Middle East

World News

U.S. Says Allies In Middle East And Elsewhere Want To Help Fight ISIS

8:11pm September 14, 2014

by Bill Chappell

On a weekend that saw extremist group the Islamic State release a video showing the murder of a Western hostage, support for a coalition to fight the group is building.

World News

Continued Killings Could Bolster Need For Action Against ISIS

6:29pm September 14, 2014

by Alice Fordham

The killing of British aid worker David Haines by the self-proclaimed Islamic State provoked international outrage and could bolster U.S. efforts to build support for an anti-ISIS coalition.

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Cameron Condemns Execution Of British Aid Worker By ISIS

3:45pm September 14, 2014

The Islamic State militant group released a video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines. NPR's Lynn Neary talks with the BBC's Gordon Corera about the reaction in the U.K.

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ISIS Video Purports To Show Beheading Of British Aid Worker

7:46am September 14, 2014

by Camila Domonoske

The militant group calling itself the Islamic State claims to have killed British aid worker David Haines. The video has been condemned by British prime minister David Cameron and by President Obama.

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Former Ambassador: It's Not Too Late To Arm Syrian Rebels

12:47pm September 13, 2014

Former Ambassador Fred Hof tells NPR's Wade Goodwyn that air power is not enough to defeat the Islamic State. A ground component, even if it is not American, is needed for long-term success, he says.

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Free Syrian Army Struggles To Maintain Control In Two-Front War

9:26pm September 12, 2014

Robert Siegel speaks with Noah Bonsey, senior Syria analyst for the International Crisis Group, about the state of the Free Syrian Army.

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Expanding ISIS Fight Scrambles GOP Plan To Extend Budget And Get Out

1:03pm September 12, 2014

by Ailsa Chang

House Republicans were hoping for a smooth two weeks before hitting the campaign trial, but a request to arm Syrian rebels has muddled that, as well as the one bill that must pass before they leave.

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World News

Turkey, Iran Wary Of U.S. Terms For Fight Against Islamic State

1:03pm September 12, 2014

by Peter Kenyon

Both Turkey and Iran have much at stake as the Sunni militants battle for territory close to their respective borders. But each country has its own reasons to be distrustful.

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Yemeni soldiers hold up their weapons at an area seized from al-Qaida in the southeastern province of Shabwa, Yemen, on May 8. President Obama said Wednesday that U.S. strategy against the so-called Islamic State would be similar to how it targeted milita

World News

Are Yemen And Somalia Good Examples Of U.S. Anti-Terror Strategy?

12:19pm September 12, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

President Obama says the strategy the U.S. would pursue against the Islamic State would be similar to how it targets al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen and Somalia. But both countries are deeply unstable.

World News

Obama's ISIS Plan A 'Sunni Awakening: Part Two'

9:00am September 12, 2014

by Audie Cornish

The Obama administration's strategy for combating the Islamic State relies on ground forces provided by Iraq and Syria because the White House says it will not send U.S. combat troops. In Iraq, that means trying to win back Sunnis in areas where the group controls territory. Something similar happened during the Iraq war: it was called the Sunni Awakening.

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