The US will set up “interim zones of stability” in the fight against ISIS, but allied nations must do more militarily and financially to combat the group, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the 68 nations united in the fight against ISIS, TIllerson said while the US government is putting together a “more defined course of action,” the US will “increase our pressure on ISIS and al-Qaida and will work to establish interim zones of stability through ceasefires to allow refugees to go home.” Tillerson did not say where these zones would be established, or if they would effectively be “safe zones” that require additional military commitment. The US is responsible for about 75 percent of the total military effort in the fight, and the allied nations must do more in the continued battle, Tillerson said. “The United States will do its part, but the circumstances on the ground require more from all of you,” he told attending nations at the Washington, D.C., meeting. “I ask each country to examine how it can best support these vital stabilization efforts, especially in regard to contribution of military and financial resources.”
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
