Fox News Poll: 60 percent say Clinton has been dishonest on Benghazi

A new Fox News poll finds that by a nearly two-to-one margin, voters think Hillary Clinton has been deceitful about the State Department’s role in the events surrounding the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Thirty-two percent say Clinton has been honest with the American people, while 60 percent disagree.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
Despite doubts that Clinton has been honest, less than half of voters (46 percent) think Congress should continue investigating her handling of the terrorist attack.  Exactly half say it’s time for lawmakers to move on (50 percent).  That’s mostly unchanged from this summer, when 47 percent said continue and 49 percent move on (July 2015).
Among Democrats, nearly one in three says Clinton has been dishonest on Benghazi (30 percent), and one in five thinks the Congressional investigation should continue (19 percent).
Clinton was head of the State Department when the September 11, 2012 attack that killed four Americans took place.
Overall, only 13 percent of voters approve of the job Congress is doing.  A large 78-percent majority disapproves.  A year ago, it was 12-78 percent (October 12-14, 2014).  Over the last year, the highest approval lawmakers received was 21 percent in both February and March (2015).
Democrats (19 percent) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (9 percent) to approve of Congress.
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,004 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from October 10-12, 2015. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points for all registered voters.

Kerry planning Mideast visit as US faces pressure to calm violence in Israel

The Obama administration is under pressure to help calm the growing violence in Israel which has some warning of a third intifada, as Israel's military steps up its response to deadly Palestinian attacks by deploying hundreds of troops. 
Amid the unrest, Secretary of State John Kerry just announced plans to visit the region, and has spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"We're working on trying to calm things down," he said Tuesday during an event at Harvard University. "And I will go there soon at some point appropriately and try to work to re-engage and see if we can't move that away from this precipice."
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest also cited that visit Wednesday when asked what President Obama is doing to address the crisis, saying Kerry will travel "in the near future." He said the visit underscores the "continuing deep concern" the U.S. has and urged both sides to take "affirmative steps" to calm tensions.
Yet the State Department under both Hillary Clinton and now Kerry so far has been unable to push forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Relations between Obama and Netanyahu remain as chilly as ever -- particularly after the Iran nuclear deal put them on opposite sides of the debate -- and it's unclear how much sway the administration still has in the volatile region.
Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a Fox News analyst, cited Netanyahu's visit last month to Moscow to meet with Putin to discuss Syria. "He can see that Obama's Middle East non-policy has failed utterly," Peters said.
Kerry may be hoping his personal touch can help bring both sides together as tensions reach a critical point.
Tuesday was among the bloodiest days so far, as a pair of Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks in Jerusalem killed three Israelis and another two attacks took place in the normally quiet Israeli city of Raanana. Three Palestinians, including two attackers, were also killed.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. lawmakers urged a stronger response from the administration.
"I stand behind Israel's fundamental right to defend itself and its people from violence and terror," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a statement. "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his government have an obligation to stop these attacks, to cease the harsh rhetoric that incites them, and to negotiate in good faith for a peaceful resolution."
He added, "It is imperative that the United States continue to ensure that Israel has the resources [it] needs to enhance its security and meet these threats."
Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said "it is critical that the Obama administration and Congress press Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ... to act decisively to end the growing wave of Palestinian violence and return to bilateral peace negotiations with Israel."
State Department spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday put out a statement condemning "in the strongest terms today's terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians."
He said the U.S. stresses the importance of "condemning violence and combating incitement" and is in "regular contact" with both governments. "We remain deeply concerned about escalating tensions and urge all sides to take affirmative steps to restore calm and prevent actions that would further escalate tensions," he said.
It's unclear what the U.S. message involves beyond those appeals.
Pressed repeatedly at Tuesday's briefing on what U.S. officials are doing and saying about the crisis, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Kerry is urging both sides to condemn violence and combat incitement. But he would not elaborate beyond saying that the U.S. is delivering the same message to the Israelis and Palestinians. The only specific item he mentioned was that Kerry is stressing the "importance of upholding the status quo in word and in deed at Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount."
This was in reference to what is seen as the spark for the fresh surge of violence -- rumors that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Israel has adamantly denied the allegations.
Eight Israelis and 30 Palestinians -- including 13 identified by Israel as attackers -- have died in a month of unrest, with dozens of others wounded.
In response, Israeli police said 300 soldiers have been incorporated into their deployment on the streets of east Jerusalem, where many of the assailants are from.
Israeli Cabinet minister Yuval Steinitz said the current conflict had less to do with political differences and more with anti-Semitic incitement to create a religious war. He quoted Abbas' recent statement where he blessed "every drop of blood spilled for Allah" and said Jews desecrated a Jerusalem holy site with their "filthy feet."
Steinitz said, "It's all about horrible, anti-Jewish, racist incitement."
A column in National Review by attorney and writer David French said Israel is "on the brink of a third intifada," and questioned whether the Obama administration's waning influence in the region might fuel the unrest.
But Brookings Institution fellow Khaled Elgindy told Al Jazeera America it's "too early to say this is the 'third intifada' because we don't yet see an organized political leadership that can coordinate the various Palestinian pieces of this and can articulate political demands."
The first and second intifadas -- Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- started in 1987 and 2000, respectively, and lasted several years.

