Republicans fume over ex-Gitmo inmate’s Taliban outreach, WH says no regrets

Outraged Republicans pointed to claims that one of five former Guantanamo prisoners traded for American Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl tried to contact the Taliban as further evidence that the Obama administration made a "bad deal." 
The White House and Pentagon, once again, on Friday defended the terms of that trade and insisted that all five former detainees are in Qatar and accounted for -- and have not returned to the battlefield. 
Asked if the Obama administration has any regrets over the Bergdahl-Taliban trade, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said: "Of course not." He said they made the swap last year based on the principle that nobody in uniform "is left behind." 
But Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., in an interview with Fox News, raised concerns that the five freed fighters might indeed be planning to return to the battlefield in the coming months, particularly after strict monitoring in Qatar is over. 
"What happens then?" Ayotte asked. "Never mind that they're already attempting to re-engage and obviously making communications to do so." 
She said: "I think this was a bad deal." 
The senator pushed anew for legislation she has crafted that would suspend transfers of detainees assessed to be high- or medium-risk. 
On Thursday, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that one of the five Taliban prisoners traded last year for Bergdahl had been intercepted making phone calls to the Taliban. Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby went further Friday, saying "at least one" was involved in "potential re-engagement." 
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, urged Obama to halt the transfers out of Guantanamo in response. "How many wake-up calls does the president need? These actions are putting American lives at risk," he said in a statement Thursday. 
Earnest said Friday the monitoring efforts for the so-called Taliban 5 "have been updated" to reflect concerns about their contacts with terror groups. 
He said the administration remains confident the measures in place to keep watch over those five former detainees "substantially mitigate" the threat they pose to U.S. security. He said all are in Qatar and being monitored, and none has engaged in any "physical violence." 
"None of these individuals has returned to the battlefield," Earnest said. 
Kirby also said Friday the U.S. is still confident those five detainees pose minimal risks as they remain under supervision in Qatar. 
"We remain confident, as we were when we sent them there, that the assurances we've received are sufficient enough to help us mitigate any future threat that these individuals might pose," Kirby said. 
Amid the debate over the former detainees, the Taliban flexed their muscle again on Thursday in Afghanistan, just weeks after the end of the U.S. combat mission. 
On Thursday evening, an attacker infiltrated a military base at Kabul's international airport, killing three American contractors. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility. Though the Pentagon is not confirming who was responsible, a spokesman said Friday the attacker was in an Afghan uniform and was subsequently killed. 
Kirby said it's a "tragic and grim reminder that Afghanistan still remains a dangerous place in many ways." 
The White House this week, meanwhile, took pains to avoid calling the Taliban a terrorist organization, at first labeling them an "armed insurgency" before acknowledging that they are on a formal listing of terror groups. 
While the Taliban is not listed on the State Department list of foreign terrorist organizations, it is on the Treasury Department's list of "specially designated global terrorist," dating back to a 2002 executive order. Earnest acknowledged Thursday that they "do carry out tactics that are akin to terrorism, they do pursue terror attacks in an effort to try to advance their agenda." However, he said they are not like Al Qaeda in that they don't have "aspirations that extend beyond just the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan." 
Kirby claimed Friday that the White House was not trying to say the Taliban are not terrorists. He, too, offered a nuanced explanation. 
"In fact, I think my colleague and the White House made it clear that they use terror tactics to some degree to exert their influence," Kirby said. "They are not designated a foreign terrorist organization and for purposes of the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan they are considered an armed insurgency, but nobody is discounting the kind of violence that they're capable of and remain capable of." 
According to the United Nations, at least 3,188 Afghan civilians were killed in the war in 2014 -- at least three-quarters of them by the Taliban. It was the deadliest year on record for non-combatants, according to the U.N. 
The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan has officially ended, but 10,000 U.S. soldiers and military contractors still remain in the country, mostly in advisory and security roles. 
At Guantanamo, 122 prisoners remain at the detention camp, with 35 of them recommended for indefinite detention. The Obama administration has been looking to close the prison, with dozens of prisoners who have not been charged set for release once a county agrees to take them.

