Now Donald Trump Must Fight The War He Isn't Ready For
He needs a Syrian strategy fast from his understaffed Defense and State departments.
At 4:40 a.m. local time Friday in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Donald Trump became a war president.
On his order, 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles blasted off the destroyers USS Ross and USS Porter, arced over the Syrian coastline and headed 40 miles inland. The 20-foot-long missiles skimmed over the landscape at 550 mph. As they approached the Shayrat airfield, home to Syria’s 50th Air Brigade, guidance systems pinpointed each target: The missiles carrying 1,000-pound high explosive warheads went for the two main runways, underground bunkers and hardened shelters. Other Tomahawks armed with warheads each carrying 166 lethal bomblets destroyed aircraft, fuel and ammunition depots, and other “soft” targets with red-hot jagged shrapnel and concussive force.
It was a highly technical and tightly coordinated operation, for which the military has long planned and practiced, and it appears to have been carried out flawlessly.
But giving the nod to one $94 million missile strike bought Trump far more than a presidential moment at a temporary lecturn at Mar-a-Lago, where he announced the attack Thursday night. He seemed to have a premonition that things would change earlier in the week when he acknowledged, “I now have responsibility” for Syria.
Now he really does. What comes next is the difficult and perhaps impossible job of managing the rest of this war, a conflict that has killed at least 470,000 people over six years, including 55,000 children. Syrian President Bashar Assad battles bands of murderous and heavily armed fighters, backed by Russia and Iran, as well as dwindling ranks of “moderate” rebels supported by the United States in an uneasy coalition with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others.
The horrendous chemical attack by Syrian government forces on Tuesday caught the Trump administration ill-prepared. Candidate Trump had campaigned on an “America First!” commitment to keeping the United States far away from nasty foreign conflicts. As a result, there is no obvious public support for deepening the American military role in Syria with additional ground troops. The effort to train and equip enough regional forces to topple the Assad regime has failed. The Trump White House has no strategy to direct its next military steps and lacks the senior staffs at the Pentagon and State Department critical to devising new war management plans. At the Defense Department, in particular, only one of 53 key civilian officials ― Secretary Jim Mattis himself ― has been nominated and confirmed and is at work.
While candidate Trump boasted of having a secret plan to “destroy ISIS,” the radical Islamist militia fighting in Iraq and Syria, President Trump has given no sign of having such a plan. And yet now he’s offered a direct challenge to Assad’s regime. For all the world to see, the U.S. just pivoted from fighting ISIS to taking on Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran. Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson remarked that it was up to “the Syrian people” to decide Assad’s fate. On Thursday, he declared that the way forward in Syria required “an international community effort” that “would lead to Assad leaving.”
That change in goals is causing considerable angst in Washington.
“We now need a comprehensive strategy with clearly-defined purpose and objectives for how we achieve our national security goals in Syria and the region,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in a statement Friday. “We can’t pour resources and risk the lives of our troops in a new military conflict without a clear and comprehensive strategy and full consideration of the long-term ramifications,” Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) agreed. “The consequences of a misstep are grave,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
As in most national security crises, there isn’t much time. Tillerson heads to Moscow next week for critical meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad’s strongest political and military ally. Putin’s initial reaction to the U.S. airstrikes was mild. He temporarily suspended participation in a communications link that enables U.S. and Russian air controllers to avoid potential air collisions over Syria. Presumably, he too is watching for Trump’s next steps.
A clear-cut, thoughtful and practical strategy for Syria would have to consider to what degree Washington will now treat Moscow as a diplomatic colleague or a military foe in Syria; whether more U.S. airstrikes will help or hurt diplomatic initiatives to work toward a ceasefire; whether additional U.S. airstrikes or ground troops, beyond the roughly 800 Americans already deployed in Syria, are committed; and how to avoid clashes with Russian aircraft and ground troops already operating there.
Among the purely military options, for instance, is setting up “safe zones” for refugees inside Syria ― an idea that candidate Trump supported. But planning for safe zones has foundered on issues such as what forces would guard these zones on a daily basis, how to sort out actual civilian refugees from suicide bombers or militia fighters, and which combat troops would defend the zones from a concerted regime attack backed by Russian and Iranian forces.
All that is difficult enough. But the non-military aspects of the situation are more challenging.
“Much more of the heavy lifting is about the diplomatic piece than the military piece,” Christine Wormuth, senior Pentagon official for strategy and plans during the Obama administration, told The Huffington Post. “All the factors that were in place during the Obama administration that made finding a solution to this terrible conflict so difficult remain in place today,” she said.
Managing opponents like Russia and Iran, while keeping friendly allies in line, will demand extraordinary diplomatic finesse, Wormuth said. That’s without even addressing the question of who would govern Syria post-Assad. Not to mention the job of helping rebuild the country after the war.
Syria is “a horrible, intractable mess,” Wormuth said.
The Trump administration will find the new fight it launched with the Tomahawks “considerably harder” to wage without a full supporting staff, she warned.
The secretary of state, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the national security adviser “are working 24/7, I’m sure, but they can’t do everything,” Wormuth said. “They need senior lieutenants to carry out some of this.”
Saturday, April 8, 2017
North Korean Defector Tells Lester Holt ‘World Should Be Ready’ - NBC News
EXCLUSIVE NEWS APR 3 2017, 7:01 AM ET
North Korean Defector Tells Lester Holt ‘World Should Be Ready’
by LESTER HOLT and ALEXANDER SMITH
SEOUL, South Korea — A senior North Korean defector has told NBC News that the country's "desperate" dictator is prepared to use nuclear weapons to strike the United States and its allies.
Thae Yong Ho is the most high profile North Korean defector in two decades, meaning he is able to give a rare insight into the secretive, authoritarian regime.
According to Thae, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is "desperate in maintaining his rule by relying on his [development of] nuclear weapons and ICBM." He was using an acronym for intercontinental ballistic missiles — a long range rocket that in theory would be capable of hitting the U.S.
"Once he sees that there is any kind of sign of a tank or an imminent threat from America, then he would use his nuclear weapons with ICBM," he added in an exclusive interview on Sunday.
Thae was living in London and serving as North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom when he and his family defected to South Korea and were announced to the world in August.
He was not directly involved in North Korea's weapons program but believes his country "has reached a very significant level of nuclear development."
North Korea is estimated to have upward of eight nuclear weapons but has not demonstrated the ability to attach them to a long-range rocket, an ICBM, capable of hitting the U.S.
Analysts are unsure exactly how close the regime is to achieving this aim, but a senior official told NBC News in Januarythat his government was ready to test-fire an ICMB "at any time, at any place."
Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told NBC News that American officials were particularly troubled by this latest threat.
"They have the nuclear capability — they've demonstrated that," he said. "And then, where they're going with the miniaturization of that, whether they can actually weaponize a missile, that's what's driving the current concern."
Thae's interview with NBC News comes against a backdrop of rising tensions surrounding North Korea, which has significantly increased its missile and nuclear tests under Kim's rule.
President Donald Trump told the Financial Times newspaper on Mondaythat "something had to be done" about North Korea. This came after Defense Secretary James Mattis said the country "has got to be stopped" and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said military action was "on the table."
"It does feel more dangerous — I'll give you three reasons," according to Adm. James Stavridis, an NBC News analyst and dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. "One is [Kim's] own precarious situation in command of the nation. Number two is the instability in South Korea. We've just seen the South Korean president indicted, arrested, and incarcerated."
"And, number three, a new and more aggressive American foreign policy coming from Washington," he added.
Some analysts have warned that military action against the country might be very difficult and even disastrous. An invasion could risk a retaliatory strike against U.S. allies of Japan and South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, is just 50 miles from the border.
Nonetheless, Thae warned America and its allies to be prepared.
"If Kim Jong Un has nuclear weapons and ICBMs, he can do anything," he said. "So, I think the world should be ready to deal with this kind of person."
He added that "Kim Jong Un is a man who can do anything beyond the normal imagination" and that "the final and the real solution to the North Korean nuclear issue is to eliminate Kim Jong Un from the post."
Kim came to power in 2012 and has defined his strongman premiership by the pursuit of a nuclear weapon that can hit the U.S. He has conducted more missile tests than in the rest of the country's history combined, and three of North Korea's five nuclear tests came under his watch.
According to Thae, Kim is obsessed with obtaining nukes because he saw what happened to Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, both of whom abandoned their countries' weapons of mass destruction programs and then were overthrown by Western-backed forces.
Many analysts agree that Kim sees a nuclear weapon — and the retaliatory threat it poses — as an insurance policy against a similar strategy being pursued against him.
"That's why Kim Jong Un strongly believes that only a nuclear weapon can guarantee his rule," Thae said.
According to the former diplomat, the world should look to Kim's past actions to see what he is capable of. The young leader has reportedly been responsible for purges and executions of top officials and even members of his own family.
Last month, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials, he masterminded the assassination of his own half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at an airport in Malaysia.
"Kim Jong Un is a person who did not even hesitate to kill his uncle and a few weeks ago, even his half-brother," Thae said. "So, he is a man who can do anything to remove [anyone in] his way."
Since his defection Thae has been making media appearances and giving talks denouncing North Korea's controlling and often brutal society. For this reason he believes he could be the next victim.
