"Ultimately, however, the success or failure of every National Security Council depends heavily on the command culture set by the president, the discipline and transparency of the NSC process itself, and the personalities and relationships of those sitting around the table in the White House Situation Room." - What Trump's Reshuffling of the National Security Council Means - Defense One
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Some of the most sensitive and sacrosanct decisions by the president are made in meetings of the National Security Council. One only has to ask: What precise expertise does Bannon, or any chief strategist, have to contribute to those meetings, if not to ensure that policy is shaped by political implications or considerations? It may be likely that Trump would consult Steve Bannon regardless, but giving him a formal seat at the NSC sends a chilling message to men and women in uniform, to diplomats and intelligence professionals—that Bannon’s political advice matters as much as theirs.
• The director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff no longer get automatic seats at the adults’ table—also known as the Principals Committee. Below the NSC, the Principals Committee is the most senior interagency body of the national security process. It’s the last stop before taking a major national-security decision to the president. It’s chaired by the national security adviser, and usually contains at least the secretary of state, the secretary of defense and until recently, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of national intelligence. To remove the chairman and the DNI is not historically without precedent. In fact, George W. Bush’s NSPD-1 also did not list the then-DCI and chairman as regular PC members—only when issues relevant to their responsibilities or expertise were to be discussed. Of course, NSPD-1 was issued before the events of September 11, and military and intelligence inputs have been considered essential ever since.
So this move remains bizarre given the nature of the national-security challenges America faces and President Trump’s own stated priorities. In fact, I can’t think of a single top national-security issue today that doesn’t require the president to have military and intelligence expertise (not to mention well-developed and considered options)—including ISIS, North Korea, China, and Iran. Given Trump’s recent treatment and open distrust of the U.S. intelligence community, it is hard not to read this as yet another worrying signal of his intent. Alternatively, it might be a power play by National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. Surely Flynn will find it is in his interest to include the chairman and the DNI in most if not all PC meetings. Nobody wants to serve up a policy or decision to the president that doesn’t benefit from military and intelligence expertise. Right?
• The Homeland Security Council reemerges, but it probably won’t make Americans any safer. In 2009, Obama moved to reintegrate the core functions of the Homeland Security Council (a historic anomaly established under George W. Bush) into the National Security Council and its staff—the idea being that counterterrorism policy and decisions should be part and parcel of a much broader national-security policy. This was sometimes an uneven integration and didn’t entirely eliminate counterterrorism stovepipes. But instead of working to achieve a more comprehensive counterterrorism policy, Trump has reversed course by bringing the HSC back from the dead. This appears to be mostly a symbolic change, but it will probably drive everyone involved in the interagency process nuts in a couple months. Even if they’re using the same NSC staff, the success of the process will rely heavily on a strong relationship between the national security advisor and homeland security advisor. In practice, it probably won’t do much to improve counterterrorism or homeland security.
The reality is that these directives are mostly guideposts and expressions of early presidential intent. During the course of my nearly six years on the NSC staff, I watched the membership of PCs and NSC change based on the issues at hand. I saw both good NSC process and bad NSC process. Ultimately, however, the success or failure of every National Security Council depends heavily on the command culture set by the president, the discipline and transparency of the NSC process itself, and the personalities and relationships of those sitting around the table in the White House Situation Room.
The Trump presidency has yet to be tested by a real national-security crisis, but it is coming—and the president will definitely need a functional and disciplined NSC to navigate the storm. Based on the events of this week, however, it is not yet clear how much Trump will actually rely on his NSC or any formal process for major national-security decisions. That, more than the memo, may be the most serious cause for concern.
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· · ·
On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced that Trump will reinstate the director of the CIA as a regular Principals Committee member. But the President will keep his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, as a regular committee member -- a move that came under fire -- while the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will not be regular attendees.
The committee is a Cabinet-level group of agencies focused on national security that was established by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.
Former acting CIA chief Michael Morell on Monday
sharply criticized the move
to add Bannon to the group while limiting the involvement of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and DNI, calling it "unprecedented" in an appearance on "CBS This Morning."
"I have never been to a principals' meeting where the views of the DNI and the views of the chairman are not relevant," said Morell, who advised Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. "Every principals' meeting starts with an intelligence briefing by the DNI."
He added, "Having somebody like Bannon in the room brings politics into a room where there should be no politics."
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted that the move was "dangerous" and called for Bannon to be removed from the panel.
"Steve Bannon sitting on the National Security Council is dangerous and unprecedented. He must be removed," Sanders said.
Spicer claimed the move was in line with previous administrations' steps to structure their own NSCs, and said that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence would both be welcome to attend any NSC session.
The CIA director is a Trump ally, and subordinate to the director of national intelligence on organization charts.
Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said the NSC set-up under President George W. Bush was similar.
"There's been no change effectively to the role of the chairman in 16 years," Davis said, referring to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. "What has remained constant is the role of the chairman. He is the principal military adviser to the secretary, he is the principal military adviser to the president."
Davis said the defense secretary "intends to always have the Chairman at his side when he is discussing anything that has anything to do with our national security or our military," whether he's engaging with the full National Security Council or the Principals Committee.
"We don't see this as a change, we see this as a continuation of the very critical role that the chairman has played in an advisory capacity," Davis said.
Spicer hammered President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice for asking on Twitter why the CIA was omitted from the NSC, noting that Obama's own NSC memo from 2009 didn't list the CIA.
In a series of tweets in which she described the reorganization as "stone cold crazy," Rice had tweeted: "Chairman of Joint Chiefs and DNI treated as after thoughts in Cabinet level principals meetings. And where is CIA?? Cut out of everything?"
To date, every version of the Committee has included the Joint Chiefs chairman and the director of the CIA or, once it was established, the head of the DNI. DNI James Clapper was always included in Obama administration's NSC principals' meetings, CNN confirmed.
Bannon's presence reinforces the notion he is, in essence, a co-chief of staff alongside Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, and demonstrates the breadth of influence the former head of Breitbart News has in the Trump administration.
Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, offered praise for the administration's national security team, but he expressed serious concerns about Bannon.
"I think the national security team around President Trump is very impressive," McCain said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."
"I am worried about the National Security Council who are the members of it and who are the permanent members of it," McCain added. "The appointment of Mr. Bannon is something which is a radical departure from any National Security Council in history. It's of concern this ... reorganization."
The NSC is run by National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency until he was asked to step down in 2014 by senior intelligence leaders.
There has been running tension between the Trump administration and the intelligence community, though during a visit to the CIA Trump declared that "nobody feels stronger about the intelligence community than Donald Trump ... I love you. I respect you."
Before then, the President had argued that intelligence services were politically partisan, he dismissed their findings that Russia hacked Democratic targets during the campaign and referred slightingly to the intelligence community by tweeting with the word intelligence in quotes.
In setting out the reorganization, Trump said that "security threats facing the United States in the 21st century transcend international boundaries. Accordingly, the United States Government's decision-making structures and processes to address these challenges must remain equally adaptive and transformative."
Regular members of the Principals Committee will include the secretary of state, the treasury secretary, the defense secretary, the attorney general, the secretary of Homeland Security, the assistant to the President and chief of staff, the assistant to the President and chief strategist, the national security adviser and the Homeland Security adviser.
CNN's Eric Bradner contributed to this report.
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The rampage at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center left six people dead.
The province's premier, Philippe Couillard, called the attack an act of terror.
But many questions remain, and some details have changed as the investigation evolves. Here's what we know so far:
At least two gunmen dressed in black opened fire at the center in Quebec City on Sunday, witnesses said.
Authorities have not identified the six slain victims, but said they were all men between the ages of 39 and 60.
Five wounded victims remained hospitalized Monday, a spokeswoman for Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus said.
The National Police of Quebec said 39 others inside the mosque were not hurt.
The investigation
Of the two people arrested Sunday night, only one is now considered a suspect, said Surete de Quebec, the police organization investigating the shooting.
The other person who was arrested is now considered a witness and not a suspect, as originally believed, police told CNN.
Authorities have not released the name of the suspect or a possible motive, but police are investigating it as an act of terrorism. They're also trying to determine whether any accomplices were involved.
CNN partner CBC
reported that an attacker called 911 and said he was armed, but said was willing to cooperate with police.
The mosque's response
The mosque urged the public to not jump to conclusions or spread unsubstantiated rumors.