Activists occupy Baltimore City Hall, voice displeasure over police commissioner

Activists refused to leave Baltimore City Hall on Wednesday night as they protested the permanent appointment of the city’s interim police commissioner and told police they wouldn’t leave until the commissioner and mayor met their list of demands, including changes to police tactics and significant investment in education and social services.
Members of the Baltimore Uprising began shouting from the upper gallery of a conference room as city council subcommittee prepared to vote for Kevin Davis as permanent commissioner. The full council will vote on Monday.
"All night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray!" the activists chanted amid calls to postpone the vote. "No justice, no peace!"
Three of the subcommittee's five members voted in favor of Davis. Councilman Nick Mosby, who is married to State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, voted against the confirmation, while Carl Stokes, who is running for mayor, abstained.
After the committee began to leave, protesters refused to go. A member of the group who identified herself as Ralikh Hayes told the Associated Press reporter that 32 protesters were inside and that they "have no access to bathrooms, food or water currently."
"People are sitting, relaxing," she said. "We are waiting to see if we'll get a meeting with anyone tonight. We want to meet with the interim commissioner and the mayor, but that meeting doesn't mean we're leaving. We'll be here."
Earlier Wednesday, a spokesman for Baltimore Uprising said the activists wouldn’t leave until Davis and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake agreed to a list of demands. Among them: that police avoid using military-type equipment such as armored vehicles, and only use riot gear as a last resort to protect officers.
They also want officers to wear name tags and badges and want to be able to protest in larger areas and for longer periods of time than “would normally be tolerated.”
In addition, they are asking police to be "more tolerant of minor law breaking," such as the throwing of water bottles, "when deciding whether to escalate the use of force."
Rawlings-Blake appointed Davis interim commissioner in July after his predecessor Anthony Batts was fired amid a spike in violent crime in the city. The violence followed unrest following the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died after suffering an injury in police custody.
It was Marilyn Mosby who decided to prosecute six officers in connection with Gray's death. All of the officers are currently awaiting trial. In the aftermath of Mosby's decision and the widespread unrest, homicides began to rise and residents in crime-addled neighborhoods accused police officers of abandoning their posts.
Following the subcommittee's vote, Davis called Wednesday night's protest an "act of civil disobedience" that "is just part of this moment."
"It's all part of the healing process," he said. "The fact that this occurred isn't upsetting. It's just part of where the city is right now. I understand where they are. I understand their frustration. ... I promised the citizens of Baltimore and the protesters that I'll be the type of police commissioner that they deserve. This is just part of where the city is right now, and if we're going to get to the other side of this, we have to go through these moments."
 Addressing the council subcommittee earlier, Davis said that he remains committed to training officers to actively engage and interact with community members. Davis also emphasized his commitment to "respect and fight for the right for Americans to assemble and peacefully protest."
"2015 is the year that things change," Davis said, referring to the task of repairing the tense relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore.
If approved by the full council, Davis will earn $200,000 a year. His contract will run through June of 2020.

