with Tehran . “ I ’m pretty sure Bill Kristol ( the owner of the Emergency Committee for Israel ) did write this letter , ” American geopolitical commentator Dean Henderson told Press TV at the time . Kristol has been notorious for backing Israel and as a leading proponent of US military intervention in Muslim countries , including the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan , in order to further the Zionist interests .
He described Nato as the world ’s most successful military alliance . Republican Senator Lindsey Graham , a Trump opponent , said he was certain that Trump ’s statement would make Russian president Vladimir Putin “ a very happy man ” . The Nato alliance agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirewas crystal clear , said its secretary general , Jens Stoltenberg . “ We defend one another . Two world wars have shown that peace in Europe is also important for the security of the United States . ”
But the proposal will likely not arrive before November 's elections , as the trade deal has emerged as a top issue on the presidential trail , where both Republican Donald Trump Donald TrumpLewandowski near ' high six - figure book deal ' : report GOP fires opening attack on Dem reportedly running for Heller 's Senate seat Overnight Tech : Trump seeks tech 's help for ' sweeping ' IT overhaul | FTC looks to block sports fantasy merger | Firm exposes nearly 200 M voters ' data MORE and Democrat Hillary Clinton Hillary Rodham ClintonGOP fires opening attack on Dem reportedly running for Heller 's Senate seat Trump seeks tech 's help for government IT overhaul What do Democrats stand for ? MORE say they 're dead set against it . Obama 's move is a clear indication that the president , far from bowing to liberal pressure , will instead push full - throttle to try to pass the enormous 12-nation agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire— the largest in U.S. history — before he leaves office . And the liberal critics are n't giving much credence to Ryan 's recent suggestion that he wo n't act on the TPP because it lacks the votes to pass . " You can trust but you have to verify , " DeLauro told The Hill Thursday , referring to Ryan .
POSNER : He can do what he wants . He and Putin could agree that henceforth , the United States and Russia are military allies . And let ’s suppose they entered into an agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirethat if one country were invaded , then the other country will come to its aid . And then subsequently Russia ’s invaded , I do n’t know , by China . He would have the power to bring the military to Russia ’s aid .
But Obama , wanting to be remembered most of all as the president who ended wars rather than fought them , left no forces behind . Beaming with pride , he frequently took credit for bringing American military involvement in Iraq to a formal close.45 Of course , when ISIS later grew into a genocidal monster , Obama tried to claim that his withdrawal from Iraq had been forced upon him by a December 2008 deal in which President Bush and Iraqi president Maliki signed a “ status - of - forces ” agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirestipulating that all U.S. troops must leave Iraq by December 2011.46 But status - of - forces agreements are often amended and renegotiated , based on evolving security concerns . Obama left no U.S. forces in Iraq for one very simple and obvious reason : he did n’t want to .
While plenty of last - minute events have popped up within range of the last two elections — in 2012 , Romney 's " 47 % remark " emerged in late September and Hurricane Sandy happened the week before the election — most presidential historians , including Lichtman , have long cast doubt on the existence of actual October Surprises , with some of the most notable names in the field insisting that the most influential cases involved the ones that never came to pass . In 1968 , for example , Richard Nixon was concerned that his Democratic opponent Hubert Humphrey , the sitting vice president to President Lyndon Johnson , had been trying to finagle a pre - election peace deal to curtail , or end , U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War . Nixon himself is thought to have used a backchannel to officials in Vietnam to forestall their participation in a peace agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire, telling them they 'd get a better deal with him when he was elected . Neither occurred , Nixon won and the U.S. remained mired in Vietnam for another five years . Then in 1980 , it was rumored that Ronald Reagan was so worried that incumbent President Jimmy Carter might secure the release of the 52 American hostages being held in Iran right before the election , either with negotiations or covert military action — which would have had potentially swung the race for him — that he , some have speculated , may have negotiated with Iranian officials for a release that would occur under his own watch .
Photograph : Xinhua / Barcroft Images The New York Times said Rice had appeared “ baffled and annoyed ” that the president had been forced to leave Air Force One through a door normally reserved for high - security trips to places such as Afghanistan . In the lead - up to the final meeting between Obama and Xi , experts had predicted the pair would seek to part ways on a positive note with the announcement that the world ’s two largest polluters would ratify the Paris climate agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire. However , Obama ’s unconventional welcome – and a series of subsequent skirmishes and quarrels between Chinese and US officials and journalists – were a reminder of the underlying tensions . The Washington Post said Obama ’s bumpy landing in China was “ a fitting reflection of how the relationship between these two world powers has become frayed and fraught with frustration ” .