"I am already a marked man," he said. "Kim Jong Un wants to eliminate any person or any country which poses a threat to him. And I think I am really a great threat to him."
Thae was the highest-ranking North Korean official to abandon the regime and enter public life in South Korea since the 1997 defection of Hwang Jang Yop, who was responsible for crafting "Juche" — North Korea's state ideology, which blends elements of Marxism with ultra-nationalism.
He made the decision to switch sides, he said, after his two sons began asking questions about why North Korea did not allow the internet, why there was no proper legal system and why officials were executed without trial.
His sons also complained they were being mocked by their British friends.
"All of my family members were a little bit frightened, you know, on that day," he said of the moment he decided to escape. "But I always told them that we have to try to be as peaceful as possible. We should carry the normal faces and normal feelings so that our plan of defection should not be noticed by anyone in the embassy."
This came at a high price, however. He was able to escape with his wife and children — but he fears his brother and sister in North Korea have been punished for his actions.
"Our freedom here is achieved at the cost of the sacrifice of my family members left in North Korea," he said. "When a defection of my level happens, the North Korean regime usually sends the family members of high officials, defectors, to remote areas or labor camps and, to some extent, even to political prison camps as well."
This fate is not unique. More than 100,000 people are believed to have been detained in North Korea's notorious gulags, where they are subjected to forced labor, torture and executions — treatment the United Nations said was "strikingly similar" to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
Families are taken away by the country's secret police for arbitrary crimes such as "gossiping" about the state.
This is all part of the dictatorship's attempt to restrict information reaching North Korean families from the outside world. Most people cannot use the internet or access foreign media — Kim's attempt to maintain the pretense that his country is prosperous and the Western world is failing.
In all, North Korea "remains one of the most repressive states in the world," according to Human Rights Watch.
But according to Thae, the mask is slipping. More and more, North Koreans are able to watch South Korean films, giving them a true picture of their far more prosperous neighbor.
"I'm absolutely sure that once North Korean people are educated enough, then they may stand up," according to the former ambassador. "North Korean population now knows well that South Korea is democratic, the society and economy here are very well."
This, Thae said, "has already made the North Korean population not believe what the regime has been teaching and has been brainwashing them."
He added: "I think this is really a great change in people's mind, because they do not believe in the government's propaganda system."
In this shift may even lie the seeds of fundamental change in North Korea, according to Thae.
"I think that is very important. And once the people do not believe in what the leadership is saying, then there is a great possibility for possible uprising: what happened in Soviet Union, what happened in communist system in Eastern Europe," he said.
"Because when the people in those Eastern European countries knew that the Western Europe were much better than Eastern Europe — the democratic society was much better than communist society and one-party system — all of a sudden people stood up against the system," he added. "These things could also happen in North Korea."
Thae said that he and other defectors can play a crucial part removing Kim.
"Every day I am living in order to accelerate the speed of my return home," he said. "I think defectors like me, we should all unite together to bring down Kim Jong Un's regime."
North Korean Defector Tells Lester Holt ‘World Should Be Ready’
by LESTER HOLT and ALEXANDER SMITH
SEOUL, South Korea — A senior North Korean defector has told NBC News that the country's "desperate" dictator is prepared to use nuclear weapons to strike the United States and its allies.
Thae Yong Ho is the most high profile North Korean defector in two decades, meaning he is able to give a rare insight into the secretive, authoritarian regime.
According to Thae, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is "desperate in maintaining his rule by relying on his [development of] nuclear weapons and ICBM." He was using an acronym for intercontinental ballistic missiles — a long range rocket that in theory would be capable of hitting the U.S.
"Once he sees that there is any kind of sign of a tank or an imminent threat from America, then he would use his nuclear weapons with ICBM," he added in an exclusive interview on Sunday.
Thae was living in London and serving as North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom when he and his family defected to South Korea and were announced to the world in August.
He was not directly involved in North Korea's weapons program but believes his country "has reached a very significant level of nuclear development."
North Korea is estimated to have upward of eight nuclear weapons but has not demonstrated the ability to attach them to a long-range rocket, an ICBM, capable of hitting the U.S.
Analysts are unsure exactly how close the regime is to achieving this aim, but a senior official told NBC News in Januarythat his government was ready to test-fire an ICMB "at any time, at any place."
Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told NBC News that American officials were particularly troubled by this latest threat.
"They have the nuclear capability — they've demonstrated that," he said. "And then, where they're going with the miniaturization of that, whether they can actually weaponize a missile, that's what's driving the current concern."
Thae's interview with NBC News comes against a backdrop of rising tensions surrounding North Korea, which has significantly increased its missile and nuclear tests under Kim's rule.
President Donald Trump told the Financial Times newspaper on Mondaythat "something had to be done" about North Korea. This came after Defense Secretary James Mattis said the country "has got to be stopped" and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said military action was "on the table."
"It does feel more dangerous — I'll give you three reasons," according to Adm. James Stavridis, an NBC News analyst and dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. "One is [Kim's] own precarious situation in command of the nation. Number two is the instability in South Korea. We've just seen the South Korean president indicted, arrested, and incarcerated."
"And, number three, a new and more aggressive American foreign policy coming from Washington," he added.
Some analysts have warned that military action against the country might be very difficult and even disastrous. An invasion could risk a retaliatory strike against U.S. allies of Japan and South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, is just 50 miles from the border.
Nonetheless, Thae warned America and its allies to be prepared.
"If Kim Jong Un has nuclear weapons and ICBMs, he can do anything," he said. "So, I think the world should be ready to deal with this kind of person."
He added that "Kim Jong Un is a man who can do anything beyond the normal imagination" and that "the final and the real solution to the North Korean nuclear issue is to eliminate Kim Jong Un from the post."
Kim came to power in 2012 and has defined his strongman premiership by the pursuit of a nuclear weapon that can hit the U.S. He has conducted more missile tests than in the rest of the country's history combined, and three of North Korea's five nuclear tests came under his watch.
According to Thae, Kim is obsessed with obtaining nukes because he saw what happened to Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, both of whom abandoned their countries' weapons of mass destruction programs and then were overthrown by Western-backed forces.
Many analysts agree that Kim sees a nuclear weapon — and the retaliatory threat it poses — as an insurance policy against a similar strategy being pursued against him.
"That's why Kim Jong Un strongly believes that only a nuclear weapon can guarantee his rule," Thae said.
According to the former diplomat, the world should look to Kim's past actions to see what he is capable of. The young leader has reportedly been responsible for purges and executions of top officials and even members of his own family.
Last month, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials, he masterminded the assassination of his own half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at an airport in Malaysia.
"Kim Jong Un is a person who did not even hesitate to kill his uncle and a few weeks ago, even his half-brother," Thae said. "So, he is a man who can do anything to remove [anyone in] his way."
Since his defection Thae has been making media appearances and giving talks denouncing North Korea's controlling and often brutal society. For this reason he believes he could be the next victim.
"I am already a marked man," he said. "Kim Jong Un wants to eliminate any person or any country which poses a threat to him. And I think I am really a great threat to him."
Thae was the highest-ranking North Korean official to abandon the regime and enter public life in South Korea since the 1997 defection of Hwang Jang Yop, who was responsible for crafting "Juche" — North Korea's state ideology, which blends elements of Marxism with ultra-nationalism.
He made the decision to switch sides, he said, after his two sons began asking questions about why North Korea did not allow the internet, why there was no proper legal system and why officials were executed without trial.
His sons also complained they were being mocked by their British friends.
"All of my family members were a little bit frightened, you know, on that day," he said of the moment he decided to escape. "But I always told them that we have to try to be as peaceful as possible. We should carry the normal faces and normal feelings so that our plan of defection should not be noticed by anyone in the embassy."
This came at a high price, however. He was able to escape with his wife and children — but he fears his brother and sister in North Korea have been punished for his actions.
"Our freedom here is achieved at the cost of the sacrifice of my family members left in North Korea," he said. "When a defection of my level happens, the North Korean regime usually sends the family members of high officials, defectors, to remote areas or labor camps and, to some extent, even to political prison camps as well."
This fate is not unique. More than 100,000 people are believed to have been detained in North Korea's notorious gulags, where they are subjected to forced labor, torture and executions — treatment the United Nations said was "strikingly similar" to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
Families are taken away by the country's secret police for arbitrary crimes such as "gossiping" about the state.
This is all part of the dictatorship's attempt to restrict information reaching North Korean families from the outside world. Most people cannot use the internet or access foreign media — Kim's attempt to maintain the pretense that his country is prosperous and the Western world is failing.
In all, North Korea "remains one of the most repressive states in the world," according to Human Rights Watch.
But according to Thae, the mask is slipping. More and more, North Koreans are able to watch South Korean films, giving them a true picture of their far more prosperous neighbor.
"I'm absolutely sure that once North Korean people are educated enough, then they may stand up," according to the former ambassador. "North Korean population now knows well that South Korea is democratic, the society and economy here are very well."
This, Thae said, "has already made the North Korean population not believe what the regime has been teaching and has been brainwashing them."
He added: "I think this is really a great change in people's mind, because they do not believe in the government's propaganda system."
In this shift may even lie the seeds of fundamental change in North Korea, according to Thae.
