President Donald Trump is expected to ask the Pentagon for ways to accelerate the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and officials said the options probably would include steps the Obama administration considered but never acted on, from adding significantly more U.S. troops to boosting military aid to Kurdish fighters Trump’s visit Friday to the Defense Department’s headquarters will start the conversation over how to fulfill his inauguration address pledge to eradicate radical Islamic terrorism “completely from the face of the Earth.”
Category: Barack Obama
Israel moves quickly to take advantage of Trump support
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the weekly cabinet meeting at the PM’s office in Jerusalem, on December 27, 2015 Israel has moved immediately to take advantage of US President Donald Trump’s pledges of support, announcing a major settlement expansion that deeply concerns those hoping to salvage a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Since Trump’s inauguration last week, Israel has approved some 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and in annexed east Jerusalem, signalling a sharp change of pace from such projects during the Barack Obama years.
Mexico opposition leader urges U.N. lawsuit over Trump wall
A cold-case investigation into the disappearance of a woman in Manchester in 1981 took a twist Wednesday when the state Attorney General’s Office announced it will hold a press briefing… Gabriel Verpaelst’s fourth goal of the season sent the Norfolk Admirals to a 4-3 overtime win over the Manchester Monarchs in ECHL play Wednesday night in … (more)
Books on Trump prove tough sell in Japan – so far
Dozens of books bearing U.S. President Donald Trump’s face on its cover have been piling up at bookstores across the nation since his stunning victory in November. But sales so far have been lackluster compared to how former President Barack Obama-related books did when he assumed the presidency in 2009, according to bookstores and publishers.
Keystone XL good for oil industry, concerning for environmentalists
In this Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, miles of pipe ready to become part of the Keystone Pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla. President Barack Obama says that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project from Canada to Texas should only be approved if it doesn’t worsen carbon pollution.
Israel announces plans for 2,500 new settlement homes
Israel announced plans on Tuesday for 2,500 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the second such declaration since U.S. President Donald Trump took office signalling he could be more accommodating towards such projects than his predecessor. A statement from the Israeli Defence Ministry, which administers lands Israel captured in a 1967 war, said the decision was meant to fulfil demand for new housing “to maintain regular daily life”.
Delay in one of Trump’s signature committments
At his press conference on January 23, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to commit the Trump administration to quickly moving the embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the capital of the Israeli state. While President Donald Trump said during his campaign that he would move the embassy, the administration is now expressing some caution.
Asian Nations Try to Save TPP Trade Deal
Australia and New Zealand said on Tuesday they hope to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership by encouraging China and other Asian nations to join the trade pact after U.S. President Donald Trump kept his promise to pull out of the accord. The TPP, which the United States had signed but not ratified, was a pillar of former U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy to pivot to Asia.
Trump moves to pull US out of Pacific-Rim trade deal
President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise as he began his first full week in office. “Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said as he signed a notice in the Oval Office.
Trump moves to pull US out of Pacific-Rim trade deal
President Donald Trump moved to pull the United States out of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact Monday, fulfilling a campaign promise as he began his first full week in office. “Great thing for the American worker that we just did,” Trump said as he signed a notice in the Oval Office.
Trump, amid combative start, pledges to rise to moment
After a combative start to his presidency, Donald Trump delivered a more unifying message Sunday and sought to reassure Americans he was ready to begin governing a divided nation. Trump began rolling out his plans for diplomatic outreach, speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and announcing plans for early meetings with Netanyahu and other world leaders.
Suspected US drone strike kills 3 alleged al-Qaida in Yemen
Suspected U.S. drone strikes have killed three alleged al-Qaida operatives in Yemen’s southwestern Bayda province, security and tribal officials said, the first such killings reported in the country since Donald Trump assumed the U.S. presidency Friday. The two Saturday strikes killed Abu Anis al-Abi , an area field commander, and two others, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information to journalists.
Trump brings Churchill bust back to Oval Office
President Donald Trump restored the bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office immediately after assuming the presidency on Friday, the most notable move in an aesthetic redecoration of the space. Trump signed his first executive orders at the Resolute Desk before new gold curtains with a blue trim, a new sunburst-patterned carpet and new brocade couches.
