Hillary and Obama do have a small bit of blame for ISIS

But an intensive review of the record during Clinton’s tenure presents a broader picture of missteps and miscalculations by multiple actors — including her State Department as well as the Maliki government, the White House and Congress — that left Iraqi security forces weakened and vulnerable to the Islamic State’s 2014 surge.
Documents and interviews point to ambitious plans by State Department officials to take control of dozens of military-run programs in Iraq, from training assistance for Iraqi police to new intelligence-collection outposts in Mosul and other key Iraqi cities. But the State Department scrapped or truncated many of the plans, sometimes at the behest of a skeptical Congress and other times on orders from the White House, which balked at the high costs and potential risks of U.S. civilians being killed or kidnapped. Still other efforts were thwarted by a Maliki government that viewed many of the programs as an unwelcome intrusion in Iraqi affairs.
Senior State Department leaders were at fault as well, according to documents and interviews with officials who helped manage Iraqi aid programs after the withdrawal. By early 2012, pressed by the White House to reduce the U.S. civilian footprint in Iraq, the department had begun implementing sweeping, across-the-board cuts that extended to security and counterterrorism initiatives once considered crucial for Iraq’s stability after the withdrawal of U.S. troops, a joint investigation by ProPublica and The Washington Post found....
A State Department team that administered the cuts under White House direction eventually ended up with a $1.6 billion surplus — money initially appropriated for Iraq that was freed for use in other conflict zones, including Libya, officials and documents say.
The downscaling was done over the objections of U.S. military leaders on the ground, who said the slashing of key assistance programs — in a few cases, by more than 90 percent — left the U.S. government increasingly in the dark about developments outside the Iraqi capital. Some former officers who managed Iraqi aid programs say the cuts were a factor in the slow deterioration of Iraq’s security forces in the months before the Islamic State’s 2014 assault.

State Dept. doesn't like Russia bombing ISIS from Iran

State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Tuesday called the Iranian deployment "unfortunate," saying the United States was looking into whether the move violated U.N. Security Council resolution 2231, which prohibits the supply, sale and transfer of combat aircraft to Iran.
Russia bristled at those comments on Wednesday after announcing that Russian SU-34 fighter bombers flying from Iran's Hamadan air base had for a second day struck Islamic State targets in Syria's Deir al-Zor province, destroying two command posts and killing more than 150 militants.
"It's not our practice to give advice to the leadership of the U.S. State Department," Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
"But it's hard to refrain from recommending individual State Department representatives check their own logic and knowledge of basic documents covering international law."

Syria White Helmets nominated for Nobel Prize

An all-volunteer Syrian rescue and humanitarian group in Syria - credited with saving tens of thousands of people subject of bombardments by Syrian government and Russian fighter jets since 2013 - have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
More than 130 organisations from across the world have backed the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets - whose members brave bombings and sniper fire to provide medical treatment for the wounded, to win the most prestigious international award for peace efforts.
From all walks of life, former bakers, tailors, engineers, painters and pharmacists are among the organisation's members who pledged to help anyone in need despite their religious or political affiliations.
The group's around 3,000 members operate across the country, including the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Deraa and Damascus.
Ammar Aosalmo, a senior member of the group's branch in Aleppo, told Al Jazeera that at least 134 members have died on duty and explained his motivation for risking his life for others, saying that his group is viewed by many as a last hope for help.
He cited the White Helmets' motto - taken from Islam's holiest book - the Quran: "To save a life is to save all of humanity".

ISIS getting kicked out of Sirte

Islamic State group jihadists in Libya have carried out nine suicide bombings in one day in a failed bid to hold a central district of Sirte, pro-government forces said Wednesday.

...but our Libya intervention is escalating

Less than a fortnight into the United States' second round of military intervention in Libya, the escalation of this ill-conceived project is already underway. What began with airstrikes has in just 11 days become small-scale ground war, as U.S. Special Operations forces provide direct assistance to Libyan unity government fighters combatting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Though small bands of U.S. troops have been operating in Libya for some time, this newly visible — and newly dangerous — role so close to battle marks a fresh stage for the fourth front in the war on ISIS.
It's an escalation that was essentially predictable, the natural progress of an imprudent war of choice waged entirely at the discretion of the executive branch.

Afghanistan is an Indian/Pakistani proxy war

Important but overlooked news this week: the U.S. command in Afghanistan has asked India to step up military aid to Afghan forces. India provided four attack helicopters to the Afghan military in Dec. 2015; the U.S. and the Afghans want more, as well as spare parts for Russian-made military equipment, to be used in part against the Islamist network built up by Pakistan called the Haqqanis.
Every aspect of this cries: “Proxy War.”
...
As I wrote recently, the U.S. cut off $300 million in aid for the Pakistani military due to its support of the Haqqani network, which has spilled so much American blood.

ISIS growing in Afghanistan

The Islamic State group, which has been building a presence in Afghanistan for more than a year, has established a recruitment and training camp in a restive southern province bordering Pakistan, Afghan officials said.