--- title: Morning Must Reads: September 17 description: General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq Plan If the U.S.-led effort to "degrade and destroy" ISIS falls short, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs... canonical: https://time.com/3392842/morning-must-reads-september-17/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-17T11:52:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:13:55.198Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: September 17 og:description: General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq Plan If the U.S.-led effort to "degrade and destroy" ISIS falls short, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs... og:url: https://time.com/3392842/morning-must-reads-september-17/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morning Must Reads: September 17 twitter:description: General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq Plan If the U.S.-led effort to "degrade and destroy" ISIS falls short, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Morning Must Reads: September 17 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 17, 2014 11:52 AM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 17, 2014 11:52 AM UTC [General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq Plan](http://time.com/3387902/dempsey-obama-iraq-war-plan/) If the U.S.-led effort to “degrade and destroy” ISIS falls short, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday he would ask President Obama to send at least a limited number of American ground-combat forces to help get the job done [Netflix’s Plan to Conquer the World](http://time.com/3387727/netflix-launch-france-germany-europe/) The streaming service is rolling out in six new European countries this week, which will expose the company to millions of new customers [Urine Tests Can Diagnose HPV](http://time.com/3387951/urine-test-hpv/) They’re not here yet, but urine tests could be game-changing, a new analysis says, as a possible alternative to pap smears [Why (Most) Sponsors Aren’t Pulling Out of the NFL](http://time.com/3387449/why-most-sponsors-arent-pulling-out-of-the-nfl/) Although the league has drawn heavy criticism for how it has handled domestic-violence scandals around players Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, few brands besides Radisson have gone as far as canceling their sponsorships. TIME’s Charlotte Alter examines why [N.Y. Man Indicted on Charges of Helping ISIS](http://time.com/3390042/ny-man-mufid-elfgeeh-indicted-isis-terrorism-terror/) A 30-year-old man from Rochester was charged Tuesday with three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, one count of attempted murder of current and former members of the U.S. military, and three counts of weapons-related offenses [U.N. Chief: Ebola Is ‘Beyond Health Issues’](http://time.com/3390865/un-ban-ki-moon-ebola-beyond-health-issues/) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has “gone beyond health issues” and could even affect the political stability of the region. The virus has killed more than 2,400 people and there have been nearly 5,000 reported cases [Sony Forecasts $2 Billion Loss as Its Smartphones Lag](http://time.com/3392887/sony-losses/) Sony expects its annual loss to swell to $2 billion and cited intense competition as a major factor, especially from Chinese rivals; the tech giant has canceled dividends for the first time in more than half a century after writing down the value of its troubled smartphone business [Scottish Athletes Face Tough Choice in Referendum](http://time.com/3389556/british-sports-fans-scotland-independence-referendum/) Should Scotland opt out of the United Kingdom, and they go with it, they risk losing out on the benefits of British funding, coaching and facilities. Even if they stay with Team Great Britain, they’ll have a harder time earning the love of English and Welsh fans [American Arrested Trying to Swim to North Korea](http://time.com/3388914/us-citizen-arrested-swim-north-korea-kenneth-bae-matthew-miller-jeffrey-fowle/) South Korean soldiers arrested a U.S. citizen who attempted to swim across the Han River to North Korea; a Defense Ministry spokesperson told reporters the man detained on Tuesday night claimed to be wanting to “meet with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un” [Report Claims Tech Giants Don’t Take Harassment Seriously](http://time.com/3387979/twitter-youtube-facebook-user-abuse/) The Association for Progressive Communications’ Women’s Rights Program mapped Twitter, Facebook and YouTube’s policies for reporting and resolving instances of harassment or violence against women—and gave each a failing grade [_Ben-Hur_](http://time.com/3390067/ben-hur-remake-jack-huston-charlton-heston-boardwalk-empire-timur-bekmambetov-morgan-freeman/)[ Remake Will Star Jack Huston](http://time.com/3390067/ben-hur-remake-jack-huston-charlton-heston-boardwalk-empire-timur-bekmambetov-morgan-freeman/) The English actor, best known for his role in _Boardwalk Empire_, will star alongside Morgan Freeman in a remake of the Oscar-winning 1959 movie to be directed by Timur Bekmambetov. The film is scheduled to be released in 2016 [Stakes High at China-India Talks](http://time.com/3391930/china-india-xi-jinping-narendra-modi-visit/) President Xi Jinping arrives in India on Wednesday, making the first visit by a Chinese head of state in eight years, and underscoring the increasingly important ties between the world’s two most populous nations. Both will aim to focus on business and avoid tension [_Get_ ](http://time.com/politicsemail)[TIME](http://time.com/politicsemail)[_’s_ ](http://time.com/politicsemail)[_The Brief e-mail every morning in your inbox_](http://time.com/politicsemail) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3392842/morning-must-reads-september-17/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3392842/morning-must-reads-september-17/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: September 17","datePublished":"2014-09-17T11:52:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:13:55.198Z","description":"General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq Plan If the U.S.-led effort to \"degrade and destroy\" ISIS falls short, Army Gen. 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