"I think that is very important. And once the people do not believe in what the leadership is saying, then there is a great possibility for possible uprising: what happened in Soviet Union, what happened in communist system in Eastern Europe," he said.
"Because when the people in those Eastern European countries knew that the Western Europe were much better than Eastern Europe — the democratic society was much better than communist society and one-party system — all of a sudden people stood up against the system," he added. "These things could also happen in North Korea."
Thae said that he and other defectors can play a crucial part removing Kim.
"Every day I am living in order to accelerate the speed of my return home," he said. "I think defectors like me, we should all unite together to bring down Kim Jong Un's regime."
Donald Trump's biggest fans desert him over Syria air strikes - Independent
Donald Trump's biggest fans desert him over Syria air strikes
The decision to launch air strikes on Syria marks a major U-turn from the president's previous policies
* Andrew Griffin
* @_andrew_griffin
* Friday 7 April 2017
In what was a quick and extreme U-turn from previous positions, Mr Trump ordered US missile launches at an air base in the country, in response to a chemical weapons attack. It represented a break from many of Mr Trump’s campaign positions, primarily a promise that he would focus on “America first” and oppose intervention elsewhere in the world.
That has led supporters to abandon the president, saying they would no longer support or vote for Mr Trump. Many accused him of conducting the same policies that would have been instituted by Hillary Clinton, while others suggested that he had lied or was having his decisions made by other parts of the US state.
“I guess Trump wasn’t ‘Putin’s puppet’ after all, he was just another deep state/Neo-Con puppet,” wrote Paul Joseph Watson, a British vlogger who works at Alex Jones’s Infowars website. “I’m officially OFF the Trump train.”
Mr Watson said that he would instead divert his attention to Marine Le Pen, the French far-right politician who he said “tried to warn Trump against this disaster”. He then sent another tweet directly to Mr Trump that read: “Americans didn’t vote for you to intensify Hillary’s disastrous foreign policy” and included a link to one of Ms Clinton’s speeches.
Cassandra Fairbanks, a prominent Trump supporter and online activist, also said that she might stop supporting Mr Trump. She said that she was “trying to remain hopeful”, but that “this is too far”.
“I am devastated,” she wrote. “This isn’t who we voted for.”
Many other less prominent Twitter users scalded Mr Trump for having opposed intervention in the past and now having committed to it. They suggested that Mr Trump was in fact in the service of what they see as the “deep state”, and wasn’t the anti-establishment figure that he portrayed himself as during the election.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who has been one of Mr Trump’s most prominent cheerleaders since his election, suggested that the decision to support intervention was a concern.
Mr Trump had suggested in old tweets that he thought attacking Syria would be a move a president would make when they were losing support. He said that Mr Obama was only considering launching similar attacks because his polling numbers were low – though his approval ratings were higher than Mr Trump's now historically low numbers.
Others pointed to old tweets from Mr Trump’s supporters, including Sean Hannity. He had criticised Obama for playing golf after suggesting air strikes on Syria – a criticism that is now being made of Mr Trump.
Mr Trump said that he decided to launch the air strikes after seeing horrifying videos and images from the aftermath of the chemical attack in Syria. At least 80 people were killed in that incident, including many children.
“Tonight I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end this slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types,” Mr Trump said in a press conference announcing the air strikes.
The decision to launch air strikes on Syria marks a major U-turn from the president's previous policies
* Andrew Griffin
* @_andrew_griffin
* Friday 7 April 2017
In what was a quick and extreme U-turn from previous positions, Mr Trump ordered US missile launches at an air base in the country, in response to a chemical weapons attack. It represented a break from many of Mr Trump’s campaign positions, primarily a promise that he would focus on “America first” and oppose intervention elsewhere in the world.
That has led supporters to abandon the president, saying they would no longer support or vote for Mr Trump. Many accused him of conducting the same policies that would have been instituted by Hillary Clinton, while others suggested that he had lied or was having his decisions made by other parts of the US state.
“I guess Trump wasn’t ‘Putin’s puppet’ after all, he was just another deep state/Neo-Con puppet,” wrote Paul Joseph Watson, a British vlogger who works at Alex Jones’s Infowars website. “I’m officially OFF the Trump train.”
Mr Watson said that he would instead divert his attention to Marine Le Pen, the French far-right politician who he said “tried to warn Trump against this disaster”. He then sent another tweet directly to Mr Trump that read: “Americans didn’t vote for you to intensify Hillary’s disastrous foreign policy” and included a link to one of Ms Clinton’s speeches.
Cassandra Fairbanks, a prominent Trump supporter and online activist, also said that she might stop supporting Mr Trump. She said that she was “trying to remain hopeful”, but that “this is too far”.
“I am devastated,” she wrote. “This isn’t who we voted for.”
Many other less prominent Twitter users scalded Mr Trump for having opposed intervention in the past and now having committed to it. They suggested that Mr Trump was in fact in the service of what they see as the “deep state”, and wasn’t the anti-establishment figure that he portrayed himself as during the election.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who has been one of Mr Trump’s most prominent cheerleaders since his election, suggested that the decision to support intervention was a concern.
Mr Trump had suggested in old tweets that he thought attacking Syria would be a move a president would make when they were losing support. He said that Mr Obama was only considering launching similar attacks because his polling numbers were low – though his approval ratings were higher than Mr Trump's now historically low numbers.
Others pointed to old tweets from Mr Trump’s supporters, including Sean Hannity. He had criticised Obama for playing golf after suggesting air strikes on Syria – a criticism that is now being made of Mr Trump.
Mr Trump said that he decided to launch the air strikes after seeing horrifying videos and images from the aftermath of the chemical attack in Syria. At least 80 people were killed in that incident, including many children.
“Tonight I call on all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end this slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types,” Mr Trump said in a press conference announcing the air strikes.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Clinton called for strikes against Syrian airfields - ABC News
Clinton called for strikes against Syrian airfields
* By ADAM KELSEY
Apr 6, 2017, 7:44 PM ET
Hours before the U.S. launched airstrikes against Syria, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintonspoke out Thursday about how she would respond to Tuesday's chemical attack in Syria, promoting U.S. action to prevent further attacks with civilian casualties.
Speaking at the Women in the World summit in New York City, Clinton said that the U.S. "should have been more willing to confront [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]," before Russia got involved in the country's civil war and with Iran's participation limited to ground-based assistance.
White House, Pentagon discussing possible military action against Syria; Assad's future uncertain
Sarin gas used in Syria chemical attack, Turkey's health ministry says
"Assad had an air force and that air force is the cause of most of the civilian deaths as we’ve seen over the years and as we saw again in the last few days," said Clinton. "I really believe we should have and still should take out his airfields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them."
ABC News' Liz Kreutz contributed to this report.
* By ADAM KELSEY
Apr 6, 2017, 7:44 PM ET
Hours before the U.S. launched airstrikes against Syria, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintonspoke out Thursday about how she would respond to Tuesday's chemical attack in Syria, promoting U.S. action to prevent further attacks with civilian casualties.
Speaking at the Women in the World summit in New York City, Clinton said that the U.S. "should have been more willing to confront [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]," before Russia got involved in the country's civil war and with Iran's participation limited to ground-based assistance.
White House, Pentagon discussing possible military action against Syria; Assad's future uncertain
Sarin gas used in Syria chemical attack, Turkey's health ministry says
"Assad had an air force and that air force is the cause of most of the civilian deaths as we’ve seen over the years and as we saw again in the last few days," said Clinton. "I really believe we should have and still should take out his airfields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them."
ABC News' Liz Kreutz contributed to this report.
Darth Vader was on Air Force One's TV as President Trump moved to bomb Syria - Independent
Darth Vader was on Air Force One's TV as President Trump moved to bomb Syria
* Christopher Hooton
* @christophhooton
* Friday 7 April 2017 11:13 BST
A photo has been taken on Air Force One of President Donald Trump next to Darth Vader, with Rogue One being shown on one of the plane's screens as Trump travelled to his "Winter White House" Mar-a-Lago, where he announced a missile strike on Syria.
The POTUS spoke briefly to press, who had presumably put on the Star Wars film while waiting - an interesting choice of film which sees Vader plotting to dominate the universe with powerful superweapons.
Syrian troops were killed last night in the US missile strikes on a government airbase thought to be the source of a devastating chemical attack.
Trump ordered the firing of 59 cruise missiles, leading Russia to suspend a memorandum with the US that prevented incidents and ensured flight safety.
Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria - where Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defense missiles.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry read: "The very presence of US troops and other countries on the territory of Syria, without the consent of the Government or the decision of the UN Security Council is a gross, obvious and unwarranted violation of international law.
"If before it was due to the task of combating terrorism, now there is a clear act of aggression against a sovereign Syria. US Actions taken today further destroy the Russian-American relations."
* Christopher Hooton
* @christophhooton
* Friday 7 April 2017 11:13 BST
A photo has been taken on Air Force One of President Donald Trump next to Darth Vader, with Rogue One being shown on one of the plane's screens as Trump travelled to his "Winter White House" Mar-a-Lago, where he announced a missile strike on Syria.
The POTUS spoke briefly to press, who had presumably put on the Star Wars film while waiting - an interesting choice of film which sees Vader plotting to dominate the universe with powerful superweapons.
