SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON DEATH OF KAYLA MUELLER

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT
The Death of Kayla Jean Mueller
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
February 10, 2015

All Americans mourn the loss of Kayla Mueller, a compassionate young American who represented everything good about the human spirit. There are no words to express to Kayla's parents, Marsha and Carl, how sorry we are for their crushing loss, just how much so many wished for and worked to try and secure a better outcome, or how awe-inspiring is the example of their strength, determination, and devotion to faith and family. To them, and to Kayla's brother Eric and his family, I hope they can know that our entire country grieves together with all those whose lives she touched.

I have learned a great deal about Kayla through the stories shared about her during this awful period. She was someone any of us would be lucky to know as a daughter, sister, friend, or colleague. She so purposefully had one mission in life from the very start, and that was to help people: people in India, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories, people at an HIV/AIDS clinic and a women’s shelter at home in Arizona, and, most recently, Syrian refugees in Turkey. While ISIL exploited the crisis in Syria to rule by violence and massacre the innocent, human tragedy moved Kayla to do the opposite. She embraced children who had lost their parents. She comforted the sick and the wounded. She gave people hope even as their world fell apart around them. Kayla's sense of values, her humanity and generosity, her idealism – this is what will endure, and it will endure long, long after the barbarity of ISIL is defeated.

ISIL, and ISIL alone, is the reason Kayla is gone. Like our friends in Jordan, our resolve is unshaken to defeat this vile and unspeakably ugly insult to the civilized world and to defeat terrorists whose actions – killing women, killing children, burning people alive – are an insult to the religion they falsely claim to represent.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON LT. MOAZ AL-KASASBEH'S EXECUTION BY ISIL

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
February 03, 2015
Statement by the President on the Death of First Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh

Today, we join the people of Jordan in grieving the loss of one of their own, First Lieutenant Moaz al-Kasasbeh, cruelly and brutally killed by ISIL terrorists.  On behalf of the American people, I offer my deepest condolences to Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh’s family and loved ones, to the brave men and women of the Jordan Armed Forces, and to King Abdullah II and the people of Jordan.

Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh will forever personify the bravery of a true son of Jordan, one who honored his family and country by his seven years of military service.  Along with his compatriots and other Arab and international members of the coalition, Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh was in the vanguard of the effort to degrade and defeat the threat posed by ISIL.

Lieutenant al-Kasasbeh’s dedication, courage, and service to his country and family represent universal human values that stand in opposition to the cowardice and depravity of ISIL, which has been so broadly rejected around the globe.  As we grieve together, we must stand united, respectful of his sacrifice to defeat this scourge.  Today, the coalition fights for everyone who has suffered from ISIL’s inhumanity.  It is their memory that invests us and our coalition partners with the undeterred resolve to see ISIL and its hateful ideology banished to the recesses of history.

SECRETARY KERRY MAKES REMARKS WITH JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Jordanian Foreign Minister Judeh After Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Amman, Jordan
November 13, 2014


FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: (Via interpreter) In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. At the outset, I would like to welcome a friend of His Majesty King Abdullah to Jordan, as well as to me personally, he – His Excellency, the Secretary of State of the United States of America. I do welcome him in this important visit and at this particular important moment. We have been honored today with a bilateral meeting as His Majesty King Abdullah received Secretary Kerry. And over the past 48 hours, they were – they covered different significant diplomatic deliberations and talks starting with the meetings with President Abbas yesterday. And today, His Majesty the King received Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry.

And this evening, His Majesty the King, there was a bilateral – trilateral meeting where His Majesty met President Netanyahu – Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Secretary of State. And they discussed coaxial issues, including Jerusalem and the Holy Shrines, and they took a lot of time. And their discussion and all the developments that have taken place over the recent few weeks were at the core of the issue and they have led to more instability.

His Majesty, during his meeting with Mr. Kerry this afternoon, explained Jordan’s position and the stance regarding the necessity of maintaining the status quo of the Holy Shrines, and they should not be touched or affected by any means. And this is part of the Hashemite custody of these Christian and Muslim sanctities in Jerusalem. And you are well aware also that when Jordan took some measures, there was confirmation on the part of the Israeli nation, Israeli state, and they showed commitment that they will maintain the status quo and respect the Jordanian role, and also respect the peace treaty between the two countries. And this is what also has been stated during the trilateral meeting this evening.

And you will listen also to the outcomes of this trilateral meeting. There are mechanisms and communications underway, including practical measures to de-escalate the tension and that maintain the status quo without getting it affected by such tensions.

During the bilateral meeting with Mr. Kerry, there were extensive negotiations regarding all the developments across the region. And we will go back to the Palestinian-Israeli problem. There were also discussions regarding the Syrian crisis and the U.S. as well as Jordan’s commitment to go back to the peaceful solution. It will be the only solution that will stop destruction, violence, instability, and the disintegration across the Syrian scene. This is Jordan’s stance, and it is in harmony with the U.S. stance as well.

There has been also talks about anti-terrorism and anti-extremism. And His Majesty the King stressed – and I also stressed during my negotiations and talks with Mr. Kerry – that this is the battle of moderate Islam against extremism and against (inaudible). Therefore, talks addressed this issue as well – including other issues.

With respect to the peace process, you are well aware that Mr. Kerry and the Obama Administration are committed to find a peaceful solution that addresses all the final status issues and that the two parties should come back to peace process. Mr. Kerry is a man of peace, and he has proven this through his intensive and focused efforts over one year as the Secretary of State and also for the case as the head of a committee at the Congress. He is a man who is renowned for his efforts inside the United States and outside the United States. And we have seen the Secretary of State in more than one year meeting all the stakeholders, particularly the Palestinian and Israeli sides. In addition, other countries who have high interest in peace, like the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Republic of Egypt – he met with them scores of times. And I think the meetings that His Excellency Kerry has been unprecedented, and this confirms U.S. commitment and Mr. Kerry’s commitment to this peace process. He is now attempting to repave the way for coming back to a negotiation – and negotiations and to stop unilateral actions and measures, and we do support him in these efforts.

Once again, it is our high interest, and our national interest requires and entails the two-state solutions according to international legitimacy, especially the Arab Peace Initiative. Therefore, I would like to say that the trilateral meeting that was held this evening with the Israeli prime minister has already addressed the issue through the monitoring and follow-up of the Jordanian efforts. It also focused basically on the efforts being put forth by Mr. Kerry in order to revive the situation, to come back to negotiations. Another important aspect under the trilateral negotiations – a telephone conference with President Sisi was also conducted. And, as you know, Egypt is a basic and a key country when we talk about the issues of this region, as well as the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

Therefore, I would like to conclude here that part – or a significant part of our talks today included the distinguished bilateral relationships, and we have extended our thanks for their continued efforts to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, especially in helping Jordan to shoulder the tremendous burden. And through the U.S. economic assistance and help, we have been able to bear the situation. We have extended our thanks, and we have discussed so many aspects of these distinguished bilateral relationships.

I do welcome His Excellency, and I do extend my thanks for his efforts towards peace. And this is in harmony with His Majesty’s and the Kingdom’s position towards peace in order to have a stable region without terror and without turmoil. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much. Good evening to everybody, and I am particularly grateful to my good friend, Nasser Judeh, who tonight I learned is the longest-serving foreign minister in the history of Jordan. So – and I asked him – I said, “Are you going to look like that on those portraits that are hanging out there?” And he said – that’s when he informed me that until recently, one of them was the longest serving. Now I’m standing beside him. So I’m honored to be here with him. And I have to tell you, he is a very valued partner and a very skilled diplomat, and somebody that we rely on for great collaboration and for very significant advice and counsel. And I thank him for his friendship very, very much.

I also particularly want to thank His Majesty King Abdullah, who is a gracious host, but also a courageous leader who understands how important this moment is and how critical it is to move forward. And I thank him for his exhaustive personal efforts in trying to resolve some of the region’s most difficult challenges, whether it’s Syria and Iraq, ISIL, or the longstanding conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Through all of these challenges, one constant has been the enormously constructive role that Jordan has played under difficult circumstances in order to try to resolve those challenges. And we’re very grateful and we admire those efforts.

I had a very productive meeting this morning with President Abbas, and Foreign Minister Judeh and I, as he just mentioned to you, have come here directly from a trilateral meeting, a discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and with His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan.

President Abbas and I this morning discussed constructive steps, real steps – not rhetoric, but real steps that people can take in order to de-escalate the situation and create a climate where we can move forward in a positive and constructive way. President Abbas strongly restated his firm commitment to nonviolence, and he made it clear that he will do everything possible to restore calm and to prevent the incitement of violence and to try to change the climate.