Michelle Obama defends 'American Sniper' at veterans event

First lady Michelle Obama urged Hollywood to give a more accurate portrayal of veterans and defended the Oscar-nominated "American Sniper," which has received criticism for its depiction of war.
Bradley Cooper, who is nominated for best actor for his portrayal of the late Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, joined Obama and media heavyweights in Washington, D.C., on Friday to launch "6 Certified" with representatives from Warner Bros., National Geographic Channels and the Producers Guild of America.
The initiative will allow TV shows and films to display an onscreen badge that tells viewers the show they're watching has been certified by the group Got Your 6, which derives its name from military slang for "I've got your back." To be approved, the film or show must cast a veteran, tell a veteran story, have a story written by a veteran or use veterans as resources.
"We hope our country will welcome back our veterans — not by setting them apart but by fully integrating them into the fabric of our communities," Mrs. Obama said.
Mrs. Obama also came to the defense of "American Sniper" — about Kyle, considered the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. It has become a box-office sensation and has strong supporters but has also weathered a growing storm of criticism that the film glorifies murder and serves as war propaganda.
"While I know there have been critics, I felt that, more often than not, this film touches on many of the emotions and experiences that I've heard firsthand from military families over these past few years," she said.
Chris Marvin, managing director of Got Your 6 and a former U.S. Army officer and Blackhawk helicopter pilot, said their campaign isn't hoping to show veterans in a good light but in an honest one.
"Most Americans tell us that they only see veterans portrayed as broken or as heroes who walk on water in film and television," he said by phone. "We're missing something in the middle. Veterans are everyday people.
"They're your next door neighbor who helps you bring your garbage cans back when they blow away. They're your kids' fifth-grade math teacher. It's the person running for city council," he added. "You see them every day in your own life but you don't see them on film or television."
The Got Your 6 group was launched in 2012 to enlist Hollywood in the effort to discourage stereotypes and promote more accurate representation of the 2.6 million soldiers coming home over the past 10 years.
Surveys have found that many Americans presume veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, are homeless or are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
The group has taken lessons from other successful efforts to change national viewpoints, including increasing gay rights, reducing teen pregnancies, encouraging colonoscopies, improving animal rights and reducing drunken driving. It has identified Hollywood as an engine of cultural change.
"This is more of a challenge than anything else. We're challenging the entertainment industry — myself included — to live up to the responsibilities inherent in the powers we have and with the reach that we have," said Charlie Ebersol, a producer and creator of the "6 Certified" program.
Ebersol said films like 1987's "Full Metal Jacket" by Stanley Kubrick and Clint Eastwood's new "American Sniper" would likely be eligible for certification because they portray veterans accurately, even if the soldiers in those films aren't representative of the population of veterans.
Mrs. Obama cited TV shows including "Nashville" and "Doc McStuffins" as ones that share stories of "our veterans in new and meaningful ways." She said telling veterans' stories honestly makes for "tremendous TV and movies" and "are good for business as well."
Ebersol had his own list of shows with positive veteran portrayals, including the Jay Pritchett character in "Modern Family," Sam Waterston's portrayal of veteran Charlie Skinner on "The Newsroom" and Seth Rogen's guest role as a veteran on "The Mindy Project." In all them, being a veteran wasn't their defining characteristic.
"We have a real opportunity to go way beyond the platitudes of the entertainment industry. We love to say, 'I support the troops!' and 'I've got a yellow ribbon!' but there's an actual, tangible way to make a difference. That's what the challenge is here."

Saudi Arabia faces ISIS threats during transition of new king

ISIS recruits from Saudi Arabia have their sights set on seizing their oil-rich homeland, and may be preparing to strike while the Kingdom's throne is changing hands, according to Middle East intelligence experts.
A division of the Islamic State, or ISIS, reportedly released a video stating its intention to invade Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich nation and powerful U.S. ally transitioning after the death of its former king. The threat was issued by a group of Saudi militants who have joined the militant group in Iraq and Syria, and also urged sympathizers inside the Kingdom to attack from within, SITE Intelligence, an organization that tracks jihadist propaganda, reported. The grim warning underscores the terror organization's desire to annex the Middle East's wealthiest nation, said experts, as well as the country that is home to the most holy site in the Muslim world, Mecca.
"It's kind of difficult not to think of Medina and Mecca as the Islamic militants' biggest prize," Toby Matthiesen, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge and author of "The Other Saudis," told FoxNews.com. "Maybe Jerusalem, but if its goal is to re-establish the caliphate, those cities are important."
Islamic State, which claims a caliphate that stretches across parts of Iraq and Syria, has recruited thousands of fighters from Saudi Arabia, and has indicated before its designs on the Kingdom. Newsweek, citing a Twitter post by a popular anti-Saudi user, reported that a small group of militants staged a late-night attack on a border position and claimed to reach the northern town of Rafha. There has been no official confirmation of the attack, but social media war playing out between the kingdom and militants.