"Please wait for preliminary result (of the investigation) before circulating rumors," the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center said on Facebook. "The situation is very critical."
Another post showed the center's gratitude for the "hundreds of messages of compassion coming from all over."
At least two vigils, in Quebec City and in Montreal, are planned for Monday.
Mosque was previously targeted
This is not the first time the mosque has been targeted.
Last year, the cultural center received a wrapped pig's head and a magazine with a pig on its cover, saying "Bonne Appetit," according to a post on its Facebook page. The post reads:
"We just learned that a gesture of hate towards our Great Mosque took place Sunday morning (14 Ramadan) around Salat Al-Fajr! Police was made aware and opened an investigation!"
Under the Quran, pork is prohibited and pigs are considered unclean.
Quick condemnation
Canada's leaders condemned the attack on social media.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his condolences in both French and English.
"Canadians grieve for those killed in a cowardly attack on a mosque in Quebec City. My thoughts are with victims & their families."
Later, in a statement on his official site, Trudeau wrote:
"It is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.
"Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance."
Premier Couillard said Quebec's support of Muslims will not waver.
"Let's unite against violence," the post reads. "We stand in solidarity with the Muslim people of Quebec."
CNN's Paula Newton and Julia Jones reported from Quebec City; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Euan McKirdy, Merieme Arif abd Chuck Johnston contributed to this report.
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· · · · ·
Police now say only one of the two people arrested after Sunday’s terror attack on a mosque in Quebec City is a suspect, with the second man considered a witness.
There are reports that the suspect is Alexandre Bissonnette, a Université Laval student. Police would not confirm that information. Initially, police said two suspects were arrested. But on Monday, the Sûreté du Québec said the second man was a witness.
One of the men was arrested at the scene, while a second called 911 himself and was arrested around 9 p.m., just over an hour after the first 911 calls came in at 7:55 p.m., police said Monday morning during a news conference involving the Sûreté du Québec, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Quebec City police and Montreal police.
Quebec City police Insp. Denis Turcotte said the man who called 911 waited for officers to arrest him not long after the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec in Quebec City’s Ste-Foy neighbourhood.
“He was armed and spoke to us about his acts,” said Turcotte. “He seemed to want to co-operate….The suspect said he was waiting for the police to arrive.”
Sûreté du Québec police officers and dogs search the area around the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec in Quebec City, Jan. 30, 2017. Phil Carpenter / Montreal Gazette
A home on Tracel St. in the Cap-Rouge district of Quebec City was among the places where the police conducted searches on Monday.
The single-family dwelling appears to belong to Bissonette’s parents, who bought the property in 1987, real-estate records show.
Bissonnette’s father is listed in the sales deed as an investigator.
A Quebec City Facebook group called Bienvenue aux réfugié said Bissonnette “is unfortunately known to many activists in Quebec City for his positions on identity and his pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist stances at Université Laval and on social networks.”
Six people died in the attack, which occurred during evening prayers.
On Monday morning, a large police perimeter surrounded the mosque where SQ and local police combed the grounds, looking through garbage cans and under cars. Technicians were seen going in and out of the mosque, and a sniffer dog was also used.
Several bouquets of flowers were left on the street across from the mosque.
The victims were fathers, businessmen, a university professor and others who had gathered for evening prayers, a Muslim community leader said Monday as he recalled through tears the horror of the attack that killed six and injured 19 others.
“It’s a very, very big tragedy for us,” said Mohamed Labidi, the vice-president of the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, the mosque where the attack happened Sunday night. “We have a sadness we cannot express.”
Labidi said the victims were shot in the back.
“Security at our mosque was our major, major concern,” he said. “But we were caught off guard.”
A spokesperson for the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, Geneviève Dupuis, said Monday two people are in critical condition as a result of the Quebec City shooting, and three more are in stable condition and should obtain their leave in the next few days.
Dupuis said Enfant-Jésus Hospital welcomed most of the injured, while three other hospitals treated patients for shock and minor injuries.
Not far, a group of about 12 people, all members of the Muslim community, huddled and talked quietly among themselves.
Anoiar Ropnadi told the Montreal Gazette he came to the hospital out of concern for his friends, which he called brothers.
In a rare move, the hospital let Ropnadi and the entire group go up to the second floor, in the trauma department, to visit with at least one of the patients in stable condition.
Ropnadi said the news was encouraging: “I saw one of my friends, he was shot in the shoulder. He’s in stable condition. He walked to the bathroom and is taking antibiotics. My other friend is also in stable condition, he just has nausea, but I didn’t get to see him because he’s still with police investigators.”
“It’s a tight-knit community, everyone knows everyone, we play soccer together, we attend religious holidays,” Ropnadi added.
“We never thought we’d see this happen in Quebec City. It’s so sad, everybody’s upset.”
Speaking in the House of Commons Monday afternoon, Justin Trudeau denounced the “act of brutal violence.”
“This was a group of innocents, targeted for practicing their faith,” he said. “Make no mistake: this was a terrorist attack. It was an attack on our most intrinsic and cherished values as Canadians, values of openness, diversity and freedom of religion. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims.
“These people were brothers, uncles, fathers and friends, these were people of faith and community and in the blink of an eye they were robbed of their lives in an act of brutal violence.”
Azzedine Soufiane was one of the victims. The father of three young children was a well-known figure in the community.
“We’ve just lost someone who was very, very nice, a good person … such a loss, someone who was so welcoming, who helped everybody,” said Ali Miladi, who said he and his father-in-law knew Soufiane well.
Miladi drove to Soufiane’s meat shop in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood Monday morning, cut his car’s engine and let the tears run down his face.
“He was a friend.”
Sûreté du Québec officers search the area around a mosque in Quebec City Jan. 30, 2017. The mosque was the scene of a deadly shooting Sunday night. Phil Carpenter / Montreal Gazette
Still in shock, Miladi said he will spend the day consoling and helping Soufiane’s widow.
In 2009, Soufiane defended Quebec as an open society in an interview he gave to Le Soleil. “I’ve been here for 20 years,” he said at the time, “and I’ve never had any problems. We live in society, we live in peace, and we hope that it will continue like this.”
Ali said he followed in Soufiane’s footsteps and opened his own halal meat shop in Ste-Foy.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise $35,000 to pay for funeral expenses.
Within 10 hours, it has raised more than $15,000.
“We know Canadians are generous people,” organizers of the campaign said on the GoFundMe fundraising page.
“We know Muslims have a big heart. We all come together in times of crisis. Let us dig a little into your pocket to alleviate the suffering of grieving families who have lost a loved one in this terrorist attack.”
The two men arrested were not known to police and the investigation into a possible motive continues, said superintendent Martin Plante of the RCMP’s C Division. He would not confirm the identity of the victims.
“We must respect the judicial process, we cannot reveal suspects’ identities yet,” he said, adding that it was still too early to determine what charges will be laid.
Sunday night’s attack left six people dead and injured many others. The six victims were all men, between 39 and 60 years old.
Chief Inspector André Goulet of the SQ said that 75 officers from the force were involved in the investigation and that all patrollers have increased their vigilance, especially around mosques.
He asked anyone with information to call the anonymous tip line at 1 800 659-4264. As of 9 a.m., the line had already received 46 calls, Goulet said.
Assistant director Patrick Lalonde of the Montreal police said that immediately following Sunday night’s incident, police contacted Muslim leaders in Montreal and increased police presence around all mosques in the city.
On Monday, an official from the Centre hospitalier de l’Université Laval said five people remain in critical condition following the attack.
Of those injured, five victims are in the intensive care unit of the Enfant-Jésus hospital in Quebec City, said Geneviève Dupuis, a spokesperson for the hospital network. Three of those five have life-threatening injuries, while the other two are more stable, the hospital said.
Nineteen people — all male — were injured in the attack. The six people killed were between the ages of 35 and 60. Their identities have not been released.
Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume (from left), Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, and Martin Coiteux, minister of public security, speak to the press after a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City Jan. 30, 2017. ALICE CHICHE / AFP/Getty Images
Another 12 people who had minor injuries have been released from hospital.
Initial reports had six people in critical condition following the shooting, but a hospital spokesperson said the sixth person who came to the hospital with a gunshot wound was from an unrelated incident.
According to the Journal de Québec, the six dead include two Algerians, a Tunisian, a Moroccan and two others from African countries.
