Ex-Nusra Front rebels blocking evacuation buses from besieged villages: mo... - Reuters Sunday December 18th, 2016 at 6:01 PM Nusra Front - Google
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Economic Times |
Ex-Nusra Front rebels blocking evacuation buses from besieged villages: mo...
Reuters BEIRUT The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on Sunday a rebel group formerly known as the Nusra Front was preventing evacuation buses from entering the besieged villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province. An evacuation of ... Aleppo battle: Rebels burn Syria evacuation busesBBC News Gunmen attack buses sent to evacuate Syrian pro-regime villagesPRI Buses Burned During Evacuation Of Syrian Villages, Monitor SaysHuffington Post Fortune -BBC News all 364 news articles » |
International Business Times UK |
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon accuses Russia of belligerence in Eastern Europe
International Business Times UK The UK is to continue training Ukrainian troops until at least 2018 to counter the increased threat from Russia, UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has announced. Up to 100 UK personnel are in the east European country at any one time, training ... Daily Artillery Pounding Pushes Europe to the Brink of WarNewsweek How Russia's Cyberattacks Have Affected Ukraine - The Daily SignalDaily Signal all 23 news articles » |
Middle East Monitor |
Iran's Revolutionary Guard taunts Obama: 'After Aleppo, we will intervene in Bahrain, Yemen'
American Thinker (blog) Bahrain and Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Provinces contain a large population of Shiite Muslims who could well support the Iranians over their own Shiite-run regimes. The IRG here is threatening the consequences many of us warned about when ... Iranian commander: Victories in Yemen and Bahrain after AleppoMiddle East Monitor all 30 news articles » |
New York Times |
Trump to break another tradition after becoming president
New York Post At what he had billed as his final post-election “thank you” rally, Donald Trump hinted that he just might keep on holding them after being sworn in as president next month. “They're saying, 'As president, he shouldn't be doing rallies,' ” he told a ... Trump Ends 'Thank You' Tour on Familiar Theme: Reveling in His VictoryNew York Times all 19 news articles » |
CNN |
Obama cozied up to China and battled Putin. Trump is doing the exact opposite.
Vox The Cold War-era military alliance was formed to protect Europe from the Soviet Union, and today one of its roles is serving as a bulwark against Russian influence and expansionism. If Trump continues to criticize NATO or ... Under Trump the US could ... Putin's revengePOLITICO.eu The good, bad and ugly of warmer US-Russia relationsCNN Is Donald Trump Vladimir Putin's 'most useful idiot'?Los Angeles Times Fortune -Politico -The Hill (blog) -NBCNews.com all 3,005 news articles » |
Huffington Post |
DNC Chair Contradicts Obama: Russian Hackers Came After Us 'Until End of Election'
ABC News Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile said Russian hackers persisted in trying to break into the organization's computers "daily, hourly" until after the election -- contradicting President Obama's assertion that the hacking stopped in ... DNC Chair Says Russian Hackers Attacked The Committee Through Election DayHuffington Post DNC Chair: Russia's Pro-Trump Cyber Attacks On Democrats Continued Through ElectionDayPoliticusUSA Dem boss demands bipartisan congressional investigation into Russian hacksThe Hill all 27 news articles » |
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Time to face reality, Obama — Trump is going to be president
New York Post So this is how it ends — in a whimper wrapped in self-pity and recriminations. With President Obama on the defensive at his final press conference and Hillary Clinton's last campaign event resembling a wake, the Democratic Party is limping off the ... and more » |
Daily Kos |
Presidential Daily Brief: Trump determined to strike in U.S.
Daily Kos The Trump jihad against the pillars of Americans foreign policy—summarized as “appease Russia, provoke China, and attack Iran”—poses a double threat to U.S. national security and its allies in both Europe and the Pacific. ... But despite warnings ... Donald Trump, the Merchant President of New AmericaMorocco World News all 56 news articles » |
Washington Post |
Congressional push for sanctions against Russia could set up clash with Trump
Washington Post A showdown in Congress is looming over expanding sanctions against Russia, possibly pitting lawmakers once again against President-elect Donald J. Trump and his secretary of state nominee who previously has opposed them. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. and more » |
Media Matters for America |
CNN's Van Jones On Russian Cyber Attacks: Trump “Cannot Find It In Himself To Say This Is Wrong And It Needs To ...
