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At G20 Summit, Obama Targets ISIS in Syria

Reuters — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 08:55:56 -0500

BELEK, Turkey (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Sunday to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State in Syria and prevent it from carrying out attacks like those in Paris, while European leaders urged Russia to focus its military efforts on the radical Islamists.

Speaking at a G20 leaders summit in Turkey, Obama described the killings in Paris claimed by Islamic State as an attack on the civilized world and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.

The two-day summit brings Obama and fellow world leaders just 500 km (310 miles) from Syria, where a 4-1/2-year conflict has transformed Islamic State into a global security threat and spawned Europe's largest migration flows since World War Two.

"Traditionally the G20 has been a forum primarily to discuss economic issues facing the globe...[but] the sky has been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago," Obama said in a statement after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"The United States and its allies will redouble efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria and prevent Islamic State militants from perpetrating attacks like those in Paris."

Obama and his Western allies now face the question of how the West should respond after Islamic State again demonstrated it posed a threat far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

Washington already expects France to retaliate by taking on a larger role in the U.S.-led coalition's bombing campaign against Islamic State.

But European Council President Donald Tusk said Russia too should focus its military operations on Islamic State, rather than on the Syrian opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad, urging cooperation between Washington and Moscow.

"It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh [ISIS] and for sure the cooperation between the United States and Russia is a crucial one," he said.

OBAMA-PUTIN HANDSHAKE

Russia joined the conflict a month and a half ago with air strikes in Syria, but has been targeting mainly areas controlled by the moderate Syrian opposition fighting Assad, its ally, rather than Islamic State, its critics say.

Turkey and Western allies, by contrast, want Assad out.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed the renewed sense of urgency to find a solution to the war in Syria after the Paris attacks, adding the world had a "rare moment" of diplomatic opportunity to end the violence.

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have no formal bilateral meeting planned. As the leaders moved into place for a group photo on Sunday, Putin approached Obama and they shook hands, exchanging words for only a few brief moments.

Obama is also seeking to coax other European and Middle Eastern countries into more tangible steps to show their military commitment and will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, U.S. officials said. In a call late last month, the two leaders affirmed the need to cooperate in fighting Islamic State.

Obama said he had also discussed in his meeting with Erdogan the progress made by foreign ministers in Vienna, who on Saturday outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, although differences over Assad's fate still remained.

MIGRATION CONCERNS

The coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris on Friday puts Obama and other leaders of the world's major economies under increased pressure to find common cause.

It remains to be seen, however, whether Washington itself has an appetite for much deeper involvement after already stepping up air strikes and committing small numbers of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State.

The Paris carnage, in which 129 people were killed in attacks on a concert hall, restaurants, bars and a sports stadium, also poses a major challenge for Europe, with populist leaders rushing to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

In a diplomatic coup for Europe and for Turkey, the G20 leaders will agree that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters, although it has yet to be accepted by all and is due to be published only on Monday.

Europe and Turkey, the most heavily hit by the crisis, had been pushing for the G20 to recognize the issue as a global problem and help to deal with it financially, despite opposition from China, India and Russia. A million migrants from the Middle East and Africa are expected to come to Europe this year alone.

According to a separate statement due to be released later on Sunday, a draft of which was also seen by Reuters, they also agreed to step up border controls and aviation security in the wake of the Paris attacks, which they condemned as "heinous".

The summit follows not only the Paris attacks but also comes two weeks after a suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner killed 224 people in the Sinai Peninsula.

It also comes just over a month after two suspected Islamic State suicide bombers blew themselves up in Ankara, killing more than 100 people in Turkey's worst such attack.

What We Know About Paris Attack Suspect Ismal Mostefa

Damien Sharkov — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 08:31:13 -0500

One of the seven suspected assailants who took part in the devastating series of attacks in Paris on Friday has been identified as Frenchman Ismal Omar Mostefa. As more details about him and his accomplices emerge, here is what we know so far.

Mostefa was identified using his fingerprints, taken from his remains at the Bataclan theater, which he and two other men attacked on Friday. According to French national daily newspaper Le Figaro, he was born November 21, 1985, in the town of Courcouronnes in the Essonne department of France, just south of Paris. He was of Algerian descent.

Mostefa frequently attended the mosque in Luc, near Chartres, a town around 60 miles from Paris, according to the newspaper, citing information provided by the deputy mayor of Chartres, Jean-Pierre Gorges. The head of the mosque, Abdallah Benali, told AFP that he did not know Mostefa.

The suspected assailant was known to police because of his eight convictions for petty crime between 2004 and 2010 but he was never imprisoned. In 2010 authorities had identified him as being at strong risk of radicalization and investigators are now looking into whether or not he stayed in Syria for several months in the winter of 2013-2014. According to Le Figaro, he may have entered Syria through Turkey.

Six people close to Mostefa are in custody, including his father, brother and sister-in-law. The homes of his father and brother in the Essonne and Aube regions have been searched. Mostefa's brother told AFP that he had cut ties with his sibling several years ago.

Another suspect whose passport was found near the site of one of the attacks was identified by the initials A.A. by the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, which says he was registered as an asylum seeker on the Presevo border crossing between Serbia and Macedonia, Reuters reports. Serbian national daily Blic published what it said was a picture of the passport, identifying the man as Ahmed Almuhamed.

First Arrests Made in Paris Attacks

Jack Moore — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 07:45:29 -0500

Updated | French police have identified one of the suspects in Friday’s Paris attacks that killed at least 129 people and wounded 352 as Omar Ismail Mostefai, a 29-year-old French citizen of Algerian descent, and have detained six of his relatives as the country begins three days of national mourning.

He is believed to have been one of three armed men to storm the Bataclan venue during a concert by the American rock band the Eagles of Death Metal, killing at least 89 people in the worst single attack in what was a wave of coordinated incidents across the city. At least two of the attackers at the Bataclan detonated suicide vests after police stormed the venue.

At least 99 people remain in critical condition from the attacks on the Bataclan, a Cambodian restaurant and France’s national football stadium, the Stade de France.

The investigation into the attack has widened to neighboring Belgium, where police arrested three men on Saturday in raids on the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Justice Ministry spokeswoman Sieghild Lacoere said. Seven people in total have been detained in Belgium in connection with the attacks as of Sunday afternoon, a Belgian official told the Associated Press.

French authorities are seeking a possible eighth suspect who may have fled in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, a French official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and therefore was not identified, told The New York Times on Sunday.

Investigators identified Mostefai after finding a severed finger at the scene of the Bataclan attack.

He is from Courcouronnes, a town 15 miles (25km) south of Paris, and had lived in the nearby town of Chartres until 2012, local MP Jean-Pierre Gorges wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Mostefai had never been imprisoned but he had a history of petty crime and French security services had flagged him in 2010 as having been radicalized, according to the BBC.

French authorities detained six people related to Mostefai, including his father, brother and sister-in-law, on Saturday. Security officials were searching their homes.

"It's crazy, insane. I was in Paris myself last night, I saw what a mess it was," Mostefai's older brother, whose name was not reported, told AFP news agency on Saturday before he was detained. "It's been a time since I have had any news [about him]. I called my mother, she didn't seem to know anything."

A black Seat car, which authorities believe one of the three teams of attackers used in their operation, was found abandoned in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil. Authorities discovered three Kalashnikov automatic rifles in the vehicle, CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV reported.