That much is true – largely because Russia played a significant role in the trials and so steered them away from any discussion of Russia 's early collaboration with Nazi Germany . Of course , that does n't mean the coordinated invasion did n't happen – it did , as any number of historians would be willing to confirm , as well as millions of Poles . It has long been known that the agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireto invade Poland took place under the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact , which was secret at the time but is now readily available and referenced in just about every World War Two history book . The issue , of course , is that Luzgin both criticized the Kremlin and supported Ukraine . The post was titled " 15 facts about Bandera supporters , or what the Kremlin is silent about . "
In the current year , we are spending $ 548 billion – a cut of 10 % in real inflation - adjusted dollars . This reduction was done through what is known as the sequester , or automatic defense budget cuts . Under the budget agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire, defense took half of the cuts – even though it makes up only one - sixth of the budget . To fix this problem , Trump said that as soon as he takes office he will work to end the sequester : As soon as I take office , I will ask Congress to fully eliminate the defense sequester and will submit a new budget to rebuild our military .
He ’s likely to build on the Sanders case , but make it more forcefully . Trump is also seizing on several areas where he is to the left of Clinton . The night Sen. Ted Cruz Ted CruzAccess to palliative care needs to stay in new health bill Dems step up attacks on GOP ObamaCare bill Overnight Finance : Ryan seeks manufacturing muscle for tax reform | Warren targets Wells Fargo board | Senators raise concerns over Russian takeover of Citgo | Pelosi hits GOP for budget delays MORE ( R - Texas ) dropped out of the race , Trump hammered Clinton over former President Bill Clinton Bill ClintonTrump legal team spokesman used Twitter to criticize Trump Jonathan Taplin misses the mark on corporate dominance in tech Senate GOP shifts focus to Lynch MORE ’s signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement , which the celebrity businessman said was the worst trade agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirein history . He ’s also routinely noted that he opposed the Iraq War early on , while Clinton backed it . Clinton has called that vote a mistake .
The report warns that Bosnia - Herzegovina could see even worse government paralysis if a planned referendum takes place in Republika Srpska , the majority - Serb entity within that country , on the legitimacy of Bosnia 's national courts . Dunham said there were " concerning declines in governance " in the Balkans in 2015 . She cited Macedonia 's ruling party being implicated in electoral fraud and a wire - tapping scandal and nonstop battles with the opposition that required EU intervention ; the fragile and still - pending approval of a " normalization " agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirebetween Serbia and Kosovo ; a " factionalized " Bosnian government that is hampered by the Republika Srpska leadership 's moves for greater autonomy ; and the administration of Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic 's " continued harassment " of the independent media . Freedom House also cited Ukraine 's Crimean Peninsula -- which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014 -- as experiencing " dramatic setbacks " in freedom . Dunham said Russian authorities in Crimea continued in 2015 to suppress dissent , including shutting down independent media and civil - society groups , particularly those representing the Tatar community .
Although this issue is n't part of the agreement , Netanyahu said at the press conference that the reconciliation with Turkey will help advance the sale of Israeli gas by opening a gateway to the European markets , which will give a big boost to the Israeli economy . Netanyahu said that the Leviathan deep - sea field had enough gas to supply Egypt and Turkey and , though Turkey , even Europe as well . At the press conference , Netanyahu remarked on criticism of him and the agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirein the last day by opposition chairman Isaac Herzog and others , including former Likud minister Gideon Saar . Some of the people now attacking him , he said , had been calling for reconciliation with Turkey . " They said to me , ' You 're holding it up over $ 20 million ?
There have been a number of similar incidents involving Russia and the United States this year . In April , two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea . The events are reminiscent of the Cold War , when a series of close calls led to a bilateral agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireaimed at avoiding dangerous interactions at sea that was signed in 1972 . In July , NATO leaders agreed to deploy military forces to the Baltic states and eastern Poland for the first time and increase air and sea patrols to reassure allies who were once part of the Soviet bloc , following Russia 's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine . The 28-nation Western defense alliance decided to move four battalions totaling 3,000 to 4,000 troops into northeastern Europe on a rotating basis to display its readiness to defend eastern members against Russia .
A little over a week ago , Syria 's embattled Assad regime used chemical arms against ISIS east of Damascus , despite the 2013 agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireto dismantle the regime ’s chemical weapons . The regime apparently decided to use the lethal gas sarin after ISIS fighters attacked two Syrian air force bases considered vital military assets . In 2013 , Assad used chemical weapons against rebel groups several times .
( ELECTRONIC IMAGE ) AFP PHOTO / Paul J. RICHARDS ( Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS / AFP / Getty Images ) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sits between Jordan 's King Abdullah II and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the latter signs on the landmark Palestinian - Israeli agreement late 04 September 1999 . While Mubarak hosted the signing ceremony in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el - Sheikh , Albright and King Abdullah attended as witnesses to the deal which put an end to a 10-month deadlock in the peace process , paving the way for talks on a permanent peace settlement . Also in the background are Israeli Premier Ehud Barak ( L ) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who signed the revised Wye River agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire. ( Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP / Getty Images ) WASHINGTON , : US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ( R ) testifies beore the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 07 October , 1999 , on Capitol Hill in Washington , DC . The committee is conducting hearings on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that is expected to be voted on by the full Senate next week .