We particularly talked about the urgent need to address the greatest tension between Israelis and Palestinians beginning with the imperative, the absolute need to uphold the status quo regarding the administration of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and to take affirmative steps to prevent provocations and incitement. In the trilateral meeting this evening, we discussed, as Nasser has explained to you, specific and practical actions that both sides can take to restore calm. The Jordanians and the Israelis have agreed – the Jordanians, obviously, in their historic role as the custodians of the Haram al-Sharif – and the Israelis joined together as they have worked since 1967 to administer the Haram al-Sharif, to make sure that they de-escalate the situation, and that the steps they take will instill confidence that the status quo will be upheld.

So I say to all people who are interested in this: There are firm commitments, particularly from the custodian of the holy mosque, as well as Israel, to guarantee that they will take these steps. Now, I know that the first question will be: “So exactly what are those steps?” And the answer is we’re not going to lay out each practical step. It is more important that they be done in a quiet and effective way, but they will be noticeable and they will be effective, and I am convinced of that. And I also believe that obviously not all of it can happen overnight. Not every message will reach every person immediately. And not everyone will automatically change in one moment.

But the leadership is committed, I am convinced, on the basis of their discussion tonight and to the seriousness of purpose that they both exhibited. And President – in Prime Minister Netanyahu traveling here to make the effort to have this discussion; King Abdullah being willing to host it; and the length of time we spent discussing it, makes it clear to me that they are serious about working in the effort to create this de-escalation, to take steps that will instill confidence that the status quo will be upheld.

Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to uphold the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and to implement these steps. And King Abdullah also agreed to continue to take affirmative steps to restore calm and implement practical measures to prevent further escalation of tensions. And obviously, the proof is not in the words; the proof is in the actions.

In our trilateral discussion, we also discussed the shared commitment by each of us to counter the growing wave of extremism in the region. We placed a call to President al-Sisi to discuss his contribution and support for this critical effort. Why? Frankly, because all of us have been impressed. I was in Egypt a few weeks ago, and President al-Sisi and I had a long discussion about his commitment to the process of challenging extremism and terrorism, and most importantly, his emphasis to me that not only is he committed to counterterrorism, but that he is prepared, in his words, “to do whatever I can,” quote, “in order to advance the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” And that was an important conversation to have in the context of the potential for new regional security assistance and arrangements. We had a very extensive discussion of the ways in which the regional partners could work together on a security arrangement that advances our common interests, and we agreed – all of us – to continue that conversation in the next days.

Now, we are – all of us – fully aware of the challenges presented by the current tensions. Everybody understands that there are deeply held frustrations that are pent up on both sides. Everybody knows the difficult roads traveled and years and years of disappointment on both sides. And that’s why we all engaged in nine months of negotiations, and it is why all of us would like to see the day when that effort can be re-engaged and can lead to the peace that we all know is the only real, sustainable answer to the underlying causes of this conflict.

But today, we are working to smother the sparks of immediate tension so that they don’t become a fire that is absolutely out of control. And the first thing we have to do is restore calm before you can talk about other alternatives. The United States stands ready to be engaged, provided the parties themselves begin to create the climate. I was pleased that all of the leaders today, particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas earlier today, made clear their desire to see this situation de-escalate and to move in the right direction.

In our meeting today Foreign Minister Judeh and I also discussed how do we best coordinate our efforts against ISIL. We are combining our strengths across our more than 60 partners and along 5 different reinforcing lines of effort to shrink the territory controlled by ISIL, dry up its financing, reduce its supply of foreign fighters, expose the hypocrisy of the absurd religious claims, and provide humanitarian assistance to so many millions of people who are injured by this struggle.

Degrading and ultimately defeating ISIL is not going to happen overnight. We have to be patient as well as strong, and we have to be strategic. But make no mistake: We will succeed. Particularly in Iraq, where our effort by design has been most concentrated, we are making steady progress. I think you all saw that at Baiji recently.

Together with our coalition partners, including Jordan, we have conducted nearly 900 airstrikes against ISIL. Some partners are contributing to the military effort by providing arms; some equipment, training, advice; others are offering humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict. And we are particularly grateful to Jordan for opening up its borders and providing safe haven to more than 620,000 Syrian refugees. That’s an extraordinary effort by the country. And I know that there are parents, families, people in the country, who feel the pressure of this. We all understand that. We are deeply, deeply grateful to Jordanians for their humanitarian gesture in receiving these people, and that is one of the reasons why we are so committed to working to try to bring an end to this conflict.

And the United States understands and is particularly appreciative of the burden that has been put on schools, on hospitals, on water and energy services, and so much more. And we will continue to stand beside Jordan; I can assure you of that. I conveyed to His Majesty tonight the deep commitment of the American people, the United States Congress, the Obama Administration to the efforts of the Hashemite Kingdom to assume these important responsibilities.

Finally, as you all know, I traveled to Muscat earlier this week to continue the Iran nuclear negotiations. Our number-one priority on Iran is making sure that they don’t get a nuclear weapon. It’s that simple, that direct. We’re engaged in a difficult but serious negotiation toward that end. The question now is whether Iran will make the choices required to close the final gaps and provide assurances that they can’t develop and won’t develop a nuclear weapon.

Iranian leaders have said repeatedly and unambiguously that they have no intention of building a nuclear weapon. But actions have to be taken to back up those words and time is running short. The international community’s concerns are legitimate, and no agreement can be reached without addressing those concerns.

So in the end, it is really a matter of will, not capacity. Again and again, Iran – importantly, and frankly, gratefully – has said they are not going to seek a nuclear weapon; they exclusively have a peaceful nuclear program. So proving that you have a peaceful program is really just a question of choices. And with the November 24th deadline rapidly approaching, choices are going to have to be made very soon.

I’ll just close by noting this: When you look down the long list of challenges that we face in the world, it’s very easy to miss the fact that there are also unprecedented opportunities. During my meetings in Beijing this week with President Obama, the United States and China came together to jointly announce ambitious new targets to reduce carbon emissions in the post-2020 period. The United States and China are the world’s two largest economies. We’re also the world’s two largest consumers of energy and the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. We are also two countries regarded for 20 years as the leaders of opposing camps in the climate negotiations.

Now, I know that not everybody in the world wakes up in the morning and worries about this issue. I understand that. People have security challenges of immediate nature, and putting food on the table, and shelter, and being able to protect their families and just survive. But we understand from scientists that this is a collective challenge to survival for all of us in the long run. And by doing what the United States and China did together, we are encouraging other countries to put forward their own ambitious plans, their own ambitious plans to be able to deal with this issue, to have emission reduction targets soon so that we can conclude a strong global agreement in Paris next year in December of 2015.

The commitment of both President Xi and President Obama to take ambitious action in our own countries and to work closely to remove the obstacles on the road to Paris sends a critical signal. It is that we must get this agreement done, that we can get it done, and that we have the ability now to all of us come together because no one country can make this happen on their own. This is one of those issues that requires global input, and we’re proud that together with China, we hope there was a moment of global leadership.

Thank you. Nasser.

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: Thank you very much, John.

Right. I just want to say that Secretary Kerry has to travel soon, and therefore I think we’ll take one question from the Jordanian side and one question from the American side. So, Hamdan.

QUESTION: My question is to secretary general. My name is Hamdan al-Hajj from Ad-Dustour newspaper. You said, Mr. Secretary, that the aim of the trilateral meeting is to restore peace and alleviate tension in Jerusalem. What makes you ambitious and optimistic that Benjamin Netanyahu is going to stick to the commitments? And what are the mechanisms that – to be followed to reach that goal? Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, first of all, when you deal in this business, you begin to get a sense of when somebody is expressing a legitimate concern about something or when they’re just brushing you off. And I thought it was quite clear from the conversation this evening and from prior conversations – which is why Prime Minister Netanyahu traveled over here – that he has deep concerns, as everybody does, about the – about what has been going on in the rise of violence. How can you be the prime minister of a country in which people are being run over by trucks, cars, vans, at a trolley station and killed – how can you be the prime minister of a country where someone is being stabbed in the street, killed, where you see what the reactions are, because of people’s interpretation of something, and not respond?

And so this is a test. I believe the prime minister came here because he is concerned, and he made very firm statements tonight about that. Now, I can’t tell you that everything will change between now and tomorrow morning or the next day, because actions are what matter, not just words. So I heard words. They were expressed sincerely. I believe they are. But it’s going to take the test of the next days.

And that is true on the other side too. If President Abbas says he will reduce the rhetoric and change the – and work hard to try to change the atmosphere, then we have to look to the test of that. And in the end, it requires leadership to be able to make this difference.

So I’m here, together with my friend Nasser, to work with him and others, King Abdullah, to try to create the framework within which people can make the right choices. And in the end, I hope they do, and we will see in the days to come.