Media Matters for America VAN JONES: This is baffling to anybody with a functioning brainstem. We have to be honest about this. Yes, other presidents tried to say nice things about the Russians and other warm things in their heart and they love -- not in the face of an active ... |
Wall Street Journal |
A Canadian tourist and 4 police officers have been killed in a Jordan shooting
The Week Magazine Five people were killed and nine injured in multiple shootings in and near Karak, Jordan, on Sunday, including an attack at a 900-year-old castle that is a popular tourist attraction. Among the dead was a woman visiting from Canada as well as four ... Nine Shot Dead in Jordan Include Local Police Officers, Canadian TouristWall Street Journal Canadian woman, 4 police officers, 2 civilians killed in Jordan shootingUPI.com Jordan attack: Canadian among 10 dead in Karak shootingBBC News CBC.ca -Evening Standard -Metro all 210 news articles » |
The Hill |
Conway: Trump campaign 'absolutely' did not have contact with Russians
The Hill "Absolutely not," she said on CBS's "Face The Nation" when asked if anyone involved in theTrump campaign had contact with Russians who were trying to meddle in the vote. "Those conversations never happened. I hear people saying it like it's fact on ... and more » |
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Press TV |
Russia, Turkey, Syria alliance shows US power in decline in ME: Analyst
Press TV Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held phone conversations with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts to discuss the unfolding situation in Syria. The three ministers have urged the facilitation of a political resolution to the conflict in Syria. US, Russia trade barbs over Syria conflictSBS Syria civil war: Russia says it's tired of US 'whining' over AleppoThe Independent Does The US Support Syria? Russia And Washington's Involvement ExplainedInternational Business Times PBS NewsHour -ABC Online -Sky News all 6,773 news articles » |
Huffington Post |
DNC Chair Says Russian Hackers Attacked The Committee Through Election Day
Huffington Post That goes against Obama's statement that the attacks ended after he spoke to Putin in September. 12/18/2016 10:59 am ET. 1.6k. Dave Jamieson Labor Reporter, The Huffington Post. The chair of the Democratic National Committee said Sunday that the DNC ... Dem boss demands bipartisan congressional investigation into Russian hacksThe Hill DNC chair: Russian hackers attacked daily until end of the electionUPI.com Brazile pushes back on Obama's claim that he helped stop Russian hackingAOL News Washington Times -Politico -Daily Caller -Washington Examiner (blog) all 25 news articles » |
Washington Post |
McCain calls for committee to investigate Russia hacking: 'There's no doubt' of interference
Washington Post Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday again decried Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential race and called for a select Senate committee to investigate the country's cyber activities during the election. On CNN's “State of the Union ... McCain calls for select committee on cyberwarfare, defying McConnellPolitico McCain Seeks Single Inquiry on Russian HackingNew York Times John McCain: Russia hack shows 'failure of American leadership' under ObamaWashington Times Huffington Post -Breitbart News -Washington Examiner (blog) -CNN all 17 news articles » |
NBCNews.com |
Former Clinton Staffer Tracking Potential Trump Conflicts on 'Corrupt.af' Website
NBCNews.com The Hillary Clinton campaign's former digital director for communications is making a splash with a new website that tries to catalog possible conflicts of interest posed by Donald Trump. And as serious as those conflicts may be, the cheeky nature of ... and more » |
Al-Arabiya |
Jubeir: Action must to stop Iran's meddling
Al-Arabiya ... Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Oman's Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, and U.N. special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed pose for a group photo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, ... Middle East|US Secretary of State Discusses Yemen War on Saudi TripNew York Times Saudi Arabia denies US moves to curb military support over YemenReuters UK In Yemen, Yet Another Undeclared US WarLobeLog VICE News all 98 news articles » |
Washington Times |
Donna Brazile: Cyberattacks 'did not stop' after Obama warned Putin to 'cut it out'
Washington Times Democratic National Committee interim Chair Donna Brazile says President Obama is incorrect that cyberattacks against the party stopped after he warned Russian President Vladimir Putin to “cut it out.” “No, they did not stop,” Ms. Brazile said Sunday ... DNC Chair: Russia's Pro-Trump Cyber Attacks On Democrats Continued Through Election DayPoliticusUSA all 26 news articles » |
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The Denver Channel |
Polls Confirm What You Already Knew: Trump's An Agent Of Change
The Denver Channel A new poll says a majority of Americans think that President-elect Donald Trump will bring change to the U.S., but they're divided over how good that change will be. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 68 percent of Americans think Trump ... and more » |
Mediaite |
Chuck Todd to Podesta: How Much of Democrats' Loss Is on the ...