A black Volkswagen found at the Bataclan after the attacks on Friday had been rented by a French national who resided in Belgium, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said. Authorities arrested the man at the French-Belgian border in a different vehicle. The man was accompanied by two other people who were also arrested, the prosecutor said.

"We can say at this stage of the investigation there were probably three co-ordinated teams of terrorists behind this barbaric act,” Molins, speaking to reporters in Paris, said on Sunday.

"We have to find out where they came from... and how they were financed."

The Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement released by its official foreign media arm on Saturday. French President Francois Hollande, after declaring a state of emergency, called the attacks an “act of war” and vowed a “merciless” response.

Authorities from a number of eastern European and Balkan countries are detailing the movements of the owner of the Syrian passport found next to one of the suicide bombers at France’s national football stadium. It remains unclear if the Syrian passport is authentic.

Greek officials say the owner of the passport entered Greece on October 3 via the Aegean island of Leros. Serbian police say he crossed into Serbia from Macedonia on October 7, and Croatian police say he was registered at a refugee center on October 8. Croatian police spokeswoman Helena Biocic told the Associated Press that authorities did not flag the passport owner as suspicious, so he continued towards the neighbouring countries of Hungary and Austria.

The EU’s justice and interior ministers are to hold a special meeting on the attacks next Friday, the Associated Press reported, as requested by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Sunday. Cazeneuve said that the EU’s “battle against terrorism must be, more than ever, steadfast.”

Speaking after a meeting with Hollande on Sunday, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, leader of opposition conservatives, called for a change to France’s policy in Syria. He suggested working with Russia in that country, as “we need everyone...there can’t be two coalitions in Syria.”

The attacks have caused a U-turn in Poland’s policy on accepting refugees under an agreed EU plan to relocate thousands of people currently in the EU states of Italy, Greece and Hungary.

The country’s new European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymanski said on Saturday that "after the tragic events of Paris we do not see the political possibility of respecting” the decisions of the European Council, the EU body led by former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that directs the bloc’s political agenda.

However, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday that there was no requirement for a change of the EU’s refugee policy after the deadly attacks.

“Those who organized, who perpetrated the attacks are the very same people who the refugees are fleeing and not the opposite. And so there is no need for an overall review of the European policy on refugees,” he said ahead of the G20 summit in the Turkish resort of Antalya.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, also in Turkey for the meeting of world leaders, said that the world must come together to defeat terrorism. “We will only be able to deal with the terrorist threat...if all the international community unites its efforts,” he said.

The Russian leader also held informal talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the summit on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing live footage from the meeting.

The leaders of the G20, the world’s 20 most powerful countries, agreed to increase border and airport security in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters. The final document is set to be released on Sunday.

Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told reporters on Sunday that the country’s spy services were helping France with its investigation into the attacks.

“The cooperation is ongoing, but in accordance with the prime minister’s directive, intelligence material relevant to what happened has been relayed, and we will also deepen the cooperation,” he said. “This information can help the French—and not just the French, by the way—to deal with the aftermath, and not just with what happened, but also with terrorist attacks planned for the future.”

The gunmen and suicide bombers killed at least one British national, one American, three Chileans, two Belgians, two Mexicans, two Spaniards and many French civilians. Other nationalities of victims in the attacks are yet to be confirmed. Twenty to thirty bodies of victims in the attacks have yet to be identified, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Sunday.

This article has been updated to include new details on the hunts for suspects in the attacks and reactions from world leaders at the G20 summit.

Despite Paris Attacks, Democratic Candidates Trade Sharpest Barbs Over Wall Street

Nina Burleigh — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 00:19:13 -0500

After a somber moment of silence for the Paris victims, the gloves came off in the second Democratic debate as Bernie Sanders put front-runner Hillary Clinton on the ropes over her Iraq vote and her Wall Street campaign donors.

The Sanders camp was reportedly unhappy that CBS had decided to pivot the focus of the debate from the middle class to the Middle East, but the Vermont Senator managed to turn it to his advantage

Sanders slammed Clinton for taking money from Wall Street, calling it “the major donor” to her political career, while he has limited himself to small donors. “Why do they make millions of dollars in campaign contributions? They expect to get something. Everybody knows that!”

Clinton then interrupted Dickerson, who was trying to move on. “He has basically used his answer to impugn my integrity. Not only do I have hundreds of thousands of donors - the majority of them are women, 60 percent.” The audience was still applauding that line, when she brought up September 11 as an explanation for why Wall Street supports her. “We were attacked downtown where Wall Street is! It was good for the economy!” she said. “I did spend a lot of time helping them rebuild … . My proposal is tougher and more effective. I will go after all of Wall Street, not just the big banks!”

Much of the debate was more sedate. Debate moderator John Dickerson, anchor of CBS’ Face the Nation, asked the candidates to begin with statements on Paris. Sanders said he was “shocked and disgusted” and said the world had to come together to “rid this planet of this barbarous element called ISIS.”

Clinton, who logged nearly a million miles as Secretary of State and has dined with most of the world’s leaders was in her element.

“Our prayers are with the people of France tonight but that is not enough,” she said. “This election is not only about electing a president, but about choosing our next Commander in Chief. Our country deserves no less. All of the other issues we want to deal with depend on us being strong.”

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley looked less assured , but he tried to play his inexperience in foreign policy as an asset in bringing “new thinking, new leadership” to the “new face of conflict and warfare in the 21st Century.”

After the opening statements on ISIS and Paris, Dickerson ran a tight ship with thoughtful, provocative questions that allowed the candidates to challenge each other without getting into brawls. He asked Clinton whether President Obama, who once called ISIS ‘the JV team” hadn’t underestimated their potency. “Won’t the legacy of this administration be that it underestimated the threat of ISIS?” Dickerson asked.

Clinton replied with qualified support of Obama’s strategy, saying that the best tactic is a combination of military, diplomacy, development and sharing of intelligence – but that the responsibility cant lie with the United States alone. “ We can bring people together but it cannot be an American fight,” she said. She reminded the audience she had supported arming revolutionaries in Syria, which the President opposed, but she said ultimately Syria and Iraq bear the blame for the rise of ISIS.

Sanders said, even after last night in Paris, he still believes the greatest threat to national security is climate change, a point he’s been making on the campaign trail. “Absolutely. Climate change is behind ISIS,” he said. The Vermont Senator then said he disagreed with the Clinton on who bears responsibility for ISIS and reminded her of her 2002 vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq.

“The disastrous invasion of Iraq, something I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS. I don’t think any sensible person would disagree that invasion of Iraq led to the level of instability we’re see now, it was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the history of the United States,”

Sanders criticized Clinton’s performance as Secretary of State. “I think we have a disagreement. Not only did I vote against the war in Iraq, if you look at history you will see that regime change … Allende in Chile .. the government of Guatemala .. all these invasions, these topplings of of government, have unintended consequences. I am not in favor of regime change.”

Clinton replied: “I have said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.”

She then reiterated her support for regime change in Syria. “Assad has hung on, with the support of Russia and Iran, and with the proxy of Hezbollah fighting his wars. … We’ve got to understand the complexity of the world that we are facing.” Clinton referred to the “arc of instability” from the North of Africa to Afghanistan and reiterated a slogan of the Obama administration: “We are not at war with Muslims and Islam.”

The debate was the only one that will be held in Iowa, but the audience was probably limited by the fact that the Hawkeyes were playing at the same hour. Sanders probably won this debate by exceeding lowered expectations for him after the debate’s pivot to foreign policy. He tied ISIS to Clinton’s Iraq war vote. And her invocation of September 11 as a reason for her Wall Street support seemed more than a little manipulative.

