Month: June 2017

Comey’s Release of Trump Memo to Newspaper Draws Criticism

Posted on by SeeUS

When former FBI Director James Comey revealed Thursday that he orchestrated a disclosure of damaging details about his conversations with President Donald Trump, he demonstrated his savvy use of media and his skills as a Washington operator. He also kicked up a hornet’s nest of questions about the legal and ethical implications of the move.

Trump’s personal lawyer made Comey’s secret gambit a central piece of his defense of the president against the fired lawman’s testimony. Attorney Marc Kasowitz claimed Comey made “unauthorized disclosures” of privileged communications. He said he would leave it to the “appropriate authorities” to determine whether Comey’s plan should be investigated along with the leaks of material that have infuriated Trump.

But Comey seemed unconcerned about that prospect when he acknowledged the move Thursday before a throng of cameras and a packed Senate intelligence committee hearing room.

With vivid detail, he told the panel when the idea dawned on him — “in the middle of the night” — and what moved him to act. He said he was reacting to Trump’s cryptic tweet saying Comey better hope there are no tapes of their disputed conversations about the Russia investigation into election-season hacking. Comey said the president’s message convinced him he needed to get his account, detailed in contemporaneous memos, out quickly.

 

“My judgment was, I needed to get that out into the public square. And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter,” Comey testified. “I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”

Timeline doesn’t match

The friend, who was later identified as Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, read part of the memo to a reporter from The New York Times, according to the newspaper. The paper reported Trump had asked Comey to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

 

Kasowitz has denied that account, but he also argued that Comey’s move “unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president.” He claimed that The New York Times quoted from the memo before Trump’s tweet, although that is not born out by the timeline. Trump issued his warning online on May 12, three days after Comey was fired and four days before the newspaper reported on the information in the memo, which was recounted by Comey associates. A special counsel was appointed the following week.

Comey contended that the material was not classified or protected.

Still, experts debated the legality of Comey’s secret back channel. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, suggested it was at minimum unprofessional and possibly unethical or even illegal.

Are memos government property?

Turley contended that the memos were written in the style of the standardized forms agents use to summarize interviews, documents known as 302s, and were likely typed on an FBI computer and, therefore, could be considered government property. That would make stealing, selling or conveying it a crime, Turley said.

“This doesn’t strike me as a daily diary,” Turley said. “You don’t keep your diary on an FBI computer and write passages during work hours about a work-related meeting. He knew he was preparing something that was evidentiary in nature.”

Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, disagreed. It’s hard to view the memo as government property, and it was shared, not lost or stolen, so it would not likely qualify as a crime, he said. And Comey discussed the contents of the memo in an open congressional hearing, which means the material he shared with his friend would not have been classified, Aftergood said.

“At this point, Comey is not a government employee, and he is not under the direction of the president, and so I don’t see a legal or procedural bar,” Aftergood said. “He’s being totally above board about it, and if anybody wants to say that’s wrong, he is standing by his actions. If anybody wants to pursue him, he has made himself available, and that’s the most anyone can ask for.”

Finds the spotlight

Comey’s confirmation that he was behind the disclosure was not a shock to many in Washington. The lawman is known for understanding how to find the spotlight.

 

He defied FBI norms by making public pronouncements about the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, including during the campaign’s final days, drawing the ire of those who believe he tipped the electoral scales to Trump.

That came nearly a decade after Comey, whom Trump recently derided as “a showboat,” first stepped onto the national stage with testimony about his hospital visit with the attorney general to prevent the reauthorization of a domestic surveillance program.

That he would have another star turn came with little surprise, according to Tobe Berkovitz, a political media consultant who now teaches at Boston University.

“He absolutely knows what levers to pull, when to pull them, how things are going to play,” said Berkovitz. “He’s very clear about his own image and persona and clearly revels in the media spotlight.”

 
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Pence Expresses Support for Cyprus Peace Talks

Posted on by SeeEU

Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the United States supported peace talks on Cyprus aimed at reunifying the divided island.

Pence hosted Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the White House on Thursday. The White House said Pence expressed hope that Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders “will agree to a settlement that would reunify Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation to the benefit of all Cypriots.”

Pence also thanked Cyprus for its support for the Middle East peace talks and the fight against Islamic State.

Anastasiades said that he invited Pence to visit the island and that “what satisfied me most is that the U.S. acknowledged the role Cyprus plays as a result of its excellent relations with all its neighboring nations.”

Cyprus has been split between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded in response to a military coup aimed at unifying the island with Greece.

The south is recognized as the sole Cypriot government, while only Turkey recognizes a separate Turkish Cypriot north.

U.N.-sponsored reunification talks have been slow because of several sensitive issues, including Turkish demands that Turkish forces be allowed to stay on the island. The Greek Cypriots want them to leave.
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US Shoots Down Pro-regime Drone that Fired Upon Coalition Forces in Syria

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A U.S. military aircraft shot down an armed, pro-Syrian government drone Thursday after it fired upon U.S.-led coalition members on patrol in southern Syria, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said.

The incident was the first time that pro-regime forces attempted to strike coalition forces in the area surrounding al-Tanf, an army base where members of the coalition are training Syrians to fight Islamic State, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon by video call from Baghdad.

Local counter-Islamic State fighters were patrolling with coalition troops about 60 kilometers east of al-Tanf base when the drone, similar in size to an MQ-1 Predator, launched a munition that failed to detonate, multiple officials told VOA.

“It hit dirt; it didn’t hit any coalition forces,” Dillon said, adding that the munition caused no casualties and no damage to equipment, but was “clearly meant as an attack.”

Another U.S. military official told VOA that American troops were part of the targeted patrol.

About 40 pro-regime forces have set up camp overlooking a major road northwest of al-Tanf, in an area inside an established deconfliction zone that reaches about 55 kilometers around the base, according to officials. A larger contingency of pro-regime forces is patrolling northwest of the base outside of the established deconfliction zone.

“Our patrols were in the opposite direction of where the regime forces were,” Dillon said.

Earlier in the day, the U.S.-led coalition said it also destroyed two pro-regime armed technical vehicles — essentially trucks with guns attached — that were advancing toward coalition forces within the deconfliction zone.

The coalition has said its mission is to defeat Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, but its forces always reserve the right to defend themselves against any threat.

A statement from U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, stressed that “the coalition does not seek to fight the Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them.”

Thursday marks the third time coalition forces have struck pro-Syrian government forces in less than one month, forces that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said are believed to be “Iranian directed.”

In all three instances — May 18, Tuesday and Thursday — the coalition targeted armed vehicles, tanks and construction vehicles that could be used to establish defensive positions. None of the strikes so far has targeted the pro-regime forces who are stationed along a major road inside the deconfliction zone, but coalition forces continue to urge those forces to leave.

“They have not presented a threat. They have not continued to move toward our forces in al-Tanf garrison, but we will continue to attempt to get them to vacate the area,” Dillon said.

Michael O’Hanlon, a senior defense fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA on Thursday that the U.S. and Iran are now in “direct competition for certain access points inside eastern Syria.”

“We don’t necessarily want that for ourselves, but we don’t want it for Iran,” O’Hanlon said.

He said the U.S.-led coalition doesn’t feel the need to concede territory there due to the lack of Iranian constituencies in the Sunni-majority area and the need to continue developing assets there to defeat Islamic State.

Meanwhile, Iranians sense an opportunity from the instability in Syria to create a continuous land bridge from Iran to the Mediterranean, according to O’Hanlon.

Raqqa

The attempted pro-regime drone attack comes as Syrian Democratic Forces entered their third day on the operation to defeat Islamic State forces in the terror group’s de-facto capital, Raqqa.

Dillon told reporters the SDF already have a “foothold into the eastern part of Raqqa city center.”

“Our forces are making swift advances,” Zagros Qamishlo, a commander of SDF Kurdish element People’s Protection Units, told VOA. She added that her team had pushed one kilometer into the eastern city limits.

U.S. officials estimate that there are about 2,500 Islamic State fighters inside the city and its suburbs. Those on the front lines say Islamic State militants are fighting back with a barrage of suicide car bombs and suicide fighters.

“A group of IS thugs tried to reverse our advances but coalition airplanes came to our support,” Siwar Rozh, an SDF fighter, told VOA.

VOA footage of the scene shows thick smoke has covered the skyline over the city as SDF members are trying to push down into the IS neighborhoods.

A VOA reporter who visited areas captured by SDF Thursday said engineers have started clearing mines and booby traps to fully secure the buildings.

