Bill Richardson: Iran’s Behavior Hasn’t Changed Since Nuclear Deal by Jack Heretik Thursday April 28th, 2016 at 1:32 PM
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Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D.) said Thursday that even after the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, the rogue country’s behavior still has not changed.
Richardson was the Ambassador to the United States under President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright until he became the Secretary of Energy under Clinton.
After a reporter talked about propaganda throughout the country against the United States, Richardson was asked for his opinion.
“What do you think, these images in Iran, have been there, as Michelle mentioned, for decades, but they do continue to be touched up,” CNBC host Becky Quick said.
“Well, that’s right. I mean the impression was that after the Iran nuclear deal with the U.S., that things would get better, but Iran’s behavior is not changing internally,” Richardson said. “There is enormous pressure by the Revolutionary Guard that is against the nuclear agreement.
“There’s this anti-U.S. sentiment, recently Americans who were damaged in an accident can sue Iran and this is into Iran’s assets. The troops that Iran has in Syria are probably going to increase, working against us, so there’s still this tension. I still think the nuclear deal was good, but anyone that expects a betterment of relations in the short run, it’s not going to happen.”
The deal took effect in October 2015.
Since the deal began, there has been significant controversies, especially in the United States. This includes a deal where the United States is potentially illegally buying nuclear materials from Iran.
The post Bill Richardson: Iran’s Behavior Hasn’t Changed Since Nuclear Deal appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
White House correspondent for the New York Times Mark Landler was asked about Hillary Clinton’s role in Libya, and said how some of Clinton’s aides saw Libya as the “cornerstone of a Hillary Clinton doctrine” in an interview Tuesday on CNN.
The terrorist attack that occurred while Clinton was secretary of state in Benghazi, Libya, killing four Americans including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.
Landler was asked whether Clinton was responsible for what occurred in Libya after Donald Trump criticized her handling of the situation.
“She’s acknowledged that the State Department dropped the ball on security in Benghazi that terrible night. On the broader question of the intervention, it will be a tough issue for her in the campaign because she’s as closely identified with that intervention as anyone in the administration,” Landler said.
“She was really the person who made the case to President Obama, who was reluctant to back the NATO bombing campaign, and I think you saw in that speech yesterday that Donald Trump will lose no time in connecting her to that policy.”
“At the time when things looked like they might work out well in Libya, her aides were saying this could be the ‘cornerstone of a Hillary Clinton doctrine,’” Landler said. “So I think you’ll have to, you’ll see a lot of her on the trail defending that policy. I think the argument she’s likely to use is, ‘Look, Libya’s a work in progress. I don’t think we can determine yet what the final outcome is.’”
The post NYT: Aides Viewed Libya as the ‘Cornerstone of a Hillary Clinton Doctrine’ appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
Merrick Garland is no closer to confirmation as the next Supreme Court justice than he was at the beginning of April despite a sustained campaign by President Obama’s personal advocacy group financed by some of the country’s top Democratic donors.
Organizing for Action has brought its eight-figure budget to bear on Merrick’s behalf, holding rallies, buying digital ads, and manning the phones to pressure Republicans into proceeding with his nomination to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat.
One Senate Republican’s office reported getting hundreds of phone calls per day supporting Garland’s confirmation in the first two weeks of April, though sources say the calls have mostly stopped since then.
OFA has little to show for its efforts beyond a few meetings between Garland and a handful of Republican senators, most of whom said they still opposed moving on his nomination.
“As far as impact goes it was equivalent to a mouse jumping on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Didn’t move the needle at all, and now the calls have stopped,” said the Republican office’s chief of staff, who asked that he and his employer remain anonymous.
Inaction by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) may again prevent OFA from advancing the president’s top priorities in Congress.
OFA’s Katie Hogan, who was recently promoted to executive director, did not respond to a request for comment on its work.
Organized as a 501(c)(4) “dark money” nonprofit in 2013 and financed by the deep-pocketed donors of the Democracy Alliance, OFA was supposed to channel the president’s formidable campaign apparatus into a permanent lobby for his policy agenda.