Sanders Calls Dwight D. Eisenhower More of a Socialist Than Him

Jack Martinez — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 23:29:30 -0500

In contemporary presidential politics, you usually hear a lot of comparisons to John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, and some side-swipes at George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Oddly, during the last two presidential debates, both political parties have cited an often forgotten president: Dwight D. Eisenhower.

During Saturday's Democratic debate in Iowa, hosted by CBS, Bernie Sanders said that he was less of a socialist than Eisenhower (a Republican), citing tax rates under the nation's first president after the end of the Second World War.

Eisenhower, known as "Ike" was a United States general and Supreme Allied commander during the War.

During his first term, tax rates on the income of those making over $400,000 per year were 92 percent. A two term president, he later lowered the rate to 90.

In the post-Bush-tax-cuts world, such a rate is almost unthinkable, but during World War II President Franklin Roosevelt taxed the highest earners in the nation at a rate of 94 percent. Sanders has said that he would not go over a 90 percent income tax for the top bracket, which is what he meant by calling himself "less socialist" than Ike.

Eisenhower was hesitant to start a political career after his retirement from the military. He weighed which political party to join, ultimately settling on the Republican party and choosing Richard Nixon as his Vice President. Interest in Eisenhower has spiked this week, after Donald Trump cited his controversial "Operation Wetback" deportation policies as an example of positive immigration reform during the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

O'Malley, Sanders Attack Clinton on Gun Control

Jack Martinez — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 22:39:26 -0500

At face value, there's not much ideological difference between Hillary Clinton and her competitors this primary—and that's why Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley were on the attack late Saturday during the second Democratic debate.

Clinton’s two competitors for the Democratic presidential nomination went after the establishment front runner on the issue of gun control—one of the few issues where Clinton and Sanders, who has challenged her in some early polls, have a real difference.

“Coming from a state that has no gun control," Sanders said, "I believe that I’m in a position” to build national consensus on issues like background checks and gun show loopholes.

The words "conservative" and “Sanders" don't go together very much this election cycle, but on guns, the democratic socialist from Vermont is to the right of Clinton. In the Senate, he voted against a bill that contained punitive measures toward gun manufacturers and sellers, arguing that punishing retailers would be like punishing a hammer seller when someone gets beaten over the head with a hammer (the teenage version of Ben Carson was not available for comment).

“Senator Sanders had a different vote than I did when it came to giving immunity to gun makers and sellers," Clinton said.

"We’ve got the consensus, what we’re lacking is political leadership," she added, citing polls that show widespread support for background checks.

O'Malley went after Clinton's gun record, saying she has changed her position multiple times and accusing her of being opportunistic by taking up the issue recently. "We need to lead by principle," he said, touting his record on reducing gun violence as mayor of Baltimore.

“I think it’s fair to say that Baltimore is not now one of the safest cities in America," Sanders retorted.

Laws that would hold gun sellers accountable have been a hot button issue in the wake of shootings, particularly after the Sandy Hook massacre of 2012, when an assault rifle manufacturer received widespread attention for an inflammatory advertising campaign that critics said incited violence.

Republican Candidates Hit Hillary Clinton on Question of Whether America is at War with 'Radical Islam'

Polly Mosendz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 22:37:05 -0500

The Democratic debate on Saturday night began with a discussion of radical Islam, just hours after deadly attacks in Paris, which were carried out by the Islamic State, according to French officials.

CBS moderator John Dickerson asked frontrunner Hillary Clinton if she would characterize the war on terrorism as a war against "radical Islam," as some Republican candidates had done. Clinton offered this lengthy reply:

I don’t think we’re at war with Islam. I don’t think we’re at war with all Muslims. I think we’re at war with jihadists. I think you can talk about Islamists who clearly are also jihadists but its not particularly helpful to make the case…that we’ve got to reach out to Muslim countries, have them be part of our coalition, if they hear people running for president who basically short cut it to say we are somehow against Islam. That was one of the real contributions, despite all the other problems, that George W. Bush made after 9/11 when he basically said after going to a mosque in Washington, ‘We are not at war with Islam or Muslims.’ We are at war with violent extremism, we are at war with people who use their religion for purposes of power and oppression, and yes we are at war with those people but I don’t want us to paint with too broad a brush.

Bernie Sanders agreed, saying the "term" isn't important to the war. Martin O'Malley joined his Democratic counterparts in agreement, noting that Muslim-Americans are necessary allies in this battle.

Republican candidates quickly took to Twitter to disagree with Clinton (and the other two Democrats on stage):

Why won't President Obama use the term Islamic Terrorism? Isn't it now, after all of this time and so much death, about time!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2015

.@HillaryClinton has consistently failed to understand the depth of the ISIS threat. We need @JohnKasich's leadership. #DemDebate

— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) November 15, 2015

You're all grown up now. You can do it. Three words. Ten syllables. Say it with me: "Radical Islamic terrorism." #DemDebate

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 15, 2015

We need a President who will see and speak and act on the truth...Hillary Clinton will not call this Islamic terrorism. I will.

— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) November 15, 2015

Yes, we are at war with radical Islamic terrorism. #DemDebate

— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) November 15, 2015

Yes, @HillaryClinton we are at war with radical Islam! You are not qualified to serve if you cannot even define our enemy! #DemDebate

— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) November 15, 2015

Several other Republican candidates had weighted in on the general topic prior to the debate on social media:

We need a President who is unafraid to name our enemy -- radical Islamic terrorism -- and will set out to defeat it. https://t.co/mz25KNt9wQ

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 14, 2015

We must destroy Radical Islam. https://t.co/t1DqcsKR5P

— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) November 14, 2015

The #ParisAttacks are a wake up call. This is a clash of civilizations. Either they win or we win. https://t.co/9Ydjxy8KCi

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 14, 2015

Trump also reacted to O'Malley referring to the GOP frontrunner as a "immigrant bashing carnival barker":

Hillary and Sanders are not doing well, but what is the failed former Mayor of Baltimore doing on that stage? O'Malley is a clown.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2015

Chart: What the Democrats Talked About at Their Debate Versus the Republican Debate

Polly Mosendz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 22:00:38 -0500

On Saturday evening, the Democratic presidential candidates took to the stage for their second debate of the 2016 election season.

The debate began with a moment of silence for those killed in the Paris attacks which are believed to have been carried out by the Islamic State. The attacks colored the beginning of the debate, as Senator Bernie Sanders, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley discussed the best approach to tackling terrorism.

The Democratic candidates went on to discuss tax rate increases for the wealthy and debt free college. The debate differed relatively drastically from the last Republican debate, which was economically themed and turned quickly to the question of a border wall and immigration.

Here's how the two compared at the end of the Democratic debate:

What the Democrats versus the Republicans talked about during their respective debates. The Democratic left-hand side is updated as of the end of the debate on Saturday night. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

Where the Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand on ISIS

Michele Gorman — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 21:28:16 -0500

Less than 24 hours after the deadly attacks on Paris, which French President Francois Hollande said the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group is responsible for, the three U.S. Democratic presidential candidates took the stage for their second debate in the primary election season, at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The horrific events in the French capital have shifted the tone of what was expected to be a debate focused on Iowa and domestic issues, moderated by John Dickerson, host of CBS News' Face the Nation. The conversation during the first 30 minutes of the two-hour event was focused on ISIS and the Middle East.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who generally is viewed as the front-runner in the Democratic race, has called dealing with ISIS a "long-term struggle" in which military action is essential.

