US Policy

May hesitating to join Trump’s attack on Syria, wants more evidence – Times
British Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly not keen on joining the US in its potential strike against Syria. The PM told Donald Trump she will not act until there's more evidence of Syria's culpability, the Times reports. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said that he was "very strongly, very seriously" considering a military option in Syria, promising to make a "major decision" within up [...]
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Moscow to Trump: Are ‘smart’ missiles an attempt to destroy alleged chem attack evidence in Syria?
Responding to a threat from US President Donald Trump, who said Russia should prepare for “nice new and smart missiles” launched by America at Syria, Moscow said if the weapons were smart, they would target terrorists. “Smart missiles should fly towards terrorists, not [Syria’s] lawful government, which has spent several years fighting against international terrorism on its territory,” R [...]
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Trump: Get ready Russia, missiles will be coming at Syria, nice and new and ‘smart’!
Donald Trump warned Russia to "get ready" after Moscow vowed to shoot any missiles fired at Syria down. "They will be coming, nice and new and smart," Trump tweeted. The tweet appears to be an unofficial announcement of the "major decisions" which Trump said Washington would soon be making regarding the alleged chemical attack in Syria. [...]
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Any US missiles fired at Syria will be shot down, launch sites targeted – Russian envoy to Lebanon
The Russian military reserves the right to shoot down missiles and destroy launch sites in the event of US aggression against Syria, Moscow's envoy to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin has warned. Zasypkin stressed that “the Russian forces will confront any US aggression on Syria, by intercepting the missiles and striking their launch pads,” al-Manar TV website reported, citing the envoy. [...]
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US, Russian Envoys Kiss & Shake Hands Before Heated UNSC Meeting (VIDEO)
Minutes before warning that Washington was leading the world towards “sad and serious events” in Syria, Russia’s envoy to the UN exchanged pleasantries and even kisses with US envoy Nikki Haley, a video shows. Before the UN Security Council failed on Tuesday to pass three separate resolutions on an alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, [...]
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Welcome to Vietnam, Mr. President
From the Archives:  As President Trump faces opposition from his generals to pull U.S. troops from Syria, here's a look back to a similar fix another new president had gotten himself into, as Ray McGovern reported on March 28, 2009. I was wrong. I had been saying that it would be naïve to take too seriously presidential candidate Barack Obama’s rhetoric regarding the need to escalate the war [...]
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US not ruling out military action against Syria after reports of chemical weapons use – Mattis
US Defense Secretary James Mattis has not ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes against Syria in response to an alleged chemical attack in the militant-held town of Douma. Speaking with reports on Monday, Mattis said he wouldn't "rule out anything right now" after being asked if the US was mulling strikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad. [...]
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US only country to oppose UN holding Israel accountable for war crimes, yet again
The US was the only country in the world to oppose a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes, at the 29th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), held from 15 June to 3 July 2015. The US voted against “ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in” the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). [...]
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Analysts Explain Who Prevents Trump From Pulling All US Troops Out of Syria
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US military policymakers and their political allies continue to block President Donald Trump’s repeatedly expressed desire to withdraw all US troops currently operating in Syria, analysts told Sputnik. Last week, Trump revealed that the United States would soon withdraw from Syria, however, there was no confirmation from the president's administration or the Pentagon. [...]
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‘Very damaging’ or inevitable? Lawyers assess US proposal to rummage through visitors’ social media
The proposal for visa applicants to surrender 5 years of their social-media history will have a "huge impact" on travel to the US and could be "very damaging" for those seeking to come to America, an immigration attorney told RT. [...]
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US pulling out of Syria? Won’t happen, too much at stake – Eva Bartlett on Redacted Tonight
The US should, but likely won’t, pull out of Syria soon, independent journalist Eva Bartlett told RT’s Lee Camp. She added that you have to be “brain-dead” to believe the myths used by the US to justify the conflict. [...]
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Blackout: US military spent $60 million on Afghanistan power lines to nowhere
The US military spent $60 million on a new section of power grid in Afghanistan’s northeast. It doesn’t work and may even put residents at risk, according to a report from the US government’s reconstruction watchdog. While the power lines have been built, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that mismanagement by the Army Corps of Engineers led to the g [...]
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‘Russia will never be our friend, we’ll slap them when needed’ – US envoy to UN
Nikki Haley has erupted in another fiery Russophobic rant, warning that Russia will “never be America’s friend.” Moscow can try to behave “like a regular country,” but the US will “slap them when we need to,” Haley said. [...]
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The Bolton Appointment: How Scared Should We Be?
Exclusive: Donald Trump’s appointment of war hawk John Bolton is a cause for concern, Daniel Lazare writes, but what is perhaps an even bigger concern is that both major U.S. political parties are dominated by war hawks. John Bolton is a hawk’s hawk, a militarist who never saw a U.S. war of aggression he didn’t like. The best thing one can say about his appointment as national security ad [...]
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Top US General Says American Troops Should Be Ready To Die For Israel
With the largest joint U.S.-Israeli air defense exercise ever conducted having recently concluded, which involved over 2,500 American service personnel, and in the midst of heightened Israeli involvement in the Syrian war, we find ourselves asking... Are US troops ready to fight and to die for America’s Israel's defense? [...]
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Papers, please – and your Facebook posts: US to demand social media info from visa applicants
People seeking a US visa may soon be required to disclose their social media information so that five years’ worth of their online footprint can be scrutinized. It was previously reserved for people from terrorism-affected states. [...]
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Gold glitters & dollar declines as US-China trade war escalates
The price of the traditional safe haven gold increased on Monday after Beijing introduced retaliatory measures against American goods coming to China. After falling in the past three trading sessions, the yellow metal surged over $8 per troy ounce to $1,335. [...]
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Trump Finds Fellow Bully in Bolton
President Donald Trump’s appointment of John Bolton as his national security adviser is his most dangerous move yet, argues Marjorie Cohn. Nothing Donald Trump has done since his inauguration 14 months ago is more dangerous – to the United States, and indeed, to the world – than his selection of John Bolton for National Security Adviser. It is not surprising the president would feel most co [...]
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China to slap US with up to 25% bigger import tariffs in trade war retaliation
Beijing is hiking up tariffs on more than 128 US imports, including fruit and pork, as part of a tit-for-tat response to US President Donald Trump’s $60 billion package of tariffs imposed against China. The additional fares, which range from 15 to 25 percent, will take effect on Monday, the Chinese Finance Ministry said on their website. [...]
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Bolton & Pompeo: Deciphering Trump’s Neocon Shift
Trump's appointment of well-known neocons Mike Pompeo and John Bolton as the next Secretary of State and National Security Advisor respectively proves that he's decisively embraced the neoconservative faction of the "deep state". The President used to rail against people like Pompeo and Bolton, especially the latter because of his hawkish views towards Iraq, but now he's depending on both o [...]
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DoD Braces for Trump’s New ‘Devil Incarnate’ National Security Advisor Bolton
The looming April 9 first day on the job for Republican superhawk John Bolton as US President Donald Trump’s hand-picked national security advisor - replacing three-star General H.R. McMaster - has the Pentagon bracing for trouble. [...]
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Brzezinski’s Heritage: West Wants Total Partition and Defeat of Russia – Analyst
On Monday, a number of European countries, as well as the United States and Canada, announced they were expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal case. Radio Sputnik discussed the significance of the diplomatic response by the Western powers with Srdja Trifkovic, a US journalist and writer on international affairs. [...]
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