Like Garland’s nomination, most of the group’s top priorities—issues such as immigration, gun control, global warming, and the minimum wage—have enjoyed little to no success in Congress.
To the extent that OFA’s has won any policy victories, they have mostly been through unilateral actions by the president, such as executive orders on gun control and immigration and an international climate deal that has not received congressional backing.
The group’s inability to effectively pressure a Republican-led Congress on major issues relegates it mostly to a communications role. Its activists are frequently enlisted to fight for various Obama policies, but their work produces more rhetorical than legislative support.
That is a departure from the group’s mission. When the Democracy Alliance incorporated OFA into its portfolio of liberal groups in 2014, it stressed the group’s ability “to build pressure to overcome political intransigence.”
“Its efforts have … successfully secured the support of several Members of Congress on immigration reform and [firearm] background checks,” DA wrote in briefing materials for its donors. Neither of those issues has received congressional approval in the two years since.
DA partners continue to provide significant financing for the group. Its largest 2015 donor, DA partner and OFA board member Philip Munger, gave more than $2 million last year and more than $250,000in 2014. Amy Goldman-Fowler, another Alliance donor and a member of OFA’s advisory board, gave $500,000 in 2014.
Even with those sizable donations, OFA finances took a hit in 2014. According to its most recent filingwith the Internal Revenue Service, the group raised $14.3 million that year, compared to $26 million in 2013. With nearly $18 million in expenses in 2014, the group ran up a seven-figure deficit.
Its lackluster fundraising came despite contracts with at least ten fundraising firms. In its IRS filing, it reported paying those firms more than $1.5 million to raise about $318,000 for the group, though it noted that it had not kept track of the exact sums raised by each of the firms.
OFA also contracts with the Messina Group, a consulting firm owned by Jim Messina, the manager of Obama’s 2012 campaign and OFA’s cofounder. Messina, who now chairs OFA’s board, did not draw a salary from the group that year, but his firm received $135,000 for consulting services and another $48,000 for leasing office space to OFA.
The group listed 11 salaried staffers on its 2014 IRS filing. All made six figures, though the group reported paying its female employees just 74 cents for every dollar it paid its male employees.
The post Obama Advocacy Group Fails to Move Supreme Court Nomination appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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Donald Trump’s Strange World Viewby By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
In his first formal foreign policy speech, Mr. Trump says he would tell global allies and foes that it’s his way or the highway.
Another Terrorist Mastermind Turns Out To Be An Obvious ‘Moron’ by therearenosunglasses
Lawyer of Paris suspect says client is ‘moron’
- By Louise Dewast
Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam was described by his Belgian lawyer as “a little moron” who “is worth gold” in the investigation into the Paris attacks last November.
In an interview with Jean Quatremer for the French newspaper Liberation, lawyer Sven Mary opened up about his client and what it was like defending Abdeslam.
“He’s a little moron from Molenbeek involved in petty crimes; more of follower than a leader. He has the intelligence of an empty ashtray. He is the perfect example of the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ generation who thinks he lives in a video game,” Mary said.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo
Mary said he has spoken to his client only seven or eight times in jail.
Moreover, Abdeslam’s pathway to radicalization has been hard to establish. “A year ago and a half he was still clubbing in Amsterdam,” Mary said. “I asked him if he read the Coran, and he said he had read interpretations on the Internet.”
While Mary believes everyone is entitled to an attorney, he said he thought about quitting the case, especially after the attacks in Brussels last month, which happened three days after Abdeslam was arrested.
“I was assaulted several times, verbally or physically. Two guys even waited for me in front of my office […] and police officers had to accompany my daughters to school twice,” Mary said.
Mary said Abdeslam is collaborating and communicating with officials. Abdeslam was transferred from a Belgium prison to France this morning after a European arrest warrant was issued by France on March 19, according to the Belgian federal prosecutor.
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Russia: Lavrov meets former Afghan pres. Karzai in Moscow
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When Barack Obama proposes something, you know it’s been analyzed and balanced and weighed against the alternatives, tested in the laboratory and found to be a reasonable solution given the limitations and under the circumstances. When Trump faces some similar challenge, you don’t know what he’s going to say or do.