Some people have questioned whether President Barack Obama underestimated ISIS. When Clinton was one of his top advisers during his first term, she urged him to help train and arm rebels in Syria. Clinton also has said the Iraqis must spearhead the military campaign, and that she is committed to supporting the efforts within the region to protect persecuted women, amid recent revelations that ISIS fighters systematically have raped women and girls. Clinton cited the failure of the Maliki-led government in Iraq for creating the conditions that led to ISIS.

She reiterated her beliefs in her opening remark at the debate on Saturday.

"Our prayers are with the people of France tonight, but that is not enough. We need to have a resolve that will bring the world together, to root out the kind of radical, jihadist ideology that motivates organizations like ISIS, a barbaric, ruthless, jihadist, terrorist group," she said.

Clinton said the fight against ISIS cannot be just an American one, and that U.S. leadership is essential in the coalition. She said she agrees with Obama supporting those who take the fight to ISIS.

"We have to look at ISIS as the leading threat of an international terror network," she later said on Saturday. "It cannot be detained, it must be defeated."

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont has previously said ISIS poses a real threat, and that he fully supports the notion that the group needs to be stopped. Sanders believes the U.S. can't lead the effort to defeat ISIS on its own, and that a coalition with countries in the Middle East leading the effort is the best way to combat the group.

At the beginning of the debate, Sanders called ISIS a "barbarous organizaion."

"This is a war for the soul of Islam," he said. "Those Muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort, which they are not doing now."

Clinton disagreed with Sanders, commending Jordan's efforts in combating ISIS. She said she agrees that Turkey and other Gulf nations need to be clear about where they stand.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley said on stage on Saturday that "ISIS is an evil in this world." The U.S. has a role in the fight against ISIS, he added, but the country must work collaboratively with other countries.

"We must anticipate these threats before they happen," he said at the debate, alluding to the Paris attacks. "We have a lot of work to do to better prepare our nation."

"Our role in the world is not roaming the world to look for new dictators to topple," he later said. "But our role in the world is to confront evil when it arises."

Clinton, Sanders Spar in Second Democratic Debate

Taylor Wofford — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 21:06:50 -0500

Updated | On Saturday night, less than 24 hours after armed gunmen killed more than 127 in Paris in what analysts called the largest terrorist attack since September 11, 2001, the Democrats gathered in Iowa for their second primary debate in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. The debate began with a moment of silence for those killed in the attacks. It was a stark contrast to earlier debates, especially among the Republicans, which were marked by squabbling among the candidates and the moderators.

Given the Paris attacks, watchers expect a heavy emphasis on national security and terrorism, a subject in which former secretary of state Hillary Clinton excels. Also on stage were independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley.

In their opening statements, secretary Clinton and governor O'Malley both spoke about the need to defeat Islamic terrorism. Senator sanders, meanwhile, emphasized the need to address income inequality. Asked by the debate's moderator, John Dickerson, whether the US had underestimted the Islamic State, Clinton spoke of the need to arm those who would fight Islamic terror groups.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidates, from left, Senator Bernie Sanders former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Mark Kauzlarich/Reuters

Senator Sanders attempted to link Clinton's vote to invade Iraq to the rise of the Islamic State. "I have said the invasion of Iraq was a mistake," Clinton responded.

"I am not a great fan of regime change," Sanders said. "We have to understand that the Muslim nations in the region...are going to have to get their hands dirty," Sanders said. "They are going to have to take on ISIS. This is a war for the soul of Islam." Clinton shot back that some Middle Eastern nations, such as U.S. ally Jordan, have taken an outsize burden in dealing with Islamic terrorism and taking refugees.

Asked by Dickerson whether she would be willing to use the phrase "radical Islam" to describe the Islamic State and other jihadist terror groups, Clinton said the U.S. is not at war with Muslims. Senator Sanders agreed. "I don’t think the term is what’s important...what is important...is we have organizations...like ISIS and al-Qaeda who do believe we should go back several thousand years," he said.

On the issue of refugees, of which more than 1 million have flooded out of Syria since the beginning of the civil war there, O'Malley said the U.S. should take in 65,000. "There are other ways to lead and to be a moral leader in this world than on the opposite end of a drone strike," he said. Clinton agreed, but said that the U.S. should screen refugees closely to prevent possible jihadists from entering the country.

The genial jousting over wages and incomes and growth was pretty dull but it shows a few important policy differences between the candidates and the woes that beset them all. All of the candidates favor higher tax rates on the wealthy and assorted tax expenditures to help middle-class families, whether it's to afford college or buy a first home. On health care, Sanders's Quixotic bid for a single-payer system distinguishes himself as does O'Malley's call for treating capital gains like other income. But the problems of slow growth and stagnant wages and income inequality are problems throughout the western world and it's hard to see how their piecemeal approaches would make a huge difference.

Sanders scored some humor points when he said that under his administration the highest tax rate would be lower than 90 percent, as it was under President Eisenhower. "I'm not that much of a socialist compared to Eisenhower," Sanders said, drawing the first cheers of the night.

Asked about immigration, the candidates took the opportunity to distance themselves from Republicans, many of whom oppose giving undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship. "All of us on this stage agree we need a comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship," Clinton said. Sanders framed the immigration issue in economic terms, using the question to call for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. "I believe this country needs to move toward a living wage," he said, adding, "I apologize to nobody for that."

The most contentious segment of the night was when the debate turned to Wall Street and campaign finance reform. Moderators raised Sanders' past criticism of Secretary Clinton, who has received millions in campaign donations from Wall Street donors. Clinton defended her record, arguing she has taken a hard line against big banks, but, for Senator Sanders, Clinton's defense was "not good enough." Somewaht bizarrely, Clinton also invoked her response to the September 11 attacks in response to the question, a fact moderators took her to task for by displaying a tweet critical of Clinton's response and asking her to respond.

Have never seen a candidate invoke 9/11 to justify millions of Wall Street donations. Until now. @HillaryClinton #DemDebate

— Andy Grewal (@AndyGrewal) November 15, 2015

O'Malley agreed with Sanders, arguing for the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagal Act, which limits how banks can invest. But, Clinton said, reinstating Glass-Steagal is "nowhere near enough" and claimed that her proposal goes further than Sanders'. "The business model of Wall Street is fraud," Sanders said.

"Wall Street representatives will not be in my cabinet," Sanders said. "I am not the candidate of Wall Street," O'Malley added.

The question of Secretary Clinton's emails was also raised. Senator Sanders reiterated he was "sick" of hearing about the secretary's emails, while Clinton pivoted away from the issue to attack Republicans' opposition to Planned Parenthood.

The debate then turned to health care and education. While the Republicans continue to advocate for the repeal of Obamacare, the Democrats praised the Affordable Care Act, but said Democrats should go farther to ensure all Americans have health insurance. Senator Sanders criticized private health insurers, while Clinton chartered a more moderate path, advocating public-private partnerships.

In their closing statements, Clinton and Sanders both called on voters to support their efforts to shore up the American middle class. While Clinton invoked her experience in the highest levels of government, Sanders stuck to his ideological guns, asking voters to endorse his reformist vision.