Syrian troops were killed last night in the US missile strikes on a government airbase thought to be the source of a devastating chemical attack.
Trump ordered the firing of 59 cruise missiles, leading Russia to suspend a memorandum with the US that prevented incidents and ensured flight safety.
Under the memorandum, signed after Russia launched an air campaign in Syria in September 2015, Russia and the US had exchanged information about their flights to avoid incidents in the crowded skies over Syria - where Russia has several dozen warplanes and batteries of air-defense missiles.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry read: "The very presence of US troops and other countries on the territory of Syria, without the consent of the Government or the decision of the UN Security Council is a gross, obvious and unwarranted violation of international law.
"If before it was due to the task of combating terrorism, now there is a clear act of aggression against a sovereign Syria. US Actions taken today further destroy the Russian-American relations."
Rupert Murdoch’s Sky takeover reportedly gets EU approval - Independent
Rupert Murdoch’s Sky takeover reportedly gets EU approval
Last month, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said that she had concerns relating to media plurality and the combined company’s commitment to broadcasting standards
* Josie Cox Business Editor
* Friday 7 April 2017 13:17 BST
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has reportedly been given the green light to take over European broadcaster Sky, paving the way for the creation of a media empire that will span two continents and take on major emerging rivals.
The former struck a preliminary deal to snap up the 61 per cent of Sky that it does not already own in December last year.
The offer of £10.75 a share in cash, valuing the deal at £11.7bn, was at the time backed by Sky’s independent directors but became subject to intense scrutiny on concerns that a deal might breach competition rules.
Speaking in March, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said that she had concerns relating to media plurality and the combined company’s commitment to broadcasting standards. The deal has been referred to regulator Ofcom.
If it goes ahead, the takeover would come five years after Mr Murdoch's last tilt at taking full control of the business through News Corporation and will likely strengthen the position of James Murdoch – who is both chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky – in his father’s media empire.
Last month, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said that she had concerns relating to media plurality and the combined company’s commitment to broadcasting standards
* Josie Cox Business Editor
* Friday 7 April 2017 13:17 BST
Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has reportedly been given the green light to take over European broadcaster Sky, paving the way for the creation of a media empire that will span two continents and take on major emerging rivals.
The former struck a preliminary deal to snap up the 61 per cent of Sky that it does not already own in December last year.
The offer of £10.75 a share in cash, valuing the deal at £11.7bn, was at the time backed by Sky’s independent directors but became subject to intense scrutiny on concerns that a deal might breach competition rules.
Speaking in March, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said that she had concerns relating to media plurality and the combined company’s commitment to broadcasting standards. The deal has been referred to regulator Ofcom.
If it goes ahead, the takeover would come five years after Mr Murdoch's last tilt at taking full control of the business through News Corporation and will likely strengthen the position of James Murdoch – who is both chief executive of Fox and chairman of Sky – in his father’s media empire.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
What to Know About Bill O’Reilly and the Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Him - People.com
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Posted: 04 Apr 2017 02:59 PM PDT
Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly is under increasing fire after The New York Times reported that five women were paid a collective $13 million for agreeing not to file lawsuits or speak publicly about allegations that he harassed them. The revelations were the latest headache for Fox News, coming just months after cable network’s CEO and chairman Roger Ailes stepped down amidst similar claims. Since the Times report over the weekend, one more woman has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against Ailes, and at least 13 advertisers have pulled ads from O’Reilly’s top-rated cable news show, The O’Reilly Factor. “We value our partners and are working with them to address their current concerns about the O’Reilly Factor,” Fox News said in a statement. The network said the canceled ad buys were shifted to other programming. 21st Century Fox has previously said O’Reilly “denies the merits of these claims.” 21st Century Fox has previously said O’Reilly “denies the merits of these claims.” Here’s everything you need to know about the allegations and the ongoing fallout. Who has come forward against Bill O’Reilly and what have they said?In total, five women have said they were paid either by O’Reilly or Fox News to settle harassment allegations, The Times reports, agreeing not to pursue legal action or publicly discuss the incidents. (Two of these women had already come forward).The women named in the Times report are Rachel Witlieb Bernstein and Andrea Mackris, who were former producers on his show, and Rebecca Gomez Diamond, Laurie Dhue, and Juliet Huddy, former on-air personalities at Fox News and Fox Business Network. All except Bernstein’s involved sexual harassment claims. All of these women either worked with O’Reilly or appeared on his show. The settlements took place between 2002 and 2016. Since the The Times report, another woman, Fox News contributor Julie Roginsky, has filed a harassment claim against Fox News and Ailes, but the allegations don’t involve O’Reilly. How have Fox News and Bill O’Reilly responded?O’Reilly’s show aired Monday night for the first time since the story broke, but he did not address the allegations. In a statement posted on his website April 1, O’Reilly wrote that his fame has made him susceptible to lawsuits, but that no complaints have ever been filed against him internally to the company’s human resources department, even anonymously.“The worst part of my job is being a target for those who would harm me and my employer, the Fox News Channel,” O’Reilly said. Noting that he is a father who would never purposely harm his children, he continued: “Those of us in the arena are constantly at risk, as are our families and children. My primary efforts will continue to be to put forth an honest TV program and to protect those close to me.” 21st Century Fox referred PEOPLE to Fox News, which did respond to a request for comment. In a statement to The Times on Saturday, 21st Century Fox said: “Notwithstanding the fact that no current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O’Reilly, even anonymously, we have looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them with Mr. O’Reilly. While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O’Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility. Mr. O’Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News.” What has the backlash been for O’Reilly’s show?The number of companies pulling ads from O’Reilly’s show continues to grow. As of Tuesday evening, at least 13 companies, including BMW, Hyundai, and Mercedez-Benz had pulled advertisements from The O’Reilly Factor.“The controversy around The O’Reilly Factor program and allegations made against Bill O’Reilly are matters that we take seriously and will continue to monitor,” a spokeswoman for the pharmaceutical company Sanofi U.S. told PEOPLE in a statement. “We do not endorse the behavior or opinions of program hosts or the content.”
Donna Boland, a spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz USA, called the allegations “disturbing.”
“Given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don’t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now,” she said. This article originally appeared on People.com |
Xi Jinping Needs to Tread Carefully When He Meets Trump - Bloomberg
Jinping Needs to Tread Carefully When He Meets Trump
Bloomberg News
6 April 2017 at 7:00:00 AM GMT+10 6 April 2017 at 2:17:21 PM GMT+10
Nothing is supposed to go off script for President Xi Jinping in what is the equivalent of an election year in one-party China.
Enter Donald Trump, who rarely stays on message and regularly bashes China on Twitter. The U.S. president will host Xi on Thursday and Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the first face-to-face meeting between the pair. On the agenda will be everything from trade to North Korea’s nuclear threat.
For Xi, the meeting represents an opportunity to establish a personal rapport with Trump and potentially stave off a trade war that threatens to make China’s economic slowdown much more painful. Yet it also carries risk: An errant Trump tweet or off-the-cuff remark seen as disrespectful could give ammunition to party members who want to thwart Xi’s reform plans.
“Major conflict with the United States in the first half of the year would be very bad news for Mr. Xi because it could undermine the leadership credentials he’s been cultivating for the past five years,” said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based historian whose father was a minister under Communist rule before being purged in the Cultural Revolution. “It’s the most unstable, risky and fragile moment for Mr. Xi domestically. Trump might use this to put pressure on him.”
Five of the ruling Communist Party’s seven most powerful leaders might be replaced at the 19th Party Congress later this year, along with scores of other senior positions. The horse-trading is already underway among party factions.
Helped by state-run media and a landmark speech at Davos this year, Xi has crafted an image of a poor man’s champion at home and a leading proponent of globalization abroad. His government has built artificial reefs to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea and retaliated against South Korea for allowing the U.S. to install a missile-defense system to protect against North Korea, a Chinese ally.
Trump has repeatedly blasted China for stealing American jobs, militarizing the South China Sea and failing to do more to stop North Korea. He threatened to use the One-China policy regarding Taiwan as a bargaining chip to get better trade terms before eventually relenting in a February phone call with Xi.
To read more about the One-China policy, click here.
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“The Chinese have been dealing with a very difficult situation with the Trump administration,” said J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. ambassador to China who has met every top Chinese leader since Mao Zedong’s successor, Hua Guofeng. “They have calculated that the key to managing the relationship in the short term is trying to establish a relationship of reasonable mutual confidence between the two presidents.”
China has concentrated on wooing the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, presidential adviser Jared Kushner. In Florida, Xi will bring his wife Peng Liyuan, a celebrity folk singer and fashion icon who was once more famous than her husband. The pair are expected to arrive in West Palm Beach shortly after noon on Thursday.
“There will be time, particularly in the first day, for them to get to know one another in a more informal kind of interaction, as well as a dinner,” a senior Trump administration official told reporters ahead of the trip, according to a published transcript. The leaders won’t play golf, which is frowned upon in China as part of Xi’s anti-graft campaign.
‘Very Difficult’
Both sides have sought to set the tone for the summit. In a tweet last Friday, Trump predicted a “very difficult” meeting, complaining about the U.S. trade deficit with China and job losses. Two hours later, a Chinese official deflected questions about the tweets and hailed the possibility of a “new starting point.”