The rector of Université Laval, Denis Brière, and vice-rector Éric Beauce addressed the media Monday morning in the Alphonse-Desjardins pavilion. Reports indicate that one or both of the men arrested were students at the university.
Beauce said the university couldn’t confirm that the men are students at the university. “We can’t confirm it and the police haven’t told us that,” he said.
Beauce said that security has been stepped up at the campus; the university has increased the number of security guards and stepped up patrols.
“We have a large Muslim community here,” he said.
Brière said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the shootings that occurred at the mosque on Sunday night.
“I have no words to describe these cruel events that we condemn loudly this morning,” he said.
“We are devastated for the families, those close to the victims, for our Muslim community, our students, teachers and friends.”
The university will provide counselling to any student or staff member who feels they need to speak to someone, he said.
Brière expressed his condolences to members of the university community “who lost people close to them.”
On Facebook, the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, issued a statement on Monday morning.
It read, in part: “We were attacked because we are Muslim. Shot at point blank range because we are Muslims. Dead because we are Muslim.
“A scene of unspeakable brutality took place in front of dozens of Quebec citizens, including children. Gunfire, death, reloading of weapons, yelling, wounded people. Blood on the prayer rugs. A scene almost of war, hear, at home, in Quebec, our city known for its tranquility.”
A number of Canadian Muslim groups have expressed shock and anger at the attack.
“Quebec Muslims are frightened right now,” said Haroun Bouazzi, president of AMAL-Quebec, a Muslim human-rights group based on Montreal. “We are urgently waiting for answers as to how and why such a tragedy could occur.”
Bouquets lay in the snow near the entrance to the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec (background) in Quebec City Jan. 30, 2017. Phil Carpenter / Montreal Gazette
The Montreal Holocaust Museum said “an attack against people gathered in peaceful prayer is an islamophobic assault that concerns all of us. The murder of innocent people because of their faith is an assault on values which we hold dear, including freedom of religion and religious expression, the equal rights and protection of minorities, and particularly the sanctity of human life.”
The museum said the attack “is a line in the sand. This attack has been perpetrated in a context in which it has become legitimate to spread bigotry and hate, a world which targets minorities and normalises an ‘us and them’ mentality.”
Pope Francis has expressed his condolences.
“Pope Francis stressed the importance of for all, Christians and Muslims, to be united in prayer,” the Vatican said in a statement.
“He expresses his profound sympathy for the wounded and their families, and to all who contributed to their aid, asking the Lord to bring them comfort and consolation in the ordeal. The Holy Father again strongly condemns the violence that engenders such suffering; and, imploring God for the gift of mutual respect and peace.”
U.S. President Donald Trump called Trudeau to offer his condolences in the wake of the attack, the prime minister’s office said.
Also Monday, police investigators were seen searching the residence of at least one of the men arrested.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard ordered that the flag above the National Assembly fly at half-staff. The city of Montreal also lowered the flag above city hall and administrative buildings.
The provincial government has created an online book of condolences to allow the public to pay tribute to victims of the attack.
In Montreal, police increased their presence around mosques in the city following Sunday’s tragedy.
Pope Francis hugs archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Gerald LaCroix, as they meet at the Santa Marta residence, at the Vatican Monday, Jan. 30, 2017. Pope Francis has condemned the Quebec mosque attack and called for mutual respect among people of different faiths. L'Osservatore Romano / Pool Photo via AP
Projet Montréal leader Valérie Plante issued a statement Monday morning declaring her thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims of the Quebec City attack and calling on politicians and citizens to fight against intolerance.
“We can not remain silent in the face of this violence that has its origins in intolerance and hate, inflamed by the types of discourse that is too often treated as normal. We have the obligation, not only in the political sphere, but also as a citizen, to denounce this type of speech, and we also must propose solutions so this violence ends.
“There can not be any political group in Quebec or elsewhere, that welcomes and tolerates the radical ideas that are at the source of this attempt. There can not be a platform to spread hatred of others, no matter their religion, their sexual orientation, the colour of their skin or their gender.
Plante and several members of Projet Montréal will be at the vigil organised in solidarity with the Muslim community of Quebec, Monday at 6 p.m outside the Parc métro station.
St-Laurent mayor Alan DeSousa reassured residents that the borough was in close contact with Montreal police to ensure security at places of worship in the multi-ethnic district.
“In the minutes following the announcement of the attack, we contacted Montreal police to determine the situation in St-Laurent,” DeSousa said in a statement.
“We remain in close contact with them and other officials and representatives of religious communities to preserve the sense of security of our residents. With a population that is composed primarily of immigrants, St-Laurent is often cited as an example of harmonious co-habitation among the numerous cultural communities that it welcomes.
“We will spare no effort to ensure all our residents, regardless of their country of origin or their religion, can continue to go about their daily business and frequent the institutions of their choice in complete security.”
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Breitbart News
BREAKING NEWS: Quebec City Attacker On Mosque Identified As ...
Daily Caller-2 hours ago
One of the two assailants of a mosque in Quebec City, Canada who killed at least six people last night has been identified as Mohamed Khadir, ...
NewsAlert:Suspected gunmen identified as Alexandre Bissonnette ...
International-Times Colonist-2 hours ago
International-Times Colonist-2 hours ago
Quebec City mosque shooting: Alexandre Bissonnette identified as ...
Local Source-Globalnews.ca-26 minutes ago
Local Source-Globalnews.ca-26 minutes ago
Two arrested after deadly mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec City
International-AM900 CHML-1 hour ago
International-AM900 CHML-1 hour ago
Alexandre Bissonnette. (Facebook)
Alexandre Bissonnette has been identified as one of two suspects accused of killing six people and wounding eight others in a “barbaric” massacre Sunday night at a Quebec City mosque, TVA News reports.
The 27-year-old and another man, Mohamed Khadir, entered the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec and opened fire with rifles, shooting members of the mosque as they prayed, police and witnesses say.
Both men are in police custody, and were being questioned by police Monday morning. They are expected to face murder charges. Authorities have not confirmed the suspect’s names.
Police and politicians are calling it a terrorist attack, La Presse reports.
The victims range in age from 39 to 70, police said. They have not yet been identified publicly.
“Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,” the mosque’s president, Mohamed Yangui, told reporters. He was not at the mosque at the time of the shooting, but rushed to the scene after calls from members of the community.
The terror case is being led by the Quebec Provincial Police, along with Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Quebec City Police.
Here’s what you need to know about the suspect and the attack:
1. Just 17 Minutes After the Shooting, Bissonnette Called 911 to Say He Felt Guilty About What He’d Done & Wanted to Turn Himself In
Alexandre Bissonnette. (Facebook)
About 17 minutes after the first call of shots fired at the mosque, of the two suspects, Alexandre Bissonnette, called 911 to police he felt guilty about what he had done, La Presse reports.
Bissonnette, a 27-year-old Quebec native, told the 911 dispatcher he was going to shoot himself. About 8:45 p.m., he told police he wanted to be arrested.
Police have not yet released details about the suspect’s motive for the shooting. He was interrogated after being taken into custody and police are still investigating what led to the attack.
A source told Radio-Canada both suspects are students at Université Laval, a French-language, public college in Quebec City. There are about 28,500 undergraduate students and 8,500 graduate students attending the school.
According to La Presse, the second suspect, Mohamed Khadir, is of Moroccan descent. It is not clear if he is originally from Morocco or if he was born in Canada.
The suspects were not known to police prior to the shooting, authorities said.
Searches were being conducted Monday at locations believed to be connected to Bissonnette and Khadir.
2. Bissonnette Was Taken Into Custody About 14 Miles From the Mosque on a Bridge Over the St. Lawrence River
Alexandre Bissonnette. (Facebook)
After calling 911, the suspected shooter parked his car, a Mitsubishi, on the Island of Orleans bridge, and officers from the Tactical Intervention Group arrived and took him into custody, the newspaper reports.
A handgun and two rifles that looked like AK-47s were found in his car, according to La Presse.
The bridge remained closed early Monday morning, the newspaper said. Authorities feared the Mitsubishi may have been rigged with explosives.
The other suspect, Mohamed Khadir, was arrested close to the mosque, authorities said.
A search is still ongoing for a possible third suspect, though police do not believe there is a third man involved, at least not directly.
“The investigation has not ended,” Quebec City Police spokesman Étienne Doyon, told the Toronto Star. “We will be trying to verify if there is a third or fourth or any other person involved. We’re not ruling out that there may be other suspects.”
