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US reportedly resumes negotiations with Taliban after three-month halt


Sputnik
Sat, 07 Dec 2019 21:04 UTC
Trump Ghani Troops
© Alex Brandon/AP
President Donald Trump with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani addresses members of the military during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit on Thursday at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.
During his surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to a US base in Afghanistan, the US president mentioned that the Taliban "wants to make a deal" despite these efforts failing in September 2019, albeit after apparent progress had been achieved towards reaching an agreement.

US representatives resumed negotiations with the Taliban movement in Doha, Qatar on 7 December after a three-month halt, AFP reported, citing an anonymous source.

"The US rejoined talks today in Doha. The focus of discussion will be reduction of violence that leads to intra-Afghan negotiations and a ceasefire", the source said.

US officials have not commented on the AFP report.

The previous year-long negotiation efforts had seemingly reached a point of signing some sort of agreement that suggested the withdrawal of US forces after 18 years of war in Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban that the country won't become a haven for terrorist organisations. It could reportedly also have led to negotiations between the movement and the Afghan government in Kabul.
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No Entry

Barr meets with Mexican president who said: 'Foreigners cannot intrude' in our country


RT
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 19:09 UTC
BarrObrador
© Reuters/Presidency of Mexico
US AG William Barr meets with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City .
With the Trump administration considering declaring Mexican drug cartels terrorist organizations, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has insisted that he does not want US military intervention against them.

Mexico's drug cartels make billions of dollars per year on illegal drug sales in the US, and have been locked into a bloody conflict with the Mexican government for over a decade. The Mexican Drug War has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 2007, and the recent mass murder of nine Americans in an apparent ambush near the US border prompted President Donald Trump to offer Mexico help to wipe the cartels "off the face of the earth."

Obrador rejected Trump's offer, but the American president pressed ahead with plans to designate the cartels "foreign terrorist organizations." Though this designation is usually applied to hit foreign terror groups with sanctions, many observers feared it would bring the US one step closer to putting troops on Mexican soil.

Against this background, Obrador met with US Attorney General William Barr in Mexico City on Thursday. The Mexican leader hailed the meeting as productive, and told reporters on Friday that his government has "no confrontation" with the Trump administration.

Obrador pledged to cooperate with Washington on drugs, arms, and migration issues, but added that Mexico's constitution states that "foreigners cannot interlude in politics in our country. We can't have foreign forces on our territory for military ends," he said.

Comment: The drug cartels have power through violence and political manipulation. Trump threatens a seedy and dangerous arrangement with ties to the CIA, a key factor in keeping this notorious order alive and well-protected.

See also:

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Cheese

Just a bit rich: Biden claims paychecks don't matter, that jobs are 'about dignity'


RT
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 22:32 UTC
Biden
© Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden before an event in Elkader, Iowa, U.S., December 6, 2019.
Democrat hopeful Joe Biden says jobs aren't about the money, but his words rang hollow for critics who shot back with reminders about low wages and the former vice president's son getting a cushy gig at a Ukrainian oil company.

Biden's latest pitch to voters is that he will bring "dignity" back to the working middle class.

"A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about dignity. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say everything is going to be okay — and mean it. Too many people today can't do that," Biden tweeted on Friday.


Comment: Just like he told Hunter?


Comment: Never mind anything the Republicans might add in criticism of the Democratic leading candidate. Biden is completely self-defeating.

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Telephone

Hang it up already: White House claims Schiff has the wrong OMB number

Philip Wegmann
RealClear Politics
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
Schiff
© AP/Susan Walsh
Intel Committee Chair Adam Schiff
Who called Rudy Giuliani from the White House, and who took his calls in the administration? Those question have been buzzing around the White House after phone logs were released Wednesday detailing how President Trump's personal lawyer back-channeled diplomacy to Ukraine.

But the phone calls, a presidential spokesperson told RealClearPolitics, were not coming from inside the Office of Management and Budget: "No one from OMB has talked to Giuliani."

The House Intelligence Committee says otherwise.

In a voluminous report, the Democrat-led committee that took the lead in impeachment alleged in graphic detail how Giuliani worked with the administration to freeze $391 million in foreign aid to Ukraine to pressure the government of that country into publicly committing to opening an investigation into Joe Biden's family.