Trump plans to discuss trade, the economy and North Korea at the meeting, according to the senior administration official. In an interview with the Financial Times this week, Trump said he wouldn’t be surprised “if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries.”
Read more about China wooing Ivanka, Jared Kushner
Beijing would view a getting-to-know-you meeting as progress even without a major deal, according to a Chinese official, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. The meeting will probably be difficult as Trump predicted, particularly if he pushes hard, the official said.
China has prepared several options for give-and-take depending on what Trump requests, according to the Chinese official. Beijing has assessed that Trump cares most about visible economic wins and some security issues, according to the official, who added that they saw his tweets on North Korea as a bargaining tactic ahead of the meeting.
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Trump in February, he proposed investing in infrastructure to create American jobs in a bid to offset criticism over its currency. Xi may try something similar as Trump looks to meet campaign pledges to rebuild the country’s roads and bridges.
pressures he faces as China enters a “complex and critical phase of reforms,” according to Cui Liru, former president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing. The government is weighing an overhaul of state-run enterprises and opening up more sectors, challenging entrenched interests and raising fears of job losses as economic growth hits the slowest pace in a quarter century.
Xi needs to show a domestic audience that he can manage Trump, said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute at the University of London. China may have agreed to an early summit because they see an opportunity to strike a better deal before Trump has a full team in place and a clearly defined strategy, he said.
Xi wants “a deal that shows that he can do business with Trump,” Tsang said. “If Xi can secure that, he puts himself in a good position in reassuring the domestic constituencies in the run up to the 19th congress.”
Bloomberg News
6 April 2017 at 7:00:00 AM GMT+10 6 April 2017 at 2:17:21 PM GMT+10
Nothing is supposed to go off script for President Xi Jinping in what is the equivalent of an election year in one-party China.
Enter Donald Trump, who rarely stays on message and regularly bashes China on Twitter. The U.S. president will host Xi on Thursday and Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the first face-to-face meeting between the pair. On the agenda will be everything from trade to North Korea’s nuclear threat.
For Xi, the meeting represents an opportunity to establish a personal rapport with Trump and potentially stave off a trade war that threatens to make China’s economic slowdown much more painful. Yet it also carries risk: An errant Trump tweet or off-the-cuff remark seen as disrespectful could give ammunition to party members who want to thwart Xi’s reform plans.
“Major conflict with the United States in the first half of the year would be very bad news for Mr. Xi because it could undermine the leadership credentials he’s been cultivating for the past five years,” said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based historian whose father was a minister under Communist rule before being purged in the Cultural Revolution. “It’s the most unstable, risky and fragile moment for Mr. Xi domestically. Trump might use this to put pressure on him.”
Five of the ruling Communist Party’s seven most powerful leaders might be replaced at the 19th Party Congress later this year, along with scores of other senior positions. The horse-trading is already underway among party factions.
Helped by state-run media and a landmark speech at Davos this year, Xi has crafted an image of a poor man’s champion at home and a leading proponent of globalization abroad. His government has built artificial reefs to assert territorial claims in the South China Sea and retaliated against South Korea for allowing the U.S. to install a missile-defense system to protect against North Korea, a Chinese ally.
Trump has repeatedly blasted China for stealing American jobs, militarizing the South China Sea and failing to do more to stop North Korea. He threatened to use the One-China policy regarding Taiwan as a bargaining chip to get better trade terms before eventually relenting in a February phone call with Xi.
To read more about the One-China policy, click here.
Keep up with the best of Bloomberg Politics.
Get our newsletter daily.
Sign Up
“The Chinese have been dealing with a very difficult situation with the Trump administration,” said J. Stapleton Roy, former U.S. ambassador to China who has met every top Chinese leader since Mao Zedong’s successor, Hua Guofeng. “They have calculated that the key to managing the relationship in the short term is trying to establish a relationship of reasonable mutual confidence between the two presidents.”
China has concentrated on wooing the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, presidential adviser Jared Kushner. In Florida, Xi will bring his wife Peng Liyuan, a celebrity folk singer and fashion icon who was once more famous than her husband. The pair are expected to arrive in West Palm Beach shortly after noon on Thursday.
“There will be time, particularly in the first day, for them to get to know one another in a more informal kind of interaction, as well as a dinner,” a senior Trump administration official told reporters ahead of the trip, according to a published transcript. The leaders won’t play golf, which is frowned upon in China as part of Xi’s anti-graft campaign.
‘Very Difficult’
Both sides have sought to set the tone for the summit. In a tweet last Friday, Trump predicted a “very difficult” meeting, complaining about the U.S. trade deficit with China and job losses. Two hours later, a Chinese official deflected questions about the tweets and hailed the possibility of a “new starting point.”
Trump plans to discuss trade, the economy and North Korea at the meeting, according to the senior administration official. In an interview with the Financial Times this week, Trump said he wouldn’t be surprised “if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries.”
Read more about China wooing Ivanka, Jared Kushner
Beijing would view a getting-to-know-you meeting as progress even without a major deal, according to a Chinese official, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. The meeting will probably be difficult as Trump predicted, particularly if he pushes hard, the official said.
China has prepared several options for give-and-take depending on what Trump requests, according to the Chinese official. Beijing has assessed that Trump cares most about visible economic wins and some security issues, according to the official, who added that they saw his tweets on North Korea as a bargaining tactic ahead of the meeting.
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Trump in February, he proposed investing in infrastructure to create American jobs in a bid to offset criticism over its currency. Xi may try something similar as Trump looks to meet campaign pledges to rebuild the country’s roads and bridges.
pressures he faces as China enters a “complex and critical phase of reforms,” according to Cui Liru, former president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing. The government is weighing an overhaul of state-run enterprises and opening up more sectors, challenging entrenched interests and raising fears of job losses as economic growth hits the slowest pace in a quarter century.
Xi needs to show a domestic audience that he can manage Trump, said Steve Tsang, director of SOAS China Institute at the University of London. China may have agreed to an early summit because they see an opportunity to strike a better deal before Trump has a full team in place and a clearly defined strategy, he said.
Xi wants “a deal that shows that he can do business with Trump,” Tsang said. “If Xi can secure that, he puts himself in a good position in reassuring the domestic constituencies in the run up to the 19th congress.”
Steve Bannon Removed From National Security Council - NBC News
President Donald Trump has removed Steve Bannon, his chief strategist, from the National Security Council, according to a filing in the federal registry.
As part of the shakeup announced Wednesday, two officials were added back to the NSC's Principals Committee: the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. Also added to the Principals Committee: Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.
News that the changes were not the result of any "power struggle" within the administration.
Bannon was given a seat on the Principals Committee only as a check against then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, the official said. Now that Flynn is gone, Bannon is no longer needed in that role, the official said.
Another administration official said the changes were orchestrated by Flynn's replacement as NSA, H.R. McMaster, who was given authority to reorganize when he was brought on.
Bannon, a former executive for Breitbart News, had attended only one NSC meeting. He keeps his security clearance, according to the senior White House official.
Image: Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus
White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, left, walks with White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus before a lunch with President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the White House in Washington on April 3, 2017. Evan Vucci / AP
Trump's decision in January to put Bannon, a political operative, on the NSC drew criticism from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with Sen. John McCain, R.-Ariz., calling it a "radical departure."
After the reversal Wednesday, Sen. Ben Cardin, D.-Maryland, said he was happy to hear about it.
"My hope is that he would have no role in government at all, that he be completely out because I do think that is not the type of advice the president should be receiving in regards to diversity and tolerance and the values of our country," Cardin said.
Former NSC spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Bannon's removal was a "welcome, if belated, first step."
"The removal of Steve Bannon is as overdue as the addition of leading military and intelligence advisors, whose information and counsel have long been critical to the formulation of U.S. foreign policy," Price said.
Approval rating hits new low only 34% of American voters think he's honest President's popularity slips - Independent
approval rating hits new low and only 34% of American voters think he's honest
President's popularity is slipping as controversies pile up
has hit a new low.
According to a poll by Quinnipiac University, just 35 per cent of voters approve of the President's handling of the top job — and even fewer people, 34 per cent, believe he is honest.
It is a significant drop from the 42 per cent approval Mr Trump held a few weeks into his tenure, which had fallen to 37 per cent by the time of Quinnipiac's 22 March poll. The latest figures are based on calls to 1,171 people across the US.
The university's findings matched those by Gallup last week. That company's results came in the aftermath of Mr Trump's executive order to reverse Barack Obama's "war on coal", and amid an FBI investigation into his campaign team's links to Russia.
Two days after he was made leader of the free world, Mr Trump had a respectable 45 per cent approval rating, according to Gallup.
He had previously teased Barack Obama for his ratings which, at their lowest, slipped to 38 per cent in both 2011 and 2014 with Gallup.
Tim Malloy, assistant poll director at Quinnipiac, said: "President Donald Trump continues to struggle, even among his most loyal supporters.
"Many of them would be hard pressed to see even a sliver of a silver lining in this troubling downward spiral.
"George W Bush, who hit a negative 28 - 67 per cent on 14 May, 2008, had less support, but it took eight years, two unpopular wars and a staggering economy to get there.
"As President Trump's approval tanks, Congress, especially Republicans, follow right behind him."