Mediaite John Podesta appeared on Meet the Press today to discuss Russian hacking and how his emails became a big part of the campaign that ended up with his ... Lynch says reaction to Bill Clinton meeting was 'painful'CNN John Podesta op-ed: Something is broken at the FBIChicago Tribune Loretta Lynch: Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have had that tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton while his wife was being ...Hot Air CBS News -Politico -GOOD Magazine -Washington Post all 142 news articles » |
Huffington Post |
Donald Trump Still Not Convinced Russians Meddled In Election: Reince Priebus
Huffington Post Donald Trump's incoming chief of staff said Sunday that the president-elect doesn't necessarily believe press reports that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russians meddled in the presidential election in an effort to help him win. Speaking on ... Donald Trump Will Wait for FBI View on Russia Hacking Allegations, Priebus SaysWall Street Journal Priebus: Trump ready to accept Russia hacking report, if CIA, FBI get on same pageFox News 'I'm asking you a simple question': Fox News host confronts RNC chair over Trump's denial ofRussia hacksBusiness Insider Politico -ABC News -Daily Mail all 30 news articles » |
USA TODAY |
Clinton campaign chief: Did Trump, Russians collude?
USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign chairman said Sunday that President-elect Donald Trump's campaign may have colluded with the Russian government over hacked e-mails in an effort to swing the election. "It's very much unknown ... Lynch says she 'regrets' June conversation with Bill ClintonPolitico John Podesta says Trump campaign colluding with Russia 'still an open question'Washington Times "On Oct. 7, the Access Hollywood tape comes out. One hour later, WikiLeaks starts dropping my emails."PolitiFact TheBlaze.com -Daily Mail -Fox News -New York Daily News all 121 news articles » |
USA TODAY |
Clinton campaign chief: Did Trump, Russians collude?
USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign chairman said Sunday that President-elect Donald Trump's campaign may have colluded with the Russian government over hacked e-mails in an effort to swing the election. "It's very much unknown ... Podesta: Russia behind email hacks, wanted Trump as its White House 'lap dog'Fox News Clinton Campaign Chief: It's “Open Question” Whether Trump Team Colluded With RussiaSlate Magazine (blog) Podesta suggests Trump associates may have colluded with Russian hackersPolitico PolitiFact all 130 news articles » |
Reuters |
Trump team collusion with Russia an 'open question,' says Clinton aide
Reuters Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said there was evidence that Trump associates had contact with a Russian intelligence official and the website Wikileaks before U.S. intelligence agencies accused Russia of being behind computer attacks of ... Clinton campaign chief: Did Trump, Russians collude?USA TODAY Podesta suggests Trump campaign may have colluded with RussiaWashington Examiner (blog) Russia Election Hack Update: Collusion Alleged Between Trump, Russians, Clinton Campaign Chief Podesta Says ...International Business Times Washington Times all 111 news articles » |
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Politico |
Peter King: CIA's Brennan should be investigated for 'hit job' on Trump
Politico Two members of the House Intelligence Committee traded barbs Sunday over the extent of Russia's involvement in election-year hacks, with Rep. Peter King even calling for CIA Director John Brennan to be investigated for a "hit job" against Donald Trump. Arguing the Truth with Trump and PutinNew York Times Senior GOP Lawmaker Calls for Investigation of CIA Director Over Media Leaks on Russian HackingABC News 'I'm asking you a simple question': Fox News host confronts RNC chair over Trump's denial of Russia hacksBusiness Insider Fox News -Huffington Post -Reuters -New York Post all 447 news articles » |
CNN |
Van Jones: 'Cyber war is real war'
CNN (CNN) CNN political commentator Van Jones doesn't mince words in condemning Donald Trump's relationship with Russia. "This is baffling to anybody with a functioning brain stem," he told Jake Tapper Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Jones said the ... Van Jones Blasts Trump For Refusing To Admit That Russia Cyber Attack Was An Act Of WarPoliticusUSA all 13 news articles » |
