Standing without shoes as a sign of respect in the mosque, US Secretary of State John Kerry (left), and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, speak to the media after touring the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on Nov 23.
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The USA military is accelerating its attacks on tanker trucks used by the Islamic State to haul oil for its lucrative smuggling operations.
Ahead of the nation’s busiest holiday season, Secretary of State John Kerry says he knows of no “specific threat” to the US – and remains confident the nation is on the path towards beating ISIS. “There is a very clear focus by everybody, there is a united front and I am absolutely convinced that Daesh will be defeated and there will be increased steps in order to do so”, Kerry added, using an Arabic term for ISIS.
In its daily summary of airstrikes, the U.S.-led military coalition said Monday that 283 vehicles had been struck in eastern Syria on November 21 but did not elaborate.
President Francois Hollande said earlier in Paris: “We will intensify our strikes, choosing targets that will do the most damage possible to this army of terrorists”. The President talks about his critics popping off and saying they have a better idea, but he’s getting criticism from former members of his Administration – Leon Panetta, the former Central Intelligence Agency director and defense secretary; Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state; a top counterterrorism official in his Administration, Michael Vickers; as well as Diane Feinstein, who is now the intel chair of the Senate, saying it’s not sufficient, it’s not enough, and it’s not happening fast enough.
“But this street violence doesn’t provide any leader with the framework within in which they could look their people in the eye and say, ‘There’s a reason we’re sitting down and talking.’ People aren’t in the mood for concessions”, Kerry said.
Kerry has been pushing hard to get a ceasefire in place before the end of the year and negotiations started in January. The attack by four A-10 attack planes and two AC-130 gunships was carried out Saturday at a site near Deir el-Zour and al-Hasakah but not made public until Monday. Some steps were in motion before the Paris attack, he said, such as the decision to deploy some USA special forces to Syria and ongoing efforts toward a cease-fire between Syria’s government and rebel groups. But they’re gaining support from other terrorist groups around the world, making defeating them more urgent.
A truce could be a couple of weeks away, he insisted, even if several matters remain unresolved. Russian Federation and Iran support Assad.
Mr. Kerry was in the United Arab Emirates’s capital to hold discussions with senior Emirati and Saudi officials centering on ways to push forward a process of political transition in Syria.
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Kerry sought a middle line.
