Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/331028
ByBradleyKlapper The Associated Press WASHINGTON A Senate logjam over confirming am- bassadors risks hampering U.S. efforts to contain an expanding Islamist urgency in Iraq, with several of Pres- ident Barack Obama's nom- inees for the volatile Middle East unsure when they can get to work. Obama announced his choice of a new ambassa- dor to Iraq last month, and recently nominated envoys to Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Turkey — key regional play- ers Washington is counting on to combat Sunni extrem- ists. But a distracted Senate is moving slowly to put the new Mideast team in place, its attention focused largely on judicial appointees and politically driven votes over everything from student loans to unemployment in- surance as lawmakers gear up for November elections. The prolonged transition in embassies across the re- gion could compound the difficulty facing the United States as it seeks to stem the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Le- vant. The al-Qaida splinter group has expanded from its base in Syria, taking Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and vowing to march on Baghdad. "No nation can listen to us if we are not pres- ent to speak," said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Since he became chairman 16 months ago, the Senate Foreign Relations Commit- tee has approved 129 nomi- nations. The full Senate still hasn't confirmed a third of those nominees. The delays haven't con- cerned objections to the nominees' credentials. Rather, the long waits ap- pear the product of Sen- ate fallout from a decision by the Democratic majority last year to eliminate a 60- vote filibuster threshold for most judiciary nominees. Ambassadorial confirma- tions have slowed to a crawl since, averaging about one a week as the administration and Senate Democratic and Republican leaders wrangle over whom to put to a vote and when. The Foreign Relations Committee is likely to ad- vance the nominations of career diplomats Stuart Jones for Iraq, Robert Beec- roft for Egypt and Dana Smith for Qatar next week, but it's unclear how quickly that will translate into ac- tion by the full Senate. WASHINGTON Senate logjam complicates Iraq efforts By Karin Laub The Associated Press JERUSALEM Israel warned Monday it would exact a heavy price from Hamas, as a massive search for three missing Jewish seminary studentsturnedintothewid- estcrackdownontheIslamic militant group in the West Bank in almost a decade. Israel has blamed Hamas for the apparent abductions, without pro- viding proof, and has ar- rested more than 150 Pal- estinians since the three teens disappeared in the West Bank late Thursday. Most of those rounded up were from Hamas, in- cluding activists and polit- ical leaders, among them 10 members of the non-func- tioning Palestinian parlia- ment. Israel's Security Cab- inet discussed further steps Monday, reportedly includ- ing the possible deportation of Hamas leaders from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is in control. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Hamas has be- gun "paying a heavy price, both in terms of arrests and assets," suggesting the aim is to try to dismantle the Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank. It's not clear how far Israel will go, though, considering the risk of a conflagration in the West Bank after sev- eral years of relative calm. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- yahu has used the abduc- tions to try to discredit Western-backed Palestin- ian President Mahmoud Abbas and the unity gov- ernment Abbas formed with Hamas backing ear- lier this month. Netanyahu claimed Ab- bas is ultimately responsi- ble for the fate of the teens and alleged the Palestinian leader's new alliance with the Islamic militants cre- ated an atmosphere that encouraged the apparent kidnapping. Abbas and Netanyahu spoke by phone Monday, a rare contact between the two. Netanyahu's office said the Israeli prime minister asked Abbas for help with the search. "The Hamas kidnappers came from territory under Palestinian Authority con- trol and returned to terri- tory under Palestinian Au- thority control," Netanyahu told Abbas, referring to the areas where Palestinians have limited self-rule. Abbas aides have re- jected Netanyahu's conten- tion, saying Israel is in over- all control of the West Bank. The junction where the teens were last seen is un- der full Israeli security con- trol and is commonly used by soldiers and settlers. MIDDLE EAST Israel cracks down on Hamas amid search for teenagers By Nataliya Vasilyeva The Associated Press MOSCOW Russia halted natural gas deliveries to Ukraine on Monday, spurning Ukraine's offer to pay some of its multi- billion-dollar gas debt and demanding upfront pay- ments for future supplies. The decision, coming amid deep tensions over eastern Ukraine, provoked strong words from both sides but does not imme- diately affect the crucial flow of Russian gas to Eu- rope. Ukraine has enough reserves to last until De- cember, according to the head of its state gas com- pany Naftogaz. Still, the Russian move could disrupt Europe's long-term energy supplies if the issue is not resolved, analysts said. Previous gas disputes left Ukraine and some Balkan nations shiv- ering for nearly two weeks in the dead of winter. The gas conflict is part of a wider dispute over whether Ukraine aligns itself with Russia or with the 28-nation European Union and comes amid a crisis in relations follow- ing Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Pen- insula in March. Ukraine accuses Russia of support- ing an armed separatist in- surgency in its eastern re- gions, which Russia denies. Ukraine's new pres- ident, meanwhile, said Monday that he will pro- pose a detailed peace plan this week that includes a cease-fire with the sepa- ratist rebels. But before that happens, the armed forces must secure control over Ukraine's porous bor- der with Russia, President Petro Poroshenko said at a meeting of his national se- curity council. "As soon as the border is closed, we can imme- diately declare a cease- fire," he said. "Declaring a cease-fire while the bor- der is open would be irre- sponsible." There was no immedi- ate