Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet Sunday that last week’s meeting with Trump in Washington was “historic” and strengthened the two countries’ longtime alliance. After eight years of testy ties with Barack Obama, Netanyahu seems to be relishing Trump’s warm embrace.
Category: Middle East
Not Over: Trump Ban still ruining life of Iraqi Interpreter for US Military
In 2006, when I arrived at Camp Taqqadum in Iraq to embed with the U.S. Marines, I was immediately invited for tea by the unit’s interpreter. A quiet, exceedingly courteous father of three young girls, Haider told me how he spent three months at a time away from his family, but didn’t dare carry their pictures.
The Latest: Puzder withdraws nomination for labor secretary
The fast food executive says in a statement provided to The Associated Press that he was “honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity.” Puzder says “while I won’t be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team.”
Iraqi forces launch push to retake western Mosul from IS
Authorities say they’ve found the body of a man who was swept down a rain-swollen gully during Southern California’s powerful storm. Authorities say they’ve found the body of a man who was swept down a rain-swollen gully during Southern California’s powerful storm.
Leaflets dropped over western Mosul to warn of Iraqi military offensive
The Iraqi Air Force dropped millions of leaflets over western Mosul late Saturday warning residents of an offensive by ground forces on the ISIS-held part of the city, which has so far been targeted only by airstrikes. Iraqi forces have had control of the eastern part of the city, which is divided by the Tigris River, since January.
Bono praises Mike Pence at Munich Security Conference
Good Morning America Showdown! Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan spark rumors of on-set tension after photos emerge of pair in animated talk during taping Girl, 17, who was feared to have been abducted by sex traffickers in Las Vegas is FOUND a day after her distraught mother released a video plea for her return 550lb woman, 75, is found with her skin MOLDED to her chair after being left to sit in the same place for months ‘Shaping and spreading a skein of lies’: Kellyanne Conway attacked by her alma mater’s president in scathing letter rebuking Trump administration The ultimate sacrifice: Heartbreaking moment a grieving widow meets her hero Green Beret husband’s coffin on the airport tarmac – leaving scores of plane passengers in tears Teacher-turned-stripper who ‘slept with her 17-year-old student hundreds of times’ is sentenced to three months in jail and must register as a sex … (more)
The Latest: Pence meets leaders of Iraq, Iraqi Kurds
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Trump Blames Media, Judges, Democrats In Chaos Theory Tour-De-Force
Upending decades of U.S. policy on Israel-Palestinian conflict, he told the Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu that he “could live with” either a one state or a two state solution “that both parties want”. “To be honest, I inherited a mess at home and overseas”, he claimed as he spoke of jobs fleeing the country, instability in West Asia and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
Trump’s Sons Eric And Donald Jr. in Dubai to Open Golf Club
Two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons are in the United Arab Emirates for an invitation-only ceremony to open the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai. Eric and Donald Jr. attended a private luncheon Saturday afternoon with business partners of Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire who runs DAMAC Properties, the developer that partnered with Trump on the golf course.
Turkey steps up scrutiny on Muslim migrants from Russia
Turkey has increased scrutiny of Russian-speaking Muslim communities in the past few months following a series of attacks blamed on Islamic State, a concrete example of the renewed relationship between the two countries. Turkish police have raided the homes of Russian-speaking immigrants in Istanbul, detained many and expelled others, according to interviews with Russian Muslims living in the city.
Fake News vs Facts: Here’s how President Trump’s press conference claims measure up
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. The facts: By almost every economic measure, Barack Obama inherited a far worse situation when he became president in 2009 than he left for Mr Trump.
Photo credit: NEWSCOM
Donald Trump has promised a foreign policy of muscular retrenchment, in which a better-resourced U.S. military intimidates our enemies without serving as a global cop. More than any president since Richard Nixon, our new commander in chief sees virtue in brutal authoritarians, especially if they are fighting radical Islam.
Donald Trump Doesn’t Care if Israel and the Palestinians Make Peace
With an off-hand remark, the president indicates the status quo of U.S.-supported Israeli occupation is fine with him. We’ve long known that President Donald Trump has no filter, yet his every utterance now carries the weight of U.S. policy behind it.