Throughout the debate, Clinton stuck to her strengths, emphasizing her foreign policy experience, an area in which both of her opponents lack. She pivoted away from tough questions, choosing instead of remind voters of her record and past successes. For instance, when asked about campaign contributions from Wall Street, she instead chose to talk about her actions in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, a move that drew rebukes from Republicans on Twitter.

Sanders, meanwhile, emphasized Clinton's Wall Street connections without being overly aggressive, and shied away from discussing Clinton's use of a private email server, a move for which she has been hounded by Republicans. Sanders instead stayed on message, emphasizing the need to address income inequality throughout the night. His message will likely continue to resonate with young voters, for whom Sanders' calls for economic justice largely resonate.

O'Malley proved something of a third wheel, receiving considerably less speaking time than the other two candidates, though he was no less hawkish on foreign policy than Clinton and, like Sanders, advocated for economic reform. O'Malley repeatedly emphasized his experience gained as governor of Maryland as proof he is ready for the Oval Office. But whether he can escape from Clinton's and Sanders' shadows remains to be seen.

Watch the Democratic Debate Here

Seung Lee — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 21:02:35 -0500

The second Democatic debate is about to get underway in Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and broadcast by CBS. Face the Nation anchor John Dickerson will moderate the event as Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley take the stage.

You can live-stream the debate here at Newsweek below and follow us on Twitter.

There Will Be Blood: Paris and the Future of Islamic Terrorism

Kurt Eichenwald — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 20:21:57 -0500

For 14 years, Western intelligence officials have lived in fear of this moment. With Friday’s attack on Paris, the world has passed a tipping point in what is sure to be a decades-long battle against Islamic terrorism. And, to combat it, America and its allies — from government leaders to citizens — have to move past the fear and partisan politics of the last decade. They have to realize that Friday’s Paris strike is not just another in a growing cavalcade of terrorist assaults; instead it signals a tactical change in Islamist terror strategies—one that militants have been moving towards for years.

One of the biggest limitations on Islamic terrorist groups executing successful attacks has been competition. Al-Qaeda is not ISIS, ISIS is not the Haqqani network, Haqqani is not Hamas. Each is vying to recruit among the same potential supporters, and Western intelligence agencies say these groups once believed that grandiose, complicated plots such as blowing up major bridges or national landmarks would win them more members. But the more intricate the plots and the more predictable the targets, the more likely it is that Western intel officials can thwart them.

Not anymore. The Paris attacks show that global jihadists have realized what counterterrorism specialists have long feared: strikes on soft targets such as restaurants, concerts and sports venues—using small arms and easy-to-assemble bombs—are harder to stop and can inflict massive damage.

An American intelligence officer first discussed this with me in 2007, laying out a scenario for an attack that was frighteningly similar to what occurred in Paris. This individual described the intelligence agency’s concerns while making a broader point about the use of resources on the condition that I wouldn’t write about these concerns and inadvertently pass on the idea to Islamists. With the Paris attack, that individual, now retired, released me from that promise, saying that the world needs to understand how Paris has changed everything, and what that means for how politicians, strategists and citizens of Western countries should respond.

The first signal that terrorists might have been shifting tactics to wide-scale soft-target attacks came in 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba — a Pakistan-based Islamist group — engaged in a series of shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai. Over a period of four days they struck hotels, a railway station, taxis and other unprotected targets. Western intelligence braced for the strategy to expand, and successfully disrupted several planned strikes. But then, the attempts dwindled.

The next major sign that raised concerns: the January attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper that often lampooned Islam. Two gunmen, who identified themselves as belonging to a group called Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, raided the offices and killed 12 people. The attack sparked a massive global reaction, far more than the response to the Mumbai assault, with marches and public commitments to stand up to terrorists. On the other side, however, some condemned the editors of Charlie Hebdo for insulting Muslims —as if there was some sort of equivalence between murder and drawing a cartoon.

Classified analysis by a foreign intelligence agency that one overseas official discussed with me concluded that the Charlie Hebdo attack, despite its relatively small size, might serve as both a lesson and a challenge to other terror groups. With ISIS attempting to grab global headlines, the success of the Al-Qaeda affiliate may have given it more allure to potential recruits; it demonstrated the group’s affiliates knew how to carry out the type of high-profile assault that ISIS had yet to execute. In this analysis, Paris and Berlin were deemed the most in danger of small-arms terror assaults. A least two years would have to pass, the foreign intelligence analysts concluded, before the West could feel somewhat assured that ISIS had not learned the tactical lesson from the Charlie Hebdo assault by striking soft-targets with hard-to-detect, small weaponry. Doing so would inflict wide-scale damage and show the Islamist world that ISIS could outdo Al-Qaeda.

Now that it has happened, the West has to learn new ways to think about terrorism. Intelligence agencies have long said that, once the change of tactics succeeded somewhere in the West, America and its allies would be hit. “This isn’t a question of if,’’ the retired American intelligence official told me. “It’s a question of when.” It is too easy to carry out one of these small-arms attacks and the impact is too enormous.

What then should be done? The first step is simple, and one that the CIA and other agencies have been clamoring for in secret sessions before Congressional intelligence committees: Stop politicizing terrorist attacks. If you listen to members of the intelligence committees discuss terrorism, you might notice it is sometimes impossible to tell the difference between Republicans and Democrats. They often speak in a single voice, because they have been told that those who use terrorist attacks to drive anger against the opposing political party are encouraging small-scale assaults.

That has been, for example, the problem with the vast politicization of the 2012 attack on the American mission in Benghazi. As one intelligence official told me last year, Islamists follow news about American reactions to terror attacks very closely. They are fully aware that this comparatively small strike has been used by American politicians in attempts to effect the outcome of the next election. Despite the fact that many reports have assessed the attack from every angle, the bogus investigations and hysterical screams of politics continue.

Some of the reactions to the Paris attack has been more of the same. Even as people continued to be executed, conservative commentators rushed to social media to attack Obama, protesting students at the University of Missouri, gun control advocates and immigration policies. It was a parade of inhuman obscenities led by pundits like Ann Coulter, Monica Crowley, Newt Gingrich, Michelle Malkin. Some criticized Obama for refusing to blame Islamists before the intelligence was confirmed, or calling the president a “whitewasher-in-chief” who had nothing to contribute.

This instantaneous reaction attacking the American government came because terrorists struck another country. Our tribal division between liberals and conservatives — while not violent — has become nearly as irrational and self-destructive as the one between the Sunnis and the Shiites. Imagine what will happen when the attack takes place in the United States. The outrage and attacks on the White House will come from whatever party isn’t in power. The terrorists will successfully turn us against each other, rather than uniting us against the people who want to destroy us.

So, what is to be done? Americans need to move beyond their internecine squabbles. Did President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq help create ISIS and fuel the growth of Islamic terror? Yes. Was Hillary Clinton’s Libya strategy a blunder? Yes. Have Obama’s Syria policies been incoherent? Yes. Was Bush’s agreement in 2008 to withdraw from Iraq in 2011 difficult-to-avoid mistake? Yes.

Okay, it’s all been said. Now, let’s face where we are now. Conservatives need to stop screaming about Obama when it comes to national security, and liberals need to stop spinning conspiracy theories about war or ranting over Bush’s past mistakes. The National Security Agency’s domestic spying program — the one created by Bush and supported by Obama — needs to be enhanced; citizens need to understand that the government doesn’t want to know what porn sites you’ve subscribed to, they want to be able to disrupt attacks, including small-scale ones.

