Senate accepts President Trump nominee Tillerson as Secretary of State, scandal surrounds Flynn
Senate accepts President Trump nominee Tillerson as Secretary of State, scandal surrounds Flynn:- The raid against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has garnered wide attention because a Navy SEAL was also killed and several more wounded in what marked the first operation of its kind authorised by President Donald Trump.
A Yemeni provincial official had previously said 16 civilians were killed in the raid — eight women and eight children — but CENTCOM did not provide any numbers.
“A team designated by the operational task force commander has concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed in the midst of a firefight during a raid in Yemen January 29. Casualties may include children,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The civilian deaths appear to have occurred when US aircraft were called to help the commandos as they conducted the dawn raid that US officials have said killed 14 AQAP members.
“The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist US forces in contact against a determined enemy that included armed women firing from prepared fighting positions, and US special operations members receiving fire from all sides to include houses and other buildings,” the statement read.
Officials were conducting an ongoing “credibility assessment” to see if there may have been additional civilian casualties in the intense firefight.
The raid snagged “an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said earlier.
But “you never want to call something a success 100 per cent when someone’s hurt or killed,” he told reporters.
Trump and daughter Ivanka earlier flew from the White House aboard the Marine One presidential helicopter to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the repatriation of Owens’s remains.
CHINA MAY BENEFIT FROM TRUMP’S STOUSH WITH MEXICO
DONALD Trump’s war on everyone — especially his stoush with Mexico — will potentially create an unexpected benefactor. China.
According to a report on CNBC, the world’s second largest economy stands to benefit from the continuing fallout in relations between Mexico and the US, triggered by Mexico’s likely decision to reduce its dependence on its largest trading partner, allowing China to step into the void.
“Like other countries worried about the uncertainties of a Trump administration, Mexico will look to deepen engagement with China,” said Shawlin Chaw, senior analyst at Control Risks, according to CNBC.
“The mainland is a natural choice due to its economic power and in return, Beijing will able to increase the international market for Chinese exports and diversify its sources of raw materials.”
Beijing has been widening its trading influence with a view to cementing itself as a global superpower, now more than likely to happen with Trump’s isolationist strategy to put America first.
So we are going to war against Mexico Australia China Iraq and Iran all at the same time.
— Sabrina Brown (@all_sabrina) February 2, 2017
Earlier, Mr Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send US troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them itself.
That’s according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not make clear who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,” or the tone and context of the remark, made Friday.
Still, the excerpt offers a rare and striking look at how the new president is conducting diplomacy behind closed doors.
Trump’s remark suggests he is using the same tough and blunt talk with world leaders that he used rally crowds on the campaign trail.
If we're going to invade Mexico, important to do it BEFORE we build the wall. #logistics
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) February 2, 2017
The phone call between the leaders was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally. The two have had a series of public spats over Trump’s determination to have Mexico pay for the planned border wall, something Mexico steadfastly refuses to agree to.
A White House spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
Mexico’s foreign relations department denied the report, saying it “is based on absolute falsehoods.”
“The assertions that you make about said conversation do not correspond to the reality of it,” the statement said. “The tone was constructive and it was agreed by the presidents to continue working and that the teams will continue to meet frequently to construct an agreement that is positive for Mexico and for the United States.”
But there are now two different accounts supporting the threat was made, one from the transcripts provided to AP and another reported by Mexican journalist Dolia Estevez.
The transcript details:
“You have a bunch of bad hombres down there,” Trump said to Pena Nieto. “You aren’t doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn’t, so I just might send them down to take care of it.”
COUNTER-EXTREMISM PROGRAM EXCLUDES WHITE NATIONALISTS
The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The program, “Countering Violent Extremism,” or CVE, would be changed to “Countering Islamic Extremism” or “Countering Radical Islamic Extremism,” the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.
Reuters reports such a change would reflect Trump’s election campaign rhetoric and criticism of former President Barack Obama for being weak in the fight against Islamic State and for refusing to use the phrase “radical Islam” in describing it. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians in several countries.
