Hagel says US speeding up training of Iraqi forces to fight ISIS
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Hagel's announcement came the same day the White House confirmed a third American, aid worker and former Army Ranger Peter Kassig, had been beheaded by members of the militant group.
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The Pentagon chief spoke to reporters after observing Army training in California's Mojave Desert on Sunday. He said U.S. special operations troops in Iraq's western Anbar province are getting an early start on the train-and-advise effort.
Hagel said the effort began a few days ago but did not provide any other details.
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According to plans laid out last week, the U.S. expects to train nine Iraqi security forces brigades and three Kurdish Peshmerga brigades. Hagel said the speed-up was recommended by Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
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Hagel's spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said later that Austin believes getting an early start on training Iraqi forces in Anbar may prompt other countries with a stake in the fight against Islamic State to commit trainers to Iraq.
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Approaching the problem of ill-trained and poorly motivated Iraqi soldiers as a coalition rather than as a unilateral U.S. undertaking is a key pillar of U.S. strategy. Partnership is seen as a way of undermining the ideological appeal of Islamic State.
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Kirby said a number of countries have made verbal commitments to provide trainers, but he said he could not identify them because they have yet to publicly announce their intended contributions.
On Thursday, Hagel told Congress that the U.S. and coalition forces are making progress in the fight against the militant group, also known as ISIS of ISIL, but the American people must prepare for a long and difficult struggle.
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"ISIL's advance in parts of Iraq has stalled, and in some cases been reversed, by Iraqi, Kurdish, and tribal forces supported by U.S. and coalition airstrikes," Hagel said in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. "But ISIL continues to represent a serious threat to American interests, our allies, and the Middle East ... and wields influence over a broad swath of territory in western and northern Iraq and eastern Syria."
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The testimony of Hagel and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came just days after President Barack Obama asked Congress for a new $5.6 billion plan to expand the U.S. mission in Iraq and send up to 1,500 more American troops to the war-torn nation.
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Kassig is the fifth Western hostage killed by ISIS in less than three months, and the third American. Previous Western beheading victims were American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Britons David Haines, a former Royal Air Force engineer, and Alan Henning, a taxi driver from northwest England.
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The group is also holding British photojournalist John Cantlie, who has appeared in several other videos released by the group functioning as a de facto spokesman.
The group has declared a self-styled Islamic caliphate in areas under its control, which it governs according to its violent interpretation of Shariah law, including massacring rebellious tribes and selling women and children of religious minorities into slavery.
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The group's militants have also beheaded and shot dead hundreds of captives, mostly Syrian and Iraqi soldiers, during its sweep across the two countries, and has celebrated its mass killings in extremely graphic videos.
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The Islamic State group has its roots in Al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate but was expelled from the global terror network over its brutal tactics and refusal to obey orders to confine its activities to Iraq.
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It became even more extreme amid the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria and grew strong enough to launch a lightning offensive across Iraq.
Syria's war began as an uprising against President Bashar Assad. Activists say that conflict has killed more than 200,000 people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
1 / 5
The New Eclipse Aerospace 550 Personal Jet Enters Service
MARCH 27, 2014
On March 12, Eclipse Aerospace announced the delivery of its first all-new Eclipse 550
personal jet, and the company plans to continue rolling them out from
the assembly plant in Albuquerque, N.M., at the rate of about two per
month. “This is a great entry-level jet for the owner-pilot,” says
Eclipse’s CEO, Mason Holland. “And it’s also an economical tool for the
business owner who sits in the back. We think there are a lot of people
who would like their next plane to be a jet.” The twin-engine light
jet—which can seat as many as six people, though the standard
configuration is for five seats—is designed to be simple and safe to fly
for a single pilot, many of whom are likely to be moving up from a
turboprop or a fast single-engine piston aircraft and flying a jet for
the first time. The company offers both simulator and flight training
for new owners and pilots.
The Eclipse 550 comes standard with new anti-skid brakes that can stop it in as little as 700 feet, and it is the first model in the personal-jet (or very-light-jet) class to offer auto-throttle, a cockpit enhancement that eases pilot workload. The cockpit avionics have been updated with new high-resolution displays and faster processing speeds. The jet can fly at altitudes up to 41,000 feet, reach speeds up to 375 knots, and burn as little as 59 gallons of fuel per hour. It has a range of 1,300 miles.
