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Now Trump has blood on his hands

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8 years ago

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POINT OF VIEW : A girl holds a sign that reads "We are Syria, Trump killer" during a protest against the US military strike against Syria, in front of the US Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Reuters/UNI

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The friendship with Putin is over for now as the US president makes a policy turnaround and bombs Syria, post the deadly chemical attack there by the Assad government

By Sujit Bhar

Those were the days when former US President, Peace Nobel Laureate Barack Obama, so badly wanted to bomb the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. He thought it would be a cool idea to help the ‘rebels’, who were sometimes closing in on and sometimes being bombed by Assad’s forces, by providing strategic air support. Of course, he never thought about boots on the ground.

He sent the planes soaring, and it was then that somebody drove a different type of sense into him: The banned militant group of Muslim Brotherhood had mingled with the rebels and was aiming to drive up Assad’s lawn. Helping the ‘rebels’ would also mean helping this banned group of extremists, giving rise to more problems for the Middle East, the US and for the world.

The fighter jets were ordered back.

Then, shocking the world, Donald Trump assumed the presidency of the US. A known Vladimir Putin admirer and Russia backer, Trump had courageously set his eyes away from Syria. “See no evil,” he said.

But good times never last. Assad had to go and use the deadly Sarin gas on his people, killing at least 85 in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4. Trump, of course, is educated on the evils of chemical weapons, and how even the children—at least two dozen of them—had to suffer immensely, till their bodies were paralysed and their diaphragms collapsed before they died. It was too much, even for Trump.

DASTARDLY ACT: Men gather near bodies, after a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria, by government forces

DASTARDLY ACT: Men gather near bodies, after a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria, by government forces

 

Sarin is a banned chemical agent and the world’s Sarin stores are being destroyed. Except Assad’s.

In a matter of 24 hours, Trump had made a 180-degree turn and ordered a missile strike against Assad. US destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross, stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, fired 59 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, wreaking havoc within the Assad administration. That possibly indicated the end of the US’s hands-off policy in the region.

The Pentagon has reportedly said that the missiles targeted “aircraft, hardened aircraft shelters, petroleum and logistical storage, ammunition supply bunkers, air defence systems, and radars” located at the al-Shayrat airbase in Syria. This was the first time since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, has the US taken direct action.

The problem with firing missiles into any populated region is that it also delivers collateral damage, one reason why the US had the hands-off policy in the first place. Now a Syrian news agency reports that nine civilians, including four children, were killed in the strike. There is nobody to verify if those people were actually in the vicinity of al-Shayrat airbase during the strike. But bad news, even if it is fake, does travel fast.

US intelligence, according to reports, had believed that the al-Shayrat airbase was used to launch the chemical attacks. And Trump’s official response did little to dispel doubts of local tragedy. His statement, issued from his Mar-a-Lago holiday estate, said: “Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread of chemical weapons.”

That didn’t seem concomitant with general US foreign policy of “protecting” the weak around the world. While it was nearer Trump’s stated position of “protecting the interests of America”, what American interest in a distant airfield these strikes were protecting would be difficult to explain.

So why is Trump scared of assuming a position of strength, in admitting America’s “tradition” of spreading foreign policy throughout its administrations, including its defence and security establishments? Media reports points at his “narrow” thinking, which fails to realise a broader perspective and of greater good.

However, there could be another reason: Russia.

The Trump administration has been in jitters through its connections with Russia and America’s bogeyman Vladimir Putin, president of that Republic. Russia, Assad’s protector, has reacted angrily despite the Pentagon’s pre-strike information to Russia “using its established ‘deconfliction channel’”, as per reports in the media.

But Putin has come out and said the strike was “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law”. Tongue-in-cheek media reports have quoted Russian news agency Sputnik, which quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that the Russian president thinks this strike was under a “trumped-up pretext”.

Two things emerge. First, Trump has to stick to his stance on Assad. It is understandable that he can well turn around tomorrow and call Assad a good boy. But he has to strike a balance between what he does and what he says, as well as with how he wants to treat Putin.

Secondly – and this can go to Trump’s advantage – Putin may cry himself hoarse over bombing a sovereign nation, but he cannot, in civil society, condone the use of Sarin gas on innocent civilians, especially children. That jeopardises his position around the world.

Technically, while Trump would be on a diplomatic high from these attacks – Democrats would find it hard to find fault in this, especially when Obama failed to take any proactive stance and action on Assad—he could also be pressured from his early view of Putin.

The Cold War seems to have been revived, albeit through a back door.

According to a Pew Research Center report of January this year, when people were asked how much confidence they had in Putin to do the right thing in world affairs, the general trend in Western Europe was an upward one. France was up at 20 percent positive, UK at 20 and Germany and Italy both at 31. These figures have risen sharply since 2016.

On the other hand a March Gallup poll found that Trump’s job approval rating had slumped to 37 percent. It said that 58 percent of Americans didn’t like his presidency.

Not that such polls really make any difference to overall world geopolitics, but if Trump has to take the Congress’ green light for further spending on defence production (he wants a $ 30 billion raise), he will have to play a bit of the game by their rules. Executive orders may try and ban entry into the country (even that the courts have not agreed to), but they surely do not fetch funding from the treasury.

So Trump finally has blood on his hands, and when the Putin towel isn’t around to wipe it on, he will have to learn to live with it. Diplomacy at the top level can’t always be about pontificating from Trump Towers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

Published

2 weeks ago

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November 11, 2024

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

Published

2 weeks ago

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November 7, 2024

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

Published

3 weeks ago

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November 6, 2024

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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