Trump clearly seems unknowledgeable about the national security topics he was reading from a teleprompter (something he’s rarely done as a neophyte politician).
Intel leaders push controversial encryption draft
The Hill Citing the terrorist shooting in Garland, Texas last year — in which FBI Director James B.Comey has said the attackers “exchanged 109 messages with an overseas terrorist” that the agency can't read — and an unsolved murder in Louisiana, Burr and ... and more » |
A look at key events in Syria since March 2011by In Homeland Security Staff
A cease-fire that for two months brought relief to war-stricken Syrians has effectively collapsed, particularly in northern Syria, which has seen intense fighting and a military buildup. Here are some of the key events in the conflict.
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U.S. News & World Report WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee took an election-year swipe Wednesday at the nation's growing drug addiction problem, approving federal grants that would bolster state and local efforts against the abuse of opioid painkillers. Did the House weaken the Senate's drug abuse bill? Rob Portman thinks soWashington Post all 28 news articles » |
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Business Insider |
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WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee early Thursday voted to add billions to a list of Defense Department weapon programs and signed off on a $583 billion Pentagon budget that blurs the lines between wartime funding and base-budget require
Political leaders in the NATO-aligned Baltic states are warning Finland and Sweden that a future path into the Western alliance may not be as automatic as they might assume and could take time to accomplish.
April 28, 2016, 10:28 AM (IDT)
Syrian army sources claimed Wednesday that they had ambushed and captured a group of vehicles packed with Israeli weapons in the southern part of the country. The sources did not say specifically that the shipment came from Israel but pointed out that the weapons and ammunition were marked with Hebrew writing, indicating their source.
The sources also failed to specify the exact location of the ambush, only saying that the vehicles were travelling in the area of Swaida, the main Druze city in the Jebel Druze area of southern Syria.
The ambush was said to have been carried out after the authorities were tipped off by local residents about the movement of suspicious vehicles in the area. Syrian military sources reported that the vehicles carried Israeli mines, RPG rocket launchers, B9 guns, various types of mortars and hand grenades.
DEBKAfile's military sources point out that this report is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the secret war in southern Syria that involves at least 10 regional actors: the US, Russia, Syria, Iran, Hizballah, Jordan, Israel, the Syrian rebels, the Nusra Front and ISIS.
The sources also failed to specify the exact location of the ambush, only saying that the vehicles were travelling in the area of Swaida, the main Druze city in the Jebel Druze area of southern Syria.
The ambush was said to have been carried out after the authorities were tipped off by local residents about the movement of suspicious vehicles in the area. Syrian military sources reported that the vehicles carried Israeli mines, RPG rocket launchers, B9 guns, various types of mortars and hand grenades.
DEBKAfile's military sources point out that this report is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the secret war in southern Syria that involves at least 10 regional actors: the US, Russia, Syria, Iran, Hizballah, Jordan, Israel, the Syrian rebels, the Nusra Front and ISIS.
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Defense Secretary Ash Carter is defending the U.S. strategy for defeating the Islamic State group. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S.-backed local forces in Iraq and Syria are making substantive gains toward retaking Islamic State strongholds.
F-22 Raptors are making the rounds in eastern Europe this week in a subtle show of strength and support to allies concerned about Russian aggression in the region.
The Obama administration released nearly 20,000 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes from custody in 2015, according to new figures published by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau.
The 19,723 illegals freed from custody during the last year had a total of 64,197 convictions between them, according to the data. This included 8,324 violent convictions and 208 homicide convictions.
“While the total number of releases is lower than the past two years, since the number of arrests has declined quite dramatically, the rate of releases is approximately the same—meaning that this is no progress at all, and certainly will be no consolation for the victims of these criminal aliens,” Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, wrote in a recent policy brief on the situation.
A large portion of these illegal immigrants were convicted of driving under the influence, according to the data. At least 12,307 were convicted of alcohol involved DUIs, while 345 were brought up on drug DUI convictions.
Another 7,986 were convicted on “dangerous drugs” charges, 1,963 were convicted of burglary, 1,420 for obstructing police, 1,728 for assault, 1,317 on weapons charges, and 614 for sex offenses.