SDF commanders told VOA they have made arrangements to open safety corridors for civilians as they expect thousands to flee the fighting.

The International Rescue Committee estimates 200,000 people are trapped in the city and are at risk of being killed by IS if they attempt to flee or being used as human shields if they remain.

According to the anti-IS Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently group, civilians also face the risk of heavy coalition airstrikes as IS tries to hide among them. It said IS has confiscated most civilian houses that contain shelter spaces or basements.

Mahmoud Bali contributed to this story from Raqqa, Syria.
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Diplomats: US Wary of French Push for UN to Back Sahel Force

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The United States is wary of a French push for the U.N. Security Council to authorize a West African force to combat terrorism and trafficking in the Sahel region because it does not want the world body to help fund it, diplomats said on Thursday.

France circulated a draft Security Council resolution on Tuesday to the 15-member body that would approve the force using “all necessary means” and ask U.N. chief Antonio Guterres to report on options for U.N. support to the operation.

Closed-door negotiations began on Wednesday, and diplomats said the United States would prefer the council give its blessing in a statement instead of a resolution and encourage bilateral support for the West African force.

The European Union has already committed $56 million to the Sahel force.

The United States supports the force “in principle as a potentially important example of African efforts to fight extremism on the continent,” a U.S. official said, but noted that a U.N. resolution was not the only way to provide political

support.

The official said U.N. authorization was not needed because the force already had the approval of the countries where it would deploy, likening it to a joint task force in the Lake Chad Basin fighting Boko Haram, which has council political support but no official authorization.

“Further, we find the mandate of the force way too broad, lacking precision; and would set a dangerous precedent by providing authorization for lethal force for a broad spectrum of activities including operations to ‘eradicate’ undefined

criminal networks,” the official said.

The vast, arid Sahel region has in recent years become a breeding ground for jihadist groups — some linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State — that European nations, particularly France, fear could threaten Europe if left unchecked.

“The African Union and the secretary-general have asked the council to authorize this Sahel force,” France’s U.N. ambassador, Francois Delattre, told reporters on Thursday. “It is important that the whole Security Council gets united behind this draft.”

The United States is currently trying to cut the cost of U.N. peacekeeping and is reviewing each of the 16 missions as they come up for Security Council renewal. Washington is the largest contributor, paying 28.5 percent of the $7.9 billion peacekeeping budget.

President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 proposed budget would cut $1 billion from the U.S. contribution to U.N. peacekeeping, although Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, and Democrats have said they do not support drastic cuts.

Last year, the Sahel nations — Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania — proposed establishing special units, each of around 100 well-trained soldiers, which would be deployed in areas where jihadist groups are known to operate.

They would complement the efforts of regular armed forces, a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali and France’s Operation Barkhane, which has around 4,000 troops deployed across the five Sahel countries.

France intervened in 2013 to drive back militants who had seized northern Mali a year earlier. However, militants continue to attack Mali and its neighbors.
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Standing Rock Tribe’s Fight Against Pipeline Goes Global

Posted on by SeeEU

Native American activists from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in the U.S. state of North Dakota, have gone global with their fight to stop fossil fuel corporations from possibly fouling water sources by transporting oil on indigenous lands.

Peaceful protests that began April 1, 2016, to try to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline largely died down in February when the main protest camp was cleared. Oil drilling began on June 1.

While they may have lost this battle, the activists say the war is far from over. They say the fight for indigenous rights continues to be waged on many fronts nationally, and moves to expand it globally already have begun.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, the Dakota Access pipeline developer, disputes the tribes’ claims and says the $3.8 billion, 1,885-kilometer pipeline is safe.

Rachel Heaton, a member of the Muckleshoot Tribe and an indigenous leader among Dakota Access pipeline opponents in Seattle, is one of four “water protectors” touring various countries and cities in Europe to try to drum up support for their cause. She said Native Americans plan to hit corporations and banks where it hurts most — in their wallets.

Credit Suisse targeted

“We are going around and sharing our stories as well as talking to the banks here in Europe that are invested in the fossil fuel projects on our lands,” she said. “We are here to ask the banks to divest from the fossil fuel projects as they are contributing to the genocide of our people, the environmental racism that continues to take place, as well as the violation of our treaty rights.”

She said the group of water protectors had come to Geneva to confront Credit Suisse, which is one of the largest financiers in the Dakota Access pipeline.

“They are invested in the fossil fuel projects on our lands that again continue to oppress our people. So we are here to send a message to Credit Suisse that they need to divest from these projects, as well as invest in policies that protect our indigenous nations,” she said.  

The activists were not successful in their quest. Credit Suisse refused to meet them. But the group said it would not give up, because the bank has invested $1.4 billion in fossil fuel projects on indigenous lands, making it the leading investor among all European banks.

The group, which began its European tour in Paris on May 20, has managed to ruffle the feathers of a significant number of shareholders in other banks as well. They crashed shareholder meetings at BNP Paribas, Natixis Bank and Societe Generale.

“We were not welcomed,” said Heaton. “We were muffled out. We were booed. Some of the board members that were present avoided us. They went around the room and tried to avoid our question. They would not answer it,” she said. “They did not say they would divest. They did not respond to us at all.”

‘We will continue’

Heaton said indigenous people would not be deterred by these setbacks. She told VOA that trying to get banks to divest from fossil fuel projects was a long process.

“We will continue to be a voice,” she said. “We will continue to express ourselves in the way we have and continue the civil disobedience, taking people out of their comfort zones until these banks and these nations get the message.”

Nataanii Means, an Oglala Sioux and Navajo activist and hip-hop artist, agreed that native communities would continue fighting for their rights.

“We have been fighting this kind of fight for years, and we are going to continue to fight it because it affects our communities first,” he said.

“We are suffering the highest rates of cancer. We are suffering the highest rates of sex trafficking per capita. We are suffering the highest rates of suicide per capita.

“Our communities are on the front lines literally because we are affected first by these extraction companies — oil extraction, gas extraction and fracking,” he said.  

While in Geneva, the activists networked with United Nations officials, civil society and nongovernmental organizations. They met with Mayor Guillaume Barazzone, who pledged his solidarity with their cause.
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Germany’s Merkel: EU Must Compromise to Get Trade Deal with Mercosur

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The European Union must compromise if it wants to reach a trade accord with South American trade bloc Mercosur, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference on Thursday after a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri.

Merkel said German agriculture had its own interests, but Germany supported Argentina’s push to reach a trade deal with the EU quickly. She said “great progress” had already been made.

“Negotiating a free trade agreement is always a difficult matter. And Germany is not always an easy partner,” Merkel told reporters.

“If there is a will to sign such an agreement … then we must also make compromises.”

Merkel said such compromises would have to be carefully negotiated and would likely be painful for both sides.

“There is certainly still work to do, but I am convinced that we should take on this task,” she said.

Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra and EU ambassador to Brazil João Cravinho on Monday proposed a 2017 target for reaching a trade agreement.

Malcorra said the retreat of the United States from trade talks had opened a window for the European Union to become a strong player in multilateral, region-to-region accords.

Mercosur, which also includes Uruguay and Paraguay, began negotiations with the European Union in 1999, broke them off in 2004 and resumed talks again in 2010.

Macri told reporters that Mercosur was committed to a deal regardless of political turmoil in Brazil, and said he thought protectionism in Europe was a bigger hurdle to be overcome.

“Brazil is perfectly aligned with this idea, we share it with Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. We see it as an opportunity to reach an agreement with the European Union after more than 20 years of these conversations,” Macri said.

“In this sense I am very optimistic. I believe Chancellor Merkel will have more work with protectionist themes against the agricultural measures than we will have within Mercosur.”

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for a more isolationist policy, Merkel said such an approach could bring short-term gains, but Argentina’s example showed that it was not fruitful in the longer term.

Merkel, accompanied by a delegation of German business executives, welcomed Argentina’s current more open policies and said Germany could be a good partner for Argentina as it sought to rebuild its infrastructure and modernize.
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Turkey Agrees to Send Up to 3,000 Troops to Qatar Amid Gulf Diplomatic Crisis

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Turkey’s decision to send up to 3,000 troops to Qatar further cements their growing ties, but it virtually eliminates a possible role for Ankara to mediate between Qatar and the Gulf states that have decided to isolate it for alleged support of terrorism.

Both countries have found themselves increasingly isolated Turkey for the increasing authoritarian rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar for its alleged financial support of extremist groups and growing ties with Iran, the main competitor to Saudi Arabia for power and influence in the region. Qatar denies the allegation.

