What Happens After the U.S. Bombs ISIS?

When President Obama lays out details of his war plan against ISIS on Wednesday he’s expected to authorize U.S. airstrikes against the terror group in Syria. But beating ISIS out of the Middle East won't be simple.

On one level, bombing ISIS is easy. The U.S. knows where the group operates. There’s no need for a ten-year hunt like the one for Osama bin Laden. The terror group has two capital cities, Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria. Al-Qaeda never had such an obvious home address.

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Finding a justification to attack ISIS is also simple. It has threatened to carry out another 9/11, beheaded two American journalists, slaughtered thousands of Iraqis and Syrians and is a danger to U.S. allies in the region. Many in the U.S. military believe ISIS needs to be immediately, and repeatedly, smashed by American drones and warplanes.

But what then happens to the Middle East – this seething cauldron of competing interests, religious passions, ethnic tensions, long memories and oil? The key question now, as before the Iraq invasion, is what happens after the U.S. starts bombing.

ISIS controls a territory roughly the size of Maryland where 8 million people live. If it’s attacked and toppled, who will fill the void? In Iraq, it will be the Kurdish fighters or the Iraqi army. The two don’t trust each other and have different objectives for the territory they control. The Kurds are laying the foundation for a future independent state. The Iraqi army is increasingly an Iranian-guided, Shiite force.

The U.S. spent billions of dollars to build a secular, professional national Iraqi army but failed because, despite all the U.S.-supplied guns, tanks and planes, the Iraqi military fell apart when challenged by a band of terrorists. President Obama wants to reconstitute it now as part of his ISIS strategy. Why would it work this time when it didn’t before, even as U.S. troops were standing next to Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad, shoulder to shoulder?

In Syria, the question is even more vexing. In Iraq, at least, Washington can work with the independence-minded Kurds and unreliable Iraqi soldiers. In Syria, there is no partner on the ground at all. The moderate Syrian rebel group – the Free Syrian Army – that Obama wants to partner with has withered and died. It was starved of weapons and support despite three years of promises from Washington that the aid was coming.

In lieu of moderate rebels, the administration could rely on President Bashar Assad’s army to do mop-up operations once the airstrikes against ISIS begin. But the Syrian regime has been monstrously brutal to its people and is largely responsible for allowing ISIS to grow in the first place. The other ground forces in Syria are Hezbollah, Iran and a panoply of Islamic groups, some of them just as Anti-American as ISIS.

The cost of doing nothing against ISIS is high. The group is vicious, ambitious and, according to every security official I’ve interviewed, should be not allowed to have a safe haven anywhere. However, the cost of trying to dislodge ISIS is thinking about what replaces it. It means reviving moderate rebels, as Obama says he will do, rebuilding the Iraqi army the U.S. already built once and trying to balance competing interests across the Middle East over the future of Iraq and Syria.

Bombing ISIS is easy. It will be popular, at first –- at home and even the Islamic world. Who wouldn't want to bomb a group as odious as ISIS? But filling the vacuum, after ignoring the war in Syria for three years, could easily become the main foreign policy preoccupation for this administration for years to come – and there are few assurances of success.

Senegal’s First Ebola Patient Makes Full Recovery

Dakar (dpa/NAN) – Senegal’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday said the country’s first Ebola patient, a 21-year-old student from Guinea, has made full recovery.

The ministry’s Director of Disease Control, Idrissa Talla, told newsmen in Dakar.

According to the director, the unnamed male student is free of Ebola symptoms and tested negative to the virus on two occasions.

Report said the student arrived in Dakar in August by road from Guinea, where the epidemic first erupted in December 2013.

Senegal is the fifth West African country to be affected by the outbreak.

However, the recovered student is one of three confirmed and suspected cases in the country.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Kashmir families lose everything in floods

Rebuilding isn’t anywhere close to being on the government’s list of short-term goals [Faiz Jamil/ Al Jazeera]

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Hundred shelter in relief centres set up by government after floods washed away homes, possessions, and livelihoods.