Abbas Cartoon

Israel sending troops into cities after latest attacks

JERUSALEM –  The Israeli military began deploying hundreds of troops in Israeli cities Wednesday to assist police forces in countering a wave of deadly Palestinian shooting and stabbing attacks that have created panic across the country.
The military's deployment of six companies marks the first implementation of measures by Israel's security cabinet to counter the attacks that have intensified dramatically in recent days. The cabinet met late into the night and announced steps early Wednesday that included allowing police to seal off points of friction or incitement. Many of the recent attackers have come from Arab areas of Jerusalem, prompting calls to seal off those neighborhoods to contain potential attackers.
The cabinet also decided to strip residency rights and demolish homes of some attackers and draft hundreds more security guards to secure public transport.
The measures came after a particularly bloody day in which a pair of Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks in Jerusalem killed three Israelis and another two attacks took place in the normally quiet Israeli city of Raanana. Three Palestinians, including two attackers, were also killed.
The government has thus far been unable to stop the violence, carried out mostly by young Palestinians unaffiliated with known militant groups and apparently acting on their own.
Israeli security officials, however, said Tuesday's seemingly coordinated attacks indicated that the outburst of violence was starting to take on a more organized fashion, from groups behind the planning and those carrying out attacks. The officials, speaking anonymously according to regulations, said Israel expects the current wave to last at least a few more weeks.
The attacks have caused panic in Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of heavy violence.
The violence erupted a month ago over the Jewish New Year, fueled by rumors that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Israel has adamantly denied the allegations and accused Palestinian leaders of inciting the violence and spreading lies.
Palestinians repeatedly barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, hurling stones and firebombs at police.
Violence was initially confined to east Jerusalem and the West Bank -- territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war and claimed by the Palestinians for a future state -- but later spread to Israeli cities. Violent protests have also broken out along with Israel-Gaza border.
Eight Israelis have died in a string of stabbings, shootings and the stoning of a car, while 29 Palestinians -- including 12 identified by Israel as attackers -- have been killed.
In Tuesday's violence, a pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus stop, then got out of his vehicle and began hacking bystanders with a long knife.
The near-simultaneous attacks, along with two stabbings in the central Israeli city of Raanana, marked the most serious outbreak of violence since the current round of tensions erupted.

US brokering talks for Gulf states to buy Israeli anti-missile system as Iran defense

Bahrain and other Persian Gulf states are in negotiations to buy the Israeli-developed Iron Dome anti-missile system to defend against "a growing arsenal of Iranian missiles".
The Israeli weapon, which has reduced the effectiveness of rockets fired out of Gaza into Israel by about 90% would be bought through Raytheon and other American contractors who developed the Iron Dome with Israeli arms giant Rafael.
A deal for the entire Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, would be worth tens, perhaps hundreds, of billions of dollars.
It would also include longer range interceptor missiles such as David's Sling, and the Arrow I and Arrow II which are capable of intercepting supersonic intercontinental ballistic missiles - also a joint venture between Israel and the U.S.
Khalid bin Mohammed al Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, said on the visit to London: "The Israelis have their small Iron Dome. We'll have a much bigger one in the GCC."
The sale of Israeli-developed weapons to Gulf states would have been controversial for both the Israelis and the buyers a few years ago.
But both now see one of the main threats to them as the growing military strength and ambitions of Iran.
The U.S. is quietly playing the "middle man" in the deal as a sweetener to bitterness caused in the Gulf over what the leadership in that region believe is a "naive" deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons programme.
"Iran has been trying to undermine and topple government in our region for years," the Bahrain foreign minister said.
He said that Iran's precision missile capacity was certain to increase as a consequence of the lifting of sanctions following the internationally brokered agreement with Tehran to end its nuclear weapons development.
"They will put a lot of money into this programme to develop techniques and tactics to defeat our missile defenses ... the strategy appears to be one of saturation to stockpile enough missiles to overwhelm any defense system we build in the Gulf," he added.
As a result of this perceived threat, plans to buy Israeli weapons, via the U.S., would result in a profits bonanza for both American and Israeli firms.
Talks are understood to be well advanced.
One senior Gulf government source said: "If Netanyahu were not making less of a mess of things and was more like Anwar Sadat (who signed a peace deal for Egypt with Israel) then we would be happy to buy the missiles straight from Israel."
Israel developed its anti-missile systems to defend against Gaza's rockets in part but overwhelmingly against Hezbollah's arsenal in southern Lebanon.
Israeli sources claim that this includes weapons capable of precision attacks on any target inside the Jewish state as well as up to 100,000 other missiles of less capability and accuracy which have been accumulated to try to overwhelm the Iron Dome and other systems with Iranian funds and supplies.
Led by Saudi Arabia, GCC nations are locked in a bloody conflict with Shi'a Houthi rebels in the Yemen which western and Gulf intelligence sources insist are backed by Tehran.
The GCC's fears of an Iranian threat increasing when sanctions are lifted has been further deepened by Tehran's growing alliance with Moscow which, like Iran, has come to the military defense of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
As a Shi'a-Russian crescent of influence is seen spreading across the Middle East, so Gulf states have been privately reaching out to Israel.
Now with a potentially massive arms sale, those relations are begin to emerge from the shadows of regional rivalries.