Erdogan reportedly tried to intervene after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen cut diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar and took other measures to pressure it. He then convened a special session of Parliament on Wednesday night to authorize the dispatch of up to 3,000 troops to Qatar and hold military exercises with the country.

Saying both countries faced the “same threats,” Turkey agreed last year to open a military base in Doha and had already dispatched 150-300 troops there. The agreements that were finalized Wednesday were signed in 2016 but had not yet been approved before suddenly being pushed to the top of Parliament’s agenda.

Risky business

The move carries some risk for Turkey, particularly if Saudi Arabia attacks or annexes Qatar.

“If there is Qatar on one side and the rest of the Gulf states on the other, one must be very careful,” said Dr. Ali Faik Demir, a member of the Galatasaray University International Relations Department. “Meaning that no state can be brave enough to take on the Gulf states in investment and economic relations-wise by standing with Qatar.”

While the troops are not expected to fight for Qatar should hostilities break out, Demir says Turkey should have avoided the appearances of giving Qatar military support when it could mediate the crisis.

“Turkey is in a position to become a key in peace in Middle East and other subjects when one considers her America and West relations, even Russia relations, and especially the delicate Iranian balances and how she is an important power in the Muslim world and in the Middle East,” Demir told VOA Turkish.

Qatar needs quick solution

Kadir Has University professor Serhat Guvenc says Qatar will suffer badly if the crisis is not solved in a short time, and if the crisis continues this will impact Turkey adversely due to its support of Qatar.

But Turkey’s decision also is an economic one.

Qatar has recently developed into one of the most active investors in Turkey’s economy. Economists estimate Qatar has invested $19 billion in Turkey, buying Digiturk and Finansbank in the last two years. Turkish defense industry giant BMC also has a Qatari partnership, and Qatari Emir Sheik Temim bought the most expensive part of the Bosphorus in 2015.

In December 2015, Turkey reached a long-term deal to buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar. Bilateral trade totaled $710 million last year.

VOA Turkish contributed to this report.
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Kenya Launches HIV Self-testing Kit

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Kenya has become the latest African country to introduce HIV self-testing kits in a bid to get more people to know their status and seek treatment. The government estimates that there are as many as half a million people in Kenya who are HIV-positive but don’t know it. Lenny Ruvaga reports for VOA from Nairobi.
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Comey Confirms Conversations with Trump Ahead of Senate Testimony

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Former FBI director James Comey is expected to testify that President Donald Trump sought a pledge of loyalty, wanted him to clear a White House official of wrongdoing in the Russia probe, and pressured him to affirm publicly Trump was not under investigation. Comey’s opening statement was made public a day before his scheduled appearance before a Senate panel, where U.S. intelligence chiefs remained tight-lipped during testimony Wednesday. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Capitol Hill.
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Terrorism, Brexit Dominate British Election Campaign

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Britain goes to the polls Thursday in a snap election called in April by Prime Minister Theresa May. May says she wants a strong mandate to take to Brussels when negotiations begin on Britain’s exit from the European Union. But her hopes of winning a big majority have faded, as the main opposition Labour party appears to be closing the gap. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the campaign has been overshadowed by a series of terror attacks.
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Zuckerberg Praises Nigerian Woman’s Facebook-based Support Group

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has praised a U.S.-based Nigerian woman for running a secret support group on the social media platform where more than 1 million women discuss issues ranging from health and marriage to work and sex.

The head of the world’s largest social networking company met with Lola Omolola, who is based in Chicago, and posted late Tuesday about Female IN (FIN), which was founded in 2015.

‘No-judgment space’

“It’s a no-judgment space … helping end the culture of silence that exists for women in some parts of the world,” the 33-year-old billionaire said in a post on his Facebook page.

Zuckerberg, who visited Nigeria last year, said he would be meeting more Facebook group leaders such as Omolola at the first ever Facebook Communities Summit later this month in Chicago.

The summit will help group administrators to “do even more to build community … and common understanding,” he added.

In response to Zuckerberg’s post, Omolola said Facebook had helped women worldwide to find their voices through the FIN group, and thanked the entrepreneur for “helping me create the world I wish to live in and have my 8- and 10-year-old inherit.”

Although the FIN group is secret, meaning that only members can invite others to join and view its content, Omolola said in a public video that it aimed to disrupt the status quo and change the landscape in communities where women are not heard.

“I come from a community where lots of the time women have a lot to say, but we have been conditioned and we have been raised to keep silent, because someone is going to get embarrassed by something we say,” Omolola said in the video interview with Facebook’s diversity director, Maxine Williams.

Equality law thrown out

Nigeria’s Senate last year threw out a gender and equality law that pledged to end discrimination in politics, education and employment, protect women’s rights and tackle violence against women after lawmakers opposed it on religious grounds.

Women’s rights activists said the dismissal showed the government was ignoring the dangers facing Nigerian women, ranging from sexual assault and abduction to forced marriages.
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After Terror Attacks, Some Brits Unimpressed by May, Corbyn

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After three Islamist attacks in Britain in as many months, many voters in the town of Corby say security is now their major concern for Thursday’s election — and they see both Prime Minister Theresa May and her Labour challenger as weak.

A once thriving steel town in central England, Corby has backed the winning party in every British general election since 1983, and if Labour is to upset opinion polls that point to victory for May’s Conservatives, this is the kind of parliamentary seat it needs to take.

The town overwhelmingly backed leaving the European Union in last year’s referendum, following a campaign when immigration became a central issue.

While Brexit negotiations have yet even to begin, a number of Corby residents told Reuters that national security has become their main worry since the militant attacks in London and Manchester, and some still link it to the immigration question.

​Neither Corbyn nor May

Voters were unimpressed with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran, anti-war campaigner who the Conservatives have tried to paint as soft on fighting terrorism.

Corbyn has invited supporters of the Palestinian group Hamas to parliament, and advocated dialogue with Irish republicans who fought British forces in northern Ireland until the late 1990s, although he says he condemns political violence by all sides.

Local residents, however, have little time for May either, even though the Conservatives have traditionally portrayed themselves as the party of law and order.

​‘Lesser of two evils’

“I am voting Conservative because I would never vote for Jeremy Corbyn, but May is also very weak on terrorism and is an indecisive leader without principles,” said Claire Soltzed, 61, who owns a boutique shop in the town’s shopping mall. “In no way am I a May supporter, but she is the lesser of two evils.”

The Corby parliamentary constituency has been hotly contested by the two main parties, changing hands five times since 1983. In 2015, the Conservatives won it by 2,412 votes and Labour has made it a top target this time round.

In worrying increasingly about national security, Corby residents appear broadly typical of voters across Britain. After Saturday’s attack in London in which eight people died, an Opinium poll showed 11 percent of respondents said anti-terrorism policy would influence their vote, up from just 2 percent last week.

​Britain under attack

Once a destination for Scots who moved south to work in Corby’s huge steelworks, large numbers of eastern European immigrants from countries such as Poland, Romania and Bulgaria have arrived in the past decade.

The surrounding rural areas remain affluent, but the steelworks have closed, to be replaced by retail chains and indoor shopping centers. Corby’s main shopping street is now lined with discount stores.

The mix of immigration and the recent attacks now looms large for locals, although two of the three recent attacks were staged by British-born militants.

“I hate Corbyn, he is a terrorist sympathizer,” said taxi driver Phil Andrews, who voted for the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party in 2015 but will be backing the Conservatives this time.

“I voted for Brexit, I lived here for all my life and I think immigration is a big issue in this election. At one point Corby was called little Scotland, now it is called little Poland.”

Butcher Susan Short, in her 50s, said: “My main issue is terror, there are a lot of immigrants in the U.K. and I worry about more terrorism.”

Narrow lead for May

Since May called the snap election in April, her lead in the polls has narrowed from more than 20 percentage points to single figures, suggesting that instead of a landslide, she might even struggle to win an overall parliamentary majority.

May’s own ratings have fallen significantly too and her record on security has come in for criticism as police numbers were reduced every year under her watch as interior minister from 2010-2016.

“I do not like Theresa May. The last few weeks have shown how weak she is on terrorism,” said Mary Talbot, in her mid 50s, who works in a convenience store in Corby. “I did not think that it was a main issue until the last few weeks and now I am worried about my kids and about safety. May has cut police officers and made our country less secure.”

William Wagner, in his 40s, who did voluntary work in the town, said he was still undecided on his vote but he was not going to back the Conservatives.