3. The Gunmen Wore Masks & Shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ During the Shooting, a Witness Says
(Facebook)
Witnesses told Reuters that two to three gunmen opened fire on worshippers inside the mosque Sunday night.
Along with the six killed and eight injured, at least 39 other people survived the attack, police said.
A witness told Radio-Canada the gunmen wore masks, the CBC reports.
“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and (while) they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” said the witness, who asked not to be named. “There were even kids. There was even a three-year-old who was with his father.”
Canadian police officers respond to a shooting in a mosque at the Québec City Islamic cultural center on Sainte-Foy Street in Quebec city on January 29, 2017. (Getty)
The mosque’s president said there can be up to 100 in attendance on a Sunday night. According to La Presse, children would have been in the basement, while the men would be on the ground floor and women on the second floor.
One of the gunmen was armed with an “AK-47,” Le Soleil reports.
Hamid Nadji, who spoke to a friend who was inside the mosque, told the Montreal Gazette the scene was a “carnage.”
Nadji told the newspaper, “From what we heard over the phone, one person had a weapon discharged in his face because he had wanted to jump on the man to stop him. And the three others died because they wanted to catch the man.”
One of the gunmen left the mosque to reload and came back. He then ran out of bullets a second time, reloaded and returned for a third round of shooting, Nadji told the Gazette.
After a previous hate crime incident at the mosque, also called Grande Mosque de Québec, its leaders said they had several CCTV cameras on the building. It is not clear if the video shows the shooting or the suspects.
The mosque has about 5,000 members and is one of six in the Quebec City region, the Montreal Gazette reports.
4. Bissonnette Is Studying Anthropology & Political Science at Université Laval
Bissonnette. (Facebook)
Little was known about Bissonnette as of Monday morning, as police were still working to determine what led to the shooting.
According to his Facebook page, Bissonnette is from Cap-Rouge, Quebec.
He is studying anthropology and political science at Université Laval in Quebec City, and has been a student there since 2012.
His Facebook page reveals few details about his reasoning for the shooting, and appears similar to other 20-something college students. His last public post, on January 20, was a photo of a dog wearing a Dominos pizza delivery outfit, with the caption, “I want one! #fridayfeeling.”
Other photos show him with family, with friends at parties and in a Halloween costume, as the killer from the movie “Scream.”
He has also posted recently about discoveries on Pluto, camping and wanting to travel one day to Torngat Mountains National Park. He also shared a video last year about a brewery owned by members of the band Megadeth.
In November 2015, he posted a photo of medals he said belong to his grandfather.
“For remembrance day coming up a picture of my grandfathers medals! From left to right is the 1939-1945 star, the france and germany star, the defence medal, the canadian VOLUNTEER medal and the war medal 1939-1945, we changed the ribbons and cleaned them, nice job,” he wrote.
Bissonnette likes the Facebook pages of U.S. President Donald Trump and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, but he does not express support for them elsewhere on his page. Other likes include the Israel Defense Forces, United With Israel and Parti Québécois of Université Laval.
5. The Same Mosque Was the Target of a Hate Crime Last June, When a Gift-Wrapped Pig’s Head Was Left Outside
(Getty)
In June 2016, a pig’s head was left outside the Centre Culturel Islamique de Quebec, the same mosque where the shooting occurred Sunday, along with the note “Bon appétit,” the CBC reported at the time.
The pig’s head was left during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The consumption of pork is banned by the Qu’ran.
In June, during Ramadan, the head of a pig was left outside the Quebec City mosque where multiple people were killed in a shooting Sunday night. (Facebook)
No one was ever arrested in that incident.
Mohamed Yangui, the mosque’s president, referenced the incident after the shooting.
In an interview with Le Soleil , he said police told them it was an “isolated act,” at the time, but “today we have deaths.” He said they had not received threats in recent days.
People come to show their support after a shooting occurred in a mosque at the Québec City Islamic cultural center on Sainte-Foy Street in Quebec city on January 29, 2017. (Getty)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement saying he was filled with “shock, anger and sadness” after the shooting Sunday night:
It was with tremendous shock, sadness and anger that I heard of this evening’s tragic and fatal shooting at the Centre culturel islamique de Québec located in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood of the city of Québec. We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge. On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of all those who have died, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured. While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear. Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance. Tonight, we grieve with the people of Ste-Foy and all Canadians.
Other politicians joined Trudeau in expressing support for the Muslim community.
“We know little at the moment, but one or two people have assumed the right to kill our fellow Muslim Québec citizens. When intolerance goes from debate to murder, solidarity is essential,” local politician Manon Massé told The Guardian.
Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume said in a statement the city is “in shock” following the shooting.
“My first thoughts go to the victims and their affected families as they gathered for prayer,” Labeaume said. “Quebec City is an open city where everyone must be able to live together in safety and respect. I invite all the people to unite and to be in solidarity. Québec is strong, Québec is proud, Québec is open to the world.”
Philippe Couillard, the Premier of Quebec, said on Twitter that the government is mobilized to protect people in the city after the shooting.
Philippe Couillard, the Premier of Quebec, said on Twitter that the government is mobilized to protect people in the city after the shooting.
He also said, in French, “Quebec categorically rejects this barbaric violence. Our solidarity is with victims, the injured and their families.”
A Canadian police officer talks to a woman after a shooting in a mosque at the Québec City Islamic cultural center on Sainte-Foy Street in Quebec city on January 29, 2017. (Getty)
The shooting comes on the same day as thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in the United States to fight back against an order banning refugees and visa-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Trudeau has put out messages supporting Muslim immigrants and has said his country would welcome those turned away by the U.S.
Canada did not denounce Trump’s order, the CBC reported on Sunday, prior to the shooting.
“Every country has the right to determine their policies. I can only tell you that we will continue our long-standing tradition of being open to those who seek sanctuary,” Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen told the CBC.
Hussen did say that Canada would not be raising the number of refugees it will accept in 2017, despite speculation after Trudeau’s tweet that it would bring in more people, according to the CBC. Canada plans to bring in about 25,000 refugees this year.
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· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
First, reflect on the cruelty of President Trump’s decision on Friday to indefinitely suspend the resettlement of Syrian refugees and temporarily ban people from seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States. It took just hours to begin witnessing the injury and suffering this ban inflicts on families that had every reason to believe they had outrun carnage and despotism in their homelands to arrive in a singularly hopeful nation.
The first casualties of this bigoted, cowardly, self-defeating policy were detained early Saturday at American airports just hours after the executive order, ludicrously titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” went into effect. A federal judge in Brooklyn on Saturday evening issued an emergency stay, ordering that those stuck at the airports not be returned to their home countries. But the future of all the others subject to the executive order is far from settled.
It must have felt like the worst trick of fate for these refugees to hit the wall of Donald Trump’s political posturing at the very last step of a yearslong, rigorous vetting process. This ban will also disrupt the lives and careers of potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been cleared to live in America under visas. On Saturday, as mass protests against that ban were held in various cities, the White House scaled back the reach of the policy, though not by much, exempting legal permanent residents.
That the order, breathtaking in scope and inflammatory in tone, was issued on Holocaust Remembrance Day spoke of the president’s callousness and indifference to history, to America’s deepest lessons about its own values.
The order lacks any logic. It invokes the attacks of Sept. 11 as a rationale, while exempting the countries of origin of all the hijackers who carried out that plot and also, perhaps not coincidentally, several countries where the Trump family does business. The document does not explicitly mention any religion, yet it sets a blatantly unconstitutional standard by excluding Muslims while giving government officials the discretion to admit people of other faiths.
The order’s language makes clear that the xenophobia and Islamophobia that permeated Mr. Trump’s campaign are to stain his presidency as well. Un-American as they are, they are now American policy. “The United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles,” the order says, conveying the spurious notion that all Muslims should be considered a threat. (It further claims to spare America from people who would commit acts of violence against women and those who persecute people on the basis of race, gender or sexual orientation. A president who bragged about sexually assaulting women and a vice president who has supported policies that discriminate against gay people might well fear that standard themselves.)
The unrighteousness of this new policy should be enough to prompt the courts, Congress and responsible members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet to reverse it immediately. But there is an even more compelling reason: It is extremely dangerous. Extremist groups will trumpet this order to spread the notion, today more credible than ever, that the United States is at war with Islam rather than targeting terrorists. They want nothing more than a fearful, recklessly belligerent America; so, if anything, this ban will heighten their efforts to strike at Americans, to provoke yet further overreaction from a volatile and inexperienced president.