WHITE HOUSE THREATENS IRAN
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says the administration is putting Iran “on notice” after it tested a ballistic missile yesterday.
Michael Flynn told reporters that the Trump administration “condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East that puts American lives at risk.”
He says “Iran is now feeling emboldened,” criticising the previous Obama administration for failing “to respond adequately.”
Iran has the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East. @Missile_Defense explores Iran's missiles: https://t.co/YqIAx4AiW4 pic.twitter.com/Uyy4NTvMZ5
— CSIS (@CSIS) February 1, 2017
Flynn says that “we are officially putting Iran on notice,” although he did not explain what this meant.
A defence official told AP that the missile test ended with a “failed” re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. The official had no other details, including the type of missile. The official was not authorised to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Flynn also criticised Iran for “an attack against a Saudi naval vessel conducted by Iran-supported Huthi militants.” Yemeni rebel “suicide” boats attacked a Saudi warship on patrol in the Red Sea, killing two sailors in what the Saudi-led coalition called an escalation of the nearly two-year-old war.
The assault off the rebel-held port of Hodeida came as coalition-backed government forces pressed a deadly drive up the Red Sea coast, despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire.
SCANDAL ENGULFS TRUMP’S SECURITY BOSS
TOP US Democrats say that White House National Security Advisor Mike Flynn may have violated the law in taking payments from Russia’s State-owned Russia Today (RT) television network to attend a party with Vladimir Putin.
In a letter to the Pentagon, the senior Democrats of six powerful House committees asked the Pentagon for documents on Flynn’s acceptance of payments from RT, which they called the “propaganda arm of the Russian government,” after his retirement from the US Army in 2014.
The Democrats cited US laws and Pentagon policy against officials, including retired officers in the military’s case, accepting direct or indirect payments from foreign governments.
Flynn’s ovation for Putin
They noted that after Flynn retired as a lieutenant general, he regularly appeared as a commentator on RT and has himself said he was paid to attend an RT gala dinner in December 2015 in which he sat with the Russian president.
They cited the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution, which bans senior officials from taking money or gifts from foreign countries.
“The Department of Defense has made clear that this restriction applies to retired military officers because they continue to hold offices of trust,” they wrote.
TRUMP’S SCHOOL PICK TEETERING ON THE BRINK
Donald Trump’s nomination of school choice advocate Betsy DeVos as education secretary appears in jeopardy with two Republican senators saying they will vote against her.
Amid fierce criticism from Democrats and teachers unions, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced their opposition to DeVos due to her lack of experience in the nation’s public schools.
If she loses the support of one more Republican – and all Democrats vote against her – the nomination dies.
“Mrs. DeVos is the product of her experience,” Collins said. “She appears to view education through the lens of her experience promoting alternatives to public education in Detroit and other cities.”
Murkowski said she believed DeVos, a billionaire Republican donor and promoter of charter schools, has much to learn about public education. “I have serious concerns about a nominee to be secretary of education who has been so involved on one side of the equation, so immersed in the push for vouchers that she may be unaware of what actually is successful within the public schools and also what is broken and how to fix them.”
TRUMP’S SURPRISE WIN IN TV RATINGS
More than 32 million viewers watched former reality TV-host turned US President Donald Trump reveal his nominee for the US Supreme Court.
The sizeable prime-time audience may reflect how Trump handled the announcement, using his skills honed as a host on The Apprentice to showcase Neil Gorsuch.
Unlike past such announcements, this one wasn’t leaked earlier to reporters and was made in prime-time.
The audience edged that for President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address last year, 31.3 million. But it was dwarfed by the 56.5 million that saw Obama announce the killing of Osama bin Laden, among the decade’s most-watched presidential speeches.
CBS was the overall leader and among broadcast networks with 7.97 million viewers, followed by Fox News Channel with 7.56 million, according to Nielsen company figures.
Source:- http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/new-survey-shows-more-americans-support-trumps-refugee-and-muslim-ban-than-oppose-it/news-story/0b533092e8d1b475945c73928133e072