“I hate Theresa May,” he said. “My main issue is terrorism. We need to stop it right away.”

May’s theme throughout the campaign has been that she would provide strong, stable leadership in contrast to Corbyn. Only last year he had to fend off a challenge to his leadership by lawmakers in his own party who thought he was not up to the job.

Anthony Smith, a 21-year-old a bar supervisor who supports Brexit, dismissed May’s pitch for power. 

“She says one thing and then says something completely different. She’s making promises she can’t keep,” he said.

Samantha Turner, 55, works in a corner shop, was equally scathing of Corbyn.

“I am not voting Labour for the first time in a while,” she said. “Corbyn is weak and I do not trust him for the future of my kids. He will not make a good deal for Brexit.”
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Israel’s in Love With Its Homegrown Wonder Woman Gal Gadot

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For a country that takes pride in even the smallest successes of its international celebrities, the debut of Wonder Woman has sparked an Israeli lovefest for homegrown hero Gal Gadot.

 

A huge billboard overlooking Tel Aviv’s main highway is tagged with a provincial “we love you” greeting, her Hebrew-accented appearances in the international media are reported upon daily and throngs of fans cheer wildly upon seeing her on the big screen. Even Lebanon’s ban of the film hasn’t dampened the mood in Israel, where Gadot’s superhero status has been embraced as a national treasure.

 

“It’s so cool that someone from here is succeeding and is famous overseas. Everyone in the theater was so excited,” said 20-year-old Ela Hofshi of Jerusalem, who watched the movie on opening night. “I think all the enthusiasm here is very supportive and encourages her to keep growing in the world and representing us.”

 

Eager for diversions from politics and conflict with the Palestinians, Israelis often rejoice when one of their own breaks through on the international stage, whether it’s Omri Casspi in the NBA, medal-winning Olympic athletes or big-name model Bar Refaeli. But Gadot’s ascendance to stardom has entered a whole new stratosphere as she has assumed the identity of Wonder Woman in a box-office smash that raked in more than $100 million in its first weekend in theaters.

The role has instantly transformed Gadot into arguably the world’s most famous Israeli and the country’s most high-profile ambassador. In contrast to Refaeli, whose aloof demeanor, refusal to perform her compulsory military service and a tax-dodging scandal have alienated many Israelis, Gadot has been widely embraced. In interviews, she often speaks in accented English of her military service, a rite of passage for most Israeli Jews, which has made her even more beloved at home.

 

“She bears the burden of being Israeli with grace and you can see that fame hasn’t changed her,” said Ariel Oseran, 27. “She represents the `good Israeli’ and does us a great service. When she talks about the army, it shows that serving in the military is not a bad thing. It’s something inspiring. It makes every one of our female soldiers seem like Wonder Woman.”

Gadot grew up in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rosh Haayin and somehow stumbled into stardom. She was chosen Miss Israel in 2004 at the age of 18 and represented the country in the Miss Universe pageant that year. She then put off her modeling career to enlist in the military, where she served two years as a combat fitness instructor. In 2007, she took a part in the Maxim photo shoot “Women of the Israeli Army.”

 

After a year of law school, a casting director invited her to audition for a James Bond movie. She didn’t get the part, but it led to her big Hollywood break in 2008 when she was cast in the “Fast & Furious” movie franchise as Gisele Yashar, an ex-Mossad agent.

She first portrayed Wonder Woman in last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” before headlining this weekend’s release of “Wonder Woman,” the first Hollywood film exclusively devoted to the DC Comics heroine.

 

In promoting the film, Gadot made the rounds of American talk and late night shows, charming the hosts with her down-to-earth personality. In an interview with ABC’s morning show, Gadot, who recently gave birth to her second child, joked that being pregnant as Wonder Woman was harder than being a soldier in the Israeli army.

 

Gadot, who performs her own stunts, has attracted fans with a public image that empowers women. For the film’s Los Angeles premiere, she showed up in $50 flats from Aldo rather than pricey heels. When asked, she responded “it’s more comfortable.”

Her mother, Irit Gadot, a former gym teacher, said that’s just who her daughter is.

 

“She has a certain personal charm, a certain simplicity,” she told Israel’s Channel 10 TV. “What she is is what you see.”

In Israel, she has avoided the types of scandals that often plague celebrities and has been showered with love. Theaters have erupted into cheers when she appears on screen, and some fans even broke into tears of joy on opening weekend.

 

Locals excitedly noted how Gadot’s Israeli accent was mimicked by her co-stars as the supposed dialect of Wonder Woman’s idyllic Amazonian island of Themyscira.

 

Haaretz film critic Uri Klein praised her performance, which he said was “likely to contribute to the pleasure for those who want to envelop the viewing experience in national Israeli pride.”

 

Her identity has also made her a target of anti-Israel boycott activists who attacked her on Twitter as a “Zionist” and pushed to have the film banned in Lebanon. Opponents noted Gadot had praised Israel’s military on Facebook during the 2014 Israel-Gaza war, sending prayers to soldiers “who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas.” The military, while defending its actions as a response to Hamas rocket fire, nonetheless draw heavy international criticism for the heavy Palestinian civilian death toll.

 

Michal Kleinberg argued in a column on the Nana10 website that Gadot represented far more than mere national pride.

 

“This is not one of ours who managed to squeeze into a fashion show or an important competition, it’s one of ours in the most leading role a woman can get in a Hollywood film,” she wrote. “Gadot is objectively [really!] perfectly cast for the role. It’s not that Hollywood has a shortage of beautiful, fit, athletic brunettes, but an Israeli actress has something a Hollywood one doesn’t. As much as it sounds cliche, she offers a sort of chutzpah, spice and relatability.”
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DC Roundup: Trump, Comey, Senate Intel Hearings

Posted on by SeeUS

Developments in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday include President Donald Trump as he discusses infrastructure and his health care plan, while his top intelligence officials are questioned before the Senate Intelligence Committee, hours before fired FBI Director James Comey will be questioned by the same panel; the president also offers to mediate between Gulf nations in conflict.

Comey to Testify Trump Tried to Influence FBI Probe of Russian Election Meddling — Fired FBI Director Jim Comey will tell a Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday that President Donald Trump asked him for loyalty during White House conversations concerning the agency’s handling of investigations into current and former administration officials, including the president himself. The committee released an advance copy of Comey’s seven-page opening statement a day before his scheduled appearance. This came shortly after the Director of National Intelligence and other top intelligence officials refused to answer the committee’s questions about Comey and the Russia investigation.

Verbatim: Ex-FBI Chief Comey’s Recollection of Conversations With President — Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Comey was leading the agency’s investigation of Russian interference in last year’s U.S. presidential election when Trump, frustrated by the ongoing probe, fired him last month. Here are several excerpts about Comey’s recollections, from his expected opening statement to the Senate panel.

Questions Comey Will Likely Face Before Senate Panel — Comey, who was fired nearly a month ago by Trump, will testify Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. election, as well as any ties between Moscow and Trump’s inner circle. Here are some questions that will likely be asked of the former FBI head on Thursday.

Comey Is No Stranger to Controversy — Comey, who served as the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as at the center of the highly charged investigation into possible collaboration between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies – including the FBI – concluded in January that Russia attempted to meddle in the 2016 presidential election with the aim of helping Trump win the presidency.

Raise Your Right Hand: High Stakes at Congressional Hearings — This city knows how to do big hearings – even Titanic ones. Dramatic congressional hearings are something of a Washington art form, a rite of democracy carefully crafted for the cameras. A look at past high-drama hearings.

WATCH: Coats is questioned by Senate Intelligence Committee

WATCH: Rogers is questioned by Senate Intelligence Committee

US Intelligence Chiefs Decline to Discuss Conversations with Trump — Two top U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers they did not feel inappropriately pressured by Trump to publicly disavow possible Russian collusion with Trump aides in last year’s election. But Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers told the Senate Intelligence Committee they would not discuss details of their White House meetings with Trump in recent months. They refused to answer questions about whether Trump asked them to intervene to curb the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.

Trump to Nominate Christopher Wray as FBI Director — Trump has selected Christopher Wray, a former federal prosecutor, as his nominee to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday the nomination is based on Wray’s reputation and strong support across the political divide.

US Senate Works on New Iran Sanctions, Possible Russia Sanctions — The U.S. Senate has moved forward on a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran. The bill advanced on a procedural vote Wednesday. It now will be available for amendments before a final Senate vote.

Trump Offers to Mediate Qatar’s Diplomatic Crisis — In a call with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Trump offered to mediate the country’s diplomatic crisis with its neighbors.