Wall Street Journal |
Donald Trump Will Wait for FBI View on Russia Hacking Allegations, Priebus Says
Wall Street Journal Incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that President-elect Donald Trump wanted to hear directly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation before forming an opinion on Russia's alleged interference in the November election. Donald Trump Still Not Convinced Russians Meddled In Election: Reince PriebusHuffington Post 'I'm asking you a simple question': Fox News host confronts RNC chair over Trump's denial of Russia hacksAOL News Priebus: Trump ready to accept Russia hacking report, if CIA, FBI get on same pageFox News The Hill -RealClearPolitics -WHIO -Salon all 29 news articles » |
Wall Street Journal |
Donald Trump Will Wait for FBI View on Russia Hacking Allegations, Priebus Says
Wall Street Journal Incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that President-elect DonaldTrump wanted to hear directly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation before forming an opinion on Russia's alleged interference in the November election. Priebus: Trump ready to accept Russia hacking report, if CIA, FBI get on same pageFox News Priebus: Trump not yet ready to accept Russian election tamperingPolitico all 29 news articles » |
Reuters |
Saudi Arabia, US play down reports of curbs on military support
Reuters U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gestures during a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 18, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser. 5/5. left. right. Saudi King Salman (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ... Kerry discusses Yemen with Saudi king in one of his last tripsChristian Science Monitor Saudi official denies reports US has decided to restrict military supportThe Guardian US to halt some arms sales to Saudi, citing civilian deaths in Yemen cam...Reuters all 111 news articles » |
Fox News |
Clinton advisers point fingers at Huma Abedin, inner circle for loss
Fox News While many of Hillary Clinton's top advisers have focused their post-presidential election fury on blaming alleged Russian interference and FBI Director James Comey for Clinton's loss, some in the so-called “Hillaryland” orbit are looking inward ... Clinton aide Abedin seeks to review Clinton emails search warrantYahoo News Clinton aide Abedin seeks to review FBI's search warrant for emailsThe Hill (blog) Huma vs. the “Night Stalkers”Vanity Fair all 34 news articles » |
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International Business Times |
Russia Election Hack Update: Collusion Alleged Between Trump, Russians, Clinton Campaign Chief Podesta Says ...
International Business Times And during the first presidential debate, Trump invited Russia to find the missing emails fromClinton's private server. Later he said he was just kidding. Conway called on the CIA to release evidence related to the hacking, something Obama said is ... Why Team Clinton is linking its criticisms of the FBI to WikiLeaks and Russian hackersVox all 128 news articles » |
Reuters |
Senators call for probe of cyber attacks by Russia
Reuters WASHINGTON U.S. Republican and Democratic senators called on Sunday for a special bipartisan panel to investigate cyber attacks against the United States by foreign countries with a focus on Russia's alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential ... John Podesta hits FBI over Russian hackingCBS News all 136 news articles » |
New York Times |
Bipartisan Letter Seeks Single Inquiry Into Russian Hacking Claims
New York Times Robert Gates said the Russian hacking was designed to hurt Hillary Clinton. □ John Podesta said the F.B.I. had contacted him only once about the hacking of his emails. □ President-elect Donald J. Trump has defied many conventions. But he will keep ... 'They May Destroy Democracy.' John McCain Warns of Russian Election Hack AftermathTIME McCain: Russian election-related hacks threaten to 'destroy democracy'CNN Sen. John McCain calls for Russia hacking investigation: 'There's no doubt' of interferenceChicago Tribune all 39 news articles » |
Reuters |
Commentary: Here's how Obama can hit back at Putin over hacking
Reuters The verdict is unanimous: President Barack Obama and every U.S. intelligence service agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin has run a sophisticated intelligence operation designed to disrupt American democracy and elect Donald J. Trump. The lone ... and more » |
