Continuing Resolution Relieves Pressure But Maintains Suspense Until Mid Terms

Latest updates[?]: A continuing resolution buys time until after the mid-terms, whose result will determine whether FY15 will be wrapped up with a huge omnibus bill or separate appropriations laws.

The Obama administration, including DoD, rolled out their FY2015 budget request on March 4, alongside the release of the new quadrennial defense review (QDR). Even with this year’s partial rollback of sequestration, cuts were still on the agenda, but by the end of May the House of Representatives made clear it was not interested. Senate authorizers and House appropriators didn’t seem much more inclined not to fiddle with the executive’s budget allocations, with the exception of a huge blank check for war funding.

Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor Reportedly Averted Several ISIS Plots

• A Belgian newspaper reported over the weekend that Belgium’s federal prosecutor had foiled several terrorist attacks in past months that had been planned by jihadists coming back from Syria. Another report, from the Het Laatste Nieuws tabloid, alleged that explosives had been found during a bust in Brussels before they could be used against a European Commission building, but these allegations were denied by the Federal Prosecutor. The Guardian | Deutche Welle | L’Echo [in French].

• General Michael Nagata will head [Daily Beast] the US effort to support rebels fighting against ISIS in Syria.

• The UK’s Telegraph reviews how Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists. They note that Gerd Müller – Germany’s Economic Cooperation minister – had accused Qatar [ZDF, in Bavarian German] of financing ISIL troops last month. But they forget to mention that the Germans then quickly backtracked [Middle East Monitor]. Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani assured [WSJ] Chancellor Merkel a few days ago that his country “has never and will never support terror organizations.”