North Korea Apparently Test Fires Land-to-Ship Missiles, South Korea Says — North Korea apparently has test launched several land-to-ship missiles, South Korea says. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several projectiles were fired early Thursday from the North’s eastern coast town of Wosan. It gave no other details.

Trump Calls for Infrastructure, Health Care Overhaul — Trump called for a bipartisan effort Wednesday to overhaul the country’s crumbling infrastructure.

US Swipes at China Signal a Micro Policy Shift in Disputed Sea — The U.S. government is challenging China over its dominant position in Asia’s major maritime sovereignty dispute, but those moves, after months of silence, are seen as aimed at reassuring nervous Southeast Asian countries rather than as a major anti-Beijing pivot. Trump has shelved the South China Sea issue for most of his nearly half-year term as he tries to get along with Beijing, especially seeking Chinese help in throttling missile and nuclear weapons development in North Korea.

How Many Refugees Will US Accept This Year? — U.S. officials still can’t confirm how many refugees will arrive this fiscal year, with less than four months left and an imminent increase in the works. The ambitious ceiling of 110,000, set by then-President Barack Obama shortly before the 2016 election has little chance of being met. It would require a massive surge of personnel to pull off in the 16 weeks remaining in this fiscal year, which is an unlikely prospect under an administration calling for significant cuts to the refugee program. And it likely won’t be as low as 50,000, the number demanded by President Donald Trump in two executive orders embroiled in legal friction.

WATCH: Hispanic immigrants in Pennsylvania town

Layer of Fear Hangs Over Immigrants in Rural Pennsylvania Town —  “They took my brother.” The visibly frightened woman speaks from inside the doorway of a multifamily house as she describes how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement​ agents came at night, knocking on apartment doors, demanding to be let in. She’s not alone. Lately, the streets of the York Springs have been emptier and “for rent” signs have popped up in front of some buildings. A new layer of fear hangs over the rural Pennsylvania town and its large Hispanic population in the wake of recent sweeps by ICE agents.

Battle for Raqqa Pits US-backed Kurds Against Syrian Government-backed Militias — U.S.-backed Kurdish YPG militia forces chanted as they advanced toward the northern outskirts of the Islamic State-held town of Raqqa in northern Syria, attempting to set foot inside the city and dislodge the militant group from its so-called capital. The U.S. envoy to the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, said Wednesday in Baghdad that the battle for Raqqa would “only escalate,” as the group loses control of its northern Iraqi stronghold of Mosul. He added that the fight for Raqqa would be a “difficult and very long-term battle.”

EU Launches Defense Fund Amid US Pressure to Boost Spending — The European Union on Wednesday unveiled a new defense fund to get better value for money on high-tech projects like drones or robotics as European allies at NATO come under U.S. pressure to boost their military budgets. The European Commission said the fund would provide a total of 500 million euros ($563 million) in EU money in 2019 and 2020 to help buy and develop military equipment.

Obama says Paris Climate Agreement Still Has a Chance — The Paris climate agreement still has a chance despite the “temporary absence of American leadership,” Obama said Tuesday, adding that he was cheered that U.S. states, cities, corporations and others have decided to carry on with the Paris commitments. The former U.S. president made the remarks in a speech to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce and got a round of applause from the business crowd for mentioning the Paris accord.

Obama Has Private Dinner with Trudeau in Montreal — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is tweeting his thanks to former U.S. President Obama after the two shared a private dinner at a Montreal restaurant.

Eyes on Russia Probe Leaves Washington’s To-Do List Undone — You’ve probably heard all about what’s happening in Washington. This is a story about what isn’t. The rapid-fire revelations about the Trump campaign and its Russia connections that are heating up this city are having a chilling effect in plenty of other ways. There are bills that have been pushed to the back burner. Diplomatic initiatives that aren’t fully initiating. Interest groups that can’t stir up much interest. Appointees that haven’t been appointed.

Lawmakers Decry Trump’s Proposed Cuts in Homeland Spending — Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is defending Trump’s proposed budget cuts, even as he tells Congress that the United States “cannot invest too much in security” after recent terrorist attacks in Europe. Trump proposed a budget last month that would cut nearly $700 million from grant programs for local first responders. Overall, Homeland Security would face a reduction of 3.2 percent.

Eric Trump Calls Father’s Critics ‘Not Even People’ —  Eric Trump says critics of his father are “not even people.” Trump’s son told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday that he’s “never seen hatred like this” and “morals have flown out the window” when it comes to attacks against his father.

Are New Trump Hotels Exploiting Presidency Or Just Business? — The name of the new hotel chain is American Idea. The owner is now president of the United States. That said, the Trump Organization wants to make something perfectly clear: It is not exploiting the presidency for profit. The American Idea chain was unveiled Monday night in New York at a Trump Tower party hosted by the president’s two adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., and featuring a video showing the Washington Mall.

Luxury Hotels Arrive in Cuba Despite Fears Trump May Hurt Tourism Boom — Towering cranes dot the Havana skyline as communist-run Cuba races to build luxury hotels, amid indignation among some residents and concern that Trump might reverse a detente that fueled the tourist boom. Swiss-based Kempinski Hotels S.A. will inaugurate its Gran Hotel Manzana in the heart of the capital on Wednesday, billing it as Cuba’s first true luxury hotel.

Trump Administration Wants to Make Internet Spying Law Permanent — The Trump administration supports making permanent a law that allows for the collection of digital communications of foreigners believed to be living overseas and which pass through U.S. phone or internet providers, a senior White House official said.

Madeleine Albright Pens New Book, Warns of Fascism’s Dangers — Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, is worried about democracy. Albright’s next book, “Fascism,” is a warning that democratic governments are “fragile” and the United States under Trump is enduring its own crisis.

Violence Warned Over US Dropping Conflict Minerals Rule — Increased violence and corruption in central Africa could be the result of the recent decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission not to enforce a rule requiring American companies to report their use of conflict minerals, warn Congolese civic groups, rights groups and U.S. senators.

Facebook Launches Features to Connect US Users, Elected Officials — Facebook announced three new features Wednesday that are intended to boost civic engagement among users in the United States on its platform by connecting them more easily with their elected representatives.

Trump Chooses Regional Banker as Key Regulator of US Banks — Trump has chosen a regional banker as his nominee for a key government position in bank regulation. Trump announced late Monday he is naming Joseph Otting as comptroller of the currency, heading a Treasury Department agency that is the chief overseer for federally chartered banks.
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Islamic State Threatens More Terror Against Iran

Posted on by SeeEA

Near simultaneous terror attacks on Iran’s parliament and the tomb of former leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini could set off a new round of hostilities in a tense Middle East.

At least 12 people were killed and another 42 wounded in Wednesday’s brazen strikes by machine-gun-wielding assailants and two suicide bombers, claimed almost immediately by Islamic State.

In a new twist, the terror group’s Amaq news agency also quickly distributed a 24-second video of the attack showing a bloody, lifeless body inside the parliament complex, and threatened it would strike again.

Iranian security officials late Wednesday confirmed IS involvement, saying the attackers, many disguised as women, were Iranians who had joined the terror group.

​Attackers

They said Iranian forces killed six of the attackers. Another five suspects were arrested, and two suicide bombers blew themselves up. Officials suggested a third attack had been foiled.

“These fireworks have no effect on Iran,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told state-run television, vowing the terrorists “will soon be eliminated.”

Islamic State and Iran have long been at odds, with IS fighters facing off against Iranian proxies and Iranian-led forces in Syria and Iraq. But Wednesday’s attacks marked the first by the Sunni terror group in the majority Shi’ite country.

U.S. intelligence called the incident the worst domestic terror attack in Tehran since the 1980s, but an official said there have been signs IS was, at least, hoping to strike.

“ISIS has expressed a growing interest in conducting attacks on the Iranian homeland,” the official said, using an acronym for the militant group.

And pointing to increasingly virulent propaganda over the past six months, the official added it had become clear “Iran has been at the top of ISIS’ enemy list.”

Still, Iranian officials immediately placed the ultimate blame on Saudi Arabia.

“This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the U.S. president and the [Saudi] backward leaders who support terrorists,” according to statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. “The fact that Islamic State has claimed responsibility proves that they were involved in the brutal attack.”

Watch: Iranians Support Qataris, Blame US For Tensions in Middle East

World reaction

Condemnation for the attacks poured in from around the world.