I don’t know. Nasser, you might want to comment on that also because I think it’s an important question.

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: Well, thanks, John. I mean, I’ll just add by saying that since we saw the recent escalation – and there’s always escalation in Jerusalem, and we’ve always warned that Jerusalem is a redline. His Majesty is the Custodian. Jordan has a historic road. The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan points to that very, very clearly. There was an agreement signed between His Majesty and President Abbas in 2013 reaffirming the Hashemite Custodianship of the Holy Site. And there’s escalation after escalation, particularly in the last two years, and most particularly in the last few weeks.

When Jordan took a decision to recall its ambassador for consultation, it was a sign that enough is enough. There’s a clear message that went to Israel that something needs to be done. We’ve had since some positive developments in terms of the rhetoric, and I think, like I said, hopefully a mechanism that will result in restoring calm and in alleviating the tension that we see.

We’ve had a phone call between His Majesty and Prime Minister Netanyahu a week ago or more when the prime minister reiterated that Israel is committed to the preservation of the status quo and respects the Jordanian role. Today, the discussion was – and we’ve had contacts since, of course, and we’ve had contacts with the international community. But today, the prime minister was very clear in yet again reaffirming that the status quo in Jerusalem will not be touched, and that Israel is committed to this and Israel is committed to respecting the role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Custodianship of His Majesty. But as --

SECRETARY KERRY: And with specific steps.

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: With specific steps and a mechanism. But like John said, it’s actions that will speak louder than words. And we’re monitoring and observing and we’re contacting. We’re remaining in contact. I mean, the idea is not to just withdraw and not establish any means of communication. You need to have communication in order to ensure that what you want is done and what the international community wants is done.

The tension in Jerusalem, as you have seen in the last few days, has sparked tension not just in Jerusalem and around Jerusalem, but elsewhere in the West Bank. And this is something that concerns us all. And we need to restore calm because we need to think of the larger picture and we need to think of the end objective that we all seek, which is peace, a solution to all final status issues – independence, dignity, sovereignty for the Palestinians in the form of a state on their national soil, and security not just for Israel, but for the entire region. I think this is what we are all committed to.

And I think – Warren from Reuters. And the we’ll take one there.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, you’re going to be shocked I have a multipart question. (Laughter.) You have often said, Mr. Secretary, that there are people on both sides of the conflict who do not want peace. Understanding that you and Foreign Minister Judeh don’t want to go into all the details tonight, can you at least give us some idea of the types of things, types of commitments that you got today that would lead you to believe that both sides are willing to pull back and especially rein in their extremists? That’s question one.

Question two: Why was President --

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: You mean – sorry to interrupt. You mean the Palestinians and Israelis?

QUESTION: The Palestinian – yes, thank you. Question --

SECRETARY KERRY: With respect to the Haram al-Sharif or the --

QUESTION: Yes, yes.

SECRETARY KERRY: Okay.

QUESTION: Question two: Why was President Abbas not at the meeting today, the trilateral? And finally, did you and Prime Minister Netanyahu have a chance to discuss the nuclear issue today, and did he reiterate his deep and serious concerns about a weak deal with Iran?

And finally, for Foreign Minister Judeh, will Jordan now return its ambassador to Tel Aviv? Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me deal with 1-2-3. With respect to the Haram al-Sharif, if you read the basics of the agreement that exists on – in defining the status quo, you will see precisely what is expected of the WAC, the Jordanian force that is responsible, as well as the Israelis. And if the status quo is being maintained, you’ll be able to see exactly what is expected. And I don’t think it’s appropriate to go into all of the ways in which that is going to be implemented. It’s up to the folks there to show it in the way that they’re implementing it. But I think people will notice in the next days, and that’ll be the measure.

So again, we’ve agreed not to go into the specifics because one person or another can misinterpret or not quite understand one choice or another. I think the status quo is clear and the status quo is going to be maintained, and that is what is absolutely vital to the Hashemite Kingdom’s responsibility as Custodian. And the prime minister has made it clear that he will uphold that.

Now with respect to President Abbas, I met with him one-on-one this morning. We had a good conversation, as I mentioned earlier. His Majesty --

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: And His Majesty met --

SECRETARY KERRY: His Majesty met with him yesterday one-on-one, so there’s been a lot of communication. But it just isn’t yet the right moment for the two sides to really come together at this instant. It’s just not – it’s not the appropriate moment. I think they both need to see that things are changing, and there needs to be what we would call a ripeness, if you will, for that meeting that doesn’t exist at this moment. But there was no exclusion. It was simply an effort because we were talking about larger regional peace and security issues that directly involve existing states – state of Israel, state of Jordan, state of Egypt, and the United States – and those are important existing relationships and it was more appropriate to have that conversation in the context that we did.

Finally, with respect to the nuclear issue, yes, the prime minister and I talked one-on-one on that issue for a little while. And he expressed his concerns, of course, and I made it clear to him that the standard that we have applied throughout this negotiation still applies, and that is that there are four pathways to a nuclear weapon and we need to make certain that each pathway – the Fordow facility, the Arak nuclear – the Arak heavy water plutonium reactor facility, the Natanz enrichment facility, and covert capacities – are all closed off so that not – not as a matter of bias or prejudice, but because that’s the only way the world can know for certain that a program is indeed a peaceful program. And our responsibility is to make certain that there is a sufficient breakout time in the event that there was some change in policy or something happened.

So those guarantees are in place and we will keep all of our friends and allies informed of what we are doing in the days ahead. Our hopes remain still to try to achieve an agreement because it’s better for the world. But we can’t achieve just any agreement. It has to be done in a way that meets the standards I just set out. And we’re trying to be as thoughtful as we can in our approach to this, but there’s no shortcut. It’s difficult, and we hope Iran will work in the same way that we are, not as a matter of coercion but out of mutual respect and out of the interests that we all have for living in a world that is free of nuclear weapons. Obviously, the fatwa of the leader is a very important instrument, and we respect it enormously as a matter of religious edict. But that has to be translated into a lay person’s regular document, a legal one, if you will, with all of the things that are necessary for an agreement regarding potential nuclear programs. There are many standards by which that is measured, and that’s exactly how we’re proceeding.

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: The presence of the Jordanian ambassador in Israel since signing the peace treaty in 1994 was not intended to be to the benefit of Israel. The presence of our ambassador there was meant to be an action that would promote Jordanian national interest and promote the bilateral relationship, which will be of mutual benefit.

As you know, there are several diplomatic options available to any country to protest something that they feel very, very strongly about. One of those actions is to recall an ambassador for consultation. And this was a very clear signal to Israel that what’s been happening in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, particularly over the last few weeks, is not acceptable to Jordan as Custodian, not acceptable to 1.5 billion Muslims around the world, but we have a special responsibility as the Custodian, as a nonpermanent member on the Security Council. And I think recalling our ambassador for consultation was a very, very clear signal that something has to be done to check these actions that are causing much concern not just in the immediate region but around the world.

Now, as the Secretary and I have said for the last few days with intensive diplomacy, with intensive contact with the Israelis, with other international partners and particularly the United States, and in today’s discussions, we have seen a commitment on the part of Israel to respect and maintain the status quo and respect the special role of Jordan and to ease the tension and remove all the elements of instability that we are seeing. We have to wait and see if this is done. Like I said, there are concrete steps out there to be done. There is an agreement that we need to de-escalate. There is a commitment on the part of Israel that the status quo has to be maintained and to respect the Jordanian. Let’s see what happens and then we’ll review our decision, but we have to see what happens on the ground first.

SECRETARY KERRY: Folks, I apologize. I know there are a lot of questions, but I have to get back to the United States, leaving right now and my pilots are under a time restriction, so if you’ll forgive us, we need to take our leave.

FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: Thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all very, very much.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON AIRSTRIKES WITHIN SYRIA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

September 23, 2014

Statement by the President on Airstrikes in Syria

South Lawn

10:11 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  Last night, on my orders, America’s armed forces began strikes against ISIL targets in Syria.  Today, the American people give thanks for the extraordinary service of our men and women in uniform, including the pilots who flew these missions with the courage and professionalism that we've come to expect from the finest military that the world has ever known.

Earlier this month, I outlined for the American people our strategy to confront the threat posed by the terrorist group known as ISIL.  I made clear that as part of this campaign the United States would take action against targets in both Iraq and Syria so that these terrorists can't find safe haven anywhere.  I also made clear that America would act as part of a broad coalition.  And that's exactly what we've done.

We were joined in this action by our friends and partners -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar.  America is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security.

The strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America’s fight alone.  Above all, the people and governments in the Middle East are rejecting ISIL and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve.

