates its ability to fight on many fronts simultaneously, pacify or co-opt towns and villages that might otherwise resist and hold territory against the Iraqi Security Forces, which have been weakened by several years of political interference and poor leadership. The idea that the ISF are capable of retaking Mosul anytime soon seems far-fetched.
Better co-ordination among its opponents, and the psychological effect of going on the defensive, may begin to turn the tide. But to borrow a phrase from another conflict, most analysts believe we are not close to the beginning of the end in the battle against ISIS, rather anticipating the end of the beginning.
Ebola doctor dies despite experimental drug
8/25/2014 7:28:23 PM
- NEW: A Liberian doctor who had Ebola and was given ZMapp has died
- Two people in Gera in the Democratic Republic of Congo test positive for Ebola
- Tests showed it's a different strain from the one in West Africa
- U.N. agency says confirmation testing will probably be done Monday
(CNN) -- A Liberian doctor who contracted the Ebola virus and received a promising experimental treatment has died, the manager of the Elwa Ebola Facility in Monrovia, Liberia, told CNN on Monday.
Dr. Abrahim Borbor died Sunday evening after contracting Ebola at JFK Hospital in Monrovia.
Borbor was given ZMapp, the same drug that was given to two Americans who had Ebola.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is also reporting new Ebola cases in a northern town, sparking fears that the deadly virus is expanding far beyond West Africa.
Two people in Gera tested positive for Ebola, a government spokesman said Sunday.
The country's health minister, Felix Kabange Numbi, confirmed the cases in a televised statement.
"We're going to provide essential medication in all medical institutions in the area of Gera but also free health treatment for the duration of the epidemic," Numbi said.
A lab and quarantine station have been set up in the town, which is about 750 miles from the capital of Kinshasa.
The central African nation said its test showed that the strain is different from the one that has killed nearly 1,500 people in the West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
"This epidemic doesn't have any link to that which is now happening in West Africa," Numbi said.
There are five identified strains of the Ebola virus; four are known to cause infections in humans: Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, and Taï Forest ebolavirus.
The World Health Organization said the agency's lab is conducting its own confirmation testing that will also determine the strain of the virus found.
Experts have described the West African outbreak as the worst in the history of the virus. Ebola first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and Congo, and takes its name from a river in the latter nation.
Congo has had six previous outbreaks since the disease appeared on its shores, the World Health Organization said.
Africa has been limited to three strains: Bundibugyo, Sudan and Zaire.
The WHO said its confirmation testing will probably be done Monday. Last week, 13 people died of a mysterious ailment in the Boende area in Congo, but the WHO said at the time that their deaths were a result of a "viral hemorrhagic fever of undetermined origin."
Ebola is one of the world's most virulent diseases and is transmitted through direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids of infected people.
The outbreak has forced various nations to take drastic action, including Ivory Coast, which said it is closing borders it shares with Guinea and Liberia for an indefinite period.
Senegal also closed its borders over Ebola fears. The closure includes any aircraft and ships traveling to Senegal from Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia.
A major outbreak in Congo would be catastrophic; it shares borders with nine nations, including Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
Borders closing over Ebola fears
Deadliest outbreak: What you need to know
What happens when you survive Ebola?
CNN's Nima Elbagir, Joyce Joseph, Nana Karikari-apau and Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.
What is ISIS Achilles' heel?
8/26/2014 2:49:19 AM
- ISIS' "ability to continually shape and control the conflict will be sorely tested," analyst says
- Its success so far is largely due to the weakness of its opponents, analysts say
- For now, observers say ISIS still has momentum, but opponents can turn the tide
(CNN) -- Surprise, mobility and the merciless treatment of opponents: the blueprint of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq as it has gobbled up territory in both Syria and Iraq over the past few months. But as its adversaries regroup, ISIS -- which now calls itself the Islamic State -- may begin to suffer setbacks on the battlefield, according to a new analysis of its capabilities and tactics.