Netanyahu and Trump push reset of US-Israel relationship
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made their debut Wednesday as chummy partners preparing to tackle the Middle East’s toughest challenges side by side. Netanyahu beamed at his new American counterpart and declared him the best friend Israel could possibly wish for, while Trump offered lofty praise for Israel, denounced the Iranian nuclear deal and declined to back a two-state solution – a longstanding, bipartisan US policy that the Israeli Prime Minister has questioned.
Ap Fact Check: Trump piles up the questionable assertions
President Donald Trump made a messy case that he “inherited a mess” from his predecessor. Economic stats and territorial losses of Islamic State insurgents don’t support his assertions about the problems handed to him on those fronts.
Report: Friedman will apologize for using a kapoa to describe liberal Jews
President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is expected to apologize during his Senate confirmation hearing for derogatory statements he has made against liberal Jews. Representatives of the nominee told Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., who is the senior Democratic member of the Foreign Relations Committee that will hold the confirmation hearing, that Friedman will apologize for use of the term “kapo” to attack J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The Putin-Netanyahu Bromance
“I know what America is. America is a thing that can be easily moved, moved in the right direction.
Why Arab Autocrats Haven’t Confronted Trump
You’d think, given the harsh anti-Muslim Trump administration in Washington, that the Arab kings and dictators would be lining up to condemn the ruthless sectarian laws being drawn up by an American President who approves of torture. All that claptrap about “bad dudes” and “Islamic terror”.
Tensions over Trump deepen fractures among American Jews
The early weeks of the Trump administration have widened divides between liberal and conservative Jews, setting off quarrels over anti-Semitism, Israel and the Holocaust. Well before the 2016 election, discussion over Israel had become so barbed among Jews that Jewish groups began organizing civility training so relationships and holidays wouldn’t be ruined.
Is Trump Heading Down the Rabbit Hole of Middle East Peace?by…
President Trump is predisposed to reverse most of his predecessor’s policies, so President Obama’s least favorite foreign leader is bound to receive a warmer welcome than he is used to. But in the last week, the noises coming out of both the White House and the State Department have indicated that, as was the case with all of his predecessors, there is going to be a considerable gap between Trump’s campaign rhetoric about Israel and the policies that he will actually pursue.
This drone could be ferrying passengers through Dubai’s futuristic skyline as soon as July
Up, up and away: Dubai hopes to have a passenger-carrying drone regularly buzzing through the skyline of this futuristic city-state in July. The arrival of the Chinese-made EHang 184 – which already has had its flying debut over Dubai’s iconic, sail-shaped Burj al-Arab skyscraper hotel – comes as the Emirati city also has partnered with other cutting-edge technology companies, including Hyperloop One.
Yet Another Report Claims ISIS Leader Has Been Injured
A man purported to be the reclusive leader of the militant Islamic State Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has made what would be his first public appearance at a mosque in the centre of Iraq’s second city, Mosul, according to a video recording posted on the Internet on July 5, 2014, in this still image taken from video. There had previously been reports on social media that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi would make his first public appearance since his Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant changed its name to the Islamic State and declared him caliph.
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The Left is getting massively out-Alinskyed, and the hilarious thing is that this band of withered hippies, unemployable millennial safe-space cases, and unlovable + unshaven libfeminists don’t even know it. Oh, their masters sure know it.
Netanyahu pledges to promote ‘responsible policies’ at Trump meeting
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would present “responsible policies” in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling to the Israeli far-right to curb its territorial demands in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu leaves for Washington on Monday and will see Trump at the White House on Wednesday for their first meeting since the Republican’s inauguration last month, with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and policy toward Iran on the agenda.
Not so radical: Trump foreign policy quickly loses its sharp edge
When President Donald Trump took a phone call from the leader of Taiwan in December and asserted that the United States might no longer be bound by the “One China” policy, his defenders hailed it as a show of strength – the latest delicate issue on which Trump was willing to challenge decades of diplomatic orthodoxy. On Thursday evening, Trump fell back into line.
Not so radical: Trump foreign policy quickly loses its sharp edge
When President Donald Trump took a phone call from the leader of Taiwan in December and asserted that the United States might no longer be bound by the “One China” policy, his defenders hailed it as a show of strength – the latest delicate issue on which Trump was willing to challenge decades of diplomatic orthodoxy. On Thursday evening, Trump fell back into line.