Mr Trump has faced a number of high-profile defeats in his attempts to implement his domestic agenda.
Two separate travel bans targeting Muslim-majority countries have been stymied by the courts and a long-promised bill repealing the Affordable Care Act did not gather enough support for a vote in Congress.
He has, however, taken swift action through executive orders on issues like the Dakota Access Pipeline and immigration.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Ivanka Trump: ‘I Don’t Know What It Means to Be Complicit’ - TIME
IVANKA TRUMP
Ivanka Trump: ‘I Don’t Know What It Means to Be Complicit’
Alana Abramson
6:13 PM ET
In her first interview since becoming an official White House employee, Ivanka Trump defended herself against criticism that she is "complicit" in her father's administration, arguing that her motivations for participation are positive.
"If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I'm complicit," Trump told CBS News' Gayle King.
"I don't know what it means to be complicit, but I hope time will prove I have done a good job and that my father's administration is the success I know it will be."
Critics have accused Trump and her husband Jared Kushner of complicity in the Trump administration, arguing that they are staying silent on executive orders that may contradict their personal beliefs, like rolling back environmental regulations. A Saturday Night Liveskit that went viral in March featured Scarlett Johanssen as Ivanka advertising a new perfume called "Complicit."
"Complicit," the skit concludes. "The fragrance for the women who could stop all this. But won't. Also available in a cologne for Jared [Kushner]."
"I don't know that the critics who say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I'm doing," she said.
Trump also found herself embroiled in criticism after it was reported that she would have a West Wing office, but no official role in the administration. She subsequently announced that she would officially join the federal government as an assistant to the President, and forego any salary.
Ivanka Trump: ‘I Don’t Know What It Means to Be Complicit’
Alana Abramson
6:13 PM ET
In her first interview since becoming an official White House employee, Ivanka Trump defended herself against criticism that she is "complicit" in her father's administration, arguing that her motivations for participation are positive.
"If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I'm complicit," Trump told CBS News' Gayle King.
"I don't know what it means to be complicit, but I hope time will prove I have done a good job and that my father's administration is the success I know it will be."
Critics have accused Trump and her husband Jared Kushner of complicity in the Trump administration, arguing that they are staying silent on executive orders that may contradict their personal beliefs, like rolling back environmental regulations. A Saturday Night Liveskit that went viral in March featured Scarlett Johanssen as Ivanka advertising a new perfume called "Complicit."
"Complicit," the skit concludes. "The fragrance for the women who could stop all this. But won't. Also available in a cologne for Jared [Kushner]."
"I don't know that the critics who say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I'm doing," she said.
Trump also found herself embroiled in criticism after it was reported that she would have a West Wing office, but no official role in the administration. She subsequently announced that she would officially join the federal government as an assistant to the President, and forego any salary.
America is being ruled by an 'idiot', says Isis in barb at Donald Trump - Independent
America is being ruled by an 'idiot', says Isis in barb at Donald Trump
Jihadist group mocks US president
* Ben Kentish
* @BenKentish
* Tuesday 4 April 2017 23:39 BST
Isis has mocked Donald Trump, saying in a new recording that the US is “being run by an idiot”.
In the audio statement, the group's new spokesman, Abu Hassan al-Muhajer, said America had “drowned” and was ruled by someone who “does not know what Syria or Iraq or Islam is”.
It is Isis' first official comment on Mr Trump since the Republican's inauguration in January.
“America you have drowned and there is no saviour, and you have become prey for the soldiers of the caliphate in every part of the earth, you are bankrupt and the signs of your demise are evident to every eye,' al-Muhajer said
“There is no more evidence than (that) you being run by an idiot who does not know what Syria or Iraq or Islam is.
“Die of spite America, die of spite, a nation where both young and old are racing to die in the name of God will not be defeated.”
The comments were made during a 37-minute recording released on the messaging website Telegram.
During the address, al-Muhajer also praised recent terrorist attacks in Europe and called for Isis followers to carry out further attacks in the US, Russia and EU states in order to relieve pressure on the group in Iraq and Syria.
He said the current situation, in which Isis is engaged in heavy fighting with Iraqi troops in Mosul, the group’s last stronghold in Iraq, marked “the greatest period in our jihad…and the most dangerous turning point in our jihad”.
The spokesman also claimed Isis would never be driven from the Middle East and would continue to maintain strongholds in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
During last year’s presidential election campaign, the group released a document calling Mr Trump “impulsive and unpredictable”.
Jihadist group mocks US president
* Ben Kentish
* @BenKentish
* Tuesday 4 April 2017 23:39 BST
Isis has mocked Donald Trump, saying in a new recording that the US is “being run by an idiot”.
In the audio statement, the group's new spokesman, Abu Hassan al-Muhajer, said America had “drowned” and was ruled by someone who “does not know what Syria or Iraq or Islam is”.
It is Isis' first official comment on Mr Trump since the Republican's inauguration in January.
“America you have drowned and there is no saviour, and you have become prey for the soldiers of the caliphate in every part of the earth, you are bankrupt and the signs of your demise are evident to every eye,' al-Muhajer said
“There is no more evidence than (that) you being run by an idiot who does not know what Syria or Iraq or Islam is.
“Die of spite America, die of spite, a nation where both young and old are racing to die in the name of God will not be defeated.”
The comments were made during a 37-minute recording released on the messaging website Telegram.
During the address, al-Muhajer also praised recent terrorist attacks in Europe and called for Isis followers to carry out further attacks in the US, Russia and EU states in order to relieve pressure on the group in Iraq and Syria.
He said the current situation, in which Isis is engaged in heavy fighting with Iraqi troops in Mosul, the group’s last stronghold in Iraq, marked “the greatest period in our jihad…and the most dangerous turning point in our jihad”.
The spokesman also claimed Isis would never be driven from the Middle East and would continue to maintain strongholds in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
During last year’s presidential election campaign, the group released a document calling Mr Trump “impulsive and unpredictable”.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Trump Pulls Back Obama-Era Protections For Women Workers - NBC News
NEWS APR 3 2017, 6:23 PM ET
Trump Pulls Back Obama-Era Protections For Women Workers
by MARY EMILY O'HARA
With little notice, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive orderthat advocates say rolls back hard-fought victories for women in the workplace.
Tuesday's "Equal Pay Day" — which highlights the wage disparity between men and women — is the perfect time to draw more attention to the president's action, activists say.
On March 27, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Officeinvestigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts.
In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.
With little notice, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that advocates say rolls back hard-fought victories for women in the workplace.
Tuesday's "Equal Pay Day" — which highlights the wage disparity between men and women — is the perfect time to draw more attention to the president's action, activists say.
On March 27, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts.
In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.
Noreen Farrell, director of the anti-sex discrimination law firm Equal Rights Advocates, said Trump went "on the attack against workers and taxpayers."
"We have an executive order that essentially forces women to pay to keep companies in business that discrimination against them, with their own tax dollars," said Farrell. "It's an outrage."
Out of the 50 worst wage theft violators that GAO examined between 2005-2009, 60 percent had been awarded federal contracts after being penalized by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. Similar violation rates were tracked through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board.
But the research did not reveal much about sexual harassment or sexual assault claims. That's because forced arbitration clauses — also sometimes called "cover-up clauses" by critics — are commonly used to keep sex discrimination claims out of the courts and off the public record.
"Arbitrations are private proceedings with secret filings and private attorneys, and they often help hide sexual harassment claims," said Maya Raghu, Director of Workplace Equality at the National Women's Law Center. "It can silence victims. They may feel afraid of coming forward because they might think they are the only one, or fear retaliation."
Mandatory arbitration clauses are increasingly used in employment contracts, said Raghu, who added that banning the process was an important step forward for victims of workplace harassment or assault.
Many learned about forced arbitration clauses for the first time just last year through the Fox News sexual harassment case. Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson dodged her own contract's arbitration clause by directly suing former CEO Roger Ailes rather than the company. Ailes' lawyers accused Carlson of breaching her contract, and pressed for the private arbitration to try to keep the story out of courts and the public record.
A new lawsuit filed Monday by Fox News commentator Julie Roginsky joined a growing list of accusations against Ailes, and claims Roginsky faced retaliation "because of plaintiff's refusal to malign Gretchen Carlson and join 'Team Roger' when Carlson sued Ailes," NPR reported.
By overturning the Fair Pay order, Trump made it possible for businesses with federal contracts to continue forcing sexual harassment cases like Carlson's into secret proceedings — where the public, and other employees, may never find out about rampant sex discrimination claims at a company.
After the Fox News sexual harassment problem came to light, Carlson testified before Congress about forced arbitration — and Senators Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Al Franken wrote to major arbitration companies to ask for information on the amount of secret arbitration proceedings involving sexual harassment and discrimination.
RELATED: Why women wore white to Trump's speech
"If Ms. Carlson had followed Mr. Ailes's reading of her contract, her colleagues might never have learned that she was fighting back," read the August 2016 letter. "They might never have followed her example; Roger Ailes might never have been exposed; and Fox News might never have been forced to change its behavior. Decades of alleged abuse — harassment that should disgust and astound any reasonable person — could have been allowed to continue."