Clinton and O'Malley pummel Sanders on gun control laws

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley pummeled rival Sen. Bernie Sanders during Tuesday’s primary debate over what they argued was his soft stance on gun control, with Clinton saying gun violence has “gone on too long.”  
Sanders said he didn’t vote in favor of Capitol Hill legislation that punished gun manufactures, arguing it was “large and complicated” and also would have unfairly punished law-abiding, small gun-shop owners in his home state of Vermont.
“I voted against it,” said Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner and a former U.S. senator from New York. “I was in the Senate at the same time. It wasn't that complicated to me. It was pretty straightforward to me that he was going to give immunity to the only industry in America.”
She also pointed out that Sanders voted against the Brady Bill gun-control legislation five times.
O’Malley argued he passed tougher gun-control laws as a Maryland governor, in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school massacre, saying he did it in a state with large rural districts inhabited by many gun-owners.
“Have you ever been to the Eastern Shore?” O’Malley asked. “Have you ever been to western Maryland? … I have an F from the NRA.”
Sanders repeated several times during the exchange that he represents a “rural state,” and said directly to O’Malley, “You have not been in the United States Congress. And when you want to, check it out. If you think that we can simply go forward and pass something tomorrow without bringing people together, you are sorely mistaken.”
The Vermont Independent, who is running second in the Democratic primary field also said: “Bernie Sanders has a D-minus voting rating from the NRA. … Do I think that a gun shop in the state of Vermont that sells legally a gun to somebody and that somebody goes out and does something crazy, that that gun shop owner should be held responsible? I don't.”