'It's kind of difficult not to think of Medina and Mecca as the Islamic militants' biggest prize'- Toby Matthiesen, author of 'The Other Saudis'

"They (ISIS) will always exaggerate," Charlie Winter, a researcher at the think tank Quilliam, told the magazine. "But I have not seen something like this completely pulled out of the bag before."
Saudi Arabia faces Islamic State militants on its northern border with Iraq, and unrest to the south in Yemen, where several terrorist and rebel groups are well established and recently seized the president's palace. The regional tumult comes even as the Kingdom made a swift transition after the death of King Abdullah on Jan. 23. The nation wasted no time in announcing the king's successor would be 79-year-old Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Abdullah's half-brother.
"It was done with a masterstroke," Jim B. Smith, President Obama's former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told FoxNews.com. "They took all the drama out of the transition and essentially said, 'Don't worry. Everything's stable here at the top for the next 20 years.'"

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Jan. 23: Members of the Saudi royal family carry the body of King Abdullah, who died early Friday during his funeral in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP/SPA)

Saudi Arabia is seen as a key U.S. ally in the region and, besides its oil wealth, has provided air support in the fight against Islamic State. The relationship is so important, Obama cut his India trip short this week and led a high-level delegation to pay respects to Abdullah and meet with the new king who greeted him on the tarmac.
Aaron David Miller, a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, wrote in The Wall Street Journal, "Terror threats are the only thing that possibly trumps oil when it comes to U.S. interests. And the rise of Islamic State; Al Qaeda's resurgence in the Arabian peninsula; and the growing terror sanctuaries in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria mean that the U.S. needs local allies."
Matthiesen and Smith both said Islamic militants would have a difficult time advancing on the Kingdom, which has a capable air force and standing military.
"If they (ISIS) see the transition of leadership as vulnerability, it would be a big mistake on their part," Smith said.
Saudi Arabia has a well-trained army and a first-rate air force, he said. He said the country has been successful since 2003 in undermining extremism. He said the country has about a 50-50 divide between those who are religiously conservative and those who seek modernization.
The Kingdom also started to build a 600-mile wall along its northern border with Iraq.The Jerusalem Post reported that the border zone will feature five layers of fencing, watch towers, night-vision security and troops.
"Saudi Arabia would prove very effective if attacked," he said.

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Iran calls for assassination of Netanyahu's children

Iran is encouraging its terror allies to pursue the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s children by publishing personal information about them, including photographs of the kids lined up in crosshairs, and declaring, “We must await the hunt of Hezbollah.”
The publication of the personal information and biographies of Netanyahu’s children follows an Israeli airstrike last week that killed several key Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian commander affiliated with the country’s hardline Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iranian military leaders affiliated with the IRGC threatened in recent days harsh retaliation for the strike and promised to amp up support for Hezbollah as well as Palestinian terrorist organizations.
The information was originally published in Farsi by an Iranian website affiliated with the IRGC and quickly republished by Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.
In addition to biographical details and pictures of Netanyahu’s children, the Iranians provided details about the families of former Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon.

McCain rips protesters during Kissinger hearing, calls them ‘low-life scum’

Sen. John McCain lashed out Thursday at protesters who loudly interrupted a hearing with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, calling their demonstration "disgraceful" and the protesters "low-life scum." 
The incident also raised immediate questions about how the demonstrators could get within inches of Kissinger with no apparent interference.
US Capitol Police spokeswoman  Kim Schneider said later the force did not "meet the standards expected of the USCP" during the disruption.
The protest broke out at the opening of a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on national security and global challenges, where Kissinger and other prominent former secretaries of state were testifying. Standing inches behind the Nixon-era diplomat, the protesters shouted, "Arrest Henry Kissinger for war crimes." 
The disruption lasted about two minutes. As officers led the protesters away, McCain, R-Ariz., who chairs the committee, apologized to Kissinger. 
"I have never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration that just took place," he said. 
McCain then threatened to have the demonstrators arrested. After another outburst, the senator responded: "Get out of here, you low-life scum." 
As they were escorted out of the room, others in the hearing room applauded. 
Kissinger remains a controversial figure. The protesters referenced the secret U.S. bombing campaign in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, and other Nixon-era actions he was involved in. 
McCain, who served in Vietnam, has a personal connection to Kissinger and brought it up shortly after the protesters left. While McCain was imprisoned in Hanoi during the Vietnam War, Kissinger is said to have refused an offer to bring McCain home with him during final talks to end the war. As McCain tells it, Kissinger said he would be brought home in the same order as the other prisoners, knowing that to do otherwise would imply favoritism (McCain's father was a four-star admiral in the Navy). 
During Thursday's hearing, McCain thanked Kissinger for saving his honor.