The report details phone calls and texts dating from last spring and summer, including a nearly 13-minute call on April 24 from an "OMB Phone Number." It is part of the evidence that Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff relied on to build his case for impeachment. Schiff said during a press conference after releasing the committee's impeachment report:
"This is not about Ukraine. This is about our democracy, this is about our security. Americans should care deeply about whether the president of the United States is betraying their trust in him."
Senior administration officials reply that no one is betraying any trust. They tell RCP that Schiff must have the wrong number. For his part, Giuliani has said publicly that he never placed a call to OMB, the agency responsible for how the White House spends money appropriated by Congress.
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Dollar

Giuliani met with Ukraine's Andrey Derkach: Burisma Holdings paid Joe Biden $900K for lobbying

Jim Hoft
Gateway Pundit
Thu, 05 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
GiulianiDerkach
© Courtesy Andrey Derkash
Trump attorney Rudi Giuliani • Ukraine lawmaker Andrey Derkach
In October Ukrainian Parliamentarian Andrey (Andriy) Derkach revealed in a press conference that Joe Biden was paid $900,000 for lobbying efforts from Burisma Holdings in Ukraine. This is the same organization that paid Hunter Biden over $50,000-83,000 a month to sit on their board in an obvious pay-for-play maneuver.

According to Derkach former Vice President Joe Biden was personally paid $900,000 for lobbying activities from Burisma Holdings.
Biden, Ukraine, Cash
© NABU Leaks
Presidential contender, former US VP Joe Biden and lobbying rewards from Burisma Holdings
Derkach publicized the documents at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency Wednesday as he said the records, "describe the mechanism of getting money by Biden Sr."

Comment: The longer it takes to flush out the corruption connections to the Bidens and US government, the more accumulated evidence the Democrats will have to publicly explain or refute. It is not in their interest to draw this out, but then again, they do not appear to be particularly bright.

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Brick Wall

If peace talks over eastern Ukraine fail, Zelensky aide offers 'Plan B': Build a wall and carry on living


RT
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:58 UTC
checkpoint Ukraine
© Global Look Press/ZUMAPRESS/Maxym Marusenko
A Ukrainian army checkpoint near Hnutove village
Ukraine will wall off its breakaway eastern regions if the upcoming Paris talks end up at an impasse, a presidential aide has suggested, and Israel looks set to become Kiev's wall-building role model, according to reports.

As leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine brace for the closely-watched 'Normandy Four' summit in Paris, the top Kiev official hinted at what his side has in mind, apart from diplomacy and political solutions.

"We will be building a wall and life will go on," Andriy Yermak, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, revealed at a security forum in London, according to the organizers and reporters present at the meeting.

"We do have friends and we'll be borrowing from their experience, first of all Israel," the official said, referring to the border fence erected along the West Bank border. Construction of the 708km-long (440 miles) wall was met with worldwide condemnation, and was considered unlawful by the UN's International Court of Justice.

Comment: There are two sides to a wall. Do 'walls make good neighbors' or do they function as an obstacle in coming together to solve the problems?

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Green Light

Trump fumes as World Bank greenlights new $1B+ loan to China


RT
Sat, 07 Dec 2019 02:07 UTC
Malpass/Li
© Reuters/Florence Lo
World Bank President David Malpass • Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
US President Donald Trump has seen red over a newly-adopted plan by the World Bank to loan China up to $1.3 billion annually through 2025. Trump said Beijing "has plenty of money," urging the bank to cancel the handout.

"Why is the World Bank loaning money to China? Can this be possible? China has plenty of money, and if they don't, they create it. STOP!" Trump tweeted Friday, taking aim at the decision by the financial body's board to approve a five-year plan to help China boost its private sector and foster fiscal reforms the day before.
The plan will see China take in between $1 billion and $1.3 billion each year until 2025, down from $1.8 billion, the average amount of low-interest loans Beijing had been given access to over the last five years.

It is envisaged that the figure would "gradually decline" over the next five-year period. Approving the measure, the World Bank stated, however, that the amount China would be entitled to receive "may fluctuate up and down from year to year" depending on how fast it accomplishes the goals stated in the plan.

