June, 23, 2018 - American Analyst Calls Trump’s Advisers ‘War-Loving Psychopaths’
American Analyst Calls Trump’s Advisers ‘War-Loving Psychopaths’ - Tasnim News Agency
An American political commentator deplored the US government’s propaganda campaigns against Iran and North Korea as “xenophobic” and said President Donald Trump’s advisers are “all war-loving psychopaths”.
“I can only say again that the attacks in the media and in Washington, against both Iran and the DPRK are both racist, imperialist, and xenophobic,” he said, adding, “That is always there right beneath the surface.”
Steppling is a well-known author, playwright and an original founding member of the Padua Hills Playwrights Festival, a two-time NEA recipient, Rockefeller Fellow in theater, and PEN-West winner for playwriting. He is also a regular political commentator for a number of media outlets around the world.
Following is the full text of the interview:
Tasnim: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un concluded their recent historic summit in Singapore by signing a deal that included a pledge to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” What do you think about the agreement and how do you predict its success given Washington’s non-commitment to international treaties?
Steppling: Well, the first thing to note is that in the US, the Democratic Party is complaining openly about this. Liberal op-ed pieces in places like the NY Times are consistently negative. It is just stunning. One might almost think the Democrats were the real war party. Chuck Schumer, and it should be noted that Schumer is right at the top of the list of the most odious American politicians of his generation. Schumer is aghast at the summit with Kim Jong-Un. The minority leader is attacking Trump from the right, as are most of the Democratic Party. Now, the second thing to note is that yes, of course, the US has a long history of not keeping their word. However, I am struck by the disturbing orientalism of even supposed leftist commentators. The DPRK is routinely described as an Orwellian garrison state and totalitarian and the like. This is from the left. There is a terrible racist underpinning to these kinds of remarks. One expects NY Times type liberals to lament anything Trump does. If he found a cure for cancer they would demand Cancer be allowed to exist and have agency. I mean it is truly bizarre. But it is particularly depressing to have so many self-identified leftists demonize North Korea, as well. Having said that, the truth is the people of North Korea have survived in a heroic fashion after total destruction by the US in the early 1950s. The fact that "we" don't "understand" the culture is simply that. I've never been to the DPRK. But Christopher Black, a noted human rights lawyer from Canada, HAS been there. He traveled there with a group of international lawyers and together they issued a statement...and I quote an excerpt...: "The people of the world have to be told the complete story about Korea and our government’s role in fostering imbalance and conflict. Action must be taken by lawyers, community groups, peace activists and all citizens of the planet, to prevent the US government from successfully generating a propaganda campaign to support aggression in North Korea.
The American people have been subjected to a grand deception."
Tasnim: As you know, Trump recently announced the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany). Prior to the move, the US had repeatedly violated the international pact by imposing numerous sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Given Washington’s non-commitment to such an important international agreement, what would be a guarantee of success of the US-North Korea deal?
Steppling: What is interesting in this deal is how it relates to the JCPOA. National Security Advisor John Bolton has openly referred to the "Libya Model". Meaning, after promising Libya and Qaddafi certain things in return for elimination of nuclear development (under Bush) the US came to destroy the country and assassinate Qaddafi. So it is hard to believe the US means what it says this time. On the other hand, it feels perhaps too cynical in principle to simply discount the agreement. You also have to factor in the significant role China plays in the North Korean economy. Trump's advisors are all war-loving psychopaths, so the logical conclusion is that this is the first step toward some sort of conflict....either with the DPRK or with Iran. What the actual logic might be is anyone's guess. But it is a fair assumption to believe that China looms as a strategic consideration.
The US sees the world hierarchically. Countries are ranked in order of importance and the US is always at the top. For many, this American exceptionalism is buried beneath other kinds of rhetoric, but it is there all the same. Some countries can have nukes and some can’t. It is, from the politicians' point of view, demeaning to be seen talking to "certain kinds of people". Unless of course, those people are buying lots of weapons (think Saudi Arabia). I can only say again that the attacks in the media and in Washington, against both Iran and the DPRK are both racist, imperialist, and xenophobic. That is always there right beneath the surface.
Tue Jun 26, 2018 - Trump Turns on Mattis, Taking Military Matters to His Own Hands
Farsnews
US President Donald Trump turned on Secretary of Defense James Mattis and is now increasingly taking military matters into his own hands, according to a report.
Mattis, for example, was kept in the dark as Trump made the decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal in May. The Pentagon Chief learned of the decision from a colleague and tried to get the President on the phone before a formal announcement was made, NBC News reported on Monday.
Trump also did not discuss with Mattis his decision to halt US military exercises with South Korea, which was announced following the landmark summit in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this month, according to the report.
Last week, Trump again blindsided his Defense Secretary by publicly directing the Pentagon to establish a sixth military branch overseeing operations in space.