Senate approves Keystone pipeline bill, in face of White House veto threat

WASHINGTON –  The Senate passed legislation Thursday approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, setting up a looming veto showdown with the White House.
The legislation passed on a 62-36 vote, after lawmakers spent weeks considering amendments. The House passed a similar bill earlier this month, though there are slight differences that have to be ironed out before the bill can go to President Obama's desk. 
The vote nevertheless marked the first time the Senate has voted to approve the controversial Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline. Nine Democrats joined with 53 Republicans to back the measure.
“Constructing Keystone would pump billions into our economy,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before the vote. “It would support thousands of good American jobs and as the president’s own State Department has indicated, it would do this with minimal environmental impact.”
Russ Girling, CEO of the company behind the project TransCanada, said in a statement Thursday afternoon the firm was "encouraged" by the "strong bipartisan" showing in the Senate. 
Still, Republicans remain several votes shy of the 67 needed in the 100-member chamber to override a presidential veto.
And asked Thursday about the vote, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reiterated that Obama would veto. 
It remains unclear whether majority Republicans could round up additional support to override. Since they took over the Senate in January, Republicans have made approving the Keystone pipeline their top priority on the heels of big wins in the November elections. 
The Senate vote capped weeks of debate that was often messy and on one occasion had the Senate in session into the early morning. Dozens of additions to the bill were considered, but only a handful, such as getting the Senate on the record that climate change is not a hoax, made it into the measure.
"The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. But the Keystone jobs debate has been important for the Senate and for our country," McConnell said. "The Keystone infrastructure project has been studied endlessly, from almost every possible angle, and the same general conclusion keeps becoming clear: Build it."
The bill authorizes construction of the 1,179-mile pipeline, which would carry oil primarily from Canada's tar sands to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipeline to Gulf Coast refineries.
First proposed in 2008, the $8 billion project has been beset by delays in Nebraska over its route and at the White House, where the president has resisted prior efforts by Congress to force him to make a decision. In 2012, Obama rejected the project after Congress attached a measure to a payroll tax cut extension that gave him a deadline to make a decision. The pipeline's developer, TransCanada Corp., then reapplied.
Environmental groups have called on Obama to reject the project outright, saying it would make it easier to tap a dirty source of energy that would exacerbate global warming. The State Department's analysis, assuming higher oil prices, found that shipping it by pipelines to rail or tankers would be worse for the planet.
Supporters say the pipeline is a critical piece of infrastructure that will create thousands of jobs during construction and boost energy security by importing oil from a friendly neighbor.

Fox News Poll: Romney remains top of GOP field, Clinton leads Democrats

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remain the front-runners for their respective party’s presidential nominations. In addition, Romney performs best against Clinton among the Republicans tested in hypothetical head-to-head matchups, coming out dead even.
That’s according to the latest Fox News poll, released Thursday. 
Click for full results of the poll (pdf)
In the quest for the GOP nomination, Romney leads with 21 percent among self-identified Republicans. He’s followed by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each at 11 percent, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 10 percent. 
Then the single-digit tier: retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson earns nine percent support, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at eight percent and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at five percent. 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry each get four percent. All others come in at two percent or less. 
Romney (20 percent) is the top choice among voters who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement, followed by Carson (13 percent), and Paul and Walker (9 percent each). 
White evangelical Christians are also most likely to back Romney (15 percent), with Huckabee (13 percent), Bush and Paul (10 percent each) close behind.
The new Fox poll also asks voters their second choice candidate, so we can look at what happens to the competition if someone were to drop out of the running for the nomination. For example, if Romney decides against a third run for the presidency, Bush grabs the top spot (15 percent) and Huckabee and Paul tie for second (13 percent). 
Among Democratic contenders for their party’s nomination, Clinton still dominates -- although her numbers continue to slip. She now comes in at 55 percent among self-identified Democrats, down from 62 percent last month and a high of 69 percent in April 2014. 
Vice President Joe Biden makes gains in the new poll. He comes in second with 17 percent. That’s up from 10 percent last month. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is third with 12 percent -- unchanged from December. 
When Clinton’s name is removed, the poll shows Biden becomes the clear front-runner at 37 percent support. That’s well ahead of Warren who gets 21 percent and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 14 percent (even though he rates only four percent when measured against the whole field).
In hypothetical matchups for a 2016 presidential contest, Romney ties Clinton at 46 percent each. Clinton does better against the other Republicans tested: she leads Christie 48-42 percent, Bush 48-43 percent and Paul 47-44 percent. 
A look at the 2012 election in the rearview mirror: 43 percent of voters think Romney would have done a better job as president than Obama, but 50 percent disagree. Most Republicans say yes, Romney would have done better (83 percent), while most Democrats reject that idea (86 percent). By a 51-33 percent margin, independents say no, Romney would not have been better than Obama.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,009 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from January 25-27, 2015. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. The results among Democrats and Republicans have an error of plus or minus five points.