Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Netanyahu gets VIP treatment from Trump after years of frosty relations with Obama
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu greeted one another warmly Monday at the White House, touting
U.S.-Israeli relations as “the best” they have ever been, in a sharp
departure from the famously strained relations the Jewish State’s leader
had with former President Barack Obama.
Trump hosted Netanyahu in the Oval
Office in what was their first meeting since the U.S. announced its
commitment to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“We have the best relationship right now with Israel that we’ve ever had,” Trump said.“We have the best relationship right now with Israel that we’ve ever had."
During President Obama's two terms, he and Netanyahu had a tense relationship characterized by stiff body language and terse remarks when they met before the press. Obama's White House even sent out a press photo of the then-commander-in-chief on the Oval Office phone with Netanyahu in September, 2013, with his feet on the desk in what some saw as an intentional show of disrespect.
The Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz fumed over the image.
“The president is seen with his legs up on the table, his face stern and his fist clenched, as though he were dictating to Netanyahu,” Ha'aretz wrote. “As an enthusiast of Muslim culture, Obama surely knows there is no greater insult in the Middle East than pointing the soles of one’s shoes at another person. Indeed, photos of other presidential phone calls depict Obama leaning on his desk, with his feet on the floor.”
Trump and Netanyahu’s friendship is a major shift from the chilly relations between the Israeli prime minister and Obama – who was even accused of helping to fund opposition to oust Netanyahu during his re-election bid in 2015.
The relationship was further strained during the Obama administration’s decision to move forward with the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu and Obama also were at odds towards the end of the Obama administration—when the U.S. allowed for the passage of a resolution condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank.
On Monday, Trump noted his intent to attend the opening of the embassy at the newly-recognized capital in mid-May. “Israel is very special to me—special country, special people, and I look forward to being there.”
“What better to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians,” Trump said, noting the embassy move gives “a real opportunity for peace.” “We’ll see how it works out. The Palestinians are wanting to come back to the table. Very badly.”
Trump added: “If they don’t, you don’t have peace. And that’s a possibility also.”
Netanyahu praised Trump's “leadership and friendship,” noting that “under your leadership, [U.S.-Israeli relations] have never been stronger.”
Neither addressed the swirling corruption scandal engulfing Netanyahu's administration, or the ongoing Russia probe that has hindered Trump's time in the White House.
Cal Thomas: Trump boldly wades into cutting federal government down to size -- will it work?
President Donald Trump gestures as he walks as he leaves the White House, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, in Washington. |
Of all the promises candidate Donald Trump made
during the 2016 presidential campaign, none will be more difficult to
fulfill than cutting the size and cost of the federal government. That’s
because Congress, which must decide whether to keep a federal agency,
has the final word in such matters and spending – especially spending in
one’s home state or district – is what keeps so many of them in office.
Who doubts that self-preservation is the primary objective of most
members of Congress?
Ronald Reagan made similar promises
about reducing the size of the bloated federal government, but was
unable to fulfill them because of congressional intransigence. Perhaps
his most notable failure was attempting to eliminate the Department of Education, an unnecessary Cabinet-level agency created by Jimmy Carter,
reportedly as the fulfillment of a campaign promise to the National
Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United
States, which backed him in the 1976 and 1980 elections. This pithy statement
by Reagan got to the heart of the issue: “No government ever
voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched,
never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to
eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!”
President Trump has asked every federal agency to
submit a reorganization plan to the White House. Some programs, like the
U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Biological Survey Unit
(BSU), are decades old. The BSU was established in 1885, and among its
tasks is the preservation of the whooping crane. Last I checked those
birds seemed to be doing OK, but why is this, along with so many other
things, a responsibility of the federal government?Reorganization of these outmoded and unnecessary programs and agencies should not be the goal. Elimination should be the goal. Unless they are killed off, the risk of their return is likely.
What’s needed is a strategy that shames Congress, which sometimes seems beyond shame, for misspending the people’s money. What will help in that shaming is for the president to establish an independent commission made up of retired Republicans, Democrats and average citizens. This commission would conduct a top-to-bottom audit of the federal government and present its findings to Congress, while simultaneously releasing them to the public, which would then apply pressure on Congress to adopt them.
The commission would be modeled after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) of the ’80s, which eliminated military bases that were no longer needed for the defense of the country. Some members of Congress complained about BRAC, but in the end they could not justify maintaining the bases.Congressional budget-cutters spared the $440,000 spent annually to have attendants push buttons on the fully automated Capitol Hill elevators used by representatives and senators.
The president might want to start with some of these ridiculous programs recently highlighted by Thomas A. Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission it is “to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in government.”
“Without authorization,” notes Schatz, “the feds spent $19.6 million annually on the International Fund for Ireland. Sounds like a noble cause, but the money went for projects like pony-trekking centers and golf videos.