Robert Gates criticises 'laid back' US response to Russia election hack
The Guardian The former CIA director and defense secretary Robert Gates has criticised the Obama administration and congressional leaders of both parties for a “somewhat laid back” response to the discovery of Russian interference in the US presidential election. and more » |
The Fiscal Times |
Team Trump Is Singing from Putin's Songbook on DNC Hacks
The Fiscal Times demanded Kellyanne Conway, Trump's former campaign manager, in an appearance on CBS'sFace the Nation. “Why, when CIA officials were invited to a House Intelligence briefing last week did they refuse to go? Instead, they're talking to the media. and more » |
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WGN-TV |
Tillerson's Russia ties lampooned by SNL, former Defense Secretary Gates defends Trump's pick
WGN-TV NEW YORK — After being criticized by the President-elect as “mean-spirited” and “not very good,” Alec Baldwin and his impersonation of Donald Trump returned on “Saturday Night Live” this week. In the first sketch of the show, Baldwin as Donald Trump ... Gates on Tillerson's ties to Putin: 'Being friendly doesn't make you ...The Hill all 7 news articles » |
A Portrait of Kafka’s Age by Frank Freeman
The final installment of Reiner Stach’s highly praised three-volume biography of Kafka—”This is one of the great literary biographies,” John Banville says, and he’s right—covers Kafka’s early years, 1883-1909. The books were published in this order—Kafka: The Decisive Years (1910-1915) first, then Kafka: The Years of Insight (1916-1924) second, then this volume. This was not to emulate Star Wars or be “Kafkaesque,” the translator Shelley Frisch tells us in her preface, but because of “high-profile legal wrangling” on the part of the Brod family.
Max Brod was Franz Kafka’s best friend (though perhaps not the deepest) and literary executor whom Kafka asked to burn all his unpublished manuscripts and who—thanks to the literary gods, Brod’s own ambition, and recognition of his friend’s genius—did not comply. Stach contrasts the contents of Brod and Kafka’s diaries, and it tells you a lot. Brod, who succeeded at being a published writer from the get-go, was also a literary networker of the first magnitude. Here is Stach on Brod’s diary:
Brod produced little more than a succession of jottings, written in the kind of postcard language that gave no indication of a will to form or literary authorship. “To Riva with Kafka; Otto came later,” it begins. “Nice vacation! The lido!!/ Only A. didn’t write or come to the rendezvous on the last day . . . . Experienced quite a lot, quite a lot. I will not forget it!” And on it went in this vein, for years to come, as far as we can tell.
Contrast Brod’s jottings with the first line of Kafka’s diary: “The spectators grow petrified when the train goes past.” Or the second line: “‘If he should always aaask me’ the aaa broke away from the sentence and flew off like a ball on the meadow.'”
This is not just a biography. Stach provides copious helpings of political, social, and scientific history, along with psychological and literary analysis, with Kafka as his locus. At times, these volumes read as though Kafka were the eye of the hurricane that was the early twentieth century.
Kafka was born to Jewish parents in Prague, a city with a rigid social hierarchy: Germans at the top and the seething, prosperous mass of Czechs chafing under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kafka’s father was a textile merchant, a giant of a man, who had to mostly squelch his Jewishness in order to succeed. Financial success and security were what he most cared about.
Franz, the oldest child, took more after his mother, whose family included rabbis and mystics. His father’s bludgeoning arbitrary discipline traumatized Kafka (see Letter to His Father) and contributed to his imagining a protagonist who turns into a huge insect surrounded by a “normal” family (see The Metamorphosis). But Franz played it safe himself—he never quit his day job working in an insurance agency.
The biggest surprises Stach reveals involve how socially and sexually active Kafka was. He wasn’t Brod, but he loved the nightlife, he was a fan of the back-to-nature (Lebensreform) movement and homeopathic cures, and he loved to swim and hike. He was not an “underground” Dostoevskian kind of guy, always holed up in his room.