Meanwhile, we will move forward with our plans, supported by bipartisan majorities in Congress, to ramp up our effort to train and equip the Syrian opposition, who are the best counterweight to ISIL and the Assad regime.  And more broadly, over 40 nations have offered to help in this comprehensive effort to confront this terrorist threat -- to take out terrorist targets; to train and equip Iraqi and Syrian opposition fighters who are going up against ISIL on the ground; to cut off ISIL’s financing; to counter its hateful ideology; and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region.

Last night, we also took strikes to disrupt plotting against the United States and our allies by seasoned al Qaeda operatives in Syria who are known as the Khorasan Group.  And once again, it must be clear to anyone who would plot against America and try to do Americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people.

I've spoken to leaders in Congress and I'm pleased that there is bipartisan support for the actions we are taking.  America is always stronger when we stand united, and that unity sends a powerful message to the world that we will do what’s necessary to defend our country.

Over the next several days I will have the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Abadi of Iraq, and with friends and allies at the United Nations to continue building support for the coalition that is confronting this serious threat to our peace and security.  The overall effort will take time.  There will be challenges ahead.  But we're going to do what’s necessary to take the fight to this terrorist group, for the security of the country and the region and for the entire world.

Thanks.  God bless our troops.  God bless America.

END

ISS VIEW OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AT NIGHT

FROM:  NASA 

Eastern Mediterranean Coastline at Night

This night photograph taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) shows the location and size of cities at the east end of the Mediterranean Sea. The largest, brightest cluster is the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, a port set against the blackness of the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city, and Amman, Jordan’s capital, are the next largest (with Amman’s lights having a whiter tone), followed by Beersheba.

Bright but narrow lines that snake between the cities are highways. The darker areas with smaller patches of lights are mostly agricultural and pastoral areas of Israel, Sinai, the West Bank, and Jordan. A wide, almost black zone between Jerusalem and Amman trends north-south across the right half of the image; it is the long valley that includes the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

Click here to view an astronaut image of the same area in daylight. And read more here about a new NASA crowd-sourcing project to identify cities and towns in night images from the space station.

Astronaut photograph ISS040-E-74022 was acquired on July 22, 2014, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using an 85 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 40 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by M. Justin Wilkinson, Jacobs at NASA-JSC.

READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL WITH KING ABDULLAH II OF JORDAN

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Readout of the President’s Call with His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

President Obama spoke with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan today.  They discussed the urgency of providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq, the risks to the region from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other extremist groups, and the importance of supporting an inclusive Iraqi political process.  The two leaders discussed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a durable cease-fire in Gaza, as well as increased support to civilians in Gaza who have suffered tremendously during the conflict.  The President and King Abdullah II reaffirmed the strong friendship and strategic partnership between the United States and Jordan. 

SPECIAL BRIEFING ON IRAQ BY STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Background Briefing in Amman, Jordan

Special Briefing

Senior State Department Officials

Amman, Jordan

June 22, 2014

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SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: So this is a background briefing previewing Secretary Kerry’s trip to Baghdad tomorrow. We have on the phone with us [Senior State Department Official One], who will be known here forward as senior State Department official number one. He’ll go do a quick overview of the trip and then we will take some questions.

With that, [Senior State Department Official One], go ahead.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Okay. Thanks, [Senior State Department Official Two]. I’ll just give a quick – just a quick preview of the trip, starting with tomorrow. And the Secretary will see here in Baghdad – he will see Prime Minister Maliki; he will see foreign minister Zebari; Ammar Hakim, who is the head of a Shia party called the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq; he will speak to (inaudible), who’s one of the prominent Sunni leaders here; and also Deputy Prime Minister Salih Mutlaq, who also has a bloc of primarily Sunnis and won a number of seats in the most recent election.

So the stop in Baghdad has a couple of key themes. First of all, to emphasize our highest-level commitment to Iraq during this time of crisis. And that’s a commitment that is bedrock commitment under our Strategic Framework Agreement, and we’ll be discussing in more detail with the Iraqis the elements of our package, which the President announced the other day, some of the support we’ll be providing. And it’s also an opportunity for the Secretary to do person-to-person diplomacy with the key leaders and the key blocs as they work towards forming a new government along the constitutional timeline that they’re on.

And just a word on that. It’s important to kind of step back about where we are in terms of the political process as we approach the security challenges in parallel with the political process. And considering that Iraq had an election, and it was a very successful election with about 14 million voters, the election was certified about a week ago, which started a formal timeline of a process for forming a new government. That timeline requires the new parliament – there are 328 members who are elected to be in the new parliament on the 30^th of this month. In that session, they should choose the speaker. That is what the constitution requires. And 30 days after that – within 30 days after that, they name a new president, and then within 15 days after that, a new prime minister. These timelines can be accelerated, but those are the deadlines. And we are encouraging them to act as swiftly as possible. So that’ll be obviously a key theme of the visit.

In all the meetings, obviously the Secretary will brief them on the conversations in Washington and what has transpired over the last two weeks as we’ve been managing the crisis from here, and again, just go into a little bit more detail about some of the assistance that we will be providing, and emphasizing – as he will have to, because the Iraqis emphasize this to us all the time – that they are united against ISIL, which is really an existential threat to all three communities here, all the three communities here, five principal communities here in Iraq, but also the (inaudible) minority communities including the Christian (inaudible) and others who are under a really mortal threat from ISIL.

So that’s a quick preview of the trip, and then I’m happy to address any questions.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Great. Want to kick it off, Michael?

QUESTION: [Senior State Department Official One], since you’re on a background basis, if there’s going to be a government formation process, obviously it has to come from within. Can you please explain to us who are the potential candidates or alternatives to Maliki from within this Shia bloc or community or parties? And how you see the Iraqi players lining up at this point in time, recognizing that it’s a bit early?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah, thanks, Michael. I’m not going to go into names. And again, as the President said, it’s not up to us to choose who’s going to rule Iraq. This is a sovereign country and it’s up to them. We are encouraging them to form a new government as soon as possible that’s an inclusive government. That’s not only us saying that; most of the leaders here are saying that. Grand Ayatollah Sistani said that just the other day. And so that is what we are looking for.

Prime Minister Maliki’s bloc won 92 seats in the election. He did get the most votes of anyone, but he will need 165 seats to form a government, and it remains to be seen whether or not that can happen.

So first of all, it’s a step-by-step process and it’s very important for all three of the major communities to remain a part of that process, because that is how they can both form a new political foundation, build an inclusive structure, as difficult as that is. And also the constitution requires them to develop a political program as part of forming the government, and as part of that program, a lot of work has been done over the last six months in terms of some critical issues such as an amnesty, such as reform to the accountability and justice system. Some other key things which happened underway will likely be part of that program, as will discussion of devolution of authorities, which was also – before this crisis was a very serious discussion about federalism and how that should work in the country.

So all of this will be discussed through the crucible of the constitutional formation process. Again, I want to emphasize how difficult this is, particularly in the security environment. But all the leaders – and I think the Secretary, when here, what he will emphasize to them is the importance of moving rapidly down this track, and by moving rapidly then, the options for who might be the president, who might be the speaker and everything else will come to a head as the timelines come upon them.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Andrea?

QUESTION: Hi, it’s Andrea Mitchell. We were told by a backgrounder last night flying over that there were three key factors right now: the Sistani statement; what Iran might do, whether Iran would echo the U.S. position as to the need for more inclusiveness; and whatever influence – the influence that the U.S. has. Can you give me – give us your sense, now that the Ayatollah has spoken, as to how --

QUESTION: Khamenei has spoken.

QUESTION: Khamenei spoke, yeah.

QUESTION: Not Sistani.

QUESTION: No, I’m sorry, Khamenei. I’m talking about what happened today. We’re just all clarifying. We’re all talking about the same thing. The Khamenei statements today seemed very definitive. What is your impression? Does that mean that at least he, within Iran, is embracing Maliki and is not moving off of him?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Well, I’ll let the Supreme Leader speak for himself and the statement speak for itself. But the key decision is to be made by the Iraqis. Every time they’ve been through a government formation process, there’s always rumors about (inaudible) and all sorts of things, but it often comes down to the math and how they can actually put together a governing coalition.

What makes this one particularly complicated and difficult for anyone from the outside to kind of direct is that it is so fractured. So that is at best morally an unhealthy thing. The first election here years ago, there were only three choices: there was a big Shia bloc, a big Kurdish bloc, a big Sunni block. In 2010, there was two Shia blocs, one Kurdish bloc, and all the Sunnis were under the same grouping together with Allawi, kind of a nationalist-type bloc. This time, it’s totally different. There’s three main Shia blocs; the Kurds ran on four lists so that they are together for purposes of forming government; and then the Sunnis ran on three or four different lists; and then the Allawi’s, kind of a more secular oriented list, ran on its own, itself.

