The US delivered 75 Hellfire missiles to Iraq last week, and is providing unarmed reconnaissance drones and other equipment, as well as targeting assistance by the CIA, to help the Maliki government cope with security challenges posed by al Qaeda. Kidnapped US contractor Warren Weinstein, who has been held by al Qaeda in Pakistan since August 2011, appeared in an al Qaeda video asking the Obama administration to negotiate for his release. Sam Rafic Ghanem, a Lebanese owner of a shipping company, was arrested for trying to send weapons and optic devices to Lebanon.