Blumenthal told NBC News that Trump's overturning the Fair Pay order sends women's rights in the workplace back "to a time best left to 'Mad Men.'"
"These coverup clauses render people voiceless — forcing them to suffer in silence, suppressing justice, and allowing others to fall victim in the future," said Blumenthal. "At a time when the fight for equal pay continues, Trump also moved to eliminate paycheck transparency and leave workers to negotiate in the dark."
The other result of Trump's executive order on federal contractors was lifting a mandate on paycheck transparency, or requiring employers to detail earnings, pay scales, salaries, and other details. The Fair Pay order Trump overturned was one of the few ways to ensure companies were paying women workers equally to their male colleagues.
According to the Economic Policy Institute's 2016 analysis of federal labor statistics, the median wage for U.S. women is about 16.8 percent less than the median for men — with women making about 83 cents to a man's dollar. According to economist Elise Gould, that's a gap that only increases as women become more educated and climb the corporate ladder.
"At the bottom, there's just so far down women's wages can go. They are protected by some degree by the minimum wage," said Gould. "But as you move up, women are not occupying places at the top the way men are. The wage gap at the top is much larger."
Wal-Mart is one example of how the wage gap works like an inverted pyramid. According to statistical data provided in Farrell's class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart, women in lower-paying hourly jobs at the company made $1,100 less per year than men in the same jobs. But women with salaried positions were paid $14,500 less per year than their male coworkers.
The Fair Pay order made employers submit salary details to the government that would show massive wage gaps like Wal-Mart's. It also made employers show overtime and deductions on paychecks so workers could make sure they were being paid exactly as they were supposed to.
The original class action case against Wal-Mart was dismissed by the Supreme Court. But Farrell told NBC News that Dukes v. Wal-Mart was a victory in its own right.
"The very public nature of that case prompted many changes by Wal-Mart including its pay and equity policies," said Farrell of the law firm Equal Rights Advocates.
"No one, including workers at Wal-Mart, would have understood the issues in that case had there been forced arbitration clauses," Farrell added, "Which would have kept all of those claims in secret."
For the majority of workers, especially at low-wages, there isn't an option to work around an arbitration clause the way that Carlson did with Fox News and Ailes.
"Unless you're suing a deep-pocketed CEO, suing an individual for sexual harassment is not going to be the same as putting the employer on the hook for liability," said Farrell. "You usually don't get the same damages or results."
Trump Pulls Back Obama-Era Protections For Women Workers
by MARY EMILY O'HARA
With little notice, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive orderthat advocates say rolls back hard-fought victories for women in the workplace.
Tuesday's "Equal Pay Day" — which highlights the wage disparity between men and women — is the perfect time to draw more attention to the president's action, activists say.
On March 27, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Officeinvestigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts.
In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.
With little notice, President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that advocates say rolls back hard-fought victories for women in the workplace.
Tuesday's "Equal Pay Day" — which highlights the wage disparity between men and women — is the perfect time to draw more attention to the president's action, activists say.
On March 27, Trump revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order then-President Barack Obama put in place to ensure that companies with federal contracts comply with 14 labor and civil rights laws. The Fair Pay order was put in place after a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigation showed that companies with rampant violations were being awarded millions in federal contracts.
In an attempt to keep the worst violators from receiving taxpayer dollars, the Fair Pay order included two rules that impacted women workers: paycheck transparency and a ban on forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims.
Noreen Farrell, director of the anti-sex discrimination law firm Equal Rights Advocates, said Trump went "on the attack against workers and taxpayers."
"We have an executive order that essentially forces women to pay to keep companies in business that discrimination against them, with their own tax dollars," said Farrell. "It's an outrage."
Out of the 50 worst wage theft violators that GAO examined between 2005-2009, 60 percent had been awarded federal contracts after being penalized by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. Similar violation rates were tracked through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Labor Relations Board.
But the research did not reveal much about sexual harassment or sexual assault claims. That's because forced arbitration clauses — also sometimes called "cover-up clauses" by critics — are commonly used to keep sex discrimination claims out of the courts and off the public record.
"Arbitrations are private proceedings with secret filings and private attorneys, and they often help hide sexual harassment claims," said Maya Raghu, Director of Workplace Equality at the National Women's Law Center. "It can silence victims. They may feel afraid of coming forward because they might think they are the only one, or fear retaliation."
Mandatory arbitration clauses are increasingly used in employment contracts, said Raghu, who added that banning the process was an important step forward for victims of workplace harassment or assault.
Many learned about forced arbitration clauses for the first time just last year through the Fox News sexual harassment case. Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson dodged her own contract's arbitration clause by directly suing former CEO Roger Ailes rather than the company. Ailes' lawyers accused Carlson of breaching her contract, and pressed for the private arbitration to try to keep the story out of courts and the public record.
A new lawsuit filed Monday by Fox News commentator Julie Roginsky joined a growing list of accusations against Ailes, and claims Roginsky faced retaliation "because of plaintiff's refusal to malign Gretchen Carlson and join 'Team Roger' when Carlson sued Ailes," NPR reported.
By overturning the Fair Pay order, Trump made it possible for businesses with federal contracts to continue forcing sexual harassment cases like Carlson's into secret proceedings — where the public, and other employees, may never find out about rampant sex discrimination claims at a company.
After the Fox News sexual harassment problem came to light, Carlson testified before Congress about forced arbitration — and Senators Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Al Franken wrote to major arbitration companies to ask for information on the amount of secret arbitration proceedings involving sexual harassment and discrimination.
RELATED: Why women wore white to Trump's speech
"If Ms. Carlson had followed Mr. Ailes's reading of her contract, her colleagues might never have learned that she was fighting back," read the August 2016 letter. "They might never have followed her example; Roger Ailes might never have been exposed; and Fox News might never have been forced to change its behavior. Decades of alleged abuse — harassment that should disgust and astound any reasonable person — could have been allowed to continue."
Blumenthal told NBC News that Trump's overturning the Fair Pay order sends women's rights in the workplace back "to a time best left to 'Mad Men.'"
"These coverup clauses render people voiceless — forcing them to suffer in silence, suppressing justice, and allowing others to fall victim in the future," said Blumenthal. "At a time when the fight for equal pay continues, Trump also moved to eliminate paycheck transparency and leave workers to negotiate in the dark."
The other result of Trump's executive order on federal contractors was lifting a mandate on paycheck transparency, or requiring employers to detail earnings, pay scales, salaries, and other details. The Fair Pay order Trump overturned was one of the few ways to ensure companies were paying women workers equally to their male colleagues.
According to the Economic Policy Institute's 2016 analysis of federal labor statistics, the median wage for U.S. women is about 16.8 percent less than the median for men — with women making about 83 cents to a man's dollar. According to economist Elise Gould, that's a gap that only increases as women become more educated and climb the corporate ladder.
"At the bottom, there's just so far down women's wages can go. They are protected by some degree by the minimum wage," said Gould. "But as you move up, women are not occupying places at the top the way men are. The wage gap at the top is much larger."
Wal-Mart is one example of how the wage gap works like an inverted pyramid. According to statistical data provided in Farrell's class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart, women in lower-paying hourly jobs at the company made $1,100 less per year than men in the same jobs. But women with salaried positions were paid $14,500 less per year than their male coworkers.
The Fair Pay order made employers submit salary details to the government that would show massive wage gaps like Wal-Mart's. It also made employers show overtime and deductions on paychecks so workers could make sure they were being paid exactly as they were supposed to.
The original class action case against Wal-Mart was dismissed by the Supreme Court. But Farrell told NBC News that Dukes v. Wal-Mart was a victory in its own right.
"The very public nature of that case prompted many changes by Wal-Mart including its pay and equity policies," said Farrell of the law firm Equal Rights Advocates.
"No one, including workers at Wal-Mart, would have understood the issues in that case had there been forced arbitration clauses," Farrell added, "Which would have kept all of those claims in secret."
For the majority of workers, especially at low-wages, there isn't an option to work around an arbitration clause the way that Carlson did with Fox News and Ailes.
"Unless you're suing a deep-pocketed CEO, suing an individual for sexual harassment is not going to be the same as putting the employer on the hook for liability," said Farrell. "You usually don't get the same damages or results."
Donald Trump shakes hands with Egypt's President Sisi, two weeks after shunning Angela Merkel - Independent
Donald Trump shook hands Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi during their White House meeting, two weeks after appearing to snub Angela Merkel by refusing to shake her hand.
Mr Trump said the Egyptian President, who led a military coup to oust his predecessor in 2013, had done a "fantastic job" and declared his support for Egypt and the Egyptian people.
He also said he had was "very much behind" Mr Sisi and been very close to him since the first time they met.
Mr Sisi told Mr Trump he had a deep appreciation for his "unique personality" and called him "your excellency" three times.
He also vowed to work with the US to eradicate the "evil ideology" that is "terrorising communities."
During the meeting, Mr Trump noted the US plans to build its military to "possibly" its highest levels as it looks to fight Isis and lend support to its allies.
"I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President Sisi," Mr Trump said.
"He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt."
While Mr Trump noted the US and Egypt "have a few things" they do not agree on, he did not air US concerns about human rights in Egypt.
"I just want to say to, Mr President, that you have a great friend and ally in the United States, and in me," Mr Trump said.