Holland and his partners bought the original company, Eclipse Aviation, out of bankruptcy in 2009. The new company, Eclipse Aerospace, provides support for the original fleet of 260 airplanes, and for the last few years it has been selling the Total Eclipse, which is the original jet with a thorough factory makeover and multiple updates. The all-new 550 is built from scratch and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It sells for about $2.9 million. Holland says that buyers who order the jet now can take delivery in five to six months. (www.eclipse.aero)
The Eclipse 550 comes standard with new anti-skid brakes that can stop it in as little as 700 feet, and it is the first model in the personal-jet (or very-light-jet) class to offer auto-throttle, a cockpit enhancement that eases pilot workload. The cockpit avionics have been updated with new high-resolution displays and faster processing speeds. The jet can fly at altitudes up to 41,000 feet, reach speeds up to 375 knots, and burn as little as 59 gallons of fuel per hour. It has a range of 1,300 miles.
Holland and his partners bought the original company, Eclipse Aviation, out of bankruptcy in 2009. The new company, Eclipse Aerospace, provides support for the original fleet of 260 airplanes, and for the last few years it has been selling the Total Eclipse, which is the original jet with a thorough factory makeover and multiple updates. The all-new 550 is built from scratch and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It sells for about $2.9 million. Holland says that buyers who order the jet now can take delivery in five to six months. (www.eclipse.aero)
1 / 5
The New Eclipse Aerospace 550 Personal Jet Enters Service
MARCH 27, 2014
On March 12, Eclipse Aerospace announced the delivery of its first all-new Eclipse 550
personal jet, and the company plans to continue rolling them out from
the assembly plant in Albuquerque, N.M., at the rate of about two per
month. “This is a great entry-level jet for the owner-pilot,” says
Eclipse’s CEO, Mason Holland. “And it’s also an economical tool for the
business owner who sits in the back. We think there are a lot of people
who would like their next plane to be a jet.” The twin-engine light
jet—which can seat as many as six people, though the standard
configuration is for five seats—is designed to be simple and safe to fly
for a single pilot, many of whom are likely to be moving up from a
turboprop or a fast single-engine piston aircraft and flying a jet for
the first time. The company offers both simulator and flight training
for new owners and pilots.
The Eclipse 550 comes standard with new anti-skid brakes that can stop it in as little as 700 feet, and it is the first model in the personal-jet (or very-light-jet) class to offer auto-throttle, a cockpit enhancement that eases pilot workload. The cockpit avionics have been updated with new high-resolution displays and faster processing speeds. The jet can fly at altitudes up to 41,000 feet, reach speeds up to 375 knots, and burn as little as 59 gallons of fuel per hour. It has a range of 1,300 miles.
Holland and his partners bought the original company, Eclipse Aviation, out of bankruptcy in 2009. The new company, Eclipse Aerospace, provides support for the original fleet of 260 airplanes, and for the last few years it has been selling the Total Eclipse, which is the original jet with a thorough factory makeover and multiple updates. The all-new 550 is built from scratch and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It sells for about $2.9 million. Holland says that buyers who order the jet now can take delivery in five to six months. (www.eclipse.aero)
The Eclipse 550 comes standard with new anti-skid brakes that can stop it in as little as 700 feet, and it is the first model in the personal-jet (or very-light-jet) class to offer auto-throttle, a cockpit enhancement that eases pilot workload. The cockpit avionics have been updated with new high-resolution displays and faster processing speeds. The jet can fly at altitudes up to 41,000 feet, reach speeds up to 375 knots, and burn as little as 59 gallons of fuel per hour. It has a range of 1,300 miles.
Holland and his partners bought the original company, Eclipse Aviation, out of bankruptcy in 2009. The new company, Eclipse Aerospace, provides support for the original fleet of 260 airplanes, and for the last few years it has been selling the Total Eclipse, which is the original jet with a thorough factory makeover and multiple updates. The all-new 550 is built from scratch and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. It sells for about $2.9 million. Holland says that buyers who order the jet now can take delivery in five to six months. (www.eclipse.aero)
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