Jerusalem mayor praises ‘friend’ Trump and slams Obama
Nothing will rain on our parade! Triumphant Donald Trump promises a beautiful day as he tells his supporters: ‘I’m going to be cheering YOU’ Trump lays wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in somber Arlington Cemetery ceremony just one day before he becomes commander-in-chief Jerusalem mayor praises ‘friend’ Trump and slams Obama for ‘surrendering’ to radical Islam in video welcoming The Donald as President The mayor of Jerusalem has praised Donald Trump as a ‘friend’ while slamming outgoing U.S. president Barack Obama accusing him of ‘surrendering’ to radical Islam. Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat released a video on Thursday ahead of Trump’s inauguration urging people to welcome him when he is sworn in as president.
COMMENTARY: Obama’s self-revealing final act
Barack Obama did not go out quietly. His unquiet final acts were, in part, overshadowed by a successor who refused to come in quietly and, in part, by Obama’s own endless, sentimental farewell tour.
Brave new Anglosphere: Israel revels in fresh support from US-UK-Australia triumvirate
It’s springtime for Israel’s relations with the Anglosphere. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu loves to talk about burgeoning ties with the Arab world, but in the months and years ahead, a newly formed pro-Israel triumvirate of English-speaking countries looks set to form the backbone of international support for the Jewish state.
The Latest: Obama Lashes out at Congress Over Guantanamo
President Barack Obama is criticizing Congress for refusing to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying there’s “simply no justification beyond politics” to keep it open. Obama pledged at the start of his presidency to close the facility in his first year.
Mideast expects big changes under Trump
Donald Trump’s all-but-dismissal of human rights as a foreign policy principle could land like an earthquake across a Middle East landscape beset by warring factions and beleaguered governments, with some players eyeing the prospect of once unimaginable new alliances. Syria is the foremost test of Trump’s promise of a return to a hard-headed realpolitik and could quickly show whether America is truly abandoning promotion of democracy and the rule of law in a way that could reshape much of the region’s post-Cold War, post-9/11 order.
Obama defends decision to commute Chelsea Manning’s sentence
President Barack Obama firmly defended his decision to cut nearly three decades off convicted leaker Chelsea Manning’s prison term Wednesday, arguing in his final White House news conference that the former Army intelligence analyst had served a “tough prison sentence” already. Obama said he granted clemency to Manning because she had gone to trial, taken responsibility for her crime and received a sentence that was harsher than other leakers had received.
Chelsea Manning’s family welcome imminent release of whistleblower
Protesters mount a Free Bradley Manning demonstration at the US Embassy in Dublin after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for sending classified information to WikiLeaks The Welsh-Irish family of whistleblower Chelsea Manning have said they are “overjoyed” she will soon be free after her sentence was commuted by outgoing US President Barack Obama. A statement released on behalf of her mother, Susan Manning, and other family members said they hoped the transgender former intelligence analyst, born Bradley Manning, would “now be able to get on with the rest of her life”, adding there would “always be a welcome for her here in Wales”.
In Africa, Obamaa s presidency couldna t help but be personal
Africa was electrified by the rise of Barack Obama, the first U.S. president of African descent. It was in Africa that he signaled a historic opening toward Cuba, took aim at the twin scourges of corruption and dictatorship and sent thousands of troops to fight one of the most terrifying disease outbreaks in decades.
Obama Trumpets ‘Steadfast’ Defense of Israel on Iran Deal Anniversary
President Barack Obama said his administration had remained “steadfast” in countering Iranian threats to Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal. Obama and his secretary of state, John Kerry, in their final week in office, marked the anniversary Monday of the implementation of the deal reached between Iran and six major powers led by the United States exchanging sanctions relief for a nuclear rollback.
China’s Xi takes spotlight at Davos as US makes transition
From right, Swiss Federal President Doris Leuthard, China’s President Xi Jinping, Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan and Doris Leuthard’s husband Roland Hausin, attend a gala dinner in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017. Xi… .
Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees
Oman said Monday it accepted 10 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had accepted the prisoners at Obama’s request.
Kremlin counts days to Trump’s inauguration, blasts Obama
In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russian prosecutors in Moscow, Russia. Careful not to hurt chances for a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have deferred questions about their plans for future contacts with Trump and any agenda for those talks until he takes office on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.
Kremlin counts days to Trump’s inauguration, blasts Obama
In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russian prosecutors in Moscow, Russia. Careful not to hurt chances for a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have deferred questions about their plans for future contacts with Trump and any agenda for those talks until he takes office on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.
