The War Against The Islamic State -- News Updates And Commentary November 7, 2014

U.S., Allies Hit Islamic State With 14 Air Strikes In Iraq, Syria -- Reuters

(Reuters) - U.S. and allied nations staged eight air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria in the past three days and also hit the insurgent group in six attacks in Iraq, the U.S. Central Command said on Friday.

Seven strikes near the Syrian border town of Kobani, a regular target for the attacks, hit three small Islamic State units, seven fighting positions and destroyed an artillery piece while another near Tall Abyad destroyed a weapons stockpile.

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The War Against The Islamic State -- News Updates November 7, 2014

The battle and siege of Kobani continues .... Iraqi Kurds stymie extremists but Kobane far from won -- The Australian/WSJ

I call this an admission by the U.S. that they cannot defeat the Islamic State alone .... Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran’s Khamenei About Fighting Islamic State -- Wall Street Journal

After Iran refused the U.S. request to work together .... the U.S. is now saying that Iran is not needed .... No U.S.-Iran military coordination against Islamic State: Rice -- Daily Star/Reuters

They may be suffering setbacks, but they are not losing .... Islamic State Suffering Setbacks in Syria and Iraq -- ABC News/AP

Do we really have the money for this? .... Obama Seeks $5.6B to Fight Islamic State Rebels -- ABC News/AP

I guess they are proud of their accomplishments .... hence the promo video .... Islamic State propaganda video details battle of Kobane -- Long War Journal

This is what happens when you start killing everyone indiscriminately .... Islamic State Massacres Stir Unrest Among Iraq Sunni Tribes -- Bloomberg Businessweek

There is probably a lot of truth to this report .... ‘ISIS Sees Turkey as Its Ally': Former Islamic State Member Reveals Turkish Army Cooperation -- Barney Guiton, Newsweek

Child soldiers have been used in the Middle East since the beginning of time .... this is just continuing the tradition .... ISIS Trains Child Soldiers at Camps for 'Cubs of the Islamic State' -- NBC

No school for kids in Islamic State controlled regions .... my bet that the parents are not going to be amused .... ISIS cancels all classes except religious studies in Syrian schools because 'even the two-times table shouldn't be taught as all knowledge belongs to the creator' -- Daily Mail

Is Lebanon next? .... The Islamic State Vs. Lebanon -- Vice

An unspoken alliance of convenience .... who would have thought that this was possible just a year ago .... How the U.S. and five ‘terrorist groups’ are on the same side in war against the Islamic State -- Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post