American allies in the Middle East will reasonably question why they should cooperate with, and defer to, the United States while its top officials vilify their faith. Afghans and Iraqis supporting American military operations would be justified in reassessing the merits of taking enormous risks for a government that is bold enough to drop bombs on their homelands but too frightened to provide a haven to their most vulnerable compatriots, and perhaps to them as well. Republicans in Congress who remain quiet or tacitly supportive of the ban should recognize that history will remember them as cowards.
There may be no one better positioned to force a suspension of this policy than Mr. Trump’s secretary of defense, Jim Mattis. Mr. Mattis was clear-eyed about the dangers of a proposed Muslim ban during the election, saying that American allies were reasonably wondering if “we have lost faith in reason.” He added: “This kind of thing is causing us great damage right now, and it’s sending shock waves through this international system.”
His silence now is alarming to all who admire his commitment to American security. Mr. Mattis and other senior government officials who know better cannot lend their names to this travesty. Doing so would do more than tarnish their professional reputations. It would make them complicit in abdicating American values and endangering their fellow citizens.
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· · ·
But in terms of real influence, Mr. Bannon looms above almost everyone except the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the Trumpian pecking order, according to interviews with two dozen Trump insiders and current and former national security officials. The move involving Mr. Bannon, as well as the boost in status to the White House homeland security adviser, Thomas P. Bossert, and Mr. Trump’s relationships with cabinet appointees like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, have essentially layered over Mr. Flynn.
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said Mr. Bannon — whose Breitbart website was a magnet for white nationalists, antiglobalists and conspiracy theorists — always planned to participate in national security. Mr. Flynn welcomed his participation, Mr. Spicer said, but the general “led the reorganization of the N.S.C.” in order to streamline an antiquated and bloated bureaucracy.
Former White House officials in both parties were shocked by the move.
“The last place you want to put somebody who worries about politics is in a room where they’re talking about national security,” said Leon E. Panetta, a former White House chief of staff, defense secretary and C.I.A. director in two Democratic administrations.
“I’ve never seen that happen, and it shouldn’t happen. It’s not like he has broad experience in foreign policy and national security issues. He doesn’t. His primary role is to control or guide the president’s conscience based on his campaign promises. That’s not what the National Security Council is supposed to be about.”
That opinion was shared by President George W. Bush’s last chief of staff, Josh Bolten, who barred Karl Rove, Mr. Bush’s political adviser, from N.S.C. meetings. A president’s decisions made with those advisers, he told a conference audience in September, “involve life and death for the people in uniform” and should “not be tainted by any political decisions.”
Susan E. Rice, President Barack Obama’s last national security adviser, called the arrangement “stone cold crazy” in a tweet posted Sunday.
Mr. Spicer said the language the Trump White House used in its N.S.C. executive order is, with the exception of Mr. Bannon’s position — which was created during the transition — almost identical in content to one the Bush administration drafted in 2001. And Mr. Obama’s top political operative, David Axelrod, sat in on some N.S.C. meetings, he added.
There were key differences. Mr. Axelrod never served as a permanent member as Mr. Bannon will now, though he sat in on some critical meetings, especially as Mr. Obama debated strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “It’s a profound shift,” Mr. Axelrod said. “I don’t know what his bona fides are to be the principal foreign policy adviser to the president.”
But Mr. Bannon’s elevation does not merely reflect his growing influence on national security. It is emblematic of Mr. Trump’s trust on a range of political and ideological issues.
During the campaign, the sly and provocative Mr. Bannon played a paradoxical role — calming the easily agitated candidate during his frequent rough patches and egging him on when he felt Mr. Trump needed to fire up the white working-class base. The president respects Mr. Bannon because he is independently wealthy and therefore does not need the job, and both men ascribe to a shoot-the-prisoners credo when put on the defensive, according to the former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
Mr. Bannon is a deft operator within the White House, and he has been praised by Republicans who view him skeptically as the most knowledgeable on policy around the president. But his stated preference for blowing things up — as opposed to putting them back together — may not translate to his new role.
The hasty drafting of the immigration order, and its scattershot execution, brought a measure of Mr. Bannon’s chaotic and hyperaggressive political style to the more predictable administration of the federal government. Within hours of the edict, airport customs and border agents were detaining or blocking dozens of migrant families, some of whom had permanent resident status, until John F. Kelly, the new homeland security secretary, intervened.
Mr. Kelly’s department had suggested green card holders be exempted from the order, but Mr. Bannon and Mr. Miller, a hard-liner on immigration, overruled him, according to two American officials.
Mr. Priebus, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, indicated a softening of the stance, saying the order would not block “green card holders moving forward” — but said anyone seeking to enter the country from the listed countries would be subjected to tighter scrutiny.
People close to Mr. Bannon said he is not accumulating power for power’s sake, but is instead helping to fill a staff leadership vacuum created, in part, by Mr. Flynn’s stumbling performance as national security adviser.
Mr. Flynn still communicates with Mr. Trump frequently, and his staff has been assembling a version of the Presidential Daily Briefing for Mr. Trump, truncated but comprehensive, to be the president’s main source of national security information. During the campaign, he often had unfettered access to the candidate, who appreciated his brash style and contempt for Hillary Clinton, but during the transition, Mr. Flynn privately complained about having to share face time with others.
Mr. Flynn “has the full confidence of the president and his team,” Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, said in an email. Emails and phone calls to Mr. Flynn and his top aide were not returned.
A president who likes generals and abhors political correctness, Mr. Trump found in Mr. Flynn — who joined Trump backers in an anti-Clinton “lock her up!” chant during the campaign — perhaps the most politically incorrect general this side of his hero, Gen. George S. Patton.
But Mr. Flynn, a lifelong Democrat sacked as head of the Pentagon’s intelligence arm after clashing with Obama administration officials in 2014, has gotten on the nerves of Mr. Trump and other administration officials because of his sometimes overbearing demeanor, and has further diminished his internal standing by presiding over a chaotic and opaque N.S.C. transition process that prioritized the hiring of military officials over civilian experts recommended to him by his own team.
Mr. Flynn’s penchant for talking too much was on display on Friday in a meeting with Theresa May, the British prime minister, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events.
When Mrs. May said that she understood wanting a dialogue with Mr. Putin but stressed the need to be careful, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Flynn when the two were scheduled to speak.
Mr. Flynn replied it was Saturday — he had delayed it to fit in Mrs. May’s meeting for “protocol” as a United States ally, adding at length that Mr. Putin was impatient to chat.
Mr. Trump, the person said, appeared irritated by the response.
Still, the episode that did the most damage to the Trump-Flynn relationship occurred in early December when Mr. Flynn’s son, also named Michael, unleashed a series of tweets pushing a discredited conspiracy theory that Clinton associates had run a child sex-slave ring out of a Washington pizza restaurant.
Mr. Trump told his staff to get rid of the younger Mr. Flynn, who had been hired by his father to help during the transition. But Mr. Trump did so reluctantly because of his loyalty during the campaign, when dozens of former military officials were dismissing Mr. Trump as too unstable to command.
“I want him fired immediately,” Mr. Trump said in a muted rendition of his “You’re fired!” line in “The Apprentice,” according to two people with knowledge of the interaction.
That has not stopped the general’s son from spouting off: On Saturday, at a time when Trump surrogates were pushing back on the idea that the executive order did not discriminate against any religion, the younger Mr. Flynn tweeted his approval of the policy, adding “#MuslimBan.” The tweet was subsequently deleted; his entire account disappeared later in the day.
Still, the national security adviser has also continued to dabble in the kind of bomb-throwing behavior that concerns Mr. Trump’s allies, such as planning to attend an anti-Clinton “Deploraball” event at the time of the inauguration. He was urged to skip it by Trump allies, and ultimately agreed.
Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Bannon still regard Mr. Flynn as an asset. “In the room and out of the room, Steve Bannon is General Flynn’s biggest defender,” said Kellyanne Conway, another top adviser to the president.
But it is unclear when the maneuvers to reduce Mr. Flynn’s role began. Two Obama administration officials said Trump transition officials inquired about expanded national security roles for Mr. Bannon and Mr. Kushner at the earliest stages of the transition in November — before the younger Mr. Flynn became a liability — but after Mr. Flynn had begun to chafe on the nerves of his colleagues on the team.