Yet he always returned to his writing; he told a girlfriend that he did not love literature, he consisted of literature. Like Thoreau, whom he resembles in some ways, Kafka learned to be a great writer in his diary, “a secret writing school of an utterly different provenance with only a single pupil, whose progress was not verifiable.”
Stach’s biography is akin, in my estimation, to Joseph Frank’s five-volume biography of Dostoevsky. It portrays not just a man, but an age and place whose depths a great man saw and had the courage to transform into books that, in Kafka’s words, “affect us like a calamity that causes us great pain, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide, a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
Remember, though, that Kafka used to laugh a lot when he read his works to his friends.
The post A Portrait of Kafka’s Age appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Chuck Todd that he did not think that there was enough of a sense of urgency from either the Obama administration, the incoming Trump administration, or members of Congress on the Russian government-sponsored hacking.
“I think that given the unprecedented nature of it and the magnitude of the effort, I think people seem to have been somewhat laid back about it. maybe part of the problem was it took the intelligence community a while to assemble really firm evidence of Russian involvement and Russian government involvement that delayed a response,” Gates said.
Reuters reported that Republican members of Congress have complained that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has denied their requests for briefings on the classified report on the CIA conclusions of the Russian-sponsored hacking.
Sources have told Reuters that while Congressional committees have not been briefed that congressional leadership has, which is standard.
The Washington Post also reported that the FBI is now in agreement with Director Clapper that the Russians had intervened with the 2016 election.
During President Obama’s final press conference of the year on Friday, Obama said that he had spoken with Russian president Vladimir Putin and told him to “cut it out” when it came to hacking.
The White House has not publicly laid out specifics of the retaliation it would take against Russia.
The post Gates: There Has ‘Not Been Enough Sense of Urgency’ on Russian Hacking appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
White House faces exodus of foreign policy experts ahead of Trump's arrival by Julian Borger in Washington
An unusual number of the National Security Council’s more junior officials are looking to depart, due to concerns about incoming advisor Michael Flynn
The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials.
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American military leaders had warned their Russian and Syrian counterparts about the strikes, meant to keep militants from using the captured weapons.
PoliticusUSA |
It's Crucial to Purge and Prosecute 'Rogue' FBI Agents Collaborating with Russia
PoliticusUSA It's Crucial to Purge and Prosecute 'Rogue' FBI Agents Collaborating with Russia. By Rmuse on Sat, Dec 17th, 2016 at 3:28 pm. The growing consensus is that Putin's espionage and FBI-created “October surprise” gave Russia and FBI rogues what they ... and more » |
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NBCNews.com |
New Government Report Records Twice as Many Police Related Deaths as FBI Stats
NBCNews.com A new government study into killings by police between June 2015 and May 2016 estimates that more than double the number of deaths occurred than commonly-used statistics from the FBIreported. The study, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics ... and more » |
Trump, Putin, and the Art of Appeasementby Dominic Tierney, The Atlantic
Russian President Vladimir Putin presents ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson with a Russian medal at an award ceremony of heads and employees of energy companies at the St. Petersburg economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 21, 2012.
Global Conflicts to Watch in 2017 by Uri Friedman, The Atlantic
Syrian government troops fire at Islamic State group positions near Mahin, Syria, Jan. 30, 2016.
NPR |
FBI in agreement with CIA that Russia aimed to help Trump win White House
Washington Post FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. are in agreement with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House, officials disclosed Friday, ... FBI, CIA Agree That Russia Was Trying To Help Trump Win The ElectionNPR FBI accepts CIA conclusion that Russians hacked to help TrumpUSA TODAY FBI chief agrees with CIA on Russia's alleged election help for Trump – reportRT The Verge -The Hill -Slate Magazine (blog) all 450 news articles » |
One of the strongest criticisms leveled against President-elect Donald Trump is his alleged indifference to the work of America’s intelligence community, including his disinclination to receive daily intel briefings as he prepares to take office.