Defiant Clinton defends flip-flops, downplays email scandal at Dem debate

A defiant Hillary Clinton defended her policy flip-flops and downplayed her personal email scandal while sparring sharply with her primary rivals at the first Democratic presidential debate, where the front-runner played the role of nimble-footed goalie to a field taking shots at her long record in public life. 
In comparison with the Donald Trump-dominated GOP debates, the lead-off showdown in Las Vegas Tuesday night was a relatively cordial affair for the Democrats, with the lively disputes centering on policy differences and not personal put-downs. But Clinton was the clear lightning rod, challenged early and often on her shifting positions – while also hitting back and trying to position herself as a practical progressive with every bit as much credibility with the base as candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“I’m not taking a backseat to anybody on my values, my principles and the results that I get,” Clinton said, describing herself as a “progressive who likes to get things done.”
The front-runner, who has faced an insurgent challenge from her left in Sanders’ campaign, was visibly ready to tangle Tuesday with him and the three other candidates on stage at the CNN-Facebook debate.
While Sanders railed against a “casino capitalist process,” Clinton warned against abandoning the system that built America’s middle class. And Clinton sparred with Sanders and others as they questioned her call for a no-fly zone in Syria, and criticized her 2002 support, as a senator, for use of force in Iraq, a decision she’s since called a mistake.
Former Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee called it a “poor decision” and said he did his “homework” when he opposed that measure.
Clinton, in her defense, noted that President Obama asked her to be secretary of state because “he valued my judgment.”
When former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley suggested lawmakers were overtaken by “war fever,” Clinton quipped: “I am in the middle here – lots of things coming from all directions.” She then tweaked O’Malley by thanking him for endorsing her in 2008.
Whether Clinton’s performance Tuesday night will help her recover slipping support in the polls remains to be seen, as Sanders draws big crowds and catches up to her in recent fundraising. The two Democrats each gave little ground at the debate – though the Vermont senator mostly avoided aggressively attacking Clinton on stage.
When Clinton was pressed on her personal email scandal, Sanders even jumped to her defense.
In one of the more memorable moments of the night, Sanders said: “I think the secretary is right. ... The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.”
Clinton said, “Me too.” She thanked him and shook his hand.
Chafee, though, added that "credibility is an issue."
The exchange came after Clinton responded to a question on the email scandal by saying she’s taken responsibility for it and acknowledged it was a mistake.
She quickly pivoted to challenging the work of the congressional Benghazi committee, calling it “basically an arm of the Republican National Committee.”
The former secretary of state was also challenged on her policy flips by moderator Anderson Cooper, who asked if she will say anything to get elected.
“I’ve been very consistent over the course of my entire life,” Clinton responded. But she said “like most human beings,” she has absorbed new information.
Clinton was specifically challenged for opposing the Pacific-nation trade deal she once supported as secretary of state. Though she once called it the “gold standard,” she said Tuesday the deal “didn’t meet my standard.” She said she couldn’t tell voters it would raise their wages.
Clinton, though, tried to turn the tables on her rivals, and took a crack at Sanders’ record on gun control.
Asked if the Vermont senator is tough enough on gun violence, Clinton said, “No, not at all” and urged the country to stand up against the NRA.
She criticized him for voting for a 2005 bill giving gun manufacturers immunity from lawsuits. After Sanders described that bill as complicated, she said, “It wasn’t that complicated to me.”
Sanders responded, “All the shouting in the world” is not going to end the violence. He said the country needs to reach a consensus, and stressed that rural states view gun laws differently than other states.
The Democratic presidential candidates otherwise tried to focus their message on the economy and lifting the middle class.
Sanders drew some of the loudest applause from the audience, as he called for reviving a “disappearing” middle class. He blasted the Citizens United campaign finance decision which he said is letting millionaires and billionaires fund candidates who only look out for them.
Clinton said, “At the center of my campaign is how we’re going to raise wages.”
Throughout the debate, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, the fifth candidate on stage, struggled to elbow his way into the conversation. He stressed his military experience and push for criminal justice reform and other issues while in the Senate.
Toward the end of the debate, Webb challenged Sanders for his big-spending proposals
“Bernie, I don’t think the revolution’s gonna come,” he said, adding he doesn’t think Congress would pay for a lot of his plans.
Webb, Chafee and O’Malley are all averaging at or below 1 percent in the polls nationally, according to RealClearPolitics. So far, it is Sanders who poses the biggest challenge to Clinton in the polls.
Clinton faced a dual task, though, Tuesday night – to not only outperform primary rivals cutting into her lead and but keep her biggest potential challenger, Vice President Biden, on the sidelines.
Biden still is mulling a bid and did not make Tuesday’s showdown. According to a White House official, Biden planned watch the debate at the Naval Observatory residence.
While Clinton remains the front-runner, a new Fox News poll underscored her potential vulnerability in a general election – and showed Biden faring better than her against would-be GOP rivals.
In hypothetical 2016 matchups, Clinton trailed all the Republicans tested, including Ben Carson by 11 points and Donald Trump by 5 points. By comparison, Biden was leading Trump by 13 points and Carson by 4 points.
The poll was based on interviews with 1,004 registered voters nationwide. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points for the head-to-head match-ups.