Syria: Set to ally,hit Islamic State

BEIRUT -- Syria said Monday that it was ready to help confront the rising threat from the Islamic State group but warned the United States against carrying out airstrikes without Damascus' consent, saying any such attack would be considered an aggression.

Syria seemed intent on capitalizing on the growing clamor among some U.S. officials to expand the current American air campaign against the Islamic extremists in Iraq and to hit them in Syria as well.

President Barack Obama has been wary of getting dragged into the Syrian civil war that the United Nations says has killed more than 190,000 people.

But the extremist group's rampage across Iraq, declaration of an Islamic caliphate, or state, in territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border, and grisly beheading of an American journalist, have injected a new dynamic into those calculations. Now, Obama faces pressure from his own military leaders to go after the extremists inside Syria.

U.S. studying howto stall Afghan exit

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Pentagon has developed plans that would allow American forces to remain in Afghanistan beyond the end of the year if the contested presidential election drags on and a security agreement isn't signed soon, the top U.S. military officer said Monday.

Shortly before landing in Kabul for a visit, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, said that under optimal circumstances the U.S. would need about 120 days to pull all troops and equipment out of the country if there is no agreement allowing them to stay into 2015.

Dempsey arrived in Afghanistan to attend the change of U.S. command in the war effort.

The transition comes at a critical time as the election of a new president is stalled while an audit is conducted to determine the outcome.

Pakistani: Sharifmust go in 2 days

ISLAMABAD -- A Pakistani cleric leading a mass anti-government rally in front of Parliament issued a 48-hour deadline Monday for the country's prime minister to step down, saying he's prepared to die to see it happen.

Tahir-ul-Qadri showed protesters a white burial shroud in a speech issuing the deadline for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has refused to step down.

"I am giving this deadline today as I am ready to be martyred and I have taken the last bath today," Qadri said.

It's not clear what Qadri plans to do after his deadline expires, though some have feared protesters may try to enter the Parliament building, which is protected by soldiers.

Qadri and opposition politician Imran Khan separately led tens of thousands of people from eastern city of Lahore to Islamabad, protesting against alleged vote fraud in the 2013 elections that brought Sharif to power.

Backed by Parliament and many political parties, Sharif has said he won't step down. Government negotiators are trying to persuade Qadri and Khan to end their protest and back off the demand for Sharif's resignation.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

A Section on 08/26/2014