"As a defensive force, the ISIS may struggle to hold terrain if it is attacked simultaneously at multiple points or if its auxiliary allies begin to defect," says Michael Knights, who has worked throughout Iraq and is now a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Knights says ISIS has a deep bench of talented military planners, veterans of the Iraq insurgency during the U.S. occupation and of the group's creation of a mini-state in Syria. It has foreign jihadists who have fought in Chechnya and the Balkans. "Yet the pace of the war against the ISIL is accelerating, and the group's ability to continually shape and control the conflict will be sorely tested," Knights writes in the latest edition of Sentinel, published by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
Military analysts say ISIS' success so far is largely due to the weakness of its opponents, as well as years of meticulous planning after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's "reboot" of the group in 2010.
Syria ready to cooperate with U.N.
This war of attrition included a campaign to intimidate and assassinate senior members of the Iraqi security forces last year, a campaign al-Baghdadi called the "Soldiers' Harvest." Al-Baghdadi built a command structure designed to combine centralized control with execution at the local level. This was highly successful during 2012-13 when the group synchronized waves of car bombings in different locations across Iraq. It was in evidence at the weekend in Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk, when a series of three car bombs and a roadside bomb killed at least 20 people.
ISIS has weaved this tactic into its current military campaign. Earlier this month, a well-planned attack against the Kurdish town of Jalula began with a suicide car bomb that killed more than 20 Peshmerga, "a second tanker truck suicide device in the town center, followed by individual suicide-vest bombings on 12 checkpoints by fighters wearing Kurdish-style uniforms," Knights says.
These multiple suicide bombings instil fear and panic in civilians and military opponents alike. They are ISIS' "shock and awe" tactic, complemented by the agility and speed of ISIS units. "The relative compactness of Iraq, where good roads allow large swathes of the country to be traversed in a single day, gives an aggressive force strong ability to concentrate forces at a given point of attack," says Knights.
There have been claims that ISIS is using U.S.-made M-1 Abrams tanks and Humvees seized from the Iraqi army. And sometimes heavy armor has made an important difference. ISIS used a single Iraqi T-55 tank of Soviet vintage earlier this month to fend off an attempt to break the siege of Amerli. But pinpoint U.S. airstrikes have already changed the local balance around the Mosul Dam and Sinjar.
5 key questions in the fight against ISIS
Knights told CNN: "Though ISIS have undoubtedly captured 200-300 Humvees and will be able to keep them operational for many months before they require spare parts, other U.S.-provided vehicles are present in very limited amounts. In part this is because they are complex to operate and maintain. Very few were captured in good working order because the Iraqis themselves were having trouble keeping them running."
Knights says that there is no evidence that ISIS fighters have been able to operate M-1 Abrams -- nor U.S. manufactured 155mm howitzers. It does have far more armored trucks with heavy machine guns than it did before June, allowing it to overrun lightly armed checkpoints. "But faced with U.S. airpower or even the slowly recovering Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, such vehicles become death traps," says Knights, citing the group's losses at the Mosul Dam.
Making resistance appear hopeless to potential opponents is a critical part of ISIS' strategy. A tribal revolt in Zowiya in Salahuddin province last month was met with sustained mortar fire that almost razed the town. Those who wanted to re-enter Zowiya had to "repent."
"If local populations cannot mount an effective resistance to ISIS, then they likely will not attempt to do so," says Jessica Lewis at the Institute for the Study of War.
ISIS may have as few as 15,000 fighters for a vast area stretching from northern Syria to the middle of Iraq. So deception is also critical to its success. On many occasions it has appeared to be launching an attack -- drawing defending forces toward it -- only to strike the place those forces have left. Earlier this month, ISIS hit Jalula, after Peshmerga had left the town to confront an ISIS thrust at Makhmour.
The fact that it has relatively few fighters per square mile may explain why it prefers to depopulate some towns because of an "accentuated fear of local uprisings and informers," says Knights. That could be a double-edged sword, because living among civilians in densely populated places should offer the group some protection. But there is evidence that the Iraqi air force strikes even when civilians are present. "My sense from talking to people along the ISIS front line is that the group welcomes being able to shuffle discretely around depopulated towns," says Knights.