But it’s off the mark. The top-secret Presidential Daily Briefing — designed and prepared for President Obama by his appointees — is being delivered via iPad as a courtesy to Trump during the transition, and he’s free to read or not: “I get it when I need it,” Trump told Fox News. Never mind that Trump’s not actually president yet, or that Obama treats his briefing exactly the same way.
And given the intelligence establishment’s sorry recent history, who can blame Trump?
Under such undistinguished chiefs as careerists Mike Morell (2011-2013) and current Director John Brennan, the CIA has become a partisan, politicized agency that exists primarily to tell Obama what he wants to hear — which is to hear and see no evil from the Muslim world. Meanwhile, the National Security Agency, which largely deals with signals intelligence, was badly stung by traitor Edward Snowden, who made off with bushels of secrets and decamped to Russia. Even the fiercely independent FBI came under intense political pressure from the Justice Department during the recent investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails.
Several recent presidencies have foundered on wishful, willful blindness to reality — Lyndon Johnson with Vietnam, Jimmy Carter with the Soviet Union and Iran, Obama with Islam. Others have suffered the consequences of faulty field work and institutional rivalry, such as George W. Bush in Iraq; by the end of the Bush administration, the White House was relying more on the Department of Defense than what insiders sometimes call the Langley Home for Lost Boys, so untrustworthy did Bush and his advisers deem the CIA that had badly burned them.
So, as Trump finalizes his new intelligence team — Rep. Mike Pompeo, a West Point graduate and Army vet, to the CIA; the pugnacious Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn as national security adviser; and retired four-star Marine Gen. John Kelly as director of Homeland Security — how does a modern president get the straight dope?
The first step is recognizing the current dysfunction of the CIA, which is still smarting from its demotion in the aftermath of 9/11 to a subordinate of the director of national intelligence — a post for which, tellingly, Trump has not yet officially nominated anyone. Although Carly Fiorina’s name has been floated, there’s also been speculation he may abolish the position altogether.
It’s a big job. The agency has long slanted center-left, reflecting a political consensus that prized the “stability” of the postwar world above everything else.
Trump would be well-advised to heed the FBI’s expertise, once the bureau ceases to be a political whipping boy.
As a result, the agency was caught with its pants down for every important development of the past 60 years, including the Bay of Pigs, the toppling of the shah, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Another smart move would be to clarify the line of demarcation between the CIA, whose job it is to spy on others, and the FBI, tasked with catching foreign spies in the US. The flap over possible Russian hacking of the John Podesta and DNC e-mails is a case in point: That’s a job for the bureau, not the agency, which is forbidden by law from operating within American borders yet sometimes plants politically useful stories in the media to aid its political allies. Trump would be well-advised to heed the FBI’s expertise, once the bureau ceases to be a political whipping boy.
A further way forward is to show more respect for the other agencies that make up the IC, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, which serves the armed forces. Flynn, for example, spent two contentious years as DIA chief, warning of the dangers of Islamic terrorism and, probably as a result, never once meeting personally with Obama, who eventually fired him.
He was right in doing so, but the pugnacious Flynn — who, like Trump, is an inveterate and sometimes heedless tweeter — has come under fire for spreading “fake news” and conspiracy theories on Twitter, including the silly rumor of a DC child sex-trafficking ring. The general would be best advised to get off social media and keep his advice to the new president private.
Finally, a crucial step in the reconstitution of our intelligence services is to get the CIA working together with the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, under whose aegis most of the IC actually falls. The nomination of Marine Gen. James Mattis as secretary of defense will bring together a cadre of former military officers at the highest levels who view the serious business of national security not as a career but as a mission to be accomplished — and who mean to get it done.
In the end, though, the buck stops with Trump, who’s already made it clear that his decisions will be made through a single prism: Is it good for America? For too long, the IC has wandered from its core mission of keeping Americans safe by keeping our enemies at bay. That’s about to change, and much for the better.
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One of the strongest criticisms leveled against President-elect Donald Trump is his alleged indifference to the work of America’s intelligence community, including his disinclination to receive daily intel briefings as he prepares to take office. But it’s off the mark. The top-secret Presidential Daily Briefing — designed and prepared for President Obama by his appointees...
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