So the configurations for forming a government are almost endless. What we’re trying to do is encourage them to come together in coalitions where they can have some traction and try to make some progress. But again, if the prime minister can’t get 165 seats, he won’t be able to form a government. So that’s kind of a key – that’s the key variable. And – but what Grand Ayatollah Sistani said was a couple of things. He called for a new government as soon as possible, on the constitutional timeline, and that’s inclusive. And so a lot of folks here are reading kind of into that and what that means, and again, this is going to play out over the coming – really over the coming days.

QUESTION: And as to Tehran?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Excuse me?

QUESTION: And what role do you think Tehran is playing right now vis-a-vis Maliki?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Well, Iran has many different power centers and different elements of Iran are sending different messages and doing different things. They are definitely extremely interested in what’s happening here, to say the least. They consider the (inaudible) in the crisis really started to metastasize and the dominos were falling in the first 72 hours. We know that they were extremely concerned, as were we, about Samarra. We know that ISIL wants to attack the Samarra shrine. That’s the shrine that was hit in February 2006, which started the civil war back then. We know that that is an objective of theirs, and we know that from multiple information channels. And Samarra is right in the middle of Saladin province.

So we know the Iranians were deeply concerned about that for a number of reasons, because if something were to happen to that shrine, really it would lead to potentially irreversible consequences. So that is a real concern. And they’re also just concerned about given the fragility on the border. So there’s no question that they have real interests here and they definitely have real influence here.

And in this region, which is so complicated, there’s all sorts of overlapping interests, and so we are very focused on finding and pursuing our own vital interests and important interests (inaudible) in this country, and that’s kind of what the President laid out the other night in terms of how we’re doing that.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Lara or (inaudible).

QUESTION: I’ve got one.

QUESTION: I’ve got one too.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah.

QUESTION: So, [Senior State Department Official One], it’s Lara Jakes. I have a couple of questions. One, when I walked in, you were talking about how all the sects and the ethnic groups were united in opposing ISIL. And I’m just wondering if you can talk a little bit about what evidence you’re seeing of that and how outside groups or even inside groups might help people resist joining ISIL. I mean, you see the Naqshabandis and other groups that are gaining some power, and they’re not necessarily joining ISIL but they’re joining the larger fight, right? So if you could talk a little bit about why you think most people are united against ISIL.

And then also I just wanted to clarify. You said that – just now about Samarra, that you know that it is an objective of theirs in terms of attacking the al-Askariya Mosque. And I’m just wondering: How do you know that – is it just based on social media? Or how do you know, what have you seen that makes you think that ISIL for sure wants to attack the mosque again?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: First, with Naqshabandi, certainly when this thing started moving, all the kind of – the Naqshabandis, the Baath party, the Baath insurgency that’s led by (inaudible), they’ve been around for a long time. And when this thing really started moving, all the groups like that started kind of jumping on the bandwagon. There’s no question. And people are reaching out to us through all sorts of various channels.
However, as ISIL is wont to do, I mean, if you go back and read stories from when (inaudible) fell, and it says, “Oh, they’re treating everyone well and the women can show their hair,” and everything, fast-forward to now, and there’s a public crucifixion in the town square. That’s just what ISIL does. I was with a prominent leader from Mosul today. Ask him who’s in charge of Mosul – it’s ISIL. There’s an ISIL flag flying on the provincial council building. They are increasingly enforcing their brand of seventh century Islamic law. And so tensions are already starting to build. We have seen reports that you may have seen of ISIL kidnapping prominent Naqshabandi leaders from Kirkuk over the last 48 hours and executing them.

So there’s no question that there’s a tendency in some groups to kind of jump on the bandwagon and even use ISIL for other ends. That’s just a very dangerous game because once ISIL gets rooted in territory, in towns, it’s even harder to root them out. I mean, we have seen this repeatedly and we know these guys. It’s not – they’re not new. It’s Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq, who we know extremely well. It’s the same (inaudible). They kill anybody that doesn’t agree with them. So (inaudible) fighting over the last 72 hours, the (inaudible) tribe was fighting them because they are kind of very strongly anti-AQI, and they now are ISIL, and frankly, they lost because of the firepower that ISIL is able to bear really overwhelmed them.

So we’re hearing from Sunni leaders across the board that they really want to do something about ISIL. They’re figuring out how to do it. A lot of them say – a lot of them keep saying, “Well be stronger if there’s a new prime minister.” Our answer to that is, “Look, you’ve got to pursue this in parallel. Political change comes through the government formation process, but it is not really responsible to let ISIL take over half the country, because once they do that you’re not going to be able to fight back.”

So this is an ongoing conversation, but an example of how we’re hearing that Sunnis are definitely not onboard with ISIL writ large, especially hear from local communities where they are, and also what they’re doing to a lot of the properties of some of the key leaders who we know have roots in the local community based upon just the election results. And there was over a million votes in Nineveh province on April 30th, one of the highest turnouts they’ve ever had. You can look at that and see who did well and who didn’t do well. And the prominent leaders that did well that had that popular support, now what’s happening? Their farms are being razed, their houses are being burned and their cattle is being stolen and slaughtered, and even worse.
So that’s just the kind of reality in some of these areas and it’s quite troubling. So Sunnis in particular are under threat from this group.

In terms of the shrine, just look at (inaudible). They (inaudible). They want to destroy any sign of Shia symbolism or anything else. Everywhere they go, they destroy tombs, they destroy mosques. When this offensive of dominance really started, the statements from ISIL and their public spokesman, who we think is credible in terms of actually being their spokesman, said, “We’re coming to Arbil, we’re coming to Najaf.” I don’t think they can actually get to Arbil and Najaf, obviously, but that’s the threat.

But they’re on the same playbook that they were in 2006. So the Samarra Mosque attack in 2006 came two months after a national election. It was timed directly to a point at which there was extreme political fragility. And we think this was very similar. So there’s no – this is no question that if they could get into Samarra and attack the mosque, they would do so. They have aspirations, they have plans, and then they have capabilities, and the question is their capabilities to get into that part of Samarra.

But just given where Samarra is if you look on a map, it’s right in the middle of Saladin, and therefore at least ISIL thinks that it is a more prominent and more possible target than some of the shrines down in the south.

QUESTION: Great, thanks.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Jay? Oh, sorry. Margaret, (inaudible).

QUESTION: There had been a sense that sort of the blitzkrieg that ISIL had launched had sort of slowed in recent days. Can you give us an assessment of what’s happening on the ground right now? Who’s in control of supply routes and borders? Has Iraq made – the Iraqi Government made any headway?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I’m sorry, Margaret, can you just – can you speak up just a little bit so I can – I’m hearing you a little bit but in and out.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: You want me to repeat it?

QUESTION: Yeah, can you.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: She just asked if there’s been some sense that maybe ISIL’s progress has slowed a bit, and is there any sense that there’s been progress from the --

QUESTION: On the supply routes and the borders.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: -- on the supply routes and borders?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Here’s what is happening. Some have described it to me this way, and I don’t know if this is accurate, but – and I don’t know because I’m not a historian, but if you read histories of the crusades, they kind of came through, and armies collapsed, and then they, like, kind of were surprised and just kept going. And that’s what kind of happened on the first 72 hours here. And Saladin was the one who got organized and beat the crusades, so this is all – there’s some historic parallels maybe, but I’m not a historian.

So that’s kind of what happened. So Mosul collapsed and they just kind of kept moving, and then there was this mass collective panic and psychological dam that broke, which led to collapses of security forces even in areas where there wasn’t a heavy either ISIL or other insurgent presence, and the thing just really started to collapse.

So we immediately faced some things we had to do. We wanted to look for a circuit breaker to try to break that kind of domino from on and on. We had to ensure our own people were safe, which we did, and we did a number of things for that. We had to make sure that Americans that were in Balad were taken out of Balad safely. We did that. And then we had to work very closely with the Iraqis for an immediate and longer-term plan to reconstitute their security forces and also keep the political process on track and try to just stem this collective panic.

Since then, for a number of reasons, I think the progress towards Baghdad has definitely slowed. So the threat to Baghdad is not nearly as immediate as there was some concern in those early days about just how far this could go. And so what’s happening now is there’s kind of a static situation as you approach Baghdad – I don’t mean just the outskirts, but like far north of Baghdad, that there’s kind of a static situation there.