And airstrikes, unless limited and carefully targeted, might even end up helping ISIS. "Airstrikes into the Sunni heartland of Iraq or Syria may exacerbate the sectarian conflict in the region by illustrating a passive or active alignment of the U.S. with Iran in order to bring firepower to bear against Sunnis," says Lewis.
ISIS has also traded on tribal rivalries to consolidate its position, "such as by plugging into the anti-Kurdish sentiments of Arab tribes around Jalula or allowing Arab tribes to harvest the ripe wheat fields of displaced Shi`a Turkmen farmers at Amerli," says Knights.
These local arrangements may work for a time, but ISIS is likely to encounter stiffer opposition. Its use of surprise will be slowly devalued, as its tactics are studied -- and especially as the Iraqi Security Forces and Kurdish Peshmerga begin to receive a flow of real-time intelligence from the U.S. surveillance. Knights says he was told by Kurdish sources that ISIS tried to infiltrate the town of Tuz Khurmatu after dark two weeks ago. But its fighters were detected by the U.S. military, which provided Kurdish artillery with the coordinates required to blunt the attacks.
Knights told CNN that "U.S. special forces seem to be operating along the front line, visually checking and designating targets. U.S. headquarters personnel at the joint operations center in Irbil [the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan] are helping the Kurds and the [Iraqi] air force to coordinate their actions and to avoid 'friendly fire'."
And then there is the weight of expectation among ISIS supporters. Its momentum has helped swell its ranks as both foreign fighters and young radicalized Iraqi Sunnis have flocked to join. But al-Baghdadi's declaration of a Caliphate means ISIS has to "demonstrate that its physical stronghold is defensible, or at least prevent rival militaries from attacking it," says Lewis.
ISIS has shown a rudimentary ability to defend its gains, building berms, booby-trapping approach roads and destroying bridges. It has successfully ambushed Iraqi troops and Shia militia trying to retake Tikrit. But defensive positions and predictable counterattacks leave its forces more exposed to airstrikes.
"ISIS' defensive style has two components," Knights told CNN. "They use roadside bombs and vehicle-carried remotely detonated bombs to create explosive emplacement hazards along key routes and in key towns. The U.S. has shown that, along with ground sources, it can remotely spot and destroy these from the air."
Bergen: A new ISIS worry?
"ISIS' other key preference is for counterattacks, almost as an instinctive reaction to losing ground. This is an organization that much prefers to be on the attack, even tactically, as part of a defensive operation. But counterattacking ISIS convoys are easy meat for U.S. airpower and even for Iraqi aviators," he adds.
And if ISIS has to do more defending than attacking -- as seems likely -- the Sunni communities that have supported, accepted or acquiesced to it may think twice.
"If the ISF and Kurdish forces undertake selective offensive operations on a widening number of battlefields," Knights says, ISIS and its allies "will undoubtedly become stretched, particularly if its ability to move and mass counterattacking forces is limited."
Another vulnerability may be lines of communication between Raqqa in Syria, ISIS' administrative headquarters, and its units in Iraq. "Snapping the ISIS caliphate in half is a key objective, both to undermine the narrative of a transnational caliphate that can be defended, and to reduce the synergies of two insurgencies fighting back-to-back," Knights told CNN.
For now, observers say ISIS still has momentum, and repeatedly demonstrates its ability to fight on many fronts simultaneously, pacify or co-opt towns and villages that might otherwise resist and hold territory against the Iraqi Security Forces, which have been weakened by several years of political interference and poor leadership. The idea that the ISF are capable of retaking Mosul anytime soon seems far-fetched.
Better co-ordination among its opponents, and the psychological effect of going on the defensive, may begin to turn the tide. But to borrow a phrase from another conflict, most analysts believe we are not close to the beginning of the end in the battle against ISIS, rather anticipating the end of the beginning.
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