Raj Kumar shouts “I won’t go back! I won’t go back!”, in Hindi so loudly that I almost stop the interview so he can calm down.
It’s hasn’t been easy for the 56-year-old, or the four dozen others in the relief centre. Their mud huts on the banks of the river near Jammu city in Indian-administered Kashmir had been hit by flooding before. But on Saturday, the river took everything: homes, possessions, livelihoods. The clothes they were wearing and the donated blankets and the sheets they’re sitting on, are literally all they have left.
Thirty-year-old Neetu (she only has one name), gives me a similar statement. She won’t go back. The water rose chest-high, and she almost lost one of her two children that were with her when the flood water struck. She’s thankful for the food the government is giving them, and for the relief centre, which is usually reserved as a guest house for religious pilgrims. As for what’s next, is something that clouds most of her other thoughts.
“What about my children? What about their schooling, what about clothes for them?” she says. The desperation and utter fear for the future is a shared disillusionment in the group.
Kumar says he was so scared of the river now, even being a grown man, that he would never go near it again.
He wants the government to give him and the others plots so they could rebuild. At this point though, rebuilding isn’t anywhere close to being on the government’s list of short-term goals.

Our team travels north to another part of the Jammu district, where a bridge has been washed out by the waters, cutting off 150,000 people in dozens of villages on the other side. The water has receded somewhat since the rain stopped on Monday. Still, it’s hard imagining the water rising high enough and being strong enough to knock out a chunk of a modern concrete bridge.
Since Saturday, people from the cut-off side have been coming to the edge, shouting that they have no electricity, and their supplies of food, water, and medicines are running low. The army has arrived here half a day before us, and has started building a temporary bridge, which is almost two-thirds done. Boat rescues have already begun.

The commander is polite enough to let us get close to film, but declines being interviewed. He’s just too busy, and there too much to do. Many on our side of the river agree with that assessment.

Karan Singh Raja is also trapped, but on our side. Him, his wife, and daughter were arriving back from a trip to Madhya Pradesh on the weekend when they found the bridge had been washed out, and they were cut off from their home. They’re a lower middle-class family, economically speaking, and are camping out on this side, because they have nowhere else to go, and don’t have the money for a hotel or to travel elsewhere. They’re now waiting for the army to finish the bridge so they can go home.

Since word got out that I was in the region, I’ve been receiving phone calls, texts, and emails from Kashmiris overseas, worried about their relatives. Mobile phone networks are in-and-out in this area, and completely out in other areas since Sunday, so there are no officials numbers on how many people are in trouble.

Estimates in the local media say 400,000 to 600,000 people are still trapped in and around the region. One of the worst affected areas is the capital Srinagar, where the team is travelling to next, and where reports are that many people, hundreds, even thousands, are trapped on the roofs. And with no phone connectivity there, people are worried about their families and friends.

As we leave the area where the army is building the bridge, I can't help but think that these people are the fortunate ones. For them, help is here. For many others, it’s not even in sight. Just then a military helicopter flies overhead. I’m a little more optimistic now.

Obama 'to strike IS wherever it exists'

US president to outline plans to destroy Islamic State group, which operates in Iraq and Syria.

Obama will be laying out his plan to deepen the US military role in the Middle East [EPA]