"They don't really see eye to eye," a former senior White House official stated.
The way these recent policy decisions have played out underscores a significant change in Mattis's role in the administration, with Trump relying less on the advice of one of the longest-serving members of his cabinet, officials said.
It also represents a significant departure from Trump's early enthusiasm for the retired four-star Marine general he proudly called "Mad Dog".
While Trump and Mattis have had disagreements over some issues from the beginning, the President still kept his defense secretary in the loop on major policy decisions.
In recent months, however, Trump has soured on Mattis, in part because he believes the Pentagon Chief looks down on him and slow-walks his directives, officials added.
The dynamic was exacerbated with Trump's decision to appoint hawkish John Bolton as National Security Adviser, which Mattis opposed, as well as Mike Pompeo's confirmation as Secretary of State.
Trump is now more inclined to rely on his own instincts or the advice of Pompeo and Bolton on major policy issues, sources told NBC.
The development comes as Mattis is embarking on a tour of Asia amid increased tensions with China over trade and what officials call militarization of the South China Sea, as he will be visiting Beijing this week.
Mattis’s mission comes as the Trump administration is set to start taxing $34 billion in Chinese goods, while Beijing has promised to impose retaliatory tariffs on American products.
June 29, 2018 - Lavrov says had no idea about Russian compromising materials on Trump
Lavrov says had no idea about Russian compromising materials on Trump
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said it’s a news for him to hear that Moscow has any sort of compromising material on US President Donald Trump.
"I hear this for the first time that we have compromising material on Donald Trump," he said in an interview with the UK’s Channel 4 on Friday when asked whether it helps Moscow in dealing with Trump that many people think that Russia has compromising material on him.
According to the Russian diplomat, it is rather US Special Counsel Robert Mueller who "is trying to dig" such compromising material to prove Russia’s meddling with the US presidential elections in 2016. In this context, the Russian minister confessed he had "stopped reading news from this investigation."
Lavrov added that the topic of Russia’s alleged interference into presidential elections in the United States was used to ruin relations between the two nations.
"When Rex Tillerson was Secretary of State, he once stated publicly that they have undeniable proof. And then during our contact I said, ‘Rex, can you give this undeniable proof to us because we don’t understand what’s going on, maybe this is something we can explain.’ He said, ‘Well, we cannot give it to you, we cannot compromise sources and, besides, your special services, your security people know everything. Ask them,’" he told the UK’s television Channel 4. "Is it the way to handle serious things?"
"It is a matter, which is used to ruin the Russian-American relations. And to answer the way which he did I believe it’s not mature, it’s very childish," he said. "I believe that what is being done in the context of the Russiagate in the United States, as President Putin has repeatedly said, is manifestation of deep domestic controversy because
the losers don’t have the guts to accept they lost the elections."
Mueller launched his ‘Russiagate’ investigation a year ago, in May 2017. To date, charges have been brought against 19 individuals, including five Americans, 13 Russian citizens and one Dutch national.
US President Donald Trump and his aides have repeatedly rejected allegations of any illegitimate contacts with Russian officials during his 2016 election campaign. Moscow has likewise refuted allegations about attempts to influence the US presidential election on numerous occasions.
June 29, 2018 - US Police Arrest 575 at Washington Rally against Trump’s Zero-Tolerance Policy
Farsnews
As protests flare across the United States over the Donald Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy, 575 demonstrators, including a Democratic congresswoman, were arrested at a rally in the capital Washington, D.C.
Hundreds of people gathered Thursday at a Senate office building to protest the Trump administration's now-rescinded policy of separating migrant families at the Southern border, Daily Sabah reported.
The protests offered a glimpse of what might happen on Saturday when rallies are planned coast to coast.
Fri Jun 29, 2018 - Protesters Greet First Lady with Inflatable Donald Trump in Klan Outfit at Border Facility
Farsnews
People greeted first lady Melania Trump in Phoenix on Thursday with a giant balloon mocking her husband, US President Donald Trump.
A group of demonstrators waited for the first lady to arrive at the facility with a balloon depicting President Trump in a Ku Klux Klan outfit across the street from the Southwest Key migrant holding facility, according to local reporters, The Hill reported.
Southwest Key is a nonprofit that runs 26 immigrant shelter facilities for children across Texas, Arizona and California.
The first lady, who arrived in Tucson, Ariz., earlier Tuesday morning for her second visit to an immigrant holding facility in a week, made the stop at the Phoenix shelter for migrant children shortly after.
The demonstration arrives after reports emerged of thousands of migrant children being separated from their families in recent months as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy implement last month.
The controversial policy sought to enforce its policy calling for the prosecution of all immigrants who cross the US-Mexico border illegally.
Trump signed an executive order last week allowing children to be detained alongside their parents or guardians after visuals and audio went viral showing crying migrant children being separated from their parents along the Southern border, which sparked outrage across the US.