“Congressional budget-cutters spared the $440,000 spent annually to have attendants push buttons on the fully automated Capitol Hill elevators used by representatives and senators.
“Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities spent $4.2 million to conduct a nebulous ‘National Conversation on Pluralism and Identity.’ Obviously, talk radio wasn’t considered good enough.
“The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency channeled some $11 million to psychics who might provide special insights about various foreign threats. This was the disappointing ‘Stargate’ program.”
The list goes on and on. Go to cagw.org, read all about it and remember it’s our money paying for these boondoggles (definition: “a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation”) that helps keep our free-spending career politicians in office where they get benefits the rest of us can only dream about.
Yes, entitlements are the main drivers of debt and they, too, need reform. But starting with programs most people would find outrageous and worthy of elimination is a good way to build confidence and make the tackling of entitlements more palatable.
Cal Thomas is America's most widely syndicated op-ed columnist. His latest book is "What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America". Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.
Trump: Obama DOJ launched 'unprecedented' probe to 'discredit' him 'so Crooked H would win'
President Trump on Monday accused the
Department of Justice and FBI under former President Barack Obama of
launching an investigation into his campaign in an effort to “discredit”
him and help Democrat Hillary Clinton win the presidency, calling those
efforts “unprecedented” and “bigger than Watergate.”
“Why did the Obama Administration
start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of
wrongdoing) long before the Election in November?” Trump asked. “Wanted
to discredit so Crooked H would win.”
Trump tweeted: “Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling.”Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating ties between the Trump campaign and the Russians during the 2016 election. Trump has repeatedly said there is “no collusion” and has accused top officials at the Justice Department of being politically biased against him.
It’s since been revealed that during the campaign, the FBI began probing Trump campaign aides, including Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.
According to the recently released memo from House Intelligence Committee Republicans, the Justice Department and the FBI “sought and received” a probable cause order authorizing “electronic surveillance” of Page, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser.
The memo asserts the infamous, anti-Trump dossier was critical in obtaining the Page warrant.
The FBI also began investigating Trump campaign adviser Papadopoulos’ relationships with Russians in 2016. Papadopoulos in October pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents about his contacts with people close to the Russian government, but has not been charged with anything else.
The court filings say the 30-year-old Papadopoulos was not truthful during a FBI interview just days after the president’s inauguration in January 2017 about his relationship with an “overseas professor” who had “substantial connections to Russian government officials.”
The professor, according to prosecutors, told Papadopoulos the Russians had “dirt” on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.”
TRUMP QUESTIONS WHY SESSIONS ISN’T PROBING ‘DEM CRIMES’ AMID RUSSIA INVESTIGATION
Frustrated over the investigation, the president also been dinging his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recently asking on Twitter why the Democrats in the Obama administration aren’t being investigated as part of the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation?” Trump tweeted.
Trump added: “Why didn’t Obama do something about the meddling? Why aren’t Dem crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!”
F-35 aboard Navy ship in Pacific as US touts new era of ‘up-gunned’ air-sea capability
A F-35B aircraft landed on the
amphibious assault ship USS Wasp for the first time in the Indo-Pacific
for the first time on Monday.
(Reuters)
An F-35B Lighting II—which has been
called a ‘beastly airplane—landed Sunday on an amphibious assault ship
at an undisclosed location in the Pacific, an event the Navy touted as a
new era of “up-gunned” air-sea capability, Stars and Stripes reported.
The F-35B was assigned to the 31st
Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, Japan, and will provide
support to Navy-Marine Corps expeditionary operations and help
strengthen alliances in the region, the Navy Times reported citing a press release.
It is unclear how many F-35s were deployed and it comes
amid continued tension in the area. The North Korean nuclear situation
remains unstable and China continues work to extend into the South China
Sea.“Pairing F-35B Lightning IIs with the Wasp represents one of the most significant leaps in war-fighting capability for the Navy-Marine Corps team in our lifetime,” Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 7, said in a statement.
The Wasp is on a routine patrol in the Indo-Pacific where it will be joined by two destroyers to assist on operations and training, the paper reported.
The aircraft can conduct strikes inland, support Marines ashore and provide air defense for the Expeditionary Strike Group.
The F-35 lightning II is the world's first fifth-generation fighter jet. It has extraordinary stealth capabilities that will allow the aircraft to fly deep into enemy airspace without detection. The F-35s harness a massive Pratt and Whitney engine to deliver astonishing fighter speeds of approximately 1,200 mph.
One test pilot said it is a “beastly airplane.”
The F-35 has had its share of setbacks, but the AP once described its maneuvers: The stealth jet has “a maneuverability so catlike it can turn corners so sharp that it seems to carve squares in the sky.”
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