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Uncomfortable questions about that FBI 'source'

Kimberley A. Strassel
The Wall Street Journal
Thu, 10 May 2018 17:12 UTC
Nunes
© Joshua Roberts/Reuters
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Feb. 24 at National Harbor, Md.
The Department of Justice lost its latest battle with Congress Thursday when it allowed House Intelligence Committee members to view classified documents about a top-secret intelligence source that was part of the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign. Even without official confirmation of that source's name, the news so far holds some stunning implications.

Among them is that the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation outright hid critical information from a congressional investigation. In a Thursday press conference, Speaker Paul Ryan bluntly noted that Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes's request for details on this secret source was "wholly appropriate," "completely within the scope" of the committee's long-running FBI investigation, and "something that probably should have been answered a while ago." Translation: The department knew full well it should have turned this material over to congressional investigators last year, but instead deliberately concealed it.
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Star of David

By wrecking Iran deal, Trump put US Israeli lobby in the front and center of public attention

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Wed, 09 May 2018 16:49 UTC
netanyahu trump
It almost goes without saying that yesterday was one of the most depressing days in memory. Here was a massive fragile edifice of recent history, the Iran deal, that had seemed to almost all of us such a great step forward, a labor of statesmanship by so many diverse figures around the globe working together to advance cross-cultural respect and comity, and Trump took a dufus's sledge hammer to it. You could hear fear in anchors' voices: suddenly the world was less safe.

If there was one bright spot in the day, it was the almost universal anger and anguish that followed Trump's speech, and the determination to try and undo his action by any means the rest of us can. Even the neoconservatives who have pushed this action seemed afraid of what it meant. Even Chuck Schumer, who had opposed his own president on the Iran deal three years ago because of the "threat to Israel", was against Trump.
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Arrow Up

'Are we America's vassals?' Germany trying to 'minimize' damage, France wants exemptions


RT
Fri, 11 May 2018 18:39 UTC
German and Iranian flag
© Ralph Peters / Global Look Press
Germany is set to help its businesses minimize the impact of the US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, while France has sought exemptions for companies operating in Iran, according to the countries' economy ministers

"We are ready to talk to all the companies concerned about what we can do to minimize the negative consequences,"Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio. "That means it is concretely about damage limitation."

Berlin doesn't reportedly have any immediate reason to make changes in its export credit guarantee scheme for Iran. Altmaier has called to discuss the ways to avoid negative impact on German labor market after US withdrawal.

Comment: On the heels of Trump's withdrawal from the Iran deal, France's economy minister has urged Europe to stop acting like "US vassals" and continue trading with Tehran in defiance of what "the global economic policeman" has in store.
"Do we want to be vassals who obey decisions taken by the United States while clinging to the hem of their trousers?"Bruno le Maire asked in an emotional interview with Europe 1.

"Do we want the United States to be the economic policeman of the planet? Or do we Europeans say that we have economic interests, we want to continue to trade with Iran as part of a strategic agreement?" he asked, adding: "It's time for all European states to open their eyes."


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Smiley

Israeli FM Lieberman whines: "Hezbollah has taken over Lebanon"


Sputnik
Thu, 10 May 2018 15:35 UTC
lieberman
© AP Photo / Markus Schreiber
"I can assure you, I have no soul"
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned on Thursday that Lebanon is now under Hezbollah's "complete control," The Times of Israel reported.

His remark came after Hezbollah's success in the Lebanese parliamentary elections earlier this week.

According to Lieberman, the outcome of the vote had led to a dangerous situation on the country's northern border, where Lebanese servicemen "take direct orders from Hezbollah and [its leader, Hassan] Nasrallah."

"Hezbollah has in practice completed its takeover of Lebanon," Lieberman was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"And that means it is in complete control not just of the Lebanese [government], but also its army. From now on a Lebanese sniper is a Hezbollah stand-in and takes direct orders from Hezbollah and Nasrallah. And that is a new reality," he said.

Comment: And that, dear friends, is cause for celebration. The former rag-tag defenders of Lebanese sovereignty, who defeated mighty Chosen Israel, have all grown up and now have political power in proportion to their popular support. And Lieberman cried "Waa waa waa" all the way home.

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MIB

Ex-CIA officer speaks out: Brennan's attacks on Trump 'cringe-worthy,' put national security at risk

Guy Taylor
The Washington Times
Mon, 07 May 2018 16:02 UTC
John Brennan CIA
© Associated Press/J. Scott Applewhite/File
Then-CIA Director John Brennan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 16, 2016, before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the Islamic State.
Daniel Hoffman says the former intel chief is aiding a Russian plot to deepen America's partisan divide

A behind-the-scenes U.S. intelligence community fight over the merits of publicly scorning PresidentTrump has burst into the open recently, with the CIA's former Moscow station chief accusing Obama-era spymaster John O. Brennan of crossing a red line through incessant Twitter and cable news excoriations of the current commander in chief.