US President Barack Obama is expected to annouce that the United States will wage a military campaign that will target Islamic State fighters with air strikes “wherever they exist". This indicates the US will expand its air campaign across the Iraqi border to Islamic State targets in Syria. Obama will deliver a major address on Wednesday evening laying out his plan to deepen the US military role in the Middle East. In excerpts released in advance, Obama says the US will lead a broad coalition to degrade and then destroy the self-declared jihadist fighters. Obama says the campaign would not involve US combat troops on the ground. Obama, in the speech, is expected to compare the US plans for the Islamic State to Washington's counterterrorism efforts in Yemen and Somalia. The US has launched drone strikes in those countries for years. The US is already launching air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq 'Will not sit and watch' Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the international community will not sit and watch the Islamic State grow. He identified Iraq as a key partner in the fight against the group. "We all have an interest in supporting the new government of Iraq at this particular critical junction," Kerry said during a visit to Baghdad on Wednesday. He said an international coalition to confront the Islamic State "will continue to grow and deepen in the days ahead. "That is because the United States and the world will simply not stand by to watch as [the Islamic State's] evil spreads." Kerry said, using an alternative acronym for Islamic State. The Islamic State group has taken control of large parts of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. The group's brutal campaign has included beheadings of rivals and killings of hundreds of members of Iraq's minorities.

Source: Agencies

France shocks Spain at World Cup 65-52, USA’s path to gold just became more open

One week ago, Spain toyed with France winning by 22 in group play. Spain dominated inside — Marc Gasol had 17 points, Pau Gasol 15 — and played defense that held the French to 39 percent shooting.
Wednesday the scrip flipped — and the USA’s path to the gold medal just became a lot more wide open.
France played a fantastic defensive game Wednesday — their recovery on the pick-and-roll was spot on all game, while inside the combination of Joffrey Lauvergne in the first half and the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert in the second held Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka to a combined 5 points on 2-of-14 shooting.
The result was a shocking upset — France 65, Spain 52. No Tony Parker or Joakim Noah, no problem. France advances on to the World Cup semifinal Friday against Serbia.
Host Spain is done. Adios. It was shocking because they were undefeated in the tournament having won their previous six games by an average 26.5 points. They, along with Team USA, had looked like the clearly two dominant squads of this World Cup, and with Spain at home there was seemingly no question that they would play for the gold.
Suddenly the USA’s path to gold looks much easier. Lithuania (Thursday’s opponent) and either France or Serbia in the final might have a puncher’s chance against the USA. But really it would take their best games and a terrible, off night from the USA to see an upset.
Spain seemed flummoxed by what France did defensively, with fantastic pick-and-roll defense and discipline that didn’t give the Spanish guards (or bigs) room to make the ball moving passes they had all tournament. France also did a great job of slowing the game down, not letting the guards of France get a lot of easy buckets in transition.
Plus, Spain just missed shots. They started 0-9 from three in the first half and were just 2-of-22 from three for the game. On the night Ricky Rubio was 1-of-7 shooting, Sergio Rodriguez 0-of-3, Rudy Fernandez 2-of-6. Combine that with Ibaka and Marc Gasol’s off nights and you have a Spanish team that shot just 32 percent.
But maybe the most shocking part of the night was the way Lauvergne and Gobert controlled the paint and glass – Gobert had 13 rebounds and Lauvergne 10, while the Gasol brothers had a dozen combined.
We have talked about how for Team USA players like Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried could use their World Cup play as a springboard into a huge NBA season. Throw Gobert on that list.
Also we should be fair to Pau Gasol, who was the one Spanish player who had a good night — 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting plus he had three blocks. He had a very strong entire tournament. Bulls fans will love him this season (likely in a way some Lakers fans never did).
On offense France was doing enough attacking off the dribble in the half court, keeping it a half court game and slowing it down. And they were hitting their shots when it mattered. Boris Diaw had 15 points to lead the way, and late in the game some of the offense ran through him (and as you would expect, it was creative and smart with the ball). Then there was point guard Tony Heurtel, who was running the show late and hit a couple of key baskets including a dagger three.
It was a team win for France, the European champions who are now looking at a real chance to medal at the World Cup.
It was a team loss for Spain in a year that, at home, they thought they could get a World Cup gold medal. But in a one-and-done tournament you have to bring it every night.
Wednesday France brought it, and they move on.
Much to the delight of Team USA (even though they would never say that publicly).