The post Obama Admin Freed 19,723 Criminal Illegal Immigrants in 2015 appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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In a hearing on Guantanamo Bay transfers to the U.S. Thursday, Gov. Nikki Haley (R., S.C.) said that closing the detention facility would not eliminate anti-U.S. terrorist propaganda because terrorists will hate the U.S. with or without Guantanamo Bay.
“Moving detention operations from a secure facility outside of the continental United States and into Charleston will not stop the propaganda,” Haley said, referring to the Obama administration’s argument that Guantanamo Bay is used as a terrorist recruitment tool.
“This line of thinking is giving the terrorists too much credit, and too much validity,” Haley said before the House Homeland Security Committee. “Terrorists do not need a jail to hate us. They hate us on their own.”
During his campaign for president in 2008, President Barack Obama promised to “immediately close” the Cuba-based detention facility. He argued that the prison is “contrary to our values.”
In February, Obama released a plan detailing the transfer of 91 Guantanamo Bay detainees to 13 potential sites including a Naval Consolidated Brig near Charleston, a Supermax prison in Colorado, and a military prison in Kansas.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said in February that the proposal to transfer terrorists into America was illegal and driven by Obama’s desire to fulfill an old promise.
“President Obama seems to remain captured on one matter by a campaign promise he made way back in 2008,” said McConnell. “His ill-considered crusade to close the secure detention facility at Guantanamo.”
“[Obama’s] Attorney General recently confirmed that it is illegal–illegal–for the president to transfer any of these terrorists into the United States,” McConnell said.
The post Haley: Terrorists Don’t Need a Jail to Hate Us, They Do That On Their Own appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's critics are homing in on the appearance of gaping contradictions in the foreign policy speech he gave Wednesday, including his assertion that America needs a more "consistent" foreign policy while also being more "more unpredictable."
But it was a specific claim the billionaire businessman made ...
The state-controlled China Daily news outlet published an “exclusive” interview with Shi Wen, chief drone designer at the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), Beijing, detailing foreign sales of the Cai Hong-series (Rainbow-series
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Ash Carter defended the U.S. strategy for defeating Islamic State militants, telling Congress on Thursday that U.S.-backed local forces in Iraq and Syria are making substantive gains toward retaking the extremist group's strongholds.
Carter counseled against sending a large, American-led "foreign ground force" to battle ...
A redacted copy of an investigation into the U.S. airstrike that killed 42 people at a Doctors Without Borders hospital in northern Afghanistan will be released Friday, according to media reports.
Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iraq Thursday during an unannounced visit to meet with government officials amid a political crisis that threatens to cripple Baghdad’s crusade against the Islamic State terrorist group.
Biden, whose trip was kept secret in advance for security reasons, had not been to Iraq since 2011 when the United States withdrew its troops, according to the Associated Press.
He will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and top Iraqi leaders to encourage political unity as the nation moves toward a potential government collapse because of increasing political rifts.
The Associated Press reported:
Protests and demands for political reforms have paralyzed an Iraqi government already struggling with a troubled economy and violent extremists. The Obama administration has stepped up the U.S. military role with more troops and equipment, but the U.S. worries that infighting in Baghdad is jeopardizing hard-fought gains with President Barack Obama set to leave office in January.
The current turmoil sparked after Obama ally Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attempted to combat corruption by replacing the Shiite members in his cabinet with technocrats and reformers. The effort incited sectarian fissures and led protestors to demand his resignation, according to theWall Street Journal.
The Obama administration has aired concerns that the political fissures in Iraq will ultimately detract from the nation’s efforts to degrade ISIS.
“The more the political system in Baghdad is consumed with everyone keeping their job,” a senior administration official told the Washington Post, “the more difficult it is for them to all get together” in the battle against ISIS.
During his trip, Biden will collaborate with top Iraqi officials to devise a strategy that will help the nation refocus its efforts on the government’s military operations.
“There can be no greater symbol of how much support he gives to the Iraqi government in general and how much faith we have in Prime Minister Abadi than the vice president of the United States showing up in Baghdad,” the senior official told the Washington Post.
