There are few things that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia desires more than the weakening of NATO, the military alliance among the United States, Europe and Canada that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression for 70 years.And while the division or dissolving of NATO most certainly would benefit Russia - removing a malignant and aggressive rogue institution from its borders and the toxic atmosphere of perpetual confrontation it creates - it would also most certainly benefit each and every NATO member many times more.
Last year, President Trump suggested a move tantamount to destroying NATO: the withdrawal of the United States.
While half of Congress took to Twitter to wave the story as the long-awaited proof of Collusion, the BuzzFeed reporters could not seem to agree on their own sourcing. Anthony Cormier admitted to CNN he hadn't seen the proof directly but had two "law enforcement" sources claiming they had seen it, while Jason Leopold told MSNBC they had in fact seen the documents themselves.RT reports 1/19/2019:
Mueller has been extremely tight-lipped about the numerous previous "Russiagate" scoops, and considering the time and effort involved in his own ongoing crusade to take Trump down, his dismissal of BuzzFeed's would-be bombshell knocked the legs out from under a story whose vague sourcing had already raised questions. Mueller's laconic smackdown has led many on Twitter to declare BuzzFeed officially discredited.
After the "bombshell" was picked up (to a great extent uncritically) by the mainstream media, which floated impeachment through a legion of ever-ready pundits, the scoop was busted by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller himself.And, The Daily Caller 1/18/2019 had this:
Conservative political columnist Ann Coulter, Trump's son Donald Junior, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, and NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch all tore into BuzzFeed, along with thousands of less high-profile Trump supporters, getting the #RIPBuzzfeed hashtag going.
Facing a torrent of mockery and derision, BuzzFeed chose to stand by its claims. BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith called on Mueller to clarify what exactly he had denied. "We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it," he tweeted.
Some mainstream media, like the Washington Post and the New York Times, have been pouring cold water on the report (using unnamed sources of their own).
MSNBC's Chris Matthews argued that the fact the report is inaccurate "does not mean it is not true," while NBC's Ken Dilanian said Mueller denied only that part of the report that said he had obtained Trump organization documents supporting the allegations.
Dilanian, however, later admitted that he "was interpreting the pushback too narrowly."
The Washington Post shared that sentiment, reporting that Mueller's statement "aims to make clear that none of those statements in the story are accurate," while citing "people familiar with the matter."
The New York Times also debunked the story, citing a person familiar with Cohen's testimony, who told them that the disgraced former lawyer "never implied the president had pressured him to lie to Congress."
While multiple outlets were busy distancing themselves from the red-faced BuzzFeed, lone voices from the anti-Trump resistance crowd, almost drowned out by the avalanche of mockery, jumped to its defense.
Some suggested that the zeal with which the mainstream media ganged up on BuzzFeed is a clumsy attempt to save face.
CNN and MSNBC collectively used the word "impeach" nearly 200 times on Friday before the Special Counsel's office disputed a bombshell report by BuzzFeed News.See also: BuzzFeed 'reports' Trump "personally instructed" Cohen to lie to Congress about Moscow project - UDATE: Buzzfeed story completely discredited
According to a Daily Caller review of TV clipping service Grabien, personalities on CNN and MSNBC used the words "Impeach," "Impeachment," or "Impeachable," 179 times.
The review included only original Friday programming and ran up until each network learned that BuzzFeed's report was in dispute - shortly before 8 pm.
CNN mentioned impeachment 82 times while MSNBC mentioned it a whopping 97 times.
While some anchors and pundits hedged that the BuzzFeed story could only lead to impeachment proceedings "if true," others repeated the story more uncritically and suggested that the president would be forced to resign and might even face obstruction of justice charges.
MSNBC's Katy Tur, for example, stated at the top of her show that "Donald Trump is facing the most damming report to date for his presidency. A story that could lead to his impeachment."
Both outlets also interviewed a number of Democratic congresspeople to get their thoughts on the possibility of impeachment of the president. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, for example, spoke to Democratic Rep. Jim Himes about the implications of the BuzzFeed report if it turned out to be verified, while MSNBC host Chris Matthews brought on Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu.
Matthews was perhaps the most eager cable television host to prop up BuzzFeed's report, even insisting after the Special Counsel's office's statement that, "not accurate ... it doesn't mean it's not true."
BuzzFeed's story, dependent on two anonymous sources, alleged that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen was directed by President Donald Trump to lie about business deals in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.
A spokesperson for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team disputed the crux of the report within 24 hours of its publication, stating, "BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate."
"In no case can we facilitate provocations by the Syrian regime [Damascus] in Manbij, as well as attempts by members of the YPG to open the door to the regime's forces. Clearing the YPG out of Manbij is a matter of national security for us. The terrorist attack in Manbij once again showed the importance of clearing the region of terrorists and the need to implement the road map for Manbij."His comments come after on Wednesday, about two dozen people, including up to five US servicemen, were killed in Manbij in an explosion for which the Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility.
Former US Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to defeat the Daesh terror group Brett McGurk said that Turkey is not a reliable partner in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw military forces from the country. Turkey cannot operate in Syria without substantial US military support, he added.
Discussions are underway to have the Turkish military or Turkish-backed opposition fighters moved into areas of northeastern Syria that are now controlled by the SDF. Any such move, he said, would spark chaos and create an environment for extremists to thrive. The entry of Turkish-backed opposition forces would also likely displace thousands of Kurds and threaten vulnerable Christian communities in areas of eastern Syria, he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan...had decided to postpone the start of the military operation in Syria after a phone conversation with Trump on December 14, during which the US president also revealed his plans to withdraw troops from Syria.
Comment: Graham is a hawk and a voice for the Deep State. In no way shape or form is his stance toward MBS coming from a place of decency. He's been plenty happy to support arms sales to Saudi Arabia and to protect the barbarous Kingdom in the past. You can bet there is a lot going on behind the scenes on this issue and the US wants something that Saudi Arabia has been reluctant to agree too. Both sides have dirt on the other, and this is rhetoric is just a game of strategies.