The D Brief: No oversight for Afghanistan war?; A SEAL in hot water; Command Master Chief: it’s the mess’ fault!; An Ebola care center rises; and a bit more.

A spring offensive: The Iraqis are preparing a big anti-Islamic State offensive with assistance from the U.S. The NYT’s Michael Gordon and Eric Schmitt from Washington on Page One: "Iraqi security forces, backed by American-led air power and hundreds of advisers, are planning to mount a major spring offensive against Islamic State fighters who have poured into the country from Syria, a campaign that is likely to face an array of logistical and political challenges. The goal is to break the Islamic State’s occupation in northern and western Iraq, and establish the Iraqi government’s control over Mosul and other population centers, as well as the country’s major roads and its border with Syria by the end of 2015, according to American officials.

“…As the push to train Iraq’s military gathers momentum, the American footprint is likely to expand from Baghdad and Erbil to additional outposts, including Al Asad Air Base in Iraq’s embattled Anbar Province in the west, and possibly Taji, 20 miles north of Baghdad.

"The effort to rebuild Iraq’s fighting capability faces hurdles, including the risk that the Islamic State will use the intervening months to entrench in western and northern Iraq and carry out more killings.

“The United States currently does not plan to advise Iraqi forces below the level of a brigade, which in the Iraqi Army usually has some 2,000 troops.” More here.

ISIS is making gains in areas like Idlib, where Western-backed forces had been trying to hold the line. Thomas Joscelyn for The Long War Journal: “The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, has consolidated its control over several towns and villages in the northwestern province of Idlib. The Al Nusrah Front's gains have come at the expense of the Syrian Revolutionaries' Front (SRF), which had been closely allied with Al Nusrah despite receiving Western support. In recent days, Al Nusrah expanded its campaign against the SRF.” More here.

It’s time Turkey starts playing a long game against ISIS. The Islamic State group is a far greater threat to Ankara than the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, will ever be, warns former CIA counterterrorism analyst Aki Peritz on CNN, here.

Syria’s al-Qaeda-backed Jabhat al Nusra snagged headlines with Saturday’s offensive against a prominent U.S.-backed rebel commander in the north. Mousab Alhamadee and Roy Gutman for McClatchy: “Jamal Maarouf, a contractor in private life, became internationally known for leading the successful offensive in January that forced the Islamic State from most of two northern provinces. His ouster from his own village was an enormous setback for him, the rebel forces and his international backers… The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based opposition monitoring group, said Islamic State fighters had arrived from the east of Syria to join the al Qaida affiliate in the fight against Maarouf’s Revolutionaries of Syria Front…” If that’s in fact the case, McClatchy says, “it will have major repercussions for the war in Syria, for the two groups have been divided since April 2013, when Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the Iraq-based leader, announced the creation of the Islamic State. Nusra had supported the rebel war against Assad until very recently and also was at war with the Islamic State.” More here.

Meantime, regarding the Re-Forgotten War: Defense One's own Molly O'Toole has this bit about how as the war in Afghanistan winds down, Congress has little appetite for oversight, as it turns out: “By several key measures, the waste and corruption that has plagued the Afghanistan reconstruction effort for the past 13 years is as bad as it’s ever been… When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., on Nov. 12, it will have to decide whether to pass another stop-gap measure and simply extend the level of funding, or, more likely, tuck all of the appropriations bills—including the Overseas Contingency Operation’s budget request, which funds the war in Afghanistan—into a giant, $1 trillion-plus omnibus bill to fund the government through the fiscal year until the end of next September.”

That Afghanistan’s elections (eventually) concluded without major disruptions by the Taliban is the strongest indication yet that the ANSF is on its feet, DOD says in its biannual report to Congress. Tony Capaccio for Bloomberg, here.

Ghani strikes a new tone in Kabul. The WSJ’s Margherita Stancati: “…The new Afghan president regularly meets Gen. Campbell and often invites him to his residence for long, impromptu discussions—something that didn’t happen under his predecessor, Hamid Karzai… In another break from the past, Gen. Campbell has been attending meetings of the Afghan National Security Council.