American politicians need to stop pretending this is a simple problem. ISIS is not going to run away when faced with the steely-eyed gaze of some soft politician. Nor will they be killed. ISIS spreads a philosophy; it can only be contained and disrupted. But idiotic statements like “bomb them” — which the United States is already doing on the battle lines — appear to be designed to trick Americans into believing that ISIS is in a single location, away from civilian populations, waiting to be hit. Americans cannot face the reality of this challenge if politicians do not tell the truth.

We also need to grow more sophisticated about Western Muslims. Are they violent enemies, ready to attack at any time? No. They are our neighbors and fellow citizens. But are small groups of Muslims hiding in plain sight and eager and prepared to kill? Yes. When it comes to security, let’s stop pretending that a 68-year-old grandmother is as much a potential threat as a 25-year-old Muslim male. This is not bias or racism; it’s fact. If middle aged white guys were more likely to engage in mass, organized terrorist attacks than other citizens, I not only would expect to receive closer attention, I would want it. After all, terrorists are just as likely to kill their own. What this means is some sort of security profiling cannot be avoided. However, we have to recognize and accept that law-abiding Muslims — who make up the vast, vast majority of American practitioners of Islam — are as much victims as anyone else. Laws need to protect them and demagogues need to leave them alone.

Next, it’s time for to hold our supposed allies accountable. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been allowed to engage in their dalliances with terrorist groups for far too long. The Saudis provide money to the Sunni extremists like ISIS, while Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) provides extremist groups with protection. The Taliban was an ISI creation; Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group behind the Mumbai attacks, is still supported by these government officials. America needs to confront these governments with diplomatic and financial force. The Saudi royal family needs to be told that if they are unable to control the flow of cash to those terrorists set on harming America, there will be severe consequences to pay. For example — even though it is exactly what the Sunni terrorists want — the U.S. could withdraw its military troops from Saudi Arabia and adopt a strategic tilt toward Iran, whose Shiite government is aligned with America in the interest of destroying ISIS.

The American government also has to understand that we have no real allies in the Middle East—there are only those that are willing to work with us. If that means aligning ourselves with our erstwhile enemies, like Iran, in the face of this Sunni threat, so be it. It also means we may have to pressure Israel. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that it cares little about the ISIS threat in Syria, since the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, has allowed his regime to become a conduit of weapons from Iran to the Shiite terror group Hezbollah, one of Israel’s greatest enemies. The Netanyahu government’s attitude toward ISIS is foolish. If the group manages to seize control in Syria, it will only be a matter of time before the unfolding chaos in the Middle East spreads to the Israeli border.

The industrialized powers also must unify under a single strategy, including a military one. The Western nations must join with Russia under the authority of the United Nations to engage ISIS. The Kurds — and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard — have won major victories in Iraq with the assistance of American bombing campaigns. If stabilizing Syria ultimately requires the West to prop up Assad — a bloodthirsty madman who is a threat to Israel — so be it. There are no good choices here; that is why finding answers has been so difficult. The only way to try and put the Middle East back together is by taking on one issue at a time. ISIS and the other Islamic militant groups come first.

Finally, Western citizens must stop cowering. Perhaps the most important moment in France came hours after the attack, when Parisians came outside with signs proclaiming “We are not afraid.” The terrorists want us to be scared. That is how they win.

The truth is, any individual is more likely to die in a car crash while driving home from a movie theater than to be killed by an explosion while the film is running. A relatively small number of us will die at the hands of terrorists, no matter what we do; this is an undeniable fact. So be it. . When bombs were raining down on London during World War II, its citizens went about their business. Today, there are no bombs falling in the West; the threat we face does not come close to compared to what the British confronted.

So, go about your business. Put the threat of these attacks in perspective. Do not let the terrorists win. Be like those brave people in Paris who, even as dead bodies lay littered the ground, confronted terrorists with the message that, while they may have killed some of their fellow citizens, they hadn’t put a dent in the nation’s spirit.

NFL Tightens Sunday Game Security After Paris Attacks

Polly Mosendz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 17:36:54 -0500

After three suicide bombers targeted Paris' Stade de France on Friday evening, the NFL has decided to increase security at their games.

At least one of the suicide bombers reportedly attemped to enter the stadium, but was stopped outside. Out of fear American stadiums could become targets, the NFL consulted with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.

Though there are no known threats against NFL stadiums, increased security and law enforcement has been implemented. The league is asking fans not to bring bags to games. If an attendee needs to carry items, they must be stowed in a clear plastic bag no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches.

"It is important that all fans comply with these requirements, and we appreciate their efforts to cooperate with these security measures," the NFL said in a statement. "The NFL and its teams continually evaluate and improve our comprehensive security plan."

The Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attacks which, in addition to the bombings, included several mass shootings and a hostage situation. Over 120 people were killed and hundreds injured.

Photos: New York Mourns Paris Attacks in Washington Square Vigil

Polly Mosendz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 17:04:55 -0500

Updated | New Yorkers gathered around the arch in Washington Square Park on Saturday to mourn those killed in a series of attacks by the Islamic State in Paris.

French flag colored balloons appear before the Washington Square Park arch. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attended the vigil around 2 p.m. after visiting the French Consulate, where a small memorial formed Friday evening after the attacks.

A group of mourners in New York City carry a French flag on November 14. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

A crowd of over 1,000 carried French flags, blue, white and red balloons and sang softly in French. A prayer station offered solace for some of the mourners.

A prayer station at a vigil at Washington Square Park in New York City for those killed in Paris. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

"Today, New Yorkers are joining together to remember the Parisians whose lives were tragically taken in yesterday’s attacks. Let us each take a moment to honor these victims and the people of Paris who are bravely soldiering on in the face of terrible loss," de Blasio said. "New York City is proud to stand with France and share their clear message: these cruel attempts to intimidate and threaten the people of Paris will not succeed."

A man in Washington Square Park wore a hat with an Eiffel Tower and American flag atop it. He was mourning those killed and injured in a series of attacks in Paris on Friday. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

Shortly after attending the vigil, the mayor's office announced flags will be flown at half-staff effective immediately to show respect for those killed and stand in solidarity with France.

At least 1,000 people gathered at the Washington Square Park Arch on Saturday for a vigil. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

The City Hall clock tower will be lit blue, white and red in honor of those killed. The Freedom Tower spiral was lit in honor of the flag as well. The Empire State Building was turned off.

The Washington Square Park arch is lit up blue, white and red, as the French flag hangs. In the background, the Empire State Building is turned off to honor those killed. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

At nightfall, the Washington Square Park arch was lit up.

The Washington Square Park arch is lit up to honor the 129 people killed in a series of attacks in Paris on Friday. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

A vigil remained below the arch and on either side, including flowers, notes and messages of strength.

A vigil below the Washington Square Park arch on the evening of November 14. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

A vigil appears on the side of the of the Washington Square Park arch. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

The Eiffel Tower is merged with a peace sign on a vigil sign left at the Washington Square Park arch. Polly Mosendz/Newsweek

The arch will be lit up for all to see overnight:

This story has been updated to include new photographs.

Poland Will Not Take Refugees Under EU Scheme After Paris Attacks, Minister Says

Jack Moore — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 16:53:53 -0500

Poland will not respect a European Union relocation plan for thousands of refugees following the wave of attacks in Paris that left at least 127 people dead and dozens in critical condition, an incoming Polish government minister said on Saturday.

Poland's new European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymanski said that the attacks ruled out the chances of taking in refugees under the scheme to help ease the burden on EU frontier states Italy and Greece.