response from the sep- aratists to Poroshenko's comments. Ukraine, one of the most energy inefficient coun- tries in Europe, has been chronically behind on pay- ments for the Russian nat- ural gas needed to heat its homes and fuel its indus- tries. In addition, Russia had been giving its neigh- bor cut-rate sweetheart deals on gas for various po- litical reasons, a practice that came to a halt April 1. Russia had demanded $1.95 billion by Monday for past-due bills. At talks over the weekend in Kiev, Ukraine was ready to ac- cept a compromise of pay- ing $1 billion now and more later, but Russia re- jected the offer, the Euro- pean Commission said. EASTERN EUROPE Russia cuts gas supply to Ukraine, tensions soar SERGEICHUZAVKOV—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A Ukrainian worker operates a valve in a gas storage point in Bil 'che-Volicko-Ugerske underground gas storage facilities in Strij, outside Lviv, Ukraine, on May 21. By Ijaz Muhammed The Associated Press BANNU, PAKISTAN Paki- stani jets pounded targets in the country's northwest on Monday as the military suffered its first casualties in a major offensive de- signed to root out safe ha- vens in the volatile region. The airstrikes are part of a long-awaited opera- tion against foreign and local militants in North Waziristan, an essen- tially lawless tribal re- gion which has served as a training base for mili- tants and a staging point for insurgents who at- tack Pakistan and NATO and Afghan troops across the border. The operation started Sunday. The United States has for years complained to Pakistan about its failure to impose order in the re- gion. The offensive marks the end of the government's policy of trying to negoti- ate with Pakistani Taliban militants instead of using force to end years of fight- ing which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and security forces. WORLD Pakistan steps up offensive in tribal area By Julie Pace The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. is urgently deploying several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq and con- sidering sending an addi- tional contingent of special forces soldiers as Baghdad struggles to repel a ram- pant insurgency, even as the White House insists anew that America will not be dragged into an- other war. President Barack Obama notified Congress Mon- day that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and secu- rity for U.S. personnel and the American Embassy in Baghdad. About 170 of those forces have already arrived and another 100 soldiers be on standby in a nearby country until they are needed, a U.S. official said. While Obama has vowed to keep U.S. forces out of combat in Iraq, he said in his notification to Con- gress that the personnel moving into the region are equipped for direct fight- ing. And separately, three U.S. officials said the White House was considering sending a contingent of special forces soldiers to Iraq. Their limited mission — which has not yet been approved — would focus on training and advising beleaguered Iraqi troops, many of whom have fled their posts across the na- tion's north and west as the al-Qaida-inspired insur- gency has advanced in the worst threat to the country since American troops left in 2011. The moves come at the White House wrestles with an array of options for help- ing Iraq repel a Sunni Mus- lim insurgency that has captured large swaths of territory collaring Bagh- dad, the capital of the Shi- ite-led government. In a rare move, U.S. officials reached out to Iran Mon- day to discuss ways the long-time foes might help stop the militants known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The conversations took place on the sidelines of separate nuclear negoti- ations taking place in Vi- enna, Austria. U.S. offi- cials quickly tamped down speculation that the dis- cussion might include mil- itary coordination or con- sultation, though Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with Yahoo! News that the U.S. would "not rule out anything that would be constructive." Kerry stressed that any contacts with Iran would move "step-by-step." Taken together, the de- velopments suggest a will- ingness by Obama to send Americans into a collaps- ing security situation in or- der to quell the brutal fight- ing in Iraq before it morphs into outright war. The White House said the forces authorized for support and security will assist with the temporary relocation of some staff from the Baghdad em- bassy. The forces are enter- ing Iraq with the consent of that country's government, the White House said. Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said the troops on standby could "provide airfield manage- ment, security, and logis- tics support, if required." They could work with em- bassy security teams or op- erate as a stand-alone force as directed. Officials would not say where the soldiers would be on standby, but It is likely they would be in Kuwait, which was a major basing ground for U.S. troops dur- ing the Iraq war. If the U.S. were to de- ploy an additional team of special forces, the mission would almost certainly be small. One U.S. official said it could be up to 100 spe- cial forces soldiers. It also could be authorized only as an advising and train- ing mission — meaning the soldiers would work closely with Iraqi forces that are fighting the insurgency but would not officially be con- sidered as combat troops. The White House would not confirm that special operations forces were under consideration. But spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said that while Obama would not send troops back into combat, "he has asked his national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi se- curity forces." WORLD More troops to Iraq; special forces considered US NAVY, SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS ABE MCNATT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The aircra carrier USS George H.W. Bush transits the Strait of Hormuz on April 28as seen from the guided- missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered the USS George H.W. Bush from the northern Arabian Sea Saturday as President Barack Obama considered possible military options for Iraq. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014 4 B