War

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is preparing to supply Syrian rebels with more powerful weapons should the six week old ceasefire in Syria collapse, US media report “Plan B” will come into force if the truce collapse and negotiations lead nowhere was the message reportedly relayed by CIA Director John Brennan and State Secretary John Kerry in private meetings with their Russian counterparts. Washington and its allies are discussing which weapon systems are to be delivered to “vetted moderate” rebels Wasn’t that the plan all along?

Samuel Oakford reports on a welcome measure from the Senate:

Two US Senators introduced legislation on Wednesday that would halt future sales of aerial munitions to Saudi Arabia until President Obama verifies that the Saudi government is respecting international humanitarian law in waging war in Yemen, that it doesn’t support listed terrorist groups, and that it is pursuing all measures to eradicate al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

An Iraqi tank nicknamed “The Beast” is loose on the battlefields of Iraq, tearing down the countryside, looking for ISIS fighters, in the western city of Hit. A Twitter post on the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service’s account shows The Beast obliterating an ISIS car loaded with explosives. The Daily Caller reports: The ISIS car was approaching ICTS personnel outside Ramadi in Hit, Iraq, apparently loaded with explosives, ICTS said in a tweet describing the video.

Tornike Zurabashvili ends his plea for NATO membership for Georgia with some strange claims:

Speeding up Georgia’s integration into NATO will leave Moscow unhappy, but losing Georgia would be far worse. Russia’s understanding that Georgia’s NATO membership is imminent might force it to play nice on Georgia’s border [bold mine-DL].