Thursday Morning Briefing: Trump takes on Islam, Iran and Australia

[JaDed]

By Derek Caney

The Trump administration wants to rename a government program designed to counter all violent ideologies to focus solely on Islamist extremism. The program, "Countering Violent Extremism," would be changed to "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.

Trump is also continuing his pugnacious campaign style into diplomacy. During a phone call with President Trump, Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tried to confirm a deal made by the Obama administration, in which the U.S. would take in 1,250 refugees from Australian detention centers, according to the Washington Post. Trump balked at the deal and boasted about his margin of victory in the election. Then he took to Twitter to complain about the "dumb deal." The detention centers in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, paid for by Australia, have been denounced by human rights groups for their harsh conditions, including reports of corruption, sexual abuse of children, violence and suicide.


Trump also said the U.S. is putting Iran "on notice" for test-firing a ballistic missile. While the exact implications of the U.S. threat were unclear, the new administration signaled that Trump intended to do more, possibly including imposing new sanctions, to curb what he sees as defiance of a nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 by the Obama administration. The tough talk commits the administration to back up its rhetoric with action, which could cast doubt on the future of the Iran agreement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-newsnow-australia-idUSKBN15H13I

 

[Syed1]

Trump is not in the mood of making any friends. I give him a year or two tops in the office before he is impeached.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Good to see Australia included among that lot in Trump's sights. They've flown under the radar too long on account of being on the other side of the world where no one was taking much notice of what was going on there.

 

[Pollack]

Trump is thug life

 

[Gilly]

Good to see Australia included among that lot in Trump's sights. They've flown under the radar too long on account of being on the other side of the world where no one was taking much notice of what was going on there.

Whats going on there?

 

[Thivagar]

Trump is not in the mood of making any friends. I give him a year or two tops in the office before he is impeached.

He will not be impeached. He may even win it again if Democrats don't have a strong leader for the next election and Bernie will be too old to have energy to go campaigns by then. What Trump is doing is pretty shocking for a US president but down the road people will get used to his attitude and say "well he is like that". He is not a total nut job, he'll make sure he has achievements to boast when the next election is around. He may even tone down on his absurd behavior. If he actually does improve America, people are going to see beyond his anti-islam views which most of Americans can't connect to.

 

[Yossarian]

He will not be impeached. He may even win it again if Democrats don't have a strong leader for the next election and Bernie will be too old to have energy to go campaigns by then. What Trump is doing is pretty shocking for a US president but down the road people will get used to his attitude and say "well he is like that". He is not a total nut job, he'll make sure he has achievements to boast when the next election is around. He may even tone down on his absurd behavior. If he actually does improve America, people are going to see beyond his anti-islam views which most of Americans can't connect to.

Or, as there's a good chance of him doing so, he starts a major conflict or two (say with China over Taiwan or over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Chinese military bases on the disputed islands) thereby plunging the world into an economic mess.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He will not be impeached. He may even win it again if Democrats don't have a strong leader for the next election and Bernie will be too old to have energy to go campaigns by then. What Trump is doing is pretty shocking for a US president but down the road people will get used to his attitude and say "well he is like that". He is not a total nut job, he'll make sure he has achievements to boast when the next election is around. He may even tone down on his absurd behavior. If he actually does improve America, people are going to see beyond his anti-islam views which most of Americans can't connect to.

My goodness, I never thought he was spouting his anti-Islam views to make himself LESS popular with the American people. That's a revelation, I will have to ponder that for a while. Anyway, maybe you are right, once America withdraws from world trade and starts manufacturing for the home market only, perhaps their economy will boom.

 

[Haroon786]

U.S. ties with staunch ally Australia became strained on Thursday after details about an acrimonious phone call between its leaders emerged and U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement was "dumb."

During a 25-minute phone call last Saturday with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump accused Australia of trying to export the "next Boston bombers" under the agreement, the Washington Post reported.

The Post, which cited unidentified senior U.S. officials, said that Trump abruptly ended the call and told Turnbull that it was the "worst call by far" he'd had with a foreign leader.

The description of the call and a subsequent tweet from Trump promising to study what he called a "dumb deal" caused concern among lawmakers from Republican and Democratic parties.

"We always have reason to be concerned with respect to anytime our relationship with an ally might go sour. My hope is that it won't," Republican Senator Mike Lee told CNN.