"The European Council's decisions, which we criticized, on the relocation of refugees and immigrants to all EU countries are part of EU law," he wrote on the right-wing Polish website wPolityce.pl.

"After the tragic events of Paris we do not see the political possibility of respecting them," he added.

He called for "revision" of the EU's policy on migration and wrote that Poland must "retain full control" of its borders.

Syzmanski is taking on the European affairs brief in Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) party, which formed a new government after winning the country's general election in October. The party ran on the pledge that it would refuse the entry of refugees into Poland.

The relocation plan, agreed by the EU in September, would see 160,000 refugees who registered in Italy, Greece and Hungary resettled around the 28 member states of the economic bloc. The plan has faced stiff opposition from central and eastern European countries. European governments overruled opposition from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Poland sided with Germany and France to vote for the proposal but now Szymanski's comments have signalled a policy U-turn in Warsaw.

Of the 160,000, 66,000 were planned to be resettled in the months following the agreement in September with the remaining refugees moving a year later. The nine EU member countries in central and eastern Europe were scheduled to take only 15,000 of the first batch of refugees, half the number France and Germany are scheduled to absorb between them. However, the EU had only relocated 116 refugees as of November 4, The Guardian reported.

After Paris Attacks, Refugees Fear Further Backlash

Mirren Gidda — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 16:38:13 -0500

“I heard the explosions, people screaming,” the man says. “I left a country torn by war, and now war has come to France.”

The man’s name is Assad and he lives near the Stade de France, where two explosions killed four people as deadly attacks ripped through Paris on Friday. The 23-year-old Afghanistan native won’t tell me his last name because he fears for his safety, but as he stands near the metro station at La Chapelle, selling knock-off shoes from a small blanket on the ground, he explains in fluent French how he’s worried about what comes next.

For many refugees like Assad, Friday night’s attacks came as a shock, a sudden reminder of the war-torn countries they have left behind. A day later, however, he and others fear further backlash from the government and French citizens alike. “I’m worried,” says Assad, who has lived in France for three years. “How will people look at us?” These concerns became more acute on Saturday with the news that one of the attackers may have been carrying a Syrian passport and had registered as a refugee on the Greek island of Leros in October.

Yet it’s not only refugees and migrants in the City of Lights who are afraid of a backlash. While Paris was burning, a few hundred miles north, a refugee camp on the outskirts of Calais was on fire. At about 11 p.m. local time, a blaze ripped through at least 40 shelters in the camp, which is known as the Jungle. The fire ignited rumors that the two events were connected, a claim that Aaban, 19, a refugee from Afghanistan who lives in the camp, is quick to refute. “This is not the work of refugees,” he says in a phone interview. “I don’t know who did this but it was not refugees.”

The atmosphere in the camp this morning was tense, Aaban says. The police, he adds, were on high alert and wouldn’t let anyone leave the camp. “They want to blame the Paris attacks on refugees,” says Aaban. “But no one knows what really happened.”

Refugees across Europe say they are feeling reverberations from the attack. “Frankly, last night was...awful,” Khaled Kheet, 31, a Syrian refugee living in the Netherlands, says over the chat app Whatsapp. “I was sad about those innocent people who were killed. But today is different because most people are looking at Arabs and Muslims as if they are murderers. Can you imagine people looking at you as a murderer while you are innocent?”

Kheet expresses hope and doubt that one of the attackers was indeed Syrian. “If they find a Syrian passport that doesn’t mean that who did that is Syrian,” he says. But he concedes that it ultimately doesn’t matter. “European people’s opinion will change anyway,” he says. “We Muslims know that Europe before November 13 is not the Europe after that date.”

Back in Paris, Muslim and non-Muslim refugees alike are hoping for peace in their newly adopted home. “I wish with all my heart that things get better,” says a Christian woman from Ethiopia who moved to Paris two weeks ago and declined to give her name and age. “We are so sad for what has happened. This is our country. When one person dies, we all die.”

Fear and Mourning in Paris’s Muslim Suburbs

Mirren Gidda — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 16:20:25 -0500

Across Paris on Saturday evening, people are in mourning. The chaos and confusion of Friday night has subsided, giving way to a deep sadness as the full impact of the attack sinks in. In France’s banlieue, the mood is tense and uncertain. These suburbs are home to many Muslim immigrants who are now grappling with yet another terrorist attack and the fear that their faith will once again be held responsible.

In the banlieue just outside Porte de la Villette, groups of Muslim migrants from Mauritania sit on the sidewalk grilling corn and barbecuing meat. One of them—who would not give his name or age because he fears for his safety—says he could hear the attack at the Stade de France through his windows. “The police were everywhere,” he says. “I was so scared, I just locked my door and stayed at home.” Much like the rest of France, he is unable to fathom the attackers’ motives. “I am French,” he said. “I am appalled.”

A Mauritanian immigrant sits by his homemade corn grill. A small community of these men meet and cook together in the banlieue. Oscar Lopez for Newsweek

The banlieue, like most of Paris, is eerily empty. Most shops and restaurants are closed, their storefronts hidden behind metal shutters. Down one side street, a convenience store remains open, its shelves stocked with wine, juice and toiletries. The son of the owner, a French-Moroccan Muslim named Mustapha Lamouz, says he laments the attacks. “It will keep happening,” he says, “We had the Charlie Hebdo attacks the same time last year. This kind of thing is continuing all over France.”

Like the man from Mauritania, Lamouz, 24, heard the explosions at the stadium. He lives with his parents nearby. Though terrified by the bombing, he is also angry at his home country. “France is like a cheese—it’s full of holes and people can come in and out of it as they please,” he says.

Hakan Yilmaz, 32, the owner of a Turkish kebab shop close by, agrees. “There are many lost souls, many lost youth in France,” he says. But Yilmaz, though not a religious Muslim, is also disgusted by the way France treats those who practice the faith. “It’s the same problem as the U.S. has with black people,” he says. “The French government supports Jewish people and Israelis, it pays for their faith schools. But it doesn’t support Muslim schools, we have to fund those ourselves.” That’s not in fact true, but it’s representative of how some Muslims, especially those in the suburbs, feel discriminated against and excluded from mainstream French society.

As Yilmaz speaks, his anger rises. “The attacks are a shame,” he says, “but France had it coming because they went into Syria. Russia went in and they lost a plane, Turkey went in and they had a terrorist attack.” Yilmaz shrugs—he is sad but not surprised.

As he prepares to close up shop, down the road dozens of men arrive at the Masjid de Fraternité mosque for afternoon prayers. The service is short and passionate—frequent intonations of “Allahu Akhbar” sound from behind closed doors.

The exterior of the Masjid de la Fraternite mosque. The man leading the sermon, Felix Mehdi told Newsweek France has a "visceral fear" of Islam. Oscar Lopez for Newsweek

As the worshippers leave, an imposing man in all black separates himself from the crowd. Having witnessed the attacks at Stade de France, Felix Mehdi, 36, a community leader who occasionally gives sermons, is quick to emphasize that the horror does not represent his faith. “There are one hundred million Muslims in France, but how many perpetrated the attacks?” he says. “This is not Islam. Not in my name.”

Mehdi, like the kebab shop owner, believes the French state should be held accountable for their involvement in the Syrian Civil War. “Every time that France has entered a war that is not ours, we have been attacked,” he says. “If you want to make war, war will come to you.”