The post Joe Biden Lands in Iraq to Smooth the Nation’s Political Turmoil appeared first onWashington Free Beacon.
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The carmaker also said it had set aside about $7.9 billion for legal costs worldwide, indicating that it expects fines in the U.S. to be much lower than some analysts have estimated.
No, Russia is not in decline – at least not any more and not yet
FT.com (registration) (blog) A survey of recent writings on Russia by western scholars reveals a widely-held view that the largest of the 15 post-Soviet republics has continued to decline in the 21st century. Yet an examination of the data suggests that Russia has actually risen ... |
Полетные задания выполнялись в районе полигона Опук с привлечением 10 многофункциональных истребителей Су-30СМ и фронтовых бомбардировщиков Су-24М штурмового авиаполка ЧФ.
Israel Makes Push for Gaza Strip Recoveryby webdesk@voanews.com (Joshua Brilliant)
For years, Israel tried to erode Hamas’ grip on the Gaza Strip. Officials calculated what Gazans needed for survival and let in little else. Records show that sometimes pasta, notebooks and musical instruments were banned. Israeli leaders eventually realized that Hamas’ downfall could lead to chaos or the rise of a more radical Jihadist group. So Israel is now easing up on the strip’s economy. “We do understand that a deep and whole recovery of the Gaza Strip is essential for stability,” army Deputy Chief of General Staff Major General Yair Golan, told reporters. Some 700 to 800 trucks a day carry goods to the Kerem Shalom Crossing. There, security checks are supposed to catch every item that could serve Hamas’ military purposes. Palestinian trucks then carry the goods into the strip. Meanwhile, officials are debating the kind of a port Gaza might have. “The economy cannot survive without being connected to the outside world,” the World Bank’s Country Director for the West Bank and the Gaza Strip Steen Lau Jorgensen said in a recent report. Israel maintains a naval blockade on Gaza, but lets the Palestinians use its port of Ashdod. Israeli and Palestinian economists found Ashdod time consuming and expensive. Because of bureaucracy, security checks and transportation requirements it takes a Palestinian-bound container 38 days to reach its destination, compared to 10 days for a delivery in Israel. The costs are more than double. Israeli-Palestinian agreements provided for a port in Gaza and work began in 2000, but the Israelis bombed the site during the Second Intifada. Starting again there would boost Gaza’s economy. Investors have avoided the strip because it is a high risk area with occasional outbursts of hostilities, noted Palestinian economist Saeb Khatib. A port would provide tens of thousands of jobs, easing unemployment, which has reached 45 percent, according to the World Bank. Gazans can not work abroad because the strip’s borders are closed. Security concerns Such a port would, some say, endanger Israel’s security. Gaza’s experienced tunnel diggers could open an underground arms smuggling channel, they say. Moreover, Israeli officials want their inspectors to check the shipments, but such inspectors would risk their lives if they enter the strip. Israel’s experience with European Union observers several years ago was also problematic. From their side of the border, Israelis monitored the Rapha Crossing between Egypt and Gaza. They alerted EU representatives at the crossing whenever Palestinian officials seemed to violate agreed regulations, but the observers were not enforcers. Mark Gallagher, who heads the political section at the European Union’s delegation to Israel, acknowledged that, “If they [the Palestinians] let something out, they let something out.” But there are few alternatives. Boarding ships at sea to check their cargo is no solution. It is impossible to thoroughly check a ship carrying thousands of containers. Other suggestions talked of unloading cargoes in Cyprus or Egypt, checking them there and letting a trusted third party deliver them to Gaza. Israeli Transport Minister Israel Katz is pushing for construction of an artificial island some 4.5 kilometers off Gaza’s coast and a bridge linking it to the shore. The eight-square-kilometer island should be under an international regime, Katz told a conference at the Ruppin Academic Center. Imports would be checked in accordance with Israeli standards. It would be an expensive project, with estimates it would cost $7 billion to $10 billion. Hamas a political problem A key problem would be political. Hamas wants a port, but rejects U.S., European Union, Russian and United Nations demands that it commit itself to non-violence. “If we give Hamas [a port], we will strengthen Hamas versus the Palestinian Authority... Hamastan will become a sovereign entity,” Amos Gilad, who heads the Israeli defense ministry’s political-military affairs branch, warned in an address at the Hebrew University’s Truman Center. The Palestinian Authority wants the port to be part of an independent state encompassing the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and not under Hamas, noted former Palestinian minister Ashraf al-Ajrami. “It would be a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty,” he said. Israel’s decision could affect the internal Palestinian power contest. Professor Matti Steinberg, an Israeli expert on Palestinian affairs, noted that Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 helped Hamas win the 2006 elections. Hamas argued its attacks forced Israel out, not Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ no-violence policy. Minister Katz said he is confident of “a sweeping majority” in the Cabinet for his initiative, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would bring it up. “I know that. I am not guessing,” he told the VOA. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel said he had discussed the matter with Netanyahu, who said he was considering it.
