? Thanks to the US military’s humanitarian intervention, the situation has improved for thousands of Yazidi refugees who fled to a mountain in northern Iraq to evade slaughter by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant forces, said President Obama on Aug. 14. “We broke the ISIL siege of Mt. Sinjar; we helped vulnerable people reach safety; and we helped save many innocent lives,” he said in comments to the press at Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Over the past week, the US military conducted airdrops every night, delivering more than 114,000 meals and 35,000 gallons of fresh water to the refugees, while combat aircraft struck ISIL forces laying siege to the mountain, said Obama. “Because of these efforts, we do not expect there to be an additional operation to evacuate people off the mountain, and it’s unlikely that we’re going to need to continue humanitarian airdrops on the mountain,” he said. He noted that he “could not be prouder of the men and women of our military who carried out this humanitarian operation.” (Obama transcript)
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.