Mr. Flynn’s reputation has raised questions among some in the cabinet. Two weeks ago, both men held a meeting with Rex W. Tillerson, Mr. Trump’s pick to run the State Department, Mr. Mattis and Mike Pompeo, now the C.I.A. director, to discuss coordination — Mr. Flynn was invited but did not attend.
Part of the meeting was devoted to discussing concerns about Mr. Flynn, according to an official with knowledge of it.
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· · · · · ·
Россию основала Орда
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О том, что Московия-Россия - это не Русь, знали не только Карл Маркс, Вольтер и многие другие умы цивилизованного мира, понимали ...
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ПИЗДА РУЛЮ)))). какие же это друзья, если говорят, что заняты, и гулять не получится с тобой, а с другими идут. всего по немногу. Ярославль, Россия ...
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Martin Couture-Rouleau wanted more victims: coroner
CTV News-Dec 16, 2016
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Who is Martin Couture-Rouleau?
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New York Times
Quebec City mosque attack: Six dead and eight injured
<a href="http://Aljazeera.com" rel="nofollow">Aljazeera.com</a>-2 hours ago
At least six people were killed in a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City ... Police said two suspects had been arrested, but gave no details ...
6 reported dead in "terrorist" attack at Quebec City mosque
Local Source-Montreal Gazette-3 hours ago
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Gunmen kill 6, injure 8 in attack on worshipers at Quebec City mosque
In-Depth-Washington Post-2 minutes ago
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The Guardian
Quebec City mosque attack: Six dead and eight injured
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At least six people were killed in a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City ... as a "terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge".
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Yahoo News |
San Bernardino massacre yields second immigration fraud conviction
Yahoo News A memorial stands outside the Inland Regional Center (IRC) where 14 people were massacred last month by a married couple inspired by Islamist militants in San Bernardino, California, January 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo. More. By Steve ... San Bernardino terrorist massacre fallout: Russian's fake marriage guilty pleaMyNewsLA.com Wife of man tied to terror attack admits marriage shamSalon San Bernardino massacre yields 2nd immigration fraud convictionJerusalem Post Israel News all 14 news articles » |
Business Insider |
REPORTS: Trump to speak to Merkel about Russia on same day he talks to Putin for the first time
Business Insider Angela Merkel carnival German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a reception of German carnival societies at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is likely to speak with US President Donald ... Angela Merkel's New Challenger On the Left May End Up Helping the German RightTIME Germany's Merkel faces harsh new reality in the era of TrumpFox News Merkel expected to speak with Trump about Russia on Saturday: sourceThe Indian Express Jerusalem Post Israel News all 58 news articles » |
Washington Post |
Trump's Kremlin call will be first test for better ties with Putin's Russia
Washington Post MOSCOW — President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold their first official conversation on Saturday in what could be the first test of whether the two leaders' mutual affinity will launch the most profound overhaul of the U.S.-Russia ... Putin-Trump phone call to take place on Saturday - KremlinYahoo News Putin and Trump Will Talk by Phone on Saturday, Kremlin ConfirmsBloomberg Kremlin says Vladimir Putin-Donald Trump call set for SaturdayWashington Times CNN -New York Daily News -Russia Beyond the Headlines -TASS all 146 news articles » |
Washington Post |
What is an executive order? And how do President Trump's stack up?
Washington Post President Trump's first week in office has been marked by two things: controversy (over things like his inaugural crowd size and voter fraud accusations), and executive orders. The first is old hat for Trump. But for casual observers — and even some ... Newt Gingrich: The left should be scared to death after Trump's first weekFox News It's "Christmas in January" for ConservativesTownhall Donald Trump's First-Week Actions Are Mostly SymbolicU.S. News & World Report CBS News -GOOD Magazine -CBS Local -Politico all 358 news articles » |
New York Times |
Trump and Putin Connect, but Avoid Talk of Lifting US Sanctions
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Las Vegas Review-Journal |
COMMENTARY: In his first week, Donald Trump runs circles around his political opponents
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NPR |
Trump Speaks With Putin In 50-Minute Phone Call
NPR The Kremlin has given a positive readout of the long-awaited phone call Saturday between President Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Putin's overture to the United States to join forces in the fight against international terrorism was ... and more » |
USA TODAY |
Trump Gives Controversial Adviser Stephen Bannon Seat at National Security Council Meetings
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Huffington Post |
The Arab Spring: Six Years Later
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The Hill (blog) |
Israeli official: Not having embassy in Jerusalem 'offensive'
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The Hill (blog) |
Why the US cannot — and will not — move its embassy in Israel
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Politico |
Trump chats with Saudi, Abu Dhabi leaders about 'safe zones'
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Financial Times |
German politics: Russia's next target?
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TIME |
American Service Member Killed in Yemen Raid
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Houston Chronicle |
Gunman kills lawyer for Myanmar's ruling party at airport
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The Hill |
Trump brings his campaign tactics to the White House
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The Inquisitr |
Thought Police: Trump White House Wants To Confiscate Cellphones From Foreign Nationals
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The U.S. military says one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid targeting al-Qaida in Yemen.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our elite service members," said Commander of US Central Command Gen. Joseph Votel. "The sacrifices are very profound in our fight against terrorists who threaten innocent peoples across the globe."
A statement from the U.S. Central Command said 14 fighters from the local al-Qaida affiliate were killed in the operation.
A U.S. military aircraft involved in the operation was disabled following hard landing, resulting in an additional U.S. injury, the statement said, adding that the the aircraft was destroyed.
A White House statement said the "successful raid against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula" captured "important intelligence that will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world."
Tribal and local sources say three alleged senior al-Qaida leaders were among those killed.
The military operation occurred in Bayda province.
WHITE HOUSE — 
U.S. President Donald Trump will hold talks by telephone with three world leaders Sunday, one day after speaking at length with Russian President Vladimir Putin and four other world leaders.
The White House says Trump will speak with the king of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, then speak with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, before ending his day with a call with the acting president of South Korea, Hwang Kyo-Ahn.
After Saturday’s call with Putin, spokesmen in both Washington and Moscow said they agreed to cooperate on efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and to work together for peace in Syria and throughout the world.
The two presidents were speaking directly for the first time since Trump's inauguration on January 20. The White House said their hourlong conversation was "positive," and that it was "a significant start to improving the relationship" between Washington and Moscow, which has been badly strained in recent months.
"Both President Trump and President Putin are hopeful," White House officials said, "that after today's call the two sides can move quickly to tackle terrorism and important issues of mutual concern."
News bulletins from the Kremlin closely echoed the White House message.
Trump also spoke by telephone Saturday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 28, 2017.
American officials said they hoped the Trump-Putin talks would help improve the relationship between the United States and Russia, which "is in need of repair." Neither side mentioned U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia, or their possible relaxation — a notion that had figured prominently in analysts' speculation before the talks took place.
Sanctions
Trump had said Friday, during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, that it was "quite early" to consider easing sanctions against Moscow. A series of financial controls, an embargo on technology transfers and travel restrictions on Russian officials were imposed by former President Barack Obama following Russia's annexation of Crimea, which had been Ukrainian territory.
Trump spoke with Putin from a phone at his desk in the Oval Office, with an array of senior officials on hand — Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser Michael Flynn, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and press secretary Sean Spicer.
Reporters were allowed to look into the Oval Office briefly from the outdoor colonnade that passes by the president's office. Michael Schmidt of The New York Times, who was in that group, said Flynn and Pence were seated in front of Trump's desk, Priebus and Spicer were standing off to the side and Bannon was pacing in the background.
A Kremlin statement issued before the White House summary of the two presidents' conversation said they "thoroughly discussed" international issues, "including the fight against terrorism, the situation in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the sphere of strategic stability and nonproliferation, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula."
Ukraine crisis
The talks also "touched upon ... the main aspects of the crisis in Ukraine," Moscow's statement said, adding: "It was agreed to establish a partnership on all these and other areas."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech at a local meeting of her Christian Democrats in Grimmen, northern Germany, Jan. 28, 2017.
Before his talks with Putin, Trump spoke by phone with Germany's Merkel about NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, Russia and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In a joint statement approved by both governments, Merkel and Trump underscored the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance and vowed to work more closely together to combat terrorism and militancy.