But ISIL, given their resources in Syria, has made a major push over the last 72 hours at the border. And the Iraqis, given their just lack of force density and having to move forces elsewhere, were very thin on the border. And so what we’ve seen in the last 72 hours are some key border crossings, such as al-Qaim, fall to ISIL. And that is pure ISIL. So it’s really important to understand that it’s an army, this group. So there are political grievances in this country and that’s a serious problem and we need to address them in order to mobilize the population to really stand up to these guys. But it’s an army. The al-Qaim battle lasted three days and started with artillery barrages every morning and then kind of three-pronged, very military proficient attacks. And they eventually overtook that border crossing. And then today they turned south and took a small – few of those small dusty towns that don’t have much security presence. And that’s what happens if 30 trucks with 50 caliber machineguns show up.

They took a small town called Rutba, and that is where the regional significance of this problem really comes into play and why the Secretary’s visit is so important both here and in the region. Rutba has this open highway to Jordan and to Saudi Arabia. So, I mean, this is a threat to everybody in the region, and it’s one reason why the Secretary in particular has been on the phone constantly emphasizing the regional nature of this threat and the need for a real collective focus and response.

So that’s the long answer to your question, but just in sum, kind of relatively static approaching Baghdad, but border region coming from Syria remains extremely serious.

QUESTION: Can I come back on that --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Sure, Kim.

QUESTION: -- since we’re talking about holding ground. This is Kim Ghattas with the BBC. I’m not going to go into the history of the crusades, but they did hold territory for a long time, and ISIS now does hold territory and they, as far as we understand from the reports coming from Iraq, is they hold all the border crossings with Syria and they hold now one border crossing with Jordan. How do you even begin to reverse that?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: It’s a very good question, and from Rabiaa south, the border is – it’s controlled by ISIL. So again, extremely serious situation. One thing we’re doing, particularly since this crisis started, is a major increase, as the President announced, of our intelligence collection, so we have a better picture in these border regions than we’ve ever had before, and determinedly helping to enable the Iraqis in particular to be able to do some things out there which right now they can’t do. We’ll be delivering some additional supplies and things as early as Wednesday for them.

But first of all, those borders are incredibly remote. We used to be out there. They’re very hard to defend. And ISIL from Syria can mass – they can mass force. So they can mass hundreds of people and come over the border. And so they’re able to do this and then it’s a real problem. But their ability to then kind of mass force and hold territory in and then move on forward and (inaudible) is much more limited. But definitely, like I said, the situation in the border region is very serious.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Jay?

QUESTION: Hey, [Senior State Department Official One], this is Jay Solomon from The Wall Street Journal. How do you look at kind of the historical dynamic between what Sistani looks at or what he is saying and what the Iranians say? Because they’re traditionally kind of in competition, or they’re definitely not in alliance. And we see Sistani kind of suggesting Maliki can go and then Khamenei today suggesting he should say. Is there a way you look at that kind of intra-Shia politic?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: A really great question, and there’s a huge historical difference between Najaf, where Sistani is, and Qom, where the – for Iranian tradition and where Khamenei came from. And so Khamenei, Zetour jurisprudence and the foundation of the whole Iranian system is the notion of clerical rule, that there’s a supreme leader that basically gives guidance in every sphere of life from politics to foreign policy to personal life, everything. And that is a total anathema to Sistani and Najaf. The school in Najaf is, as some of you are very familiar with, it’s quietism, which is people who follow Shia Islam, look to Najaf and Sistani for guidance in their personal lives and how to live a religious life. But when it comes to politics, generally speaking, Sistani and Najaf stay out of politics.

However, when the situation is quite acute, we have seen Sistani jump into the fray. It is rare, and therefore his statements since this crisis began are all the more significant. Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, issues edicts all the time on everything, and that is because that is the kind of Khamenei-based system in which you have one supreme leader. So in that regard, Sistani and Najaf are kind of – are a bit of a threat to the Iranian system because they undermine it; they actually call into question the very religious foundation of the Iranian – of the religious legitimacy of the entire Iranian regime. They would never put it that way, but that’s just kind of true. They don’t believe that one supreme leader can give total guidance in matters of policy and foreign affairs.

So therefore, if you read Sistani’s statements very closely, they are subtle. They’re never totally directive. But at least for the people we talk to here, the statement on Friday about a new government, inclusive government as soon as possible, correct the mistakes of the past was pretty as clear as Sistani usually is, that at the very least it’s incumbent upon the leaders to move the constitutional process forward and to work diligently to form a new government that includes all component parts of Iraq.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: And let’s just do a few more.

QUESTION: Can I go?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Sure
.
QUESTION: This is Lesley Wrouhgton from Reuters. I was wondering what you – we’ve heard quite a bit from the Secretary what he is going over to tell Maliki, to govern more as an inclusive government and stuff like that. But what is the actual message he’s going to send them as far as what he – the movements? Or is there a plan or a strategy that he’s seeking from him in how he’s going to move forward on this? And what – is he seeking an assurance from Maliki that he’s going to move quickly on this? I mean, beyond the message that he’s going to send, I’m just trying to figure out what he’s hoping to get back from it.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah, no. Again, very good question, and you can (inaudible) the current situation very difficult, because it’s not as though – all the Iraqi leaders got together last week, last Wednesday I think. They all met for the first time in some time and they put out a very strong statement about the (inaudible) ISIL and their commitment on various issues, which was significant just given the current situation. But there’s no mechanism right now for any significant reforms, for example, to get through because there isn’t a government in place because it’s that constitutional vacuum period.

So the things that the Iraqis need to do to kind of pull their country together are really things that the next government needs to do. It’s a little late for the outgoing government, when there’s no parliament, to do things to kind of pull the country together. And so therefore, the focus is keeping the constitutional government formation process on track and making it clear that all the component parts, all the winners of the last election, those who won a substantial amount of seats will have a full say in that process and in choosing their own leaders.

It remains the view of most of the leaders here that the positions will be sorted out. This isn’t like Lebanon, where nobody says by edict that the prime minister has to be Shia, the president Kurdish, and the speaker Sunni here, but that has become the tradition. And we continue to hear from all groups that the Kurds do want to retain the presidency; the Sunnis do, at least (inaudible) last year, retain the speakership; and it’s recognized that the Shia, just given that they’re 60 percent of the country and just given the outcome of the election, will retain the prime ministership.

So – and it’s incumbent upon, therefore, each group and the Secretary will press upon them – because a lot of them, they’ll look to us to kind of direct the course of events or to choose somebody. And even if we tried to do that, we can’t. It’s not going to work. It’s really upon them. So the Kurds, for example, want the presidency. Well, they need to name a candidate. Once they name a candidate, most folks will accept the Kurdish candidate for president, whoever that might be, and it will be somebody who – the speaker – the Sunnis need to decide on a speaker candidate, and then they will have a speaker and also a vice president, because there’ll be a Sunni vice president. And then the Shia, amongst themselves, need to determine the best prime minister candidate who can actually rally the country and pull together a government.
So a lot of decisions really have to be made by Iraqis and they have to be made soon. And we recognize how difficult it is for them, but sometimes you hear, “Well, we’re not – we can’t make a decision until there’s a whole package in front of us.” And our answer is, “Guys, you just – you don’t really have time. I mean, you got to move on this.” So again, the Secretary, in kind of person-to-person diplomacy here and talking through these issues that myself and Ambassador Beecroft have been speaking with everybody here for the last 10 days or so on all of this, and having the Secretary here to not only echo what we’ve been saying but kind of bring it up to the next level, and having very serious conversations and a demonstration of the U.S. commitment, I think will be quite important and I hope influential.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Jo.

QUESTION: Yeah. Just following up on that, [Senior State Department Official One] – this is Jo Biddle from AFP. Given that it’s so difficult to form a government and the results of the election were so inconclusive, is there any constitutional mechanism or is there any way that there could be a plan for an interim government to take over, given that they’re faced with this threat from ISIL?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Not really. There’s a – I mean, right now there’s a caretaker government, which is not the most stable mechanism to have. So I mean this is why they keep the process on track. When this crisis really started moving, the election wasn’t certified yet. And to get the election certified, the court here, the federal court, had to meet and certify the book, and it was – they got 1,000 challenges and all this work had been done at the UN and they had like just finished – all the work had just finished when Mosul fell. And the court was going to collect itself and come back and it had a few other things to do. And our message to them, because their judges were all over the place, including other countries and one, his wife was sick – and so our message was that you guys have to get back and certify the election like now. And it wasn’t just coming from us; it was coming from everybody, including the leaders here. So they did. All the judges (inaudible). And I mean, it sounds like just a formality, but it’s a critical formality because otherwise you have no traction. And so I forget what they – maybe six days ago or so they came back; they did meet, had a quorum, which they need, and they certified the election.

That then started this clock – so you had a clock to formally move through the process to form a government, which pressurizes the system because just the tendency here is not to make any decisions until the last very possible moment, and that’s not really the best tendency when you’re in a situation like this. So they came back, certified the election. That kicked off a 15-day clock to form the parliament, and then they have to pick a speaker, president, everything else. So that’s kind of the process. There isn’t an alternative process for kind of forming an interim government or something.

