Obama Tangos as Brussels Bleeds

Air Force Wife Injured in Brussels Attacks Dies...

Air Force Wife Injured in Brussels Attacks Dies
Mar 30, 2016 | WASHINGTON -- The wife of an Air Force officer caught at Brussels Airport during the recent terrorist attacks there died as a result of her injuries, according to news reports.
Gail Minglana Martinez, 41, was the wife of Air Force Lt. Col. Kato Martinez. The Martinez family was at the airport March 22 when terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State group detonated suitcase bombs near the security screening and check-in area. Martinez is from Corpus Christi, Texas, and one of four Americans killed in the Brussels attacks. Her husband and four children remain hospitalized. Air Force officials declined to confirm reports of her death, citing privacy concerns.

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Gail Minglana Martinez who died from injuries sustained in the March 22, 2016, Brussels attack is seen with her husband, Lt. Col. Kato Martinez​

On tributes posted to the social media websites Twitter and Facebook, family members grieved the loss of Martinez, whom they remembered as "fearless." "Our family is still in shock over the loss of our family member Gail," her cousin Edwina Minglana posted to Twitter. "#Brussels." In describing how Gail Minglana Martinez lived out her life, Edwina Minglana wrote: "Nothing was a barrier. You were the influential leader among all of us cousins."

Martinez had just celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary. Her Facebook page is filled with pictures of her family's travels in Europe during Kato Martinez' assignment to Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum. Martinez had selected a J.R.R. Tolkien quote for her page, which was posted at the top with photos of the family in front of several of Europe's famous landmarks. "Not all those who wander are lost," she posted. According to the latest reports, 32 people died in the attacks and more than 270 were injured.

Air Force Wife Injured in Brussels Attacks Dies | Military.com

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After Brussels, Leaders Tackling Threat of Nuclear Terrorism
Mar 30, 2016 | WASHINGTON — World leaders are wrestling with the chilling prospect of the Islamic State group unleashing a nuclear attack on a major city.
Still reeling from attacks in Brussels and Paris, world leaders are wrestling this week with the chilling prospect of the Islamic State group or other extremists unleashing a nuclear attack on a major Western city. Preventing terrorists from obtaining nuclear materials is the central focus as President Barack Obama hosts leaders from roughly 50 countries for a nuclear security summit starting Thursday. Despite three previous summits and six years of Obama's prodding, security officials warn that the ingredients for a nuclear device or a "dirty bomb" are alarmingly insecure. "We know that terrorist organizations have the desire to get access to these raw materials and to have a nuclear device," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. Still, the White House said there was no indication of an imminent plot.

Decades after the Cold War, the threat of a nuclear war between superpowers has given way to growing concerns about non-state actors, including Islamic State and al-Qaida offshoots operating in North Africa and in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Although the U.S. and its allies still worry about North Korea, Obama believes the threat posed by Iran has subsided due to the nuclear deal, leaving extremist groups among the likeliest perpetrators. The havoc such an attack could wreak in an urban area like New York or London is concerning enough that leaders scheduled a special session on the threat during the two-day summit. U.S. officials said the leaders would discuss a hypothetical scenario about a chain of events that could lead to nuclear terrorism.

Those concerns have taken on heightened significant following the March 22 attacks at a Brussels airport and subway station. Last year, authorities searching the apartment of two brothers linked to earlier attacks in Paris found video of a senior official at a Belgian nuclear waste facility. The brothers were part of the Islamic State cell that went on to strike Brussels; both died in the attacks. On the summit's sidelines, Obama planned to meet with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan, who all share U.S. concerns about North Korea's nuclear program.

Yet other key players will be missing. Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to attend, as Moscow scoffed at what it deemed U.S. efforts to take control of the process. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif canceled his trip following an Easter bombing that killed 72 people. Some 2,000 metric tons of highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium being used in civilian or military programs could be turned into a nuclear bomb if stolen or diverted, the White House said. And fewer than half of the countries participating in the summit have even agreed to secure their sources of radiological material, needed for a dirty bomb. "The policies are moving in the right direction," said Joe Cirincione, who runs the nuclear security group Ploughshares Fund. "But when you're fleeing a forest fire, it's not just a question of direction, it's a question of speed."

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