"The leaders recognized that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st-century threats and that our common defense requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the statement by Merkel and Trump said.
The U.S. president accepted Merkel's invitation to attend a summit of G-20 industrialized countries during July in Hamburg, Germany, and said he looked forward to welcoming Merkel to Washington soon.
The statement made no mention of Trump's executive order limiting immigration or his moves to cancel free-trade deals.
Strained relations
Ties between Moscow and Washington have been strained in recent years by Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine. U.S. intelligence agencies have also accused Russia of hacking into Democratic National Committee computers and have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, in Trump's favor.
Shortly after his talks with Putin, Trump spoke with France's Hollande, who stressed to the new U.S. leader the importance of international pacts such as NATO and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
In the past, Trump has dismissed NATO as "obsolete." He has at times dismissed as "a hoax" the specter of catastrophic global consequences arising from climate change and the steady climb in temperatures worldwide.
'Protectionist' approach
The White House said Trump and Hollande discussed military and defense cooperation, both bilaterally and through NATO, and the U.S. president expressed "his desire to strengthen U.S.-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially counterterrorism and security.
French President Francois Hollande speaks to reporters at the Southern EU countries summit held at Belem cultural center in Lisbon, Portugal, Jan. 28, 2017.
Hollande's office released a statement that was considerably cooler, saying the French president had warned Trump the U.S. would face economic and political consequences if the new administration adopted a "protectionist" attitude toward the rest of the world, whether on trade, immigration or security issues.
"In an unstable and uncertain world, turning inward would be a dead-end," Hollande told Trump in their first official telephone conversation, according to a statement from the Elysee Palace. The French president is said to have told Trump, who has expressed skepticism about international organizations, that France is committed to the United Nations, that the NATO military alliance is indispensable and that the European Union should be reinforced.
The French leader, who is about four months from the end of his term in office, said sanctions against Russia should be lifted only when the crisis in eastern Ukraine is resolved.
Trump's talks with Putin and the other world leaders followed his controversial executive order, issued the day before, to stop issuing visas to refugees from Syria and some other Muslim-majority countries, to cut back on other types of travel from those areas and even to closely screen permanent U.S. residents returning from abroad, if they were born in those Muslim-majority nations.
At a news conference Saturday in Paris, the German and French foreign ministers voiced concern about the new U.S. policy on immigration. Germany has taken in more than 1 million refugees and migrants, primarily from the Middle East, since 2015.
Conversation with Abe
Trump's first conversation with a world leader Saturday was with Japan's Abe. White House officials said the two men agreed that the U.S. and Japan were committed to seeking a new bilateral trade agreement to replace the broader Trans-Pacific Partnership that Trump abandoned earlier this week.
U.S. officials said Trump intended to pursue a deeper investment relationship with Japan, and that he promised an "ironclad commitment" to Japan's security.
Trump has said he prefers bilateral trade agreements to multinational pacts, and Abe, who is expected to visit the United States in about two weeks, said Thursday that he would consider negotiating a trade deal directly with Washington.
President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, with national security adviser Michael Flynn, center, and chief strategist Steve Bannon, right, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 28, 2017.
Trump wound up his lengthy day of telephone diplomacy Saturday with a 25-minute conversation with Australia's Turnbull.
"Both leaders emphasized the enduring strength and closeness of the U.S.-Australia relationship," the White House said, and agreed the ties between Canberra and Washington were "critical for peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally."
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
¬
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2017
Office of the Press Secretary
¬
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2017
NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM - 2
MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
STRATEGIST
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE
UNITED NATIONS
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL
SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND
SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC
POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
INTRAGOVERNMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
THE DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY POLICY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE
ADVISORY BOARD
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY
THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
STRATEGIST
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE
UNITED NATIONS
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL
SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND
SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC
POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
INTRAGOVERNMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
THE DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY POLICY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE
ADVISORY BOARD
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY
THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES
SUBJECT: Organization of the National Security Council and
the Homeland Security Council
the Homeland Security Council
As President, my highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people. In order to advise and assist me in executing this solemn responsibility, as well as to protect and advance the national interests of the United States at home and abroad, I hereby direct that my system for national security policy development and decision-making shall be organized as follows:
A. The National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and Supporting Staff
The National Security Act of 1947, as amended, established the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security. There is also a Homeland Security Council (HSC) -- established through Executive Order 13228 of October 8, 2001, and subsequently codified in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 -- that has the purpose of advising the President on matters pertaining to homeland security. Each Council is also responsible for the effective coordination of the security-related activities and functions of the executive departments and agencies.
The security threats facing the United States in the 21st century transcend international boundaries. Accordingly, the United States Government's decision-making structures and processes to address these challenges must remain equally adaptive and transformative. Both Councils are statutory bodies that the President will continue to chair. Invitations to participate in specific Council meetings shall be extended to those heads of executive departments and agencies, and other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue or issues under consideration. When the President is absent from a meeting of either Council, the Vice President may preside at the President's direction.
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (Homeland Security Advisor) shall be responsible, as appropriate and at the President's direction, for determining the agenda for the NSC or HSC, respectively, ensuring that the necessary papers are prepared, and recording Council actions and Presidential decisions in a timely manner. When international economic issues are on the agenda of the NSC, the National Security Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy shall perform these tasks in concert.
The NSC and HSC shall have as their regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor, and the Representative of the United States to the United Nations. When international economic issues are on the agenda of the NSC, the NSC's regular attendees will include the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. The Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as statutory advisers to the NSC, shall also attend NSC meetings. The Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist, the Counsel to the President, the Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are invited as attendees to any NSC meeting.
In addition to the NSC and HSC, there is also a single NSC staff within the Executive Office of the President that serves both the NSC and HSC. The staff is composed of regional, issue-focused, and functional directorates and headed by a single civilian Executive Secretary, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 3021, who is also the Chief of Staff. All policy and staff activity decisions will be transmitted to the Executive Secretary for appropriate distribution and awareness. The purpose of the NSC staff is to advise me, the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor, the NSC members, the HSC members, and others in the White House; to facilitate the implementation of Administration policy; and to help coordinate the national-security-related activities of the executive departments and agencies.
B. The Principals Committee
The Principals Committee (PC) shall continue to serve as the Cabinet-level senior interagency forum for considering policy issues that affect the national security interests of the United States. The PC shall be convened and chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor, as appropriate, in consultation with the appropriate attendees of the PC. The Chair shall determine the agenda in consultation with the appropriate committee members, and the Executive Secretary shall ensure that necessary papers are prepared and that conclusions and decisions are communicated in a timely manner. Invitations to participate in or attend a specific PC shall be extended at the discretion of the National Security Advisor and the Homeland Security Advisor, and may include those Cabinet-level heads of executive departments and agencies, and other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue under consideration.
The PC shall have as its regular attendees the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist, the National Security Advisor, and the Homeland Security Advisor. The Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall attend where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed. The Counsel to the President, the Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may attend all PC meetings.
The Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor (Deputy National Security Advisor), the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, and the Executive Secretary (who shall serve as the Executive Secretary of the PC) shall attend all of the meetings of the PC, and the Representative of the United States to the United Nations and the Assistant to the President for Intragovernmental and Technology Initiatives may attend as appropriate.
When international economic issues are on the agenda of the PC, the Committee's regular attendees will include the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (who shall serve as Chair for agenda items that principally pertain to international economics).
C. The Deputies Committee
The Deputies Committee (DC) shall continue to serve as the senior sub-Cabinet interagency forum for consideration of, and where appropriate, decision-making on, policy issues that affect the national security interests of the United States. The DC shall be convened and chaired by the Deputy National Security Advisor or the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor (Deputy Homeland Security Advisor), as appropriate. The Chair shall determine the agenda in consultation with the regular DC members, and the Executive Secretary shall ensure that necessary papers are prepared and that conclusions and decisions are communicated in a timely manner. Invitations to participate in or attend a specific DC meeting shall be extended by the Chair to those at the Deputy or Under Secretary level of executive departments and agencies, and to other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue under consideration.
The DC shall have as its regular members the Deputy Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Attorney General, the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Deputy Director of National Intelligence, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, the Deputy National Security Advisor, the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
The Executive Secretary shall attend the DC meetings. The Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs may attend all DC meetings. The relevant Deputy Assistant to the President for the specific regional and functional issue under consideration shall also be invited to attend. Likewise, when and where appropriate, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Planning, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Communication, the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Transnational Issues, and the Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, shall also be invited to attend. Other senior officials shall be invited where appropriate.