The United Nations Security Council said the attacks were “barbaric and cowardly” and stressed that it condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences and offered assistance

In a statement, President Donald Trump said the U.S. grieves and prays for “the innocent victims” of the attacks, and “the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times.”

But Trump also warned “states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded on Twitter, criticizing both Trump’s words and the U.S. Senate moving closer to new sanctions against Iran.

“Repugnant WH statement & Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by U.S. clients. Iranian people reject such U.S. claims of friendship,” Zarif wrote.

Middle East tensions

Tensions have been running high across the Middle East, where Iran and Saudi Arabia have long vied for prominence and influence, including in Yemen where the rivals have been locked into a proxy war.

The region has further put been on edge following a decision by key Arab powers to cut ties with Qatar, accusing the government in Doha of supporting terror groups and of aligning too closely with Iran.

Some analysts fear Wednesday’s terror attack in Tehran could prompt a harsh response by Iran, at home and perhaps even across the region.

At least initially, though, Iran’s proxy forces have been quiet on social media.

“It’s reminiscent of when some IS bombs have hit Baghdad or other parts of Iraq,” said Phillip Smyth, a University of Maryland researcher who closely follows Shi’ite militia activity. “Often there is little reaction and the groups continue to talk about their efforts.”

Some of the groups issued condolences, Smyth said, though one Tehran-based account called it a “blueprint of [how] Zionist, Gulf-Saudi, and American terrorism [is exported] to Iran.”
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Who is Christopher Wray?

Posted on by SeeUS

President Donald Trump’s choice to replace ousted FBI Director James Comey is a former federal prosecutor who switched to defending powerful clients like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whom he once counted as a Justice Department colleague.

Christopher Wray earned high marks from past associates for his national security experience and legal acumen. However, considering the circumstances surrounding Comey’s dismissal — which came after he reportedly refused Trump’s suggestion to drop a monthslong probe into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia — Wray can expect to face tough questions about his independence.

The White House had initially pinned Comey’s May 9 firing largely on his handling of the 2016 Clinton private email server investigation, but Trump later said he had the Russia probe in mind when he decided to dismiss the FBI director.

Trump announced his intention to choose Wray in a tweet Wednesday morning, calling him “a man of impeccable credentials.” The Justice Department later released an endorsement of the nomination by several former department officials.

Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Wray for his “solid credentials.” He tweeted that the “job will require independence and guts to stand up to political interference.”

Retired FBI agent David Gomez said the timing of the announcement was clearly meant to “deflect attention from Comey’s testimony,” but added: “I don’t think it’s a bad choice or political choice.”

Early years

Wray, 50, has had a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor and private lawyer. After graduating from Yale University and Yale Law School in 1992, he returned to his native Atlanta to briefly work for the King & Spalding law firm, before spending eight years as a federal prosecutor in the city and later as a senior Justice Department official in Washington.

In 2003, former President George W. Bush tapped him as assistant attorney general in charge of the Criminal Division, a position that brought him under Comey, then the Department’s No. 2 official, and above Christie, then U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey. While leading the division, Wray oversaw the federal investigation into the collapse of energy giant Enron Corporation and other fraud cases.

With jurisdiction over counterterrorism and counter-intelligence matters, working in the division gave Wray extensive national security experience, said Alice Fisher, who succeeded Wray as assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division and was under consideration for the FBI director’s job.

“Even before that, in his other role in the department and in the deputy attorney general’s office, Chris was right there on 9/11 with many of us, working on national security every day for weeks and months on end,” said Fisher, now a partner at Latham & Watkins.

But working in the Justice Department in the wake of the attacks of 9/11 also put Wray in the position of defending controversial Bush administration policies, including the Patriot Act’s provision on providing material support for terrorism, which was roundly criticized by rights organizations.

Wray’s support for Bush policies had its limits. In 2004, he came to the support of Comey after Comey threatened to resign over his refusal to approve parts of a controversial domestic wiretapping program, according to a 2013 Washingtonian report.

Back to beginning

The two officials left the Justice Department for private practice around the same time in 2005, with Wray returning to King & Spalding as the law firm was embarking on an international expansion that led to the opening of offices in more than 17 countries, including Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

While King & Spalding’s bio of Wray credits him with representing large corporations under federal investigation, Wray’s representation of Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, during the so-called Bridgegate investigation stands out as a high-profile political case likely to draw renewed scrutiny.

Christie was never charged in the case, but last year two of his former associates were sentenced to prison. Randy Mastro, a partner at Gibson Dunn who represented the governor’s office during the investigation, said Wray “distinguished himself in the representation.”

“He knows the bureau, he knows the Department of Justice, he has all the attributes of professionalism, personal integrity and honor that one would want to see in an FBI director,” Mastro said.

Wray’s current party affiliation is unknown, but in 2001 he was registered as a Republican in Maryland and he’s contributed almost exclusively to Republican candidates.

In December, he joined a group of other former assistant attorneys general to endorse Trump’s nomination of Jeff Sessions as attorney general.

Wray is not the first King & Spalding partner to be picked by Trump for a senior position. In April, Trump appointed Gilbert Kaplan to head the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Another partner, Stephen Vaughn, serves as the general counsel to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. 

The firm’s employees and partners gave $537,378 in campaign donations to national political candidates during the 2016 election cycle, including $87,967 to Clinton and $3,200 to Trump, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. 

Lynn Davis contributed to this report.
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Iraqi Kurds to Vote on Independence in September

Posted on by SeeEA

Iraqi Kurdish officials announced Wednesday that Kurds in Iraq’s autonomous northern region will hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25.

 

Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, announced the vote on Twitter. Hamin Hawrami, a senior presidential adviser, said on his own Twitter account that the decision follows a meeting of the major Kurdish political parties in Irbil, the region’s capital.

 

The referendum on whether to secede from Iraq will be held in the three governorates that make up the Kurdish region and in the areas that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments but are currently under Kurdish military control.

It is not clear whether a “yes” vote, which is expected to be the result, will lead to the declaration of independence. The Iraqi government has so far not reacted to the announcement. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in April that he respects the Kurdish right to vote on independence, but he did not think the timing was right for the move.

Relationship with Baghdad strained

 Iraq’s Kurdish region, with a population of about 5 million, already enjoys a high degree of autonomy, including its own parliament and armed forces. But relations with the central government in Baghdad have nosedived in recent years over a range of issues. These include the sharing of oil revenues and the control of some areas that are technically part of federal Iraq but have come under Kurdish control since 2014 during the war against the Islamic State group.

Neighboring states like Turkey, Syria and Iran that all have large and sometimes restive Kurdish populations have in the past resisted moves towards Kurdish independence. Turkey in particular is strongly suspicious of Kurdish ambitions and sent its own troops into Syria in part to shrink the territorial gains of a U.S.-backed predominantly Kurdish militia that is battling the Islamic State group. Turkey regards its own local Kurdish political movement as a terrorist organization.

Under US protection

 Since Iraq’s founding, its Kurds have always had a difficult relationship with the central government; a series of revolts have either been crushed, sometimes with great brutality, or ended in unsatisfactory compromises. Since the Gulf War in 1991, the region has enjoyed de facto autonomy under U.S. protection and seen significant economic development largely due to its oil and gas reserves and strong trade links with Turkey.

Relations with the Iraqi government have been difficult since a revenue-sharing agreement over the country’s oil resources collapsed in 2015. IS militants routed the Iraqi security forces and took control of much of the country’s north in 2014. Since then Kurdish Peshmerga forces have retaken large chunks of IS-held territory, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, leading to more tensions with Baghdad.

 
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US Small Businesses in Clean Energy Sector Still Hope for Best

Posted on by SeeUS

Small-business owners who install solar panels or help customers use clean energy don’t seem fazed by President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, saying they expect demand for their services will still keep growing.

They’re confident in two trends they see: A growing awareness and concern about the environment, and a desire by consumers and businesses to lower their energy costs.

“It’s an economic decision people are making, although it also makes environmental sense,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO of Solaria, a Fremont, California-based company that designs and sells solar energy panel systems.

Trump said he was putting U.S. interests ahead of international priorities in leaving the agreement that would, among other things, require the U.S. and other countries to report greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon after China, and carbon is one of the gases that scientists cite as a key factor in global warming.

Reaction to withdrawal split

Many of the nation’s largest companies opposed Trump’s move, and some have already committed to reducing emissions and are spending billions to do it.

Small business advocacy groups are split over the impact of a U.S. withdrawal. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council doesn’t believe Trump’s action will hurt the United States.