"My hope is that we can achieve whatever objectives the president's willing to pursue in a way that won't damage the trade relationship or won't damage other aspects of our relationship," Lee said.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, urged Trump to apologize, while Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he called Australia's U.S. ambassador to express his support.

During former President Barack Obama's administration, the United States agreed to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

The rift between Washington and Canberra that has developed over the resettlement deal could have serious repercussions. Australia and the United States are among five nations that make up the Five Eyes group, the world's leading intelligence-sharing network.

Later on Thursday, Trump told reporters at the White House he would "respect" the refugee agreement with Australia.

But Trump made it clear he was not pleased, saying it was an example of countries taking advantage of the United States.

"Why are we doing this, what's the purpose? So, we'll see what happens," Trump said.

REFUGEES AT ISSUE

The call between Trump and Turnbull came at the end of a day of widespread protests and confusion over Trump's order for a 120-day halt of the U.S. refugee program and a 90-day suspension on visits from people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Many of the people being held in the Australian detention centers, which have drawn harsh criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups, fled violence in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump was "unbelievably disappointed" and "extremely, extremely upset" with the deal, but said it would go ahead.

Spicer said all refugees presented to the United States would be subject to "extreme vetting" to ensure they do not pose security risks.

Turnbull told reporters he was surprised and disappointed that details of the call with Trump had been leaked but gave few particulars other than to deny reports Trump had hung up on him.

"As far as the call is concerned, the report that the president hung up is not correct. The call ended courteously. And as far as the nature of the discussion, it was very frank and forthright," he told a Sydney radio station on Thursday.


UNPRECEDENTED ACRIMONY

Political analysts said the acrimony between the two countries was unprecedented, surpassing even the difficult relations between former U.S. President Richard Nixon and then-Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, who withdrew the country's troops during the Vietnam War.

"Even that was always done in the language of foreign policy niceties," said Harry Phillips, a political analyst of 40 years experience at Edith Cowan and Curtin universities in Perth.

Australia, New Zealand and the United States have been allies under a formal security treaty since 1951. They co-operate on military matters in the Pacific region, although today the treaty is taken to relate to conflicts worldwide.

The United States plans to send extra military aircraft to Australia's tropical north this year as part of a U.S. Marines deployment that will bolster its military presence close to the disputed South China Sea.

Australia is also one of 10 U.S. allies purchasing Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jet program.

(Additional reporting by Eric Walsh, Susan Heavey and Ayesha Rascoe in Washington and Colin Packham in Sydney; Writing by Jane Wardell and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Paul Tait, Jeffrey Benkoe and Grant McCool)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-australia-idUSKBN15H09T

 

[Syed1]

I would love it if the world turns against the US because of Mr. Trump. The world has had enough of the US's hegemony.

 

[Saeed]

You forgot to add Mexico to the list. He threatened them too, promised to send troops to take care of bad hombres. This guy will get America in a yuge trouble.

 

[troodon]

Lots of closet racists out in full flow in USA these days. They dare not say anything in public. But on online News sites, they show their ugly faces.

Looks like all of America's financial problems are due to Mexicans and Indians. It seems to be the new Mantra of Americans working for minimum wages.

 

[Thivagar]

Or, as there's a good chance of him doing so, he starts a major conflict or two (say with China over Taiwan or over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea and Chinese military bases on the disputed islands) thereby plunging the world into an economic mess.

My goodness, I never thought he was spouting his anti-Islam views to make himself LESS popular with the American people. That's a revelation, I will have to ponder that for a while. Anyway, maybe you are right, once America withdraws from world trade and starts manufacturing for the home market only, perhaps their economy will boom.

The US election had only about 50% turn out, the biggest reason for this was because Bernie tormented Hillary apart during the Democratic nomination. Majority of the youths voters and voters that were too young aka the "internet generation" had watched too much videos online of Hillary and her "crookedness". The "Bernie or bust" movement didn't help her either. There were lot of rules that prevented many newly interested youth voters from voting for Bernie. By the time the presidential election came Hillary was on the low. She simply didn't have enough votes to win and that doesn't mean Trump is popular. He is a good marketer, whatever he does he will sell it to the public better. George Bush Sr did more for the black community than Obama ever did but he will never get the recognition.

Trump won't start a major conflict, that is bad for US. He knows that too well.