The DC shall review and monitor the work of the interagency national security process, including the interagency groups established pursuant to section D below. The DC shall help to ensure that issues brought before the NSC, HSC, and PC have been properly analyzed and prepared for decision. The DC shall also focus significant attention on monitoring the implementation of policies and decisions and shall conduct periodic reviews of the Administration's major national security and foreign policy initiatives. The DC is responsible for establishing Policy Coordination Committees (PCCs) and for providing objectives and clear guidance.
D. Policy Coordination Committees
Management of the development and implementation of national security policies by multiple executive departments and agencies typically shall be accomplished by the PCCs, with participation primarily occurring at the Assistant Secretary level. As the main day-to-day fora for interagency coordination of national security policies, the PCCs shall provide policy analysis for consideration by the more senior committees of the national security system and ensure timely responses to the President's decisions.
Regional and issue-related PCCs shall be established at the direction of the DC. Members of the NSC staff (or National Economic Council staff, as appropriate) will chair the PCCs; the DC, at its discretion, may add co-chairs to any PCC. The PCCs shall review and coordinate the implementation of Presidential decisions in their respective policy areas. The Chair of each PCC, in consultation with the Executive Secretary, shall invite representatives of other executive departments and agencies to attend meetings of the PCC where appropriate. The Chair of each PCC, with the agreement of the Executive Secretary, may establish subordinate working groups to assist that PCC in the performance of its duties.
An early meeting of the DC will be devoted to establishing the PCCs, determining their memberships, and providing them with mandates and strict guidance. Until the DC has established otherwise, the existing system of Interagency Policy Committees shall continue.
E. General
The President and the Vice President may attend any and all meetings of any entity established by or under this memorandum.
This document is part of a series of National Security Presidential Memoranda that shall replace both Presidential Policy Directives and Presidential Study Directives as the instrument for communicating relevant Presidential decisions. This memorandum shall supersede all other existing Presidential guidance on the organization or support of the NSC and the HSC. With regard to its application to economic matters, this document shall be interpreted in concert with any Executive Order governing the National Economic Council and with Presidential Memoranda signed hereafter that implement either this memorandum or that Executive Order.
The Secretary of Defense is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
DONALD J. TRUMP
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Trump just made an unprecedented, 'radical' change to the National ...
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"The appointment of Mr. Bannon is something which is a radical departure from any National Security Council in history," Republican Sen.
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President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Saturday that removed the nation's top military and intelligence advisers as regular attendees of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, the interagency forum that deals with policy issues affecting national security.
The executive measure established Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon as a regular attendee, whereas the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence will be allowed to participate only "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed."
"The appointment of Mr. Bannon is something which is a radical departure from any National Security Council in history," Republican Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday.
"The one person who is indispensable would be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in my view," McCain added. "So it’s of concern, this 'reorganization.'"
John Bellinger, an adjunct senior fellow in International and National Security Law at the Council on Foreign Relations and former legal adviser to the National Security Council, wrote on Saturday that the change is "unusual."
"In the Bush administration, Karl Rove would not attend NSC meetings," Bellinger said. "According to former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, President Bush did not want to appear, especially to the military, to insert domestic politics into national security decision-making."
With his permanent seat at the NSC meetings, Bannon has been elevated above the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, who was not offered an open invitation.
"The CIA Director is typically invited to NSC and Principals Committee meetings," Bellinger said, though he added that President Barack Obama's list of invitees to such meetings did not include the CIA director.
Trump's executive order on Saturday established Steve Bannon as a regular member of the National Security Council's Principals Committee. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto noted on Sunday that the move was "certainly unprecedented."
"You're putting in someone who is not Senate confirmed and taking out the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, who need to be Senate confirmed," Sciutto told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It raises questions about whose voices will be most prominent about key national-security decisions in the country."
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates told ABC on Sunday morning that sidelining the DNI and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was "a big mistake."
"Adding people to the NSC never really bothers me," Gates said, referring to Bannon's new role on the committee. "My biggest concern is that, under law, there are only two statutory advisers to the National Security Council — the DNI, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
"Pushing them out," Gates said, is "a big mistake. They both bring perspective, judgment, and experience to bear that every president — whether they like it or not — finds useful."
A 'shadow National Security Council'
The Washington Post's Josh Rogin reported before Trump was sworn in that Bannon, Jared Kushner, and Reince Priebus comprised an informal "shadow national security council" that "sits atop the Trump transition team’s executive committee and has the final say on national-security personnel appointments."
Jared Kushner is Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. Priebus is Trump's chief of staff.
"Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach," Rogin reported, citing transition officials. He "is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe."
Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon was the CEO of the far-right website Breitbart News — a website known for its antiestablishment, white-nationalist positions on issues such as immigration and trade. A week into his presidency, Trump has already prioritized a number of agenda items that reflect Bannon's own nationalist views, including a border wall and a crackdown on immigration and refugee admissions. He also echoed Bannon's claim that "the media is the opposition party."
Breitbart's role inside the Trump White House is growing: Sebastian Gorka, an editor for National Security Affairs at Breitbart who was paid by Trump's campaign for policy consulting, is expected to join the National Security Council. Julia Hahn, a hardline immigration writer for Breitbart, will join the administration as a special assistant to the president.
Donald Trump is joined by his daughter Tiffany, left, and son-in-law Jared Kushner as he speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester, Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Mary Altaffer/AP
The NSC Principals Committee will be chaired by former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, and Tom Bossert, Trump's homeland security adviser. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Trump's secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, have seats on the committee, but they "begin at a disadvantage," Rogin said.
They will be "fighting for influence in a team of strong personalities who are busily carving up issues, making plans and nurturing already close relationships" with Trump, Rogin wrote, referring to Bannon, Kushner, and Priebus.
The secretary of energy and director of the Office of Management and Budget were also removedfrom the committee's list of "regular members," and the deputy secretary of state will no longer be invited to every committee meeting. The chair of the Council of Economic Advisers will not be invited even "when issues to be discussed pertain to their responsibilities and expertise."
Unilateral moves
Trump already seems to be marginalizing the influence of career officials with extensive federal experience at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Justice Department.
On Saturday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox that he helped draft Trump's "extreme vetting" executive order after Trump called him and asked how to do a "Muslim ban" "legally." Officials told CNN that the order was a unilateral move.
Department of Homeland Security staff, the officials said, were only allowed to see the order barring refugees from the US after Trump signed it, and National Security Council lawyers were preventedfrom evaluating it. The State Department and the DoD were also excluded from the process, NBC reported.
After seeing the order, the DHS interpreted it to mean that green card holders from the banned countries — who have already been subjected to intense vetting — would be allowed to reenter the US from trips abroad. But that interpretation was overruled by the White House, which later said that green card holders would be allowed in only on a "case-by-case" basis.
Iraqi immigrant Hameed Darwish stands with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (R) after being released at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., January 28, 2017.Andrew Kelly/Reuters
"The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas," CNN reported, "and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance."
As a result, the order was imprecise and open to interpretation — and legal challenges.
The order "looks like what an intern came up with over a lunch hour," an immigration lawyer toldBenjamin Wittes, the editor-in-chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "My take is that it is so poorly written that it’s hard to tell the impact."
"The president has created a target-rich environment for litigation" with the order, Wittes wrote.
Lawyers and civil-rights organizations were already challenging the constitutionality of the ban hours after it was signed, arguing that the ban violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by "explicitly disapproving of one religion and implicitly preferring others."
Lawyers representing two Iraqi refugees who were detained at John F. Kennedy airport in New York filed legal challenges to the order, and a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency rulingSaturday evening to stay the continued deportation of travelers.
The ruling, a temporary emergency stay, now allows those who landed in the US and hold a valid visa to remain. Federal judges in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Washington also made emergency rulings on various aspects of the executive order.
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Trump just made an unprecedented, 'radical' change to the National Security Council
Business Insider President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Saturday that removed the nation's top military and intelligence advisers as regular attendees of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, the interagency forum that deals with policy ... Trump Gives Controversial Adviser Stephen Bannon Seat at National Security Council MeetingsABC News Trump Orders Shuffle of National Security CouncilWall Street Journal Trump puts Bannon on security council, dropping joint chiefsBBC News USA TODAY -The Guardian all 60 news articles » |
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