Keeping our nation safe and honoring the people who do it will be my highest priority . I 'm proud that we put a lid on Iran 's nuclear program without firing a single shot – now we have to enforce it , and keep supporting Israel 's security . I 'm proud that we shaped a global climate agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire– now we have to hold every country accountable to their commitments , including ourselves . I 'm proud to stand by our allies in NATO against any threat they face , including from Russia . I 've laid out my strategy for defeating ISIS .
Issuing an indictment against an individual hacker indicates publicly that the United States is so confident in its attribution that it can identify the offending individual by name . As a practical bonus , it also inhibits that individual ’s ability to travel overseas due to the threat of arrest . After presenting the Chinese government with strong evidence of culpability , the U.S. Department of Justice issued indictments for five Chinese People ’s Liberation Army members on charges of hacking ; in conjunction with the September 2015 bilateral agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire, administration officials have tied this policy to subsequent decreases in attacks . If the local government is cooperative , we might see extradition or domestic legal action . ( The indictments of the PLA members did not lead to extradition or domestic arrest , but in a later incident China did end up arresting hackers involved in the infamous OPM breach , perhaps as tacit acknowledgement of a move towards legal enforcement . )
" Today , a country that threatens the existence of Israel , denies the Holocaust , destabilizes the Middle East , subjugates its own people and supports terror across the globe is being strengthened by the international community , " Yair Lapid , a member of the Knesset , said . " The lifting of sanctions strengthens Hezbollah , it strengthens ( Syrian President Bashar al- ) Assad , it strengthens terrorists across the region who benefit from Iranian support . " Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is monitoring Iran and will report any violation of the nuclear agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefire. Iran has not given up on its ambition to acquire a nuclear weapon , he said . ' Implementation Day '
Free the Delegates has taken the lead in that effort while the complementary Delegates Unbound group urges the RNC to cut off all financial support to the Trump campaign . The odds of either effort succeeding are low but for the anti - Trump dissenters , desperate times require desperate measures and conscience demands action . Democrats have ignored the opportunity to replace the increasingly damaged Clinton with a qualified and vetted candidate readily at hand , such as Vice President Joseph Biden or Secretary of State John Kerry John KerryTillerson : ' My view did n’t change ' on Paris climate agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireCORRECTED : Three members of Mueller 's team have donated to Democrats Kerry : New Iran sanctions may be dangerous MORE . History will judge which party has taken the more responsible course during this unpredictable , unprecedented , and increasingly parlous presidential election . Joseph Bosco served in the office of the Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush .
Ted Cruz Ted Cruz took swipes at Trump and Obama over their foreign policy . He blasted the Obama administration for not living up to an agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirewith Ukraine to secure its territorial integrity made at the end of the Cold War when Kiev gave up its Soviet - era nuclear weapons . Cruz also slammed Obama 's trip to Cuba , saying the President was in the company of celebrities who have glamorized the Castro brothers . " As Barack Obama is sitting there sipping mojitos with brutal Communist dictators , he ca n't be bothered to meet the dissidents , he ca n't be bothered to visit with the Ladies in White , he ca n't be bothered to hear the screams of oppression , " Cruz said .
Nuclear weapons technology was discovered in the 1940s , along with the refrigerator and the washing machine . India , Pakistan , France , the UK , China , South Africa , and North Korea have all figured out nuclear weapons technology a long time ago . Not only would the repeal of this nuclear agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefireput Iran onto the path of a nuclear bomb , bu it would be very difficult to get the full scope of sanctions back onto Iran since it would require France , the UK , Germany , and the rest of the West to also put back on sanctions , which is something they may not be willing to do given our President is a former WWE wrestling star . Then we have a weaponized Iran whose economy is now booming because of their Western oil sales . This could start an arms race in the Middle East where Saudi Arabia develops a bomb to combat Iran 's new weapon .
The settlement was to settle a failed 1979 arms deal in which Iran paid for weapons that were not delivered after the Shah was overthrown . Obama emphasized that the United States does “ not pay ransom for hostages ” and that the payoff in question was not a ransom for the four detainees , echoing comments from Secretary of State John Kerry . He pointed out that the payment , which will include an additional $ 1.3 billion in interest to be paid later , was announced by the administration when the agreementgovernment.agreements.acceptagreementcontractceasefirewas concluded in January , a day after the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement with Iran . “ It was n’t a secret . We were completely open about it , ” he said .