And this: “With input from the foreign military, Mr. Ghani is assessing the leadership structure and capabilities of Afghanistan’s own armed forces…” More here.

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Mid-terms are tomorrow and troops are hardly impressed with their ballot options—or the outlook for the months ahead, Leo Shane reports in a nice little interactive piece over at Military Times: “Results of the most recent annual Military Times Poll of more than 2,200 active-duty troops show growing frustration with gridlocked congressional politics, mirroring low approval ratings for national lawmakers in recent polls. More than one-third of readers who responded to the Military Times Poll said that neither Democrats nor Republicans have been a strong advocate for the military, and 44 percent think both major political parties have become less supportive of military issues in recent years. Only 12 percent believe both parties have the armed forces’ best interests at heart.” More here.

From the Department of Who Knew? Defense One’s Patrick Tucker slipped this one in Friday: If “robot driving” was more like Call of Duty, lives could actually be saved: Defense One's Tucker: “A team from Sweden was able to greatly improve the ability of operators to perform tasks with remotely piloted emergency robots by making the bots steer less like tanks and more like a first-person shooter video game like Call of Duty. It’s a small change that could save lives in an environment where an emergency robot has a limited amount of time to perform a life or death task like finding a survivor in a collapsed building.”

Who's doing what today? NATO's military commander Gen. Philip Breedlove takes the podium at the Pentagon briefing room at 9 a.m. …  Chuck Hagel welcomes Tunisia's Defense Minister Ghazi Jeribi to the building at 2 p.m. … and for the next three days, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Odierno is in Germany's Weisbaden and Vilseck for the U.S. Army Europe change of command… Wanna get free press for the boss? Send us what he or she is doing and we’ll stick it in right here.

Families of United 93 passengers got a tour of the Pentagon. Last week, at the America Abroad Media awards dinner at the Mellon Auditorium, diners honored film director Paul Greengrass, the director behind the movie Captain Phillips and also United 93, the movie about the fourth plane that was hijacked and recreated largely from the help and support of victims of United 93. Family members of passengers were there to honor Greengrass. That included two family members of passenger Linda Gronlund – Linda Gronlund’s mother, 90-year-old Doris, and Linda Gronlund’s sister, Elsa, both invited by the Pentagon’s former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Doug Wilson, who co-chaired the dinner.

But many of the families of United 93 passengers have never seen the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. Or, for that matter, the Pentagon itself.  So Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby, who sat with the Gronlunds, invited the two, along with other family members, to a tour of the Pentagon and the 9/11 Memorial the next day. We’re told the family was thrilled since many have never been to the Pentagon at all.

Kirby, to D Brief, on the Gronlunds: “Terrificly brave women…After their tour I arranged for them to watch my press briefing live in the briefing room.”

Also at the table last Thursday: Deputy White House Press Secretary Shawn Turner (the former Marine turned DNI spokesman turned White House spox) and National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan.

No such thing as bad press? The legal troubles plaguing former SEAL and author of the tell-all “No Easy Day,” Matt Bissonnette, are crowding out the review of his new book, “No Hero.” WaPo’s Dan Lamothe spoke to the former SEAL and has this: “Bissonnette blames bad legal advice for not having the first book reviewed by the Defense Department to make sure no secrets were released, even hinting cryptically 'that there is some stuff going on' when asked if he may pursue litigation against his former attorney, who has not been identified. But Special Operations troops have not all bought that argument, saying Bissonnette knew better and alleging that he was chasing a big paycheck. His book has sold more than 1 million hard copies, according to a source in book publishing with knowledge of its sales.”

By the way: what does Bissonnette think about Fox News’ doing a splashy piece on the SEAL who actually shot Bin Laden, identifying him, and out in a couple weeks: Bissonnette: “Not touching it with a 10-foot pole,” he said. More here.