“Even without the U.S.’s formal participation in the pact, we believe our nation will continue to lead in carbon reduction and clean energy,” said Karen Kerrigan, CEO of the group. “The market is demanding as much and the private sector and investment are responding.”

But the Small Business Majority, which has supported limits on greenhouse gas emissions as a way to help the environment and the economy, said the U.S. needs government policies that “promote the development of renewable energy and the implementation of energy efficiency standards.”

“America’s entrepreneurs understand that the future of our economy and the job growth associated therewith depends upon policies that move us forward, not backward,” said John Arensmeyer, the group’s CEO.

The American Sustainable Business Council also warned that global warming would hurt companies, giving them “a chaotic and unsustainable future of business disruptions from rising seas and changing weather patterns.”

Whether business owners outside energy-related industries are likely to support the Paris accord may depend on how much they’re worried about climate change, and whether they’re concerned about saving on energy bills.

Demand, awareness growing

A private equity firm that invests in clean energy companies doesn’t expect Trump’s action to have much impact on U.S. companies whose business is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Neil Auerbach, CEO of Hudson Clean Energy in Teaneck, New Jersey, said the U.S. has been able to move away from carbon fuels with more use of natural gas and renewables.

Arcadia Power, which helps consumers and companies switch to wind and solar power for their electricity, has seen orders rise 5 percent from its usual pace since Trump’s announcement last week, says Ryan Nesbitt, president of the Washington, D.C.-based company. Demand was particularly strong for the electricity supply plans the company offers through solar power producers.

“They sold out over the weekend. We’re scrambling to get more,” Nesbitt said. Some customers who signed up for Arcadia’s service said they were doing so in response to Trump’s announcement, Nesbitt says.

State and local environmental laws, which can be tougher than federal statutes and regulations, have contributed to the growth of small businesses in the energy sector. So companies that help businesses track and report their carbon and other emissions shouldn’t see their business disappear if the U.S. isn’t part of the Paris accord.

At ERA Environmental Management Solutions, whose customers include companies that use paints and other chemicals, “nobody’s coming out and telling us they’re going to stop doing a project,” owner Gary Vegh said.

But Vegh, whose company is based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, says companies are also reacting to changing perspectives.

“Each generation is getting more educated about the environment,” Vegh said. “Even preschool and elementary children — the new generation is already aware.”

Barry Cinnamon’s homeowner customers buy solar panels because they believe the climate is in trouble. “They understand from a science and engineering perspective that there’s a problem and there’s a solution,” said Cinnamon, the owner of Cinnamon Solar in Campbell, California.

Installing solar panels on a home can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, so owners aren’t expecting an immediate windfall from lower energy prices — they’re willing to wait five or 10 years for their investment to pay off, Cinnamon says.

For some owners, it’s the “what ifs” that are worrisome. Many business customers at Vitaliy Vinogradov’s lighting business base their buying decisions on tax rebates for green LED fixtures.

“What I am afraid of is that this may be a slippery slope — where eventually green technology loses subsidies, rebates, or gets taxed,” said Vinogradov, whose Modern Place Lighting is located in Pensacola, Florida.

Saagar Govil, CEO of Cemtrex Inc., an environmental technology company, fears it will lose business in the U.S. because there may be less need for his equipment that monitors and destroys greenhouse gases. He hopes the Farmingdale, New York-based company will be able to sell those products overseas, and in states that have pledged to follow the Paris accord.

“But until we start to see something concrete, it’s unclear how that will fly,” he said.

Some business owners, however, think Trump’s action will ultimately help their companies. John-Paul Maxfield, whose Denver-based Waste Farmers sells agricultural products and technology to greenhouse operators, believes it will raise awareness of global warming.

“It reinforces the need for alternative systems in the face of climate change,” Maxfield said.
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On Election Day in Britain, Uncertainty About Conservatives’ Lead

Posted on by SeeEU

Polling stations are open for the general election Britain is holding Thursday.

Prime Minister Theresa May called the snap election — an early vote, three years before Parliament’s term was to expire — in early April in the hope of winning strong backing for her government during upcoming negotiations in Brussels on the country’s exit from the European Union.

The prime minister originally expected a big win to boost her Conservative Party’s majority in Parliament, but that optimism faded as her campaign sputtered over the past few weeks.

Late developments, however, could upend the experts’ predictions once again.

Polls: Labour Party is gaining

Several recent opinion polls showed the opposition Labour Party was gaining on the Conservatives, or Tories as they are known in Britain. Not all of the polls agreed, though, and Conservative activists professed confidence.

The Times newspaper reported Wednesday night that a final poll by the YouGov group showed the Conservatives’ lead over Labour had widened to seven percentage points — up from four percent on Saturday, just hours before the London Bridge terrorist attack that killed eight people.

All 650 seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament, are up for election Thursday. A party needs to win 326 seats to form a majority government.

The deadly terror attacks in England — in London last Saturday, and in Manchester 12 days earlier — have overshadowed the late stages of political campaigning. Speaking at a rally Tuesday, the prime minister pledged to put security first:

“And if, if our human rights laws stop us from doing it, we’ll change those laws so we can do it,” she told supporters to enthusiastic applause.

Proper funding needed

May’s threat to tear up the Human Rights Act drew criticism from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

“The way you deal with the threat to the democracy is not by reducing democracy, it’s by dealing with the threat,” he said during a campaign visit to Glasgow Wednesday. “That means properly funding our police and security services.”

Political analyst Professor Iain Begg of the London School of Economics says the prime minister is now fighting to save face:

“If she does no better than [former Conservative prime minister] David Cameron did in 2015, it would be deemed a considerable defeat for her. Jeremy Corbyn seems to be doing far better than most people expected.”

Needed: Young voters

Corbyn needs a big turnout by young voters, and his focus on improving public services and reducing fees for university students has won support. But he also has faced questions over national security and his past associations with groups including Hamas and the Irish Republican Army.

Watch: Terrorism, Brexit Dominate British Election Campaign

Third in the polls are the Liberal Democrats, whose central theme is opposition to Brexit — Britain’s departure from the European Union. On that question, analyst Iain Begg says, the country appears to have moved on.

“Economy, national health services and party leaders are the top issues,” Begg said. “Even in this Brexit context, Europe is not as high an issue as it might otherwise be, and therefore the Liberal Democrats have probably backed the wrong horse by trying to emphasize their campaign is about Brexit.”

May needs a big win

Support for the far-right UK Independence Party has collapsed. With Brexit decided, pollsters say many UKIP voters have switched to the Conservatives.

Theresa May says she needs a big win to give her a stronger hand in upcoming Brexit negotiations, but officials in Brussels say the size of her majority will have no bearing on the talks.

There will be no political honeymoon for the winner, says Kevin Schofield, editor of the website politicshome.com, the self-styled “home of digital public affairs” in Britain.

“You’re straight into the biggest discussions, the biggest negotiations that any British government has faced in a generation, probably since the Second World War, Schofield said. “So there is no respite, there is no letup.”

Independence for Scotland?

A big Conservative win would encourage those who support independence for Scotland. Breaking away from the United Kingdom and becoming an independent nation won considerable support earlier in this decade, but the Scots rejected independence in a referendum three years ago.

Now, however, following the Brexit decision by voters nationwide — in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — the Scottish National Party is demanding a second referendum on independence.

“In actual fact, the Scottish people, most of them don’t want a referendum so soon,” said website editor Schofield. “They think that they’ve made their decision in 2014.”

Terrorism, Brexit and the potential breakup of Britain are daunting challenges that lie ahead for the winner of Thursday’s election. Each political party is offering voters a very different road map to the future.
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Slovak Leader Says Wants to Take Part in Deeper EU Integration

Posted on by SeeEU

Slovakia wants to be a part of the EU “integration machine,” its prime minister said on Wednesday, in comments that follow calls by Germany, France and Spain for deeper cooperation and contrast with the eurosceptic stance of some other east European states.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s new President Emmanuel Macron agreed in May to outline a road map for deeper European Union integration while Spain suggested that members of the bloc should pool some aspects of their debt management and share a budget to fight crisis shocks.

“Slovakia meets conditions to be a part of the EU integration machine led by Germany and France,” said Robert Fico, Slovakia’s leftist third-time prime minister who oversaw his country’s adoption of the euro in 2009.

“Deeper cooperation and integration with stronger countries suit a small country like Slovakia, this is a historic chance to come closer to the average living standards of the EU,” he told reporters after a regular government meeting.