Human rights groups have estimated that Mr Sisi's government has detained at least 40,000 political prisoners.
Mr Trump has repeatedly mentioned Egypt as a critical Muslim-majority ally in the fight against extremists such as Isis.
The White House welcome comes after a tense relationship between Egypt's leader and the previous administration.
Former President Barack Obama never invited Mr Sisi to the White House and allowed his administration to repeatedly admonish his government over its human rights record.
He froze aid to Egypt for two years after Mr Sisi, then a general, overthrew President Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 after mass protests against his rule. Mr Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, had been elected the previous year.
Mr Trump said the Egyptian President, who led a military coup to oust his predecessor in 2013, had done a "fantastic job" and declared his support for Egypt and the Egyptian people.
He also said he had was "very much behind" Mr Sisi and been very close to him since the first time they met.
Mr Sisi told Mr Trump he had a deep appreciation for his "unique personality" and called him "your excellency" three times.
He also vowed to work with the US to eradicate the "evil ideology" that is "terrorising communities."
During the meeting, Mr Trump noted the US plans to build its military to "possibly" its highest levels as it looks to fight Isis and lend support to its allies.
"I just want to let everybody know in case there was any doubt that we are very much behind President Sisi," Mr Trump said.
"He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We are very much behind Egypt and the people of Egypt."
While Mr Trump noted the US and Egypt "have a few things" they do not agree on, he did not air US concerns about human rights in Egypt.
"I just want to say to, Mr President, that you have a great friend and ally in the United States, and in me," Mr Trump said.
Human rights groups have estimated that Mr Sisi's government has detained at least 40,000 political prisoners.
Mr Trump has repeatedly mentioned Egypt as a critical Muslim-majority ally in the fight against extremists such as Isis.
The White House welcome comes after a tense relationship between Egypt's leader and the previous administration.
Former President Barack Obama never invited Mr Sisi to the White House and allowed his administration to repeatedly admonish his government over its human rights record.
He froze aid to Egypt for two years after Mr Sisi, then a general, overthrew President Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 after mass protests against his rule. Mr Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, had been elected the previous year.
Monday, April 3, 2017
Credit Suisse in Five-Nation Tax Probe - Bloomberg
Credit Suisse in Five-Nation Tax Probe
Just when he thought the worst was behind him, Tidjane Thiam is facing another potential blow to a two-year-old turnaround that is just beginning to bear fruit.
On Friday, Thiam’s Credit Suisse Group AG found itself embroiled in a tax-evasion and money-laundering investigation spanning five countries that could involve thousands of account holders. It’s the latest headache for a CEO who may have to ask shareholders for a third capital increase in five years as the firm tries to recover from the cost of settling legal bills and surprise trading losses.
Thiam is considering selling shares or pursuing a partial initial public offering of the firm’s Swiss unit as he tries to free up capital to expand wealth management in Asia while shrinking the investment bank. The CEO, who said in February that Credit Suisse’s $5.3 billion settlement with the U.S. over sales of toxic mortgage debt was a “game changer,” now faces the possibility of renewed uncertainty about the bank’s legacy issues.
“The problem for Credit Suisse is that they seem to be in the dark and have no idea what will result from this,” said Piers Brown, an analyst with Macquarie Group Ltd. who has an underperform rating on the stock. “The two things that people are fearing is a big fine and that this prompts another wave of outflows from their European business as clients get fed up with the franchise.”
Offices Contacted
The bank said its offices in London, Paris and Amsterdam were “contacted” on Thursday by authorities in connection with client tax matters, and that it’s cooperating. The move was so secret that not even Switzerland’s authorities knew about it. Investigators in the Netherlands arrested two people -- seizing a gold bar, paintings and jewelry -- and are probing dozens more suspected of hiding millions of euros in Swiss accounts, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service said Friday.
Iqbal Khan, head of the unit that houses the wealth management operations whose offices were examined, said it’s too early to assess the impact on clients and the bank’s strategy won’t change.
“This whole action is something that does surprise me in terms of timing,” Khan said in a telephone interview Friday, pointing out that the inquiries were made public a day before the bank implements an automatic exchange of information with European authorities. “We’ve taken a proactive stance and zero tolerance when it comes to tax” evasion in Europe.
The bank repeated its “zero tolerance” approach in full-page advertisements taken out in U.K. newspapers on Sunday, giving a seven-bullet-point response to the probe. The bank added that it previously terminated relationships with clients who didn’t prove they paid their taxes, leading to “very significant asset outflows.”
Longstanding Plan
The raids come as the bank is considering asking shareholders for more than 3 billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) as an alternative to its longstanding plan to raise capital by listing part of its local unit, people familiar with the matter have said.
“It’s tight, but I believe they could do without” the IPO, David Herro, chief investment officer of Harris Associates, one of Credit Suisse’s top three shareholders, said early on Friday. “Raising capital must be something that’s done after a lot of careful thought.”
Herro, speaking to newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, said he’ll support proposals by the board of directors at the bank’s annual general meeting scheduled for later this month.
Credit Suisse fell 1.3 percent to 14.71 francs at 10:41 a.m. Monday in Zurich, while the Bloomberg Europe Banks Index was down 0.6 percent. The bank’s shares have climbed 0.7 percent this year.
Dutch Tax
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The tip that triggered the investigation came from one or more informers to a team in the FIOD, the criminal investigation service of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration, said spokeswoman Wietske Visser. The five countries coordinated their actions through the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, which said in a statement that the investigation started in 2016 and that further actions are likely in the next few weeks.
The raids are not “good news but my gut feeling is that this is not a major case,” said Thomas Braun, a portfolio manager at BWM AG, which holds about 3.7 million shares in Credit Suisse. “The main question is whether these are current accounts or accounts of clients with which Credit Suisse canceled its relationship.”
It’s a question Khan said he couldn’t answer at this time. To his knowledge, the probes target individuals outside the bank, he said. No assets held at Credit Suisse were confiscated. If it turns out individuals inside the bank violated policies, there would be disciplinary action, though that’s too early to determine, he said.
Credit Suisse has reported more than 40 billion francs in outflows since 2011 from clients that moved to become tax compliant, Khan said. In Europe, those outflows are done, he said, though the unit expects about 5 billion francs from other regions this year.
Khan said he has no reason to change that guidance at this point.
Tax Obligations
Credit Suisse was fined $2.6 billion in 2014 after admitting it helped Americans cheat on their tax obligations and conducting what then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called a “shamefully inadequate internal inquiry” into the wrongdoing.
In Europe, the bank agreed in October to pay about 109.5 million euros ($117 million) to Italian authorities to resolve a probe into the bank’s use of insurance policies allegedly designed to help clients evade taxes, five years after paying 150 million euros to settle a tax-evasion dispute with the German government.
“This leaves them in a difficult position” in case of a settlement, said Macquarie analyst Brown. “They’ve had a huge one in the U.S., and France is chasing UBS for a big sum, so the timing is poor,” especially given the discussions about a capital increase.
Lithuania says Russia has ability to launch Baltic attack in 24 hours - Reuters
Lithuania says Russia has ability to launch Baltic attack in 24 hours
By Andrius Sytas | VILNIUS
Russia has developed the capability to launch an attack on the Baltic states with as little as 24 hours' notice, limiting NATO's options to respond other than to have military forces already deployed in the region, Lithuania's intelligence service said on Monday.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, annexed by the Soviet Union in the 1940s but now part of both NATO and the European Union, have been increasingly nervous since the Russian takeover of Crimea in 2014.
The Lithuanian intelligence service said in its annual threat assessment that Russia had upgraded its military in the Kaliningrad region last year, reducing lead times for any attack and potentially preventing NATO reinforcements.
The Russian upgrade included Su-30 fighter aircraft and missile systems allowing ships to be targeted almost anywhere in the Baltic Sea.
"This is a signal to NATO to improve its decision speed," Lithuanian Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis told reporters on the sidelines of the presentation of the report. "NATO's reaction time is not as fast as we would like it to be."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the concerns as a display of anti-Russian sentiment.
"There is total Russophobia, hysterical Russophobia going on," he said at a daily conference call with reporters.
"Moscow has always supported good relations with the Baltic states," he said.
This year NATO is deploying a force of about 1,000 soldiers in each of the Baltic states and Poland, in addition to smaller contingents of U.S. troops already in the region.
"The force is adequate in the short-term, but in the medium-term perspective we would like more capability, and not only land troops but also air defenses and capabilities to counter any blockade," Karoblis said.
Russia is monitoring and suppressing radio frequencies used by NATO pilots over the Baltic Sea and is using commercial and scientific ships for surveillance, the report said.
The intelligence service said there was also the risk of "deliberate or accidental incidents" involving Russian and Belarusian troops who are taking part in military exercises planned for March.
The Baltic states have previously said they would press the United States and NATO to take additional security measures in the region ahead of the exercises.
Intelligence officers said disinformation aimed at discrediting NATO soldiers stationed in Lithuania, such as a recent false report of a rape by German soldiers, was likely to persist.
"Provocations against NATO units in Lithuania will continue and will get bigger," Remigijus Baltrenas, head of Lithuanian military counterintelligence, told reporters.
(Additional reporting by Maria Tsvetkova in Moscow; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Andrew Bolton)
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