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 RT |
World's fastest jet MiG-31 intercepts US spy plane near Russia's Far East
RT “On April 21, a US Navy P-8 Maritime Patrol reconnaissance aircraft flying a routine mission in international airspace was intercepted by a MiG-31 Russian jet in the vicinity of the Kamchatka Peninsula,” Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Pacific ... Russian Warplane Flies Within 50 Feet of US Spy Plane in AsiaWashington Free Beacon all 4 news articles » |
В Москве у Дома кино провокаторы из прокремлевского "Национально-освободительного движения" закидали яйцами и облили зеленкой участников церемонии награждения лауреатов конкурса для старшеклассников "Человек в истории. Россия – XX век", организованного правозащитным центром "Мемориал". Среди пострадавших от хулиганских действий оказалась и писательница Людмила Улицкая. Прокремлевские активисты выкрикивали оскорбительные лозунги, называя участников мероприятия "национал-предателями".
Ссылка на источник - http://www.svoboda.org/media/video/27704643.html
Ссылка на источник - http://www.svoboda.org/media/video/27704643.html
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The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency has been removed from his post in a move described by observers as surprising. Gerhard Schindler, 63, has led Germany’s Federal Intelligence Servic…
Vladimir Putin’s Russia is far too weak to fight a real Cold War with the West, so the Kremlin has decided to do the next best thing: make a reality show about a Cold War.
Source: That Cold War Movie
A string of Russian military figures and experts accuse the US and Nato of causing global insecurity, says Steve Rosenberg.
The dismissal of Gerhard Schindler came when his job appeared safe, despite his agency’s links to carrying out searches at the behest of the United States’ National Security Agency.
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
Syria ceasefire. UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura has called on the US and Russia to “revitalize” the collapsing ceasefire, which is in “great danger.” [AP; New York Times’ Nick Cumming-Bruce; BBC] Cooperation between the White House and the Kremlin on the Syria issue is “fraying,” reports Karen DeYoung, Moscow this week accusing the Obama administration of “appeasing” regional allies by ignoring the presence of terrorists in the opposition forces it supports. [Washington Post]
Russia has called on the UN to blacklist two key Syrian opposition groups, accusing them of being “closely linked to terrorist organizations, primarily ISIL and al-Qaeda.” [Al Jazeera]
An airstrike on a Médecines Sans Frontières-supported hospital in Aleppo has killed at least 14 patients and staff this morning. [Washington Post’s Erin Cunningham] Civil defense sources have blamed the Syrian government for the strike, but there has yet to be any official confirmation. [BBC]
US Special Operations forces have killed more than three dozen Islamic State operatives linked to the Europe terror attacks, defense officials have told The Daily Beast, reports Kimberley Dozier.