Explosive memos suggest that a Trump-Russia tit-for-tat was at…
An unverified dossier provided to US intelligence officials alleges that President-elect Donald Trump “agreed to sideline” the issue of Russian intervention in Ukraine during his campaign after Russia promised to feed the emails it stole from prominent Democrats’ inboxes to WikiLeaks. The dossier was part of an opposition-research project conducted by a former British spy , Christopher Steele, at the behest of anti-Trump Republicans and, later, Democrats.
From startling insight to random insult: A guide to the uses and misuses of “fake news”
Stories like those about ” as word of the year, defining the term as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Now, in Orwellian fashion, the term “fake news” itself is being stretched and deformed into its semantic opposite.
Hilarious backlash as Chelsea Handler tries to pin nuclear aggression on Trump
Lord save us from celebrities who are dumber than a box of rocks. Chelsea Handler made a fool of herself calling President-elect Donald Trump out for not handling North Korea.
US policy change on Cuban migrants leaves many stranded
It took three months for Gabriel Marin and his wife, Yansiel, to make it from their home in eastern Cuba to this migrant shelter in Panama’s capital. The goal was the United States and now the door that spurred their odyssey has slammed shut.
Obama ends visa-free path for Cubans who make it to US soil
President Barack Obama announced Thursday he is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident. The repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is effective immediately.
Obama ends visa-free path for Cubans who make it to US soil
President Barack Obama announced Thursday he is ending a longstanding immigration policy that allows any Cuban who makes it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident. The repeal of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is effective immediately.
Ex-MI6 officer linked to Trump dossier ‘still working for British intelligence’
Russia has claimed the former MI6 officer reportedly responsible for an explosive dossier on Donald Trump may still be working for British intelligence. Christopher Steele has apparently gone into hiding after being identified as the author of the report claiming Moscow held incriminating material on the US president-elect which it could use to blackmail him.
Germaphobe in chief calls shaking hands ‘barbaric’ – but Trump…
U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands as he meets with Republican President-elect Donald Trump on transition planning in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 10, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Trump has said that he hates shaking hands. WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump, during a news conference in New York City on Wednesday, vehemently denied the salacious and unverified allegations put forth in a 35-page dossier published by BuzzFeed News.
US troops arriving in Poland draw Russian ire
US troops and tanks began streaming into Poland Thursday as part of one of the largest deployments of US forces in Europe since the Cold War, an operation that Russia angrily branded a “threat”. The Atlantic Resolve mission will see more than 3,000 American soldiers and heavy equipment deployed in Poland and nearby NATO partners Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary on a rotational basis.
Donald Trump hit back at claims Russia possesses compromising material about him
US President-elect Donald Trump has suggested American intelligence agencies may be responsible for releasing a dossier containing allegations that Russia holds compromising information about him. At his first press conference since winning November’s presidential election, Mr Trump thanked media organisations which held back from publishing details from the dossier, which has reportedly been circulating in Washington for some time.
Obama says goodbye
NOVEMBER 16: U.S. President Barack Obama waves before descending from Air Force One upon his arrival on November 16, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. President Obama is scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel tomorrow and hold talks with other European leaders on Friday as part of his last trip to Europe as President before continuing to Peru.
President Obama Opens Up About Sasha and Malia’s Time in the White House
One of the victims from Friday’s shooting attack at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was a doting great-grandmother active in h… — The man suspected of shooting a U.S. consulate officer outside the consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico, has been captured and is from the United States, Mexican off… The American Soybean Association Awards Banquet is an annual event that brings together state affiliates and ASA members from across the country to recognize and celebra… Amherst Wrestling Invite Results 1-7 1. Amherst 202.0 2. Plainview 119.5 3. South Loup 92.0 4. Cambridge 77.0 5. Shelton-Kenesaw 74.0 6. Aurora JV 63.0 7. Arcadia/Loup … Cal fired Sonny Dykes, the school’s head football coach, after four seasons on Sunday.
Netanyahu Thanks House For Condemning UN Security Council Resolution
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday for disavowing the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity as a “flagrant violation of international law.” “After the outrageous anti-Israel resolution at the UN, the U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday resoundingly to support Israel and reject this one-sided resolution,” Netanyahu said .
Trudeau’s Arctic oil decision a fresh example of Canada ignoring the North
It’s unclear how appreciative Canadians who live in the region will be of Trudeau’s action, because they were not consulted. It’s unclear how appreciative Canadians who live in the region will be of Trudeau’s action, because they were not consulted.