In addition to claiming that Mr. Brennan is aiding a Kremlin plot to deepen America's partisan divide, former CIA Clandestine Service Officer Daniel Hoffman says the former CIA director has actually jeopardized national security by publicly insinuating that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be blackmailing Mr. Trump.

Mr. Brennan made the insinuation in late-March when he asserted during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe that Mr. Trump is "afraid of the president of Russia" and that "one can speculate as to why."
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Quenelle

Trump mocks New York Times as he welcomes American hostages home from North Korea


The Daily Caller
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:48 UTC
Trump pompeo north korea hostages
© Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks upon the return of US detainees Tony Kim (front L), Kim Hak-song (R) and Kim Dong-chul (3rd R) after they were released by North Korea, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on May 10, 2018.
While welcoming three American hostages who had been held in North Korea, President Donald Trump managed to get in a dig at the New York Times.

Trump spoke briefly to reporters on the tarmac, calling it a "great honor" to welcome the hostages home. The remarks were positive and lighthearted except for a moment when a reporter asked about the new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

The Times ran a story Tuesday with the headline, "At a Key Moment, Trumps Top Diplomat Is Again Thousands of Miles Away," before it was revealed that he was negotiating the release of the hostages.

Comment: Those three sure don't look/sound American. Going by their 'polished bios', they're probably defectors who agreed to work as US spies in North Korea.

Further reading: WaPo Outraged That Trump Lies About Everything That Doesn't Matter

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Info

Ditching the Iran Deal forced Europe to break with US foreign policy


Sputnik
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:48 UTC
tehran rouhani
© official website of Iranian Presidency office
On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was leaving the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and promised to re-instate the toughest economic sanctions against Iran in response to Tehran's alleged continued work on its military nuclear program. Ramin Mazaheri, PressTV's chief correspondent in Paris, comments on the news.
Sputnik: Despite numerous pleas not to withdraw from the deal, President Trump did it anyway. Why has he taken this step? Was it to be expected?
Ramin Mazaheri: Was it to be expected? I certainly did. History shows that America has a very strict policy of not keeping its policies. We can look at North Korea: they made major steps towards dismantling their nuclear project during their previous leader's era. The video of them blowing up the cooling tower to officially shut their nuclear plant is a famous image many will remember.
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Newspaper

'He's dying anyway': White House staffer slammed for comment on McCain


Sputnik
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:56 UTC
McCain
© AP Photo / Evan Vucci
A White House staffer made an insensitive remark about GOP Senator John McCain, who was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer last year, while addressing his opposition to the CIA chief nominee.

John McCain's wife Cindy took to Twitter to strike back at Kelly Sadler, a special assistant to US President Donald Trump, who allegedly claimed that the senator's opinion on CIA director nominee Gina Haspel was irrelevant because "he's dying anyway." The purported incident happened during an internal meeting at the White House, and was reported by an attendee speaking on condition of anonymity.
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Newspaper

Lavrov: Moscow worried by attempts to downplay Palestinian issue


Sputnik
Fri, 11 May 2018 10:50 UTC
Jerusalem
© CCO
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow is worried about the state of the settlement between Palestinians and Israelis, as the US decision on Jerusalem has led it to deadlock.

Moscow would like to see a more active role for the Middle East quartet of mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, according to the Russian foreign minister.
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Russian Flag

Putin's new presidential cabinet prepared for Cold War 2.0 against West and increased Eurasian integration

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Fri, 04 May 2018 08:29 UTC
putin
© AFP / Yuri Kochetkov
Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) inspects the road section of the road-and-rail Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait on March 14, 2018
Immediately after his official inauguration on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to announce a new government. And a bombshell is in the making. The new cabinet is bound to be a Stavka: that is, a war cabinet.

In the context of the interminable Russiagate saga, increasingly harsh US sanctions, the Skripal charade (which, incidentally, has totally disappeared from the Western news cycle), and the serious escalation in Syria - in contrast to the Russia-Iran-Turkey attempt at a peace process in Astana - that's an all but inevitable option chosen by the Kremlin.

As early as four years ago former military officer Yevgeny Krutikov, a columnist for Vzglyad, exposed what constituted Russian red lines for the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Ukraine, Georgia, Finland, Sweden, "unfriendly actions of Lithuania and Poland" against the Kaliningrad enclave and navigation in the Baltic, and last but not least, the Arctic, "almost the ideal of all available bases for launching a first strike, both by nuclear weapons and high-precision, strategic non-nuclear arms."
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