Lebanese soldiers killed an ISIS leader today in a military operation in the border region with Syria, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency and security sources. [Reuters]
The situation at the Syria-Turkey border demonstrates the gravity of the situation, reports Roy Gutman, commenting on the violence and humanitarian crisis there. [Politico]
US-led airstrikes continue. The US and coalition military forces carried out 23 strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq on April 26. [Central Command]
CYBERSECURITY, PRIVACY and TECHNOLOGY
An email privacy bill requiring federal agencies to obtain a warrant before searching Americans’ digital communications was unanimously passed by the House yesterday. The new law, the Email Privacy Act, will amend the 1986 Email Communications Privacy Act, closing a “loophole” that technically allowed law enforcement agencies to require tech companies to hand over customers’ data, regardless of the age of that data. [The Intercept’s Jenna McLaughlin; The Hill’s Mario Trujillo]
The encryption status quo is “unacceptable,” say Sens. Richard Burr (R, NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif), chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who are circulating a proposal in the Senate designed to ensure that tech companies and individuals give the “appropriate technical assistance” on judicial request to law enforcement agencies. [Wall Street Journal]
YEMEN
A car bomb has exploded outside the home of Yemen’s Aden security chief Shelal Ali Shayyeh, wounding at least two people. Shayyeh escaped unharmed. [Reuters’ Mohammed Mukhashaf et al] There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. [Al Jazeera]
Saudi Arabia must complete an inquiry into its military intervention in Yemen and admit any mistakes it made quickly, the UK has urged, accusing the Saudis of being “frustratingly slow” in producing a report on the repeated allegations that it has been indiscriminately bombing Yemeni civilians. UK ministers also said that they would not be revoking any of the UK’s arms exports licences until a report has been produced. [The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour]
NORTH KOREA
North Korea tested a mid-range “Musudan” missile this morning, but it crashed soon after lift-off, according to South Korea’s defense ministry. This is the second failed launch this month. [Reuters’ Ju-min Park et al; CNN]
China “will absolutely not permit war or chaos” on the Korean peninsula, China’s President Xi said today. Although its sole major ally, China does not approve of North Korea’s nuclear weapons development drive, and recently backed fresh UN sanctions against it. [Reuters’ Michael Martina]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
A report detailing the failings which led to a US gunship attacking a Médecines Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 42 civilians last October 3 is to be declassified and released by the Pentagon. MSF said the strike was “tantamount to a war crime” at the time. [The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman]
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam appeared in court in Paris yesterday and was charged with murder and being a member of a terrorist organization, having been flown to Paris by helicopter from Belgium shortly beforehand. Abdeslam declined to respond to the charges, his lawyer subsequently explaining that he had been too tired to do so following his extradition, but would be cooperating fully with the investigation. [The Guardian’s Kim Willsher; France 24]
A suicide bomb close to the Grand Mosque in Bursa, Turkey, injured a number of people yesterday. The attacker, whom officials say was a young woman, died at the scene. [Wall Street Journal’s Emre Peker and Dion Nissenbaum; New York Times’ Ceylan Yeginsu] This morning, Turkish authorities have detained 15 people in connection with the attack. [Reuters’ Daren Butler]
Islamic State have been infiltrating Libya’s oil crescent region and attacking oil fields, the Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya warned yesterday.
‘America First.’ Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump delivered a speech yesterday setting out his vision for foreign policy should he become the next US president. During his speech, Trump accused President Obama of being directly responsible for the “chaos” in the Middle East, for China’s increasing military presence, and Russia’s growing hostility. He pledged a build-up of the military, to “very, very quickly” destroy Islamic State, and the rejection of various international trade deals. [Washington Post’s Karen DeYoung and Jose A DelReal; BBC]
Be cautious in judging the 28-pages when they become available, advises Carol Giacomo, echoing the warning of the leaders of the independent commission that investigated the 9/11 attacks and produced the report of which the 28-pages is the remaining redacted portion. They issued astatement last week warning future readers that the pages contain allegations based mainly on “raw, unvetted material” which has not had “the benefit of follow-up investigation.” [New York Times]
“Put bluntly, the United States is relying on an authorization to fight those responsible for Sept. 11 to wage war against groups that had nothing to do with those attacks and, in some cases, didn’t even exist at the time.” Just Security’s Jennifer Daskal argues that the Obama administration’s expansive interpretation of the 2001 AUMF “empowers future presidents in dangerous ways.” [New York Times]
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union would insist on completing a swift divorce with Britain before starting to forge any new relationship if UK voters decide in June to leave the 28-member bloc.
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