Page 10A
WORLD
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 31, 2015
U.S. ramps up efforts against Islamic State in Syria
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
United States escalated its
¿ght against the IslaPic
State in Syria on Friday,
Sledging the ¿rst oSen
deSloyPent oI Pilitary
boots on the ground, even
as U.S., Russian and other
diSloPats Sressed a neZ
Seace eIIort that APerica
hoSes Zill hasten the deSar-
ture oI %ashar Assad.
Up to 50 special oper-
ations troops Zill be sent
to assist Kurdish and Arab
Iorces in northern Syria,
APerican oI¿cials said.
The Pove ParNs a signi¿-
cant departure Ior 3resident
%aracN ObaPa, Zho Ior
years has resisted putting
ground Iorces in Syria
even as he has gradually
intensi¿ed the U.S. Pilitary
response to Zhat counterter-
rorisP oI¿cials Zorry is a
groZing IslaPic State threat
in Syria and Iraq.
The troop announcePent
caPe as diploPats in 9ienna
representing 17 countries
and the European Union
agreed to launch a broad
neZ peace attePpt to grad-
ually end Syria’s long civil
Zar — a declaration that
avoided any deterPination
on Zhen 3resident Assad
Pight leave. It is not clear
hoZ Pany rebel groups
Zould agree to a plan that
doesn’t result in Assad’s
iPPediate departure.
Any cease-¿re agreePent
that Pay coPe as a result oI
the peace eIIort Zould not
include the IslaPic State,
Zhich controls large parts
oI northern Syria and has its
capital there.
%ut the participation
by Russia and Iran in the
attePpt could ParN a neZ
and proPising phase in the
Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, poses for a
photo with local police before departing Vienna Inter-
national Airport Friday in Vienna, Austria.
diploPacy since those coun-
tries have staunchly bacNed
Assad.
The White House has
long said that Assad’s ouster
is essential to its ultiPate
goal oI deIeating the IslaPic
State because the Syrian
president’s brutal tactics
against Sunni rebels have
draZn Sunni radicals IroP
all over the Zorld into the
Pilitant group’s ranNs.
The Syrian civil Zar has
Nilled Pore than 250,000
people and uprooted Pore
than 11 Pillion, sparNing
a reIugee crisis throughout
Europe.
'espite Nilling as Pany
as 12,000 Pilitants, the U.S.
boPbing caPpaign has not
signi¿cantly ZeaNened the
IslaPic State’s capacity
to hold territory, and the
group’s ranNs have been
replenished by Ioreign
¿ghters and others.
Military experts say
ground troops are essential
Ior the ¿ght. A U.S. prograP
to train Syrians Zas aban-
doned as a Iailure, and the
neZ deployPent essentially
Zould replace that prograP.
SpeaNing to reporters
Àying Zith hiP on an over-
seas trip, 'eIense Secretary
Ash &arter said this Zould
probably not be the last
signi¿cant adMustPent to the
anti-IS Pilitary caPpaign in
Syria and Iraq.
Friday’s developPents
caPe as Pissiles slaPPed
into a croZded suburb oI the
Syrian capital. The attacN
Nilled at least 0 people,
activists said. The Syrian
Observatory Ior HuPan
Rights and the Local Coor-
dination CoPPittees group
said governPent Iorces
¿red Pore than 11 Pissiles
at a ParNet in the suburb oI
'ouPa.
In Washington, oI¿cials
said the neZ U.S. Iorces
Zill ZorN IroP headquarters
locations and Zon’t Pove to
the Iront lines or be used to
call in airstriNes. HoZever,
the U.S. has conducted
special operations raids
into Syria beIore noZ and
Zill continue to do Pore
unilateral raids. It helped
Iraqi Iorces rescue hostages
last ZeeN, and Master Sgt.
-oshua Wheeler Zas Nilled,
the ¿rst U.S. coPbat death
in that country since 2011.
OBAMA: EdPiston in general preIers
local control rather than Iederal oversight
Continued from 1A
agencies have people dedi-
cate tiPe to grant Zriting,
he said, the process is tiPe
consuPing and can be coun-
terproductive Ior sPaller
agencies. He said the process
should be siPpli¿ed so
sPaller agencies can actually
acquire those resources.
ObaPa also said invest-
Pents in early childhood
education pay oII through
reduced criPe. EdPiston said
addressing education and
Pental health needs Zould
be extrePely helpIul Ior
police, Zho Pust respond to
situations that Pay have been
avoidable.
On the topic oI gun saIety
reIorPs, EdPiston said the
president strucN a chord Zith
Pany oI¿cers in attendance.
³This Zas not a rooP
Iull oI people that Zere
Must shaNing their head and
agreeing Zith everything the
president said. Having said
that, Zhen he talNs about
sPart Zays to try to liPit the
Zrong people IroP having
access to Zeapons, there Zas
overZhelPing applause in
the rooP,´ he said.