There has been talk that, “Look, if we can’t choose a president or (inaudible) right away, we have like an interim president while we choose on the prime minister,” or something like that. I mean, it sounds a little weird to us, but so there’s talk about things like that, because everybody knows that the big position is the prime minister, and until there’s agreement on that it might be hard to agree on everything else.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Let’s do one more. We don’t have one more? Are we done?

QUESTION: I can throw one in.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL TWO: Okay. One more.

QUESTION: [Senior State Department Official One], is there any indication that Maliki is not prepared to cooperate in good faith with the government formation process? By that I mean honor the timelines that have been outlined and perhaps declare a state of emergency or take some action in which he perpetuates his role as prime minister and there is not, in fact, a new government formed. Is that a concern?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah, so far – so far, no. So there are rumors when this crisis started how to do a state of emergency; the parliament then couldn’t pass it. There were rumors that he was going to declare one. We went to see him, and he said, “No, I’m not going to do that, not going to do that.” Rumors that there would be some monkey business with the court not to certify the vote – that didn’t happen. Sistani – we had Sistani’s statement very clear about the constitutional timeline and sticking to it.

The hard part right now in a constitutional timeline is that they need to choose a speaker first. The speaker is likely to be one of the Sunni candidates, and the Sunnis are divided in terms of their candidate, who it might be. So that’s where we’re trying to work with them. Okay, well, if you have two or three people, who’s speaker, who’s vice president, you guys got to come sort it out. That’s a potential, at least in the immediate term about the next steps, that’s a potential wrench. But that’s something that the Secretary being here will be very helpful to kind of talk them through where they are and what the options are and emphasizing the need to move and recognizing when you only have one position to go around, not everybody’s going to be happy, but given where you are, the system has to move.

So I mean so far, Michael, no, we have not seen that. And whether there’s some concerns about, I think, again, if you look at Sistani’s statement pretty closely, he was – not that he gives instructions or anything, but the clear emphasis is to keep the thing on track. And just to make a point I made earlier, because he very rarely intervenes or gets involved in things like this, I think that should resonate very loudly.

QUESTION: And just a quick follow-up. Sunnis are divided between whom?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: I’m not going to name the names. It’s just – all the parties are divided between who should go where. So there’s just – there isn’t a – the Kurds don’t have a consensus, for example, on who the president should be. The Sunnis don’t yet have a consensus on who the speaker should be. And the Shia are talking amongst themselves about prime minister candidates.

QUESTION: Let me ask one quick question.

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: So our message is we can’t figure this out for you. Because I guarantee you, if we said Mr. X should be speaker, there would then be Mr. Y and Mr. Z who would say, “Ah, The Americans are trying to interfere.” And then – so our message is there’s urgency. There’s now a timeline. You guys really need to figure this out. If you want us to help be a neutral broker between you and somebody else, there’s nothing – we can do that, but we need to know the trade space and kind of what’s going on. And so that’s what we’re trying to do as we speak.

QUESTION: [Senior State Department Official One], let me – it’s Lara. Let me ask one very quick question for a very quick answer. I mean, you talk to Maliki all the time. What’s his public posture right now? I mean, how does he kind of carry himself? Is he defiant? Is he tired or exhausted? Is he depressed? Is he kind of contrite? I mean, is he trying to – how would you – you’ve seen him in all sorts of different ways. What’s his – where’s his head right now?
QUESTION: And is he angry at America?

QUESTION: Yeah. Is he angry? I mean, where is he?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL ONE: All of them look to us for answers and solutions and like a magic wand. So there’s a lot of that. And they’re also very fearful of their situation. And a lot of people they’ve known, on the Sunni and the Shia side, over the last 10 days have been killed. So – and again, like I said, prominent leaders, their houses are gone. I mean, that’s just what’s happening, particularly on the Sunni side. Maliki – one day it’s Baiji refinery, one day it’s (inaudible), one day it’s Qaim. And the limitations of the Iraqi security forces is very apparent. Their lack of – and there are things that I’ve talked about before, but they’re very limited in the air. They have two Cessna planes that can fire Hellfire missiles. That’s it, and they can’t be everywhere at once. They have a limited number of helicopters. So their ability to respond to events when they are getting frantic calls from people who might be stranded or might be – it definitely takes a toll.

So it’s a sense of extreme anxiousness, also extreme focus on the situation, not just (inaudible) of everybody. And of course they see it through different prisms and they hear different things. And really looking to us to help. And so, again, just to repeat kind of what we’re doing, why it’s significant: If you combine the intel we’re doing with the operations center we’re going to set up, which is already starting, which will allow us to collect all that information in one place and share it, combined with making sure good Iraqi units are well supplied and equipped, making sure that the planes that I mentioned have the right munitions, the right – very accurate laser-guided munitions that they’re able to deploy very effectively, that, at least on the security side, can begin to make a little bit of a difference and restore a little bit of confidence, in addition to some of the advising we can do with some of the better units.

So that – again, and there’s no quick fix here. There’s no magic airstrike that’s going to change the entire situation. But they want to know that we see the threat, that’s a threat that we all share, and that we’re committed to helping them fight it.

On the Sunni side, they want to know that we’re not committed to helping them fight it in support just of the prime minister, which we’re not. I mean, we see this – as I said earlier, this is about our own interest here and the shared threat against this very dangerous terrorist group.
On the Shia side, there’s this extreme anxiety that these – ISIL wants to kill any Shia they find. And they’re looking around the world for support, quite literally, and they feel (inaudible) from that. Not just Maliki but also Hakim and others who the Secretary will see, they tell us they feel really alone and isolated, because the message they get from some quarters are don’t help them until Maliki’s gone. And so that – they hear that and they think we face an existential threat here. So there’s just a lot of anxiety, a lot of looking to the U.S. for help.

And that’s why one of the messages of the Secretary’s trip is our commitment and our engagement. And I just – it will be good to see the Secretary here in personal, because we – myself and Ambassador Beecroft – have been on screen with him over the last however long now, 12 days or so since this started, a number of times, in national security meetings and principal committee meetings, where we have gone through every possible option and the best way to respond in a strategic, deliberate, methodical and effective way.

So again, a long answer to your question, but incredibly focused on the situation. They’re getting reports from all over the country, many of which are extremely serious. And so they want to let us know what they know, ask how we can help. And we’re telling them, “Look, we’re going to help. And it’s also, though, incumbent upon you to try to take advantage of this moment, given where you are in the constitutional process to reset some foundation to pull the country together, recognizing how difficult that is.” But that will be a key message that the Secretary gives to everybody.

DOD OFFICIALS SAID TO BE CLOSELY WATCHING EVENTS IN IRAQ

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Officials Watching Events in Iraq Closely

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2014 – As Sunni militants advance on the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, Pentagon officials say they are watching events in the country closely and will continue to help Iraqi security forces build their defensive capacity.
Reports from Iraq say jihadists aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria -- ISIS – have captured Mosul, the country’s second-largest city as well as Tikrit, and are moving south towards Baghdad. Reports from Mosul say thousands of Iraqi soldiers threw down their arms and fled.

“Our focus continues to be on helping Iraq,” Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said on CNN this morning. “We have been doing a lot since the American troops left Iraq. The focus is a continued, sustained effort helping them with the counterterrorism operations.”

In particular, the United States will continue to supply weapons to Iraq and to train Iraqi special operations forces in neighboring Jordan, said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

The United States is providing Iraq with about $15 billion in military equipment under the foreign military sales program.

“Recently, we have sent them 300 Hellfire missiles, millions of rounds of small arms, thousands of rounds of tank ammunition. Scan Eagle surveillance platforms are on schedule for delivery later in the year,” Warren said. “We’ve also recently notified Congress of an additional sale of $1 billion, which includes 200 Humvees.”

Under the strategic framework agreement that Iraq signed with the United States, the American military has expanded its training programs, including a second round of counterterrorism training for Iraqi special operators.

These weapons transfers will continue, Warren said. The United States takes security of advanced systems particularly seriously, and any transfer takes the security of these systems under consideration.

DOD officials speaking on background pointed out that many of the photos ISIS is posting of captured U.S. equipment are actually old U.S. photos pulled from the web. One photo shows a “captured” UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The United States has never supplied a Black Hawk to Iraq, officials said.

In another case, a photo purporting to be a captured surface-to-air missile vehicle was actually taken by a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant in 2003. It shows Russian equipment.

All U.S. combat troops left Iraq in 2011.

