MESOP SHORT CUTS TODAY (II) : CHUK HAGEL’S PERSPECTIVE

Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched attacks Friday in efforts to reclaim two northern towns from Islamic State militants. Kurdish pesh merga fighters, supported by U.S. air forces, over took a district near Jalawla while Iraqi troops and fighter planes advanced toward Saadiya, both areas near the Kurdish region. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are suggesting the possibility of wider operations against the Islamic State. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, said Thursday that the Islamic State could not be defeated without dealing with its militants in Syria. However, he said he was not predicting the United States would conduct airstrikes in Syria, as the military has carried out recently in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel described the Islamic State as an imminent threat and did not rule out military action noting, “We’re looking at all options.”