Next GOP Target: Legal ImmigrantsBy Matt Laslo
Republicans used to say they were against illegal immigrants, not those making their way through the U.S. system in a legal, orderly way. That kinder, gentler rhetoric is now a thing of the past.
US opposes Palestinian’s appointment to top UN post
The Trump administration opposed the appointment of a senior Palestinian leader for a top United Nations post Friday over concern that the move would boost the Palestinian cause at the world body. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to the Ukraine ambassador, who serves as president of the Security Council, informing the council of his intention to appoint former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to be his special representative for Libya, according a copy of the letter shown to CNN.
Turkish constitutional referendum comes amid media crackdown
Erdogan on Friday approve… . Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters in Aksaray, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 10, 2017.
Israeli groups sue to stop law legalizing settlement homes
In the first concrete attempt to counter the contentious new law legalizing thousands of West Bank settlement homes, two Israeli rights groups on Wednesday asked the country’s Supreme Court to overturn the measure. Adalah and the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center appealed to the high court, asking it to block implementation of the bill passed in parliament this week that sets out to legalize dozens of settler outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land.
Officials: CIA chief to visit Turkey, discuss security
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, walks to greet Ethiopia’s President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, at the Presidential Palace, in Ankara Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.
Possible Russia-US cooperation positive for Syria: Assad
Damascus, Feb 8 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a cooperation between Russia and the US would be positive, not only for Syria, but the entire world as well, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Speaking to Belgium reporters in Damascus, Assad said the remarks of US President Donald Trump were promising, as Trump regarded the war on terror, mainly the Islamic State group, in his presidential campaign, while also noted that it’s still too soon to judge such remarks, Xinhua reported.
We’ll lose college students if Israel becomes a partisan cause
So even while a typical bit of punditry over the past few presidencies was to assert that Bill Clinton, or George W. Bush, or Barack Obama was “the most pro-Israel president in history,” Israel advocates nevertheless kept their heads and painstakingly maintained strong relationships on both sides of the aisle. Now some are eagerly making the same grandiose claim about President Donald Trump – that he will be the greatest friend Jerusalem has ever had.
Appeals court weighs Trump ban as travelers arrive to tears
Just hours after an appeals court blocked an attempt to… . Members of International Migrants Alliance in Hong Kong hold placards during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s selective country travel ban outside of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
With Trumpa s Travel Ban on Hold, Iraqi Family Arrives in Nashville in 2nd Attempt to Reach US
Iraqi citizen Fuad Sharef Suleman and his family landed in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday night to start a new life, more than a week after they were barred from entering the United States because of their country of origin. It had taken Suleman more than two years to receive U.S. immigrant visas for him, his wife and three children.
Sunday reflection: Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Trump Cabinet pick paid by controversial Iranian exile group
An official in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and at least one of his advisers gave paid speeches to organizations linked to an Iranian exile group that killed Americans before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, ran donation scams and saw its members set themselves on fire over the arrest of their leader. Elaine Chao, confirmed this week as Trump’s transportation secretary, received $50,000 in 2015 for a five-minute speech to the political wing of the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, previously called a “cult-like” terrorist group by the State Department.
Mixed Signals: Now, White House Says Israeli Settlement Building May Not Help Peace
The tone was more measured than previous pro-Israel announcements, but did not go so far as to condemn settlement activity. The Trump administration said on Thursday that Israel’s building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful in achieving peace with Palestinians, adopting a more measured tone than its previous pro-Israel announcements.
Israeli settler group shrugs off White House criticism
Israeli settlers on Friday shrugged off White House criticism of settlement construction, convinced they have the sympathies of President Donald Trump. The Palestinians, still wary of Trump, warned that the settlers’ hard-line stance could spell the end to a two-state solution to the conflict.
AP source: US preparing new Iran sanctions over missile test
The Trump administration is preparing to levy new sanctions on Iran, U.S. officials say, in the first punitive action since the White House put Iran “on notice” after it test-fired a ballistic missile. Up to two dozen Iranian individuals, companies and possibly government agencies could be penalized as part of the move, expected as early as Friday, said the officials and others with knowledge of the decision.