Washington has been up in arms over the plan, and, though it can wield a veto on major decisions within the organization, it holds no sway over the Chinese lending scheme, as the move was not decided by a formal vote. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has argued that China does not require any outside financial aid, insisting it is wealthy enough to lend money to poorer countries and propel its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
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House

White House: Moscow's UN envoy jokes 'Where's the 'Russia room'?


RT
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 08:19 UTC
WH luncheon
© AFP/Mandel Ngan
US President Donald Trump in a luncheon with the UN Security Council permanent representatives, Cabinet Room of the White House, December 5, 2019.
Moscow's envoy to the UN joked to Donald Trump about the White House's interior after touring the US president's residence. The two also discussed the ongoing visa dispute.

Vasily Nebenzya was given a tour of the White House on Thursday as part of a reception hosted by the president to mark the start of the US' rotating tenure as chair of the UN Security Council. The Russian diplomat thanked Trump for his hospitality, but had one cheeky criticism of the White House.

"We saw the China Room, but we didn't see the Russia Room yet," Nebenzya told the US leader, adding that perhaps it was a "top secret" area in the residence.

Not missing a beat, Trump replied: "Oh, well, we'll have to take care of it."


Comment: If created, the Russian Room would likely be 'A Room Without a View'.

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Arrow Down

N. Korean envoy at the UN: Denuclearization is 'already off the table' in talks with the US


RT
Sat, 07 Dec 2019 16:19 UTC
TrumpKim
© aexpress.co.uk
US President Donald Trump • North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un
North Korea's ambassador to the UN has rejected Washington's call for "sustained and substantial dialogue," saying that the denuclearization sought by the Trump administration is already "gone out (sic) of the negotiating table."

"We do not need to have lengthy talks with the US now and denuclearization is already gone out of the [sic] negotiating table," ambassador Kim Song said in a statement on Saturday. Song added that the Trump administration's calls for dialogue are a "time-saving trick" to push the denuclearization issue past next year's election.

As Song released Pyongyang's latest statement, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a telephone discussion, brainstorming ways to restart diplomacy with North Korea.

Pyongyang has given the United States a year-end deadline to abandon its demand for unilateral denuclearization, lest leader Kim Jong-un choose a "new approach."

Comment: See also:

North Korea's tidings, as talks deadline nears: 'It's up to the US what Christmas gift it gets'

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Star of David

Columnist Tom Friedman condemns Iran for shooting protesters; but 'easy' to defend Israel for the same

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Fri, 06 Dec 2019 00:00 UTC
TomFriedman
© screen shot/Jewish Broadcasting Service
Tom Friedman at Temple Emanu-El in New York in September 2019
In a New York Times column three days ago, Tom Friedman embraced the protesters across the Middle East as a sign of democratization. He slams the "bad guys" in Iran for shooting protesters. He writes:
"These movements are authentic and inspiring, but their chances of taking power remain remote, largely because their biggest opponent — the Islamic republic of Iran — is ready to arrest and kill as many democracy demonstrators as needed to retain its grip on Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, not to mention at home. Iran's clerical regime has emerged as arguably the biggest enemy of pluralistic democracy in the region today...

"Iran has used its Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Syria and its Popular Mobilization Forces militia in Iraq to try to snuff out all their bottom-up secular democratic movements — while also crushing the biggest secular-democracy uprising in Iran itself in 40 years."
Amnesty International says that Iran has killed at least 208 demonstrators since it began cracking down November 15.

The numbers are not much better from Israel's violent response to the Gaza protests over the last 20 months. Human rights agencies have characterized Israel's live-fire policy as a violation of humanitarian law. The United Nations found last March that Israel killed 183 civilians who posed no threat to Israel and wounded another 6000 people. Amnesty International said Israel was pursuing a deliberate policy of maiming civilians, causing untold physical and psychological damage, and called for a world-wide arms embargo on Israel. The casualties have included journalists and paramedics.

Comment: As in the case with Iran, there are no 'bottom-up democratic movements' without the ways, means and impetus from certain Western governments, NGOs and affiliated meddlers to instigate conflict benefitting their own political and geopolitical interests.

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