60 Minutes also interviewed Matt Bissonnette about his legal problems.  60 Minutes did another sit-down with him last night and the report talked about the criminal investigation into his book—and that bit about Night Vision Goggles.

Scott Pelley, at the end of the segment: “If you are able to reach a settlement of this criminal investigation with the government, what will that mean to you?

Mark Owen: “A huge weight off my shoulders. I don't feel as if I've officially moved on and out of the military because I still feel like I'm somewhat under the thumb of this issue. And I would love more than anything to just move past that, move on with my life and figure out what life has in store for me.” Watch, read it here.

Azimuth check for SEALS: Living up to the SEALs’ “Quiet Professionals” ethos requires as much discipline in silence as it does in tactical professionalism, Naval Special Warfare Command’s top commander and enlisted man said in a statement to its troops Friday: “At Naval Special Warfare’s core is the SEAL Ethos. A critical tenant of our Ethos is ‘I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions.’ Our Ethos is a life-long commitment and obligation, both in and out of the service. Violators of our Ethos are neither Teammates in good standing, nor Teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare. We do not abide selfish or willful disregard for our core values in return for public notoriety and financial gain, which only diminishes otherwise honorable courage, service and sacrifice.” Read that statement in full, here.

The Not-So-Quiet Professional gets free drinks. On the off-chance you missed this gem from former Marine Corps PAO Lt. Col. Rob Riggle less than two weeks after bin Laden was killed, watch this now.

BTW, where’s the professionalism here? Cuz it ain’t his fault. Navy Times’ Meghann Myers: “Command Master Chief James Shumate had an off-color style. At Strike Fighter Squadron 86, Shumate had a habit of kissing, touching and inviting women of all ranks to go home with him—especially his own junior sailors at the Lemoore, California-based F/A-18E squadron.

When confronted about this, Shumate said he was disappointed that his chief’s mess hadn’t done more—to stop him. ‘And just, for the record, I’m kind of disappointed in my mess, for this, in Fallon, that they didn’t do anything to stop me,’ Shumate said, according to a newly released command report.” More here.

And there’s this: Naval Academy Professor Bruce Flemming speaks out—and gets flak for it. The WaPo’s Annys Shin, here.  

Can a U.S. built Ebola care center make a different in a town in Liberia? The WaPo’s Kevin Sieff asks the question, and reports the story from Ganta, Liberia, here.

More from overseas: the government of Burkina Faso is now led by a lieutenant colonel whose troops are clearing rowdy protesters from the capital. Reuters from Ouagadougou: “[President Blaise] Compaore's 27 years in charge of the landlocked former French colony ended abruptly on Friday after two days of mass protests aimed at thwarting his bid to change the constitution to extend his rule… The head of the United Nations Office for West Africa joined the United States and the African Union in rejecting the army's seizure of power but expressed cautious optimism about a return to civilian rule… Under Burkina Faso's constitution, the head of the National Assembly should take office if the president resigns, with a mandate to organize elections within 90 days. However the army has dissolved the legislature and suspended the constitution.” More from Reuters this morning, here.

Dynamite-armed gunmen freed at least 50 prisoners in Nigeria on Sunday, only some of which were re-captured by police. AFP, this hour.

ICYMI Sunday: The Pentagon scales back DIA’s “spy surge,” masterminded by Mike Vickers and first announced in late 2012. WaPo’s Greg Miller has this follow-up: “Under the revised blueprint, the Defense Intelligence Agency will train and deploy up to 500 undercover officers, roughly half the size of the espionage network envisioned two years ago when the formation of the Defense Clandestine Service was announced… The shift represents a retreat by Pentagon officials who had sought to transform a spy service long seen as second string to the CIA, repositioning it for an era of more dispersed threats after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan…” Why’s DOD pumping the brakes? “The push to dramatically expand the DCS met almost immediate opposition on Capitol Hill, particularly from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, many of whom were particularly hostile to the idea, in part out of concern that the terms were too generous to the CIA.” More here.