“Either we get in the integration express or we’ll be stuck in the depot on the second track,” he said, distancing himself from eurosceptic governments in neighbouring Hungary and Poland, and the Czech Republic, where integrationist Social Democrats are expected to lose an election in October.

Slovakia is the only one of these so-called Visegrad Four countries that uses the euro as its currency.

It has been one of the better budget performers in the eurozone, with public debt load expected to fall to 51.8 percent this year, less than the eurozone average at 89.2 percent in 2016.

Fico also called on opposition parties to get behind the consensus on Slovakia’s foreign policy direction.

Richard Sulik, leader of the eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, Slovakia’s second largest after Fico’s center-left SMER, said on Tuesday Bratislava should not try to be part of the eurozone core as it would be forced to agree to tax harmonization and refugee quotas.

Slovakia under Fico’s government, along with the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary, refused to accept EU refugee quotas and challenged them in an EU court.
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IS Attacks Show Iran’s Vulnerability to Terror

Posted on by SeeEA

Tehran has bragged for years that Islamic State could not deeply penetrate inside Iran, saying it kept a chokehold on any IS roots by arresting possible suspects and monitoring movements along its borders.

But Wednesday’s attacks, claimed by IS, on Iran’s parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that left at least 12 people dead, exposed Iran’s vulnerability, analysts say. It shows, too, that IS will follow through on its threats to terrorize Iran, which it sees as a battlefield enemy and religious persecutor.

IS has long accused Shiite-led Iran of executing thousands of the Sunni minority in the country.

Iraq’s Iran-backed Shiite paramilitary force has inflicted hundreds of casualties on IS and driven IS from land outside Mosul. In Syria, Iran has been a major military backer of the Syrian regime, first in its war with rebel groups across the country and later against IS.

Combat troops in Syria

About 10,000 Iranian combat troops are in Syria fighting alongside thousands of fighters from Hezbollah, Lebanon’s Tehran-affiliated Shiite militia, and assorted Shiite militias made up of renegade Pakistanis, central Asians and other nationalities.

“With its direct involvement in fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, a retaliation from IS shouldn’t be a surprise to authorities in Iran,” said Alex Vatanka, a senior analyst at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Iran intelligence has boasted about layers of security applied by agents protecting the country from IS infiltrations. Several times in recent months, Iranian officials have spoken about breaking up IS-related terror cells and arresting IS-affiliated militants planning attacks inside Iran.

“We have built a complicated network of security nets from Karbala all the way to Tehran that allows us to trace every single move of Daesh [IS],” Hojatoleslam Toyserkani, representative of Iran’s supreme leader to the Basij paramilitary forces, said last week.

Until Wednesday, the alleged security veneer seemed intact even though officials’ claims of the public’s protection from IS lacked many details, including when alleged incidents took place, the identity of most suspects, and concrete links to IS. 

“Iranian authorities were good in preventing IS from conducting operations inside Iran, but this attack put a crack on the bubble of invincibility Tehran tried hard to project,” analyst Vatanka said.

Wednesday’s twin synchronized attacks on two of the most visible and secure sites in the capital were intended by IS to put Tehran on notice, analysts said.

Video of attack

IS-affiliated Amaq social media released a video allegedly showing the attacker storming a parliament office, shooting at staff and shouting IS slogans in Arabic.

“IS wants to send a message that despite all security measures, they can conduct attacks and tarnish Iran’s intelligence reputation,” Karim Pourhamzavi, an extremism analyst at Macquarie University in Sydney, told VOA.

In March, IS issued a video threatening Iran and promising to conquer the country soon. The 36-minute Persian-language clip was narrated and hosted by several Persian speakers with heavy Baloch accents.

The speakers allege that more than 18,000 Iranian Sunnis have been executed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. One of the speakers urges Sunnis to join the group “to defend their dignity and regain the pride taken away by Iranian Shia authorities.”

But several opinion polls have shown little Sunni interest in joining IS.

Still, Wednesday’s attack had people in Tehran wondering if IS has more support than Iran leaders let on. It marks the first time the Sunni Muslim group admitted it staged an attack in the majority Shiite Muslim country.

“The timing of the attack and good knowledge about the entrances of parliament are hints that may make us think that they had insiders or having access to some precise information before conducting the attack,” said Mohammad Ghorbani, a Tehran-based reporter who covers terrorism issues.

Presence likely to grow

Still, in the long run, some analysts think it’s doubtful IS will forge a deeper presence in Iran.

“IS have always conducted attacks inside countries using local agents and supporters,” Emad Abshenasan, a Tehran-based extremism analyst, told VOA. “IS has no base in Iran, and even its minority Sunni population do not favor or support IS or its ideology.”

But by getting more involved in conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, Tehran is exposing itself more to possible terror at home, analysts said.

“As Tehran deepens its engrossment in regional conflicts and into affairs of the Arab world, it makes itself more susceptible to these kinds of attacks partially, directly, or indirectly supported or directed by its contenders in the region,” analyst Vatanka said.
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US, Partners Plan European Military Exercise with 25,000 Troops

Posted on by SeeEU

About 25,000 military forces from the United States and 23 other countries will take part in a large-scale military exercise called Saber Guardian planned in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania next month.

In addition, several U.S. B-1B heavy bombers have arrived in Britain in support of two separate multinational exercises planned in the Baltic region and other parts of Europe this month to improve coordination among partner countries.

The U.S. military plans were announced by Stuttgart-based U.S. European Command, which said this year’s Saber Guardian exercise — held annually in the Black Sea region since 2013 — was “larger in both scale and scope” than previous exercises.

The news could exacerbate tensions that are already running high between Moscow and Washington.

Russia scrambled a fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

Washington said the long-range bomber was operating in international airspace.

European Command said the Saber Guardian exercise would include an array of live fire exercises, river crossings and a mass casualty exercise and was aimed at drilling “the ability to mass forces at any given time anywhere in Europe.”

“It is deterrence in action,” it said in a release.

The U.S. army said the larger exercise would be preceded by several smaller events — all aimed at shoring up the security and stability of the Black Sea region, where increased Russian submarine activity has sparked concerns.

The Saber Guardian exercise rotates through Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, with a goal to increase the ability of European and U.S. military forces to operate together in the event of an armed conflict.

It will be the largest of 18 separate Black Sea exercises planned this year, European Command said.

The B-1B bombers were deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to a U.K. air base in Fairford to support two separate exercises planned this month, Saber Strike and BALTOPS, according to European Command.

It said an undisclosed number of B-1B bombers would join three B-52H bombers that were already in Europe for training.

BALTOPS is a recurring multinational exercise that will involve 4,000 shipboard personnel, 50 ships and submarines, and more than 50 aircraft.

Saber Strike, now in its seventh year, is aimed at improving cooperation among allies and partners while promoting regional stability and security, European Command said.
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Trump Offers to Mediate Qatar’s Diplomatic Crisis

Posted on by SeeEA

In a call with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, U.S. President Donald Trump offered to mediate the country’s diplomatic crisis with its neighbors.

“The president reiterated that a united Gulf Cooperation Council and a strong United States-Gulf Cooperation Council partnership are critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability,” a readout of the call said. “The president offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House, if necessary.”

Trump’s offer echoed comments by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson earlier this week that the U.S. is committed to helping the Gulf Cooperation Council “remain unified.”

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Trump also encouraged unity in the Gulf region with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a telephone call on Tuesday, the White House said.

Earlier in the day, the president entered the diplomatic spat involving Qatar and major Arab nations over Doha’s alleged support of Iran and Islamist militant groups sponsoring terrorism in the region.

In a series of three Twitter posts Tuesday, Trump seemed to take credit for the Saudi-led move to isolate Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.
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Jordan Soldier Hears Murder Charges in Deaths of 3 US Troops

Posted on by SeeEA

The murder trial of a Jordanian soldier accused of killing three U.S. soldiers has begun in a military court.

Judge Mohammed al-Afif said the case against 1st Sgt. Marik al-Tuwayha is criminal and not related to terrorism.

 

The judge read the indictment in court Wednesday. Al-Tuwayha, 39, was charged in the November killings of three U.S. military trainers whose convoy came under fire at the entrance to Jordanian air base.

 

The defense attorney didn’t show and the judge warned the defendant he would appoint a lawyer if his attorney didn’t attend the next hearing, set for Sunday.

 

The judge says the hearings will be public.

 

A Jordanian official had said the trial would be closed.

 

Jordan initially said the Americans triggered the shooting by ignoring orders from Jordanian soldiers.

 

 
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