Tags: Anthony Davis, Boris Diaw, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Joakim Noah, Kenneth Faried, Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Gobert, San Antonio Spurs, Serge Ibaka, Tony Parker, Utah Jazz

One week ago, Spain toyed with France winning by 22 in group play. Spain dominated inside — Marc Gasol had 17 points, Pau Gasol 15 — and played defense that held the French to 39 percent shooting.
Wednesday the scrip flipped — and the USA’s path to the gold medal just became a lot more wide open.
France played a fantastic defensive game Wednesday — their recovery on the pick-and-roll was spot on all game, while inside the combination of Joffrey Lauvergne in the first half and the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert in the second held Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka to a combined 5 points on 2-of-14 shooting.
The result was a shocking upset — France 65, Spain 52. No Tony Parker or Joakim Noah, no problem. France advances on to the World Cup semifinal Friday against Serbia.
Host Spain is done. Adios. It was shocking because they were undefeated in the tournament having won their previous six games by an average 26.5 points. They, along with Team USA, had looked like the clearly two dominant squads of this World Cup, and with Spain at home there was seemingly no question that they would play for the gold.
Suddenly the USA’s path to gold looks much easier. Lithuania (Thursday’s opponent) and either France or Serbia in the final might have a puncher’s chance against the USA. But really it would take their best games and a terrible, off night from the USA to see an upset.
Spain seemed flummoxed by what France did defensively, with fantastic pick-and-roll defense and discipline that didn’t give the Spanish guards (or bigs) room to make the ball moving passes they had all tournament. France also did a great job of slowing the game down, not letting the guards of France get a lot of easy buckets in transition.
Plus, Spain just missed shots. They started 0-9 from three in the first half and were just 2-of-22 from three for the game. On the night Ricky Rubio was 1-of-7 shooting, Sergio Rodriguez 0-of-3, Rudy Fernandez 2-of-6. Combine that with Ibaka and Marc Gasol’s off nights and you have a Spanish team that shot just 32 percent.
But maybe the most shocking part of the night was the way Lauvergne and Gobert controlled the paint and glass – Gobert had 13 rebounds and Lauvergne 10, while the Gasol brothers had a dozen combined.
We have talked about how for Team USA players like Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried could use their World Cup play as a springboard into a huge NBA season. Throw Gobert on that list.
Also we should be fair to Pau Gasol, who was the one Spanish player who had a good night — 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting plus he had three blocks. He had a very strong entire tournament. Bulls fans will love him this season (likely in a way some Lakers fans never did).
On offense France was doing enough attacking off the dribble in the half court, keeping it a half court game and slowing it down. And they were hitting their shots when it mattered. Boris Diaw had 15 points to lead the way, and late in the game some of the offense ran through him (and as you would expect, it was creative and smart with the ball). Then there was point guard Tony Heurtel, who was running the show late and hit a couple of key baskets including a dagger three.
It was a team win for France, the European champions who are now looking at a real chance to medal at the World Cup.
It was a team loss for Spain in a year that, at home, they thought they could get a World Cup gold medal. But in a one-and-done tournament you have to bring it every night.
Wednesday France brought it, and they move on.
Much to the delight of Team USA (even though they would never say that publicly).

Tags: Anthony Davis, Boris Diaw, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Joakim Noah, Kenneth Faried, Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Gobert, San Antonio Spurs, Serge Ibaka, Tony Parker, Utah Jazz