In particular, EdPiston
said Post in attendance
seePed to support ObaPa’s
suggestion that Pilitary-style
assault Zeapons should not
be sold to civilians.
³It’s Must a siPple propo-
sition — cops should not be
out-arPed by the criPinals
they’re pursuing,´ ObaPa
said.
EdPiston, hoZever, said
he believes the issue is Pore
coPplex. He said he believes
coPprehensive reIorPs are
necessary to reduce gun
violence, but Iocusing solely
on assault Zeapons Zithout
addressing IaPily, education
and Pental health issues
Pisses the broader point. He
said he appreciated that the
president brought up soPe
oI these other issues but that
he did not believe an assault
Zeapon ban alone Zould
solve the probleP.
“Trying to target one issue
is alPost liNe putting the
entire issue into individual
silos, and I thinN that’s Zhere
the Iederal governPent
itselI has becoPe ineIIective
because everybody’s got
their oZn little slice oI the
pie,´ he said. “I thinN it leads
to additional ineI¿ciencies iI
you’re only Iocused on one
issue.´
ObaPa said the IAC3
supported a ban on the sale oI
assault Zeapons to civilians,
as Zell as his plan to require
national criPinal bacNground
checNs Ior the purchase oI
¿rearPs.
EdPiston said, in general,
They’ve served our country with
courage and honor. They’ve left
behind loved ones to risk their lives
in protecting their country. They’ve
defended our freedoms and ideals.
They make us proud to be
Americans.
Photo courtesy Jason Edmiston
President Barack Obama greets people after
speaking at the 122nd annual International
Association of Chiefs of Police Conference Oct. 27 at
McCormick Place in Chicago.
“It’s just a simple proposition —
cops should not be out-armed by
the criminals they’re pursuing,”
— President Barack Obama
he preIers local control
rather than Iederal oversight
because
the
situations
oI¿cers Iace diIIer betZeen
HerPiston and 3endleton —
let alone an urban Petropolis
such as Chicago. He said,
hoZever, at another session
at the conIerence, a young
police chieI Zas speaNing
about the need Ior national
use oI Iorce standards and
EdPiston agreed.
EdPiston adPitted, iI
national standards seeP
appropriate regarding use oI
Iorce, they Pight be Ior bacN-
ground checNs as Zell — iI
they Zere done correctly.
The diI¿culty, he said, is
that people lacN trust in the
governPent and question the
Potives oI politicians.
ObaPa Pentioned the Iact
that people thinN he plans
“to taNe everybody’s guns
aZay.´
“Nobody is doing that,´
ObaPa said. “We’re talNing
about
coPPon-sense
Peasures to PaNe sure criP-
inals don’t get theP to PaNe
sure bacNground checNs
ZorN to PaNe sure that Ze’re
protecting ourselves.´
EdPiston said iI people on
both sides oI the issue coPe
together, he believes steps
can be taNen to iPprove gun
saIety.
“I do thinN that there needs
to be soPe coPprehensive
reIorP, or at least discussion
asNing the question Why are
these events taNing place"´
he said. “Is the Zeapon that
is involved a Iactor" <es. Is
H eritage Lu ncheon
Becky Fletcher Waggoner:
Happy Canyon – The World’s Most
Unique Indian Pageant and
Wild West Show!
Pendleton Convention Center
Saturday, November 14 th
12:00 – 2:00 pm
Tickets: $40 for members; $50 for general public
Tickets available at
Heritage Station Museum,
Armchair Books, the
Round-Up Store, and
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce
the Pental health status oI
the individual coPPitting
the act a Iactor" <es. It is a
very broad discussion that
Zill need to taNe place, and
there Pay need to be soPe
coPproPise on both sides oI
the issue to try to ¿nd soPe
coPPon ground.´
EdPiston, Zho signed up
Ior the conIerence Ior execu-
tive training long beIore it Zas
announced ObaPa Zould be
there, said it Zas a “unique,
probably once-in-a-liIetiPe
opportunity´ to shaNe the
hand oI a sitting president —
and that ObaPa’s hands Zere
quite soIt.
3endleton police chieI
Stuart Roberts and UPatilla
County SheriII Terry RoZan
did not respond to requests
Ior coPPent about the pres-
ident’s proposals by press
tiPe.
Join us for Veterans Day,
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in
the East Oregonian and Hermiston
Herald, as we honor the men and
women of the U.S. Military. Their
courage, hard work and sacrifice
are the backbone of our nation,
protecting freedom, liberty, justice
and all we hold dear.
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We are so
proud of you
for serving
your country.
Love Evelyn,
Joe and Cheryl
J OSEPH S MITH
Thank you for
your service!
Love always
Marcy, Julie &
Emily
J OSEPH B. D AVIS
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