But for Mehdi, the root of the problem lies much deeper—in “a visceral fear of Islam in France.” As Muslims become increasingly alienated from wider French society, Mehdi says radicalism is inevitable. And until France confronts its fear of Islam, he adds, attacks like these will recur.

Those who suffer most, he adds, may in fact be Muslims. “After Charlie Hebdo,” he says, “There was an explosion of Islamophobic attacks on our community. This new set of attacks is just oil for the fire.”

Two doors down in a shop selling Qu’rans, abayas and rugs, 24-year-old Amina Kaima shares Mehdi’s concerns. “Though I don’t wear the hijab, my mother and my sister do,” she says. “When they go outside, people identify them as Muslim, it is dangerous for them.”

Amina Kaima, a 24-year-old sales representative said she feared the attacks would split France into those who support and those who blame Muslims. Oscar Lopez for Newsweek

The attacks, she adds, will split French people into two: Those that blame Muslims and those that do not. “Islam is a religion of peace,” she says. “We hope that people will not confuse us with the Islamic State. Today we have to be more intelligent and not answer with violence. Today what is most important is unity in France—people must fight together and not be divided.”

As darkness falls over the banlieue, the air grows cold. The Mauritanian men are still grilling corn, though some have begun to pack up their things. It’s late and they are tired, exhausted by the knowledge that France is once again a victim of terror and the knowledge that Islam as a whole may once again be blamed.

Timeline: The Islamic State's Attack on Paris

Polly Mosendz — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 16:10:25 -0500

A timeline of the Islamic State's series of attacks on Paris was released by French prosecutor Francois Molins on Saturday during a press conference, detailing numerous suicide bombings, a hostage situation and several attacks on bars and restaurants. The attacks killed 129 and injured 352 more.

A timeline of the events below:

Additional reporting by Reuters and Hanna Sender.

U.S. Wages Air Strike on Islamic State Leader in Libya

Reuters — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 15:27:10 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Saturday it launched an air strike targeting the Islamic State's senior leader in Libya, where the militant group has grown stronger in the chaos following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi four years ago.

The Pentagon said the strike, carried out on Friday, was authorized and planned before the attacks the same day by gunmen and bombers in Paris that killed 127 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the coordinated assault.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed confidence that Abu Nabil, also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, was likely killed in the air strike by F-15 aircraft on a compound in the city of Derna.

"Nabil's death will degrade ISIL's ability to meet the group's objectives in Libya, including recruiting new ISIL members, establishing bases in Libya, and planning external attacks on the United States," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Four years after the overthrow of Gaddafi, Islamic State has steadily grown, controlling the city of Sirte, and worrying Western governments who fear it can only become stronger.

Nabil, an Iraqi national, was a longtime al Qaeda operative and the senior Islamic State leader in Libya, the Pentagon said.

U.S. airstrikes have targeted militants outside the main battlefields of Iraq and Syria, but this strikewas significant because of Nabil's close ties to Islamic State's main leadership, one U.S. official said.

"There's a lot of people around the world who call themselves ISIL. But those are people who have taken the ISIL brand and there's no relationship with the home office," the official said.

"But this guy (Nabil) had a no-kidding relationship back with main ISIL."

Cook said it was the first strike against an Islamic State leader in Libya.

Islamic State is mostly based in Sirte, but they still have some presence in Derna, where they were ousted in July by local Libyan Islamist fighters and residents fed up with the presence of foreign jihadists.

An eye-witness in Derna told Reuters aircraft using night-vision systems carried out air strikes in places controlled by militants of Islamic state in the city's south-east suburb of Fattayah.

Islamic State fighters have left their mark on the North African state. They have massacred Christian Egyptians on a Libyan beach, publicly flogged criminals in Sirte, stormed oilfields, and attacked a five-star Tripoli hotel.

Cook cited reporting suggesting that Nabil might have been the spokesman in a February 2015 Coptic Christian execution video.

International Community Responds to Paris Attacks

Paula Mejia — Sat, 14 Nov 2015 14:47:40 -0500

International communities and world leaders are reeling after a series of coordinated militant attacks in Paris left at least 129 people dead, 352 injured and 99 in critical condition late Friday night.

Mourners have placed flowers in front of French consulates and embassies from Seoul to St. Petersburg, with candle-lit tributes honoring those who perished in attacks that French President Francois Hollande dubbed “an act of war.”

A message is written on a statue near the scene of a shooting the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris , November 14. Yves Herman/Reuters

In a statement, Pope Francis also addressed the attacks as a kind of “war,” and said that he did not understand what could have motivated the attackers. “There is no religious or human justification for [the attacks],” he said, going on to call them part of the “piecemeal Third World War.”

Authorities are continuing to investigate attacks, which militant group ISIS have taken credit for, searching for possible accomplices that could have assisted the gunmen in carrying them out. According to Yahoo News, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also urged for “the entire international community [to] unite efforts” to combat terrorism, and said that Russia is prepared to “closely cooperate” with France moving forward with the investigation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani empathized with the victims of the attack, saying that Iran “itself has been a victim of the scourge of terrorism.” Rouhani has since cancelled his trip to France, reports NBC.

An iconic building standing tall in the wake of another extremist attack—New York City’s One World Trade Center—shone with the blue, white and red colors of the French flag throughout the night on Friday. In Texas, Houston’s City Hall building also beamed with the nation’s colors. U.S. President Barack Obama said in an address that the attacks were “not just on Paris and not just on the people of France, but this is an attack on all of humanity and the universal values that we share."

In a video address, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that he is "shocked, but resolute. In sorrow, but unbowed. My message to the French people is simple: Nous sommes solidaires avec vous. Nous sommes tous ensemble. We stand with you. United." London has also lit up some of its most recognizable landmarks, including the Tower Bridge and the London Eye, with France’s tricolors.

Following the attacks in Paris, the blue, white and red colours of France's national flag are projected onto the London Eye in London, Britain November 14. Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

Outside the French embassy in Berlin, mourners laid out flowers and cards, wielding signs reading “Nous sommes Paris.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel extended her support in the wake of the attacks, saying: "We, your German friends, we feel so close to you. We are crying with you. This attack on freedom is not just against Paris. It targets us all. And it affects us all."

ISIS, whose supporters celebrated the attacks on social media, has warned of future extremist uprisings in France if the nation continued airstrikes and bombings against its militant fighters in Syria. In a video released early on Saturday, the militant group said that the attacks were carried out “to teach France, and all nations following its path, that they will remain at the top of Islamic State’s list of targets, and that the smell of death won’t leave their noses as long as they partake in their crusader campaign.”

Europe has been taking ample precautions since the deadly attacks. On Saturday, German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said that because extremists from France could be on the lam in Germany, and even perpetuate future attacks, the nation has heightened security on air and ground travel. According to BBC, the justice minister of Belgium confirmed that authorities have arrested “a number” of people in Brussels who have been linked to the attacks.

Musicians worldwide have also reacted to the shooting that left at least 87 people dead at the Bataclan Concert Hall during a sold-out Eagles of Death Metal concert. U2, who had been rehearsing in Paris not far from the venue, cancelled their Saturday performance scheduled to air on HBO. Bono, frontman of the Irish rock group, called the attack "the first direct hit on music that we've had in this so-called War on Terror," according to Rolling Stone. Instead, the band laid flowers outside the Bataclan.

Foo Fighters, frequent collaborators and friends of the California band, announced in a statement that they cancelled the rest of their tour: “In light of this senseless violence, the closing of borders, and international mourning, we can't continue right now. There is no other way to say it.”