SECRETARY KERRY, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER LIEBERMAN MAKE REMARKS AFTER MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks With Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington, DC

April 9, 2014

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SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. It’s my great privilege to welcome Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister of Israel, here to the State Department and to Washington. We have gotten to see each other at a number of different places now. We most recently were in Rome together where we talked about the issues before both our countries and the region.
And today, I’m really happy to be able to welcome him here. Obviously, we are working hard to try to find a way forward. And both parties indicate they would like to find a way to go forward in the talks. We obviously want to see that happen. We think it’s important for them and for the region. So we will, needless to say, talk about that.

But we also have many other issues to work on and cooperate on together. We will talk about Iran and the challenge of the Iranian nuclear program. The talks have been going on even this week, so we have a considerable amount to try to digest with respect to that process. And also the region, obviously, faces enormous challenges. Syria remains a humanitarian catastrophe, and it has a profound impact on Israel, on Jordan, on Lebanon, on the region as a whole. And we continue to face the challenge of removing the chemical weapons from Iran. I just literally hung up the phone a few minutes ago before I came out to meet the foreign minister. I was talking to Foreign Minister Lavrov and we were talking about the need for movement in Syria and the ability to complete the task.

So I’m very happy that the foreign minister is here today. This is an important time. The issues between us are of concern to both of us, are of enormous importance. And I want to affirm this: Our relationship with Israel, as everybody knows, is an historic and deep one. We remain totally committed to the security of Israel. We have a friendship that is, I believe, a bond that’s unbreakable, and I’m really happy to have the foreign minister here at this important time. Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER LIEBERMAN: Thank you. First of all, thank you for the very warm welcome, and as you mentioned, we have a lot of items on our bilateral agenda. But first of all, I would like to express my appreciation for your efforts, for your commitment to our state, your efforts to resolve our long dispute with the Palestinians. We know and everybody in Israel knows that you are really a very close friend, reliable friend, and now we’re in the midst of a very crucial process.

And I think that you and us have the same desire to achieve comprehensive solution, to achieve final status agreement. We’re ready to sacrifice a lot for this goal. We proved our desire to achieve real peace with our neighbors, not only as a lip service, but in all our agreements that we signed with Egypt, with Jordan. We gave up territories three and a half times more than our territory today – Sinai, half of Judea Samaria, Gaza Strip. And I think that we really – we are looking for the same positive approach from the other side, and we think that any unilateral steps, they only can undermine all our efforts.

Of course, the biggest challenge for us, for all our region, is the Iranian issue, and I hope that we will discuss, of course, the Iranian issue. And of course we are (inaudible) now to the huge concern with Syria and what happens within Syria. The spillover of the Syrian conflict is all around us. And we are monitoring and following the situation in Syria, of course, and it’s a new – a very serious challenge for our country, and again, thank you for your efforts and for your commitment.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Avigdor.

FOREIGN MINISTER LIEBERMAN: Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Welcome. Thank you all very much. Thank you.

4 HIZBALLAH LEADERS DESIGNATED BY U.S. TREASURY FOR TERRORISTS ROLES

FROM:  U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT 
Action Targets Hizballah’s Leadership Responsible for Operations Outside of Lebanon

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four members of Hizballah’s leadership responsible for operations throughout the Middle East, further exposing Hizballah’s pernicious activities that reach beyond the borders of Lebanon.  These designations include senior members of Hizballah responsible for activities ranging from assisting fighters from Iraq to support the Assad regime in Syria, to making payments to various factions within Yemen, and to military leaders responsible for terrorist operations in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq.

Belying Hizballah’s claim to be a domestic Lebanese “resistance” organization, its expansive global network seeks to extend its malign influence, and the influence of Hizballah’s patron Iran, throughout the Middle East and beyond.  The Treasury Department will continue to combat Hizballah’s terrorist activity inside and outside Lebanon with all available tools and will continue to work with partners around the world to make it clear that Hizballah’s militant and extremist activities should not be tolerated by any nation.

“Whether ferrying foreign fighters to the front lines of the Syrian civil war or inserting clandestine operatives in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, Hizballah remains a significant global terrorist threat,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen.  “So long as Hizballah spreads instability, conducts terrorist attacks and engages in criminal and illicit activities around the world, we will continue to sanction Hizballah’s operatives, leaders and businesses, wherever they may be found.”

The individuals sanctioned today were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters for acting for, or on behalf of Hizballah.  U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the individuals designated today, and any assets of those designees subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.

Khalil Harb
In the years prior to Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Khalil Harb served as the deputy commander for Hizballah’s central military unit’s southern Lebanon region from 1988 to 1992, and as the commander for this region from 1992 to 1994.  From 1994 to 1997, Harb served as the commander of Hizballah’s central military operations.  By 2000, Harb supervised Hizballah military operations inside Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Turkey.

In late November 2000, Harb was given responsibility for overseeing work of the Islamic Resistance, including assisting with the smuggling of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives from Syria into the West Bank via Jordan.  By late 2003, Harb was head of the Syrian/Jordan/Israel/Egypt operations unit, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad council.

In March 2006, Harb served as Hizballah’s chief of military liaison with the Palestinian factions and Iran, dealing almost exclusively with Palestinians and Iranians inside and outside the territories.  Prior to this posting, Harb had served as Hizballah’s chief of military special operations.  During the summer of 2006, Harb was given command of a Hizballah special operations unit in southern Lebanon, which engaged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in July 2006, at the Lebanese-Israeli border where IDF Special Forces entered Lebanon.  In early 2007, Khalil Harb was chief of Hizballah’s Unit 1800, also known as Hizballah’s Nun Unit, the Hizballah entity responsible for supporting Palestinian militants and conducting Hizballah operations in the countries surrounding Israel, and he travelled to Iran for meetings regarding coordination between Hizballah, Iran, and the Palestinians.

In February 2010, Harb, serving as the leader of the Palestinian activities for Hizballah, planned unspecified attacks against Israeli officials in Israel, in retaliation for the assassination of former Hizballah External Security Organization (ESO) chief Imad Mughniyah.  By mid-May 2010, Hizballah created a new position for Harb as “advisor to the Secretary General,” which provided Harb oversight of Hizballah Unit 1800, which he previously commanded.
As of 2012, Harb was responsible for Hizballah’s Yemen activities and was involved in the political side of Hizballah’s Yemen portfolio.  Harb also served as commander of a Lebanon-based Hizballah special unit that focused on Israel.  Since the summer of 2012, Harb has been involved in the movement of large amounts of currency to Yemen, through Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., and in late 2012, Harb advised the leader of a Yemeni political party that the party’s monthly Hizballah funding of $50,000 was ready for pick up.

Muhammad Kawtharani
As the individual in charge of Hizballah's Iraq activities, Kawtharani has worked on behalf of Hizballah's leadership to promote the group's interests in Iraq, including Hizballah efforts to provide training, funding, political, and logistical support to Iraqi Shi'a insurgent groups.  A member of Hizballah's Political Council, Kawtharani also helped secure the release from Iraqi custody of Hizballah operative Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hizballah commander designated by the Treasury Department in November 2012 who was responsible for numerous attacks against Coalition Force in Iraq, including planning a January 20, 2007 attack on the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center that resulted in the deaths of five U.S. soldiers.

Over the last year, Kawtharani has assisted in getting fighters to Syria to support the Assad regime.

Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur
Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur (Mansur), a member of Hizballah since at least 1986, once served in a Hizballah military unit operating in south Lebanon.  Around 2004, Mansur was transferred to Hizballah’s Unit 1800.  Mansur was subsequently dispatched to Egypt to work with Unit 1800 under Muhammad Qabalan, and in 2008, the cell escalated its operations to target tourist destinations in Egypt.  Mansur served as the Egypt-based cell leader.  By early 2009, Egyptian authorities had disrupted the Hizballah cell and arrested and detained Mansur and dozens of other individuals for planning to carry out terrorist operations against Israeli and other tourists in Egypt.  Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in November 2009 publicly acknowledged that Mansur was a Hizballah member involved in transporting arms and equipment to Palestinian militants.  In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Mansur to 15 years for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800.  However, in late January 2011, the imprisoned members of the Hizballah cell escaped and Mansur returned to Lebanon.  In February 2011, Mansur appeared on Lebanese television with Hizballah officials at a Hizballah rally in Beirut.
Muhammad Qabalan

Hizballah terrorist cell leader Muhammad Qabalan (Qabalan) once served as the head of a Hizballah infantry platoon.  In 2008, Qabalan, as a leader in Hizballah’s Unit 1800, was serving as the Lebanon-based head of the Hizballah Egypt-based terrorist cell targeting tourist destinations in Egypt and was coordinating the cell’s activities from Lebanon.  In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Qabalan in absentia to life imprisonment for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800.  As of late 2011, Qabalan worked in a separate Hizballah covert unit operating in the Middle East.