One week ago, Spain toyed with France winning by 22 in group play. Spain dominated inside — Marc Gasol had 17 points, Pau Gasol 15 — and played defense that held the French to 39 percent shooting.
Wednesday the scrip flipped — and the USA’s path to the gold medal just became a lot more wide open.
France played a fantastic defensive game Wednesday — their recovery on the pick-and-roll was spot on all game, while inside the combination of Joffrey Lauvergne in the first half and the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert in the second held Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka to a combined 5 points on 2-of-14 shooting.
The result was a shocking upset — France 65, Spain 52. No Tony Parker or Joakim Noah, no problem. France advances on to the World Cup semifinal Friday against Serbia.
Host Spain is done. Adios. It was shocking because they were undefeated in the tournament having won their previous six games by an average 26.5 points. They, along with Team USA, had looked like the clearly two dominant squads of this World Cup, and with Spain at home there was seemingly no question that they would play for the gold.
Suddenly the USA’s path to gold looks much easier. Lithuania (Thursday’s opponent) and either France or Serbia in the final might have a puncher’s chance against the USA. But really it would take their best games and a terrible, off night from the USA to see an upset.
Spain seemed flummoxed by what France did defensively, with fantastic pick-and-roll defense and discipline that didn’t give the Spanish guards (or bigs) room to make the ball moving passes they had all tournament. France also did a great job of slowing the game down, not letting the guards of France get a lot of easy buckets in transition.
Plus, Spain just missed shots. They started 0-9 from three in the first half and were just 2-of-22 from three for the game. On the night Ricky Rubio was 1-of-7 shooting, Sergio Rodriguez 0-of-3, Rudy Fernandez 2-of-6. Combine that with Ibaka and Marc Gasol’s off nights and you have a Spanish team that shot just 32 percent.
But maybe the most shocking part of the night was the way Lauvergne and Gobert controlled the paint and glass – Gobert had 13 rebounds and Lauvergne 10, while the Gasol brothers had a dozen combined.
We have talked about how for Team USA players like Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried could use their World Cup play as a springboard into a huge NBA season. Throw Gobert on that list.
Also we should be fair to Pau Gasol, who was the one Spanish player who had a good night — 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting plus he had three blocks. He had a very strong entire tournament. Bulls fans will love him this season (likely in a way some Lakers fans never did).
On offense France was doing enough attacking off the dribble in the half court, keeping it a half court game and slowing it down. And they were hitting their shots when it mattered. Boris Diaw had 15 points to lead the way, and late in the game some of the offense ran through him (and as you would expect, it was creative and smart with the ball). Then there was point guard Tony Heurtel, who was running the show late and hit a couple of key baskets including a dagger three.
It was a team win for France, the European champions who are now looking at a real chance to medal at the World Cup.
It was a team loss for Spain in a year that, at home, they thought they could get a World Cup gold medal. But in a one-and-done tournament you have to bring it every night.
Wednesday France brought it, and they move on.
Much to the delight of Team USA (even though they would never say that publicly).

Tags: Anthony Davis, Boris Diaw, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Joakim Noah, Kenneth Faried, Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Rudy Gobert, San Antonio Spurs, Serge Ibaka, Tony Parker, Utah Jazz

Rihanna rocks gray wig as she transforms for Tush magazine

The singer and fashion icon switches up her look and transforms into some kind of goddess in new dramatic photos for German fashion magazine, Tush. The Bajan beauty rocks a long gray wig, frosted eyebrows, and a pair of white feathery wings as she poses in the Nevada desert for famed photographers, Gomillion & Leupold. See more photos after the cut...

British nurse who caught Ebola in Sierra Leone plans to return there

William Pooley, the 29 year old British nurse who recently got treated of the Ebola virus which he contracted while working as a voluntaeer nurse in Sierra Leone, says he plans to go back to the country to continue working there and help other victims. Speaking with UK Guardian, Pooley said;

"While I'm happy to be recovered and alive, there's a lot of stuff on my mind with what's going on back there. It would be relatively safe for me to go back and work there, and it's really the least I could do having received all this amazing care and have people look after me and potentially save my life. It's the least I could do to go back and return the favour to some other people, even just for a little while. The more help they get, the less chance there is they get sick.” he said. Continue...

His mother, Jackie, also supports his wish to head back to Sierra Leone

“We would want him to go back, not as an individual but with an organization of some kind so he's got the backing. Obviously in a way we don't want [him] to, but I can see I would feel very proud of him if he decided he was going to, because he knows what it is going to be like,” she said.