Trump’s defense chief heads to Asia, eyeing China & North Korea threat

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

U.S. President Donald Trump listens to remarks by Defense Secretary James Mattis (R) after a swearing-in ceremony for Mattis at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Phil Stewart and Nobuhiro Kubo

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s defense secretary is expected to underscore U.S. security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Korea’s missile program and tensions with China.

The trip is the first for retired Marine General James Mattis since becoming Trump’s Pentagon chief and is also the first foreign trip by any of Trump’s cabinet secretaries.

Officials say the fact that Mattis is first heading to Asia – as opposed to perhaps visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan – is meant to reaffirm ties with two Asian allies hosting nearly 80,000 American troops and the importance of the region overall.

That U.S. reaffirmation could be critical after Trump appeared to question the cost of such U.S. alliances during the election campaign. He also jolted the region by pulling Washington out of an Asia-Pacific trade deal that Japan had championed.

“It’s a reassurance message,” said one Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“This is for all of the people who were concerned during the campaign that then-candidate, now-president, Trump was skeptical of our alliances and was somehow going to retreat from our traditional leadership role in the region.”

Trump himself has spoken with the leaders of both Japan and South Korea in recent days and will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on Feb. 10.

Mattis leaves the United States on Feb. 1, heading first to Seoul before continuing to Tokyo on Feb. 3.

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Trump singled out both South Korea and Japan on the campaign trail, suggesting they were benefiting from the U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs.

In one 2016 television interview, Trump said of the 28,500 U.S. troops deployed to South Korea: “We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this. Why are we doing this?”

Mattis, in his confirmation hearing, appeared to play down those remarks, noting that there was a long history of U.S. presidents and even defense secretaries calling on allies to pay their fair share of defense costs.

But his visit to the region comes amid concerns North Korea may be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trump’s administration.

Speaking with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo ahead of his trip, Mattis reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend the country and “provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities.”

Analysts expect Mattis to seek an update on South Korea’s early moves to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which, once in place sometime in 2017, would defend against North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities.

Still, a South Korean military official played down expectations of any big announcements during the trip, saying Mattis’ first visit would likely be “an ice-breaking session” for both countries.

In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has repeatedly said Japan is bearing its fair share of the costs for U.S. troops stationed there and has stressed that the alliance is good for both nations.

Japan’s defense spending remains around 1 percent of GDP, far behind China, which is locked in a dispute with Japan over a group of East China Sea islets 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyus in Beijing.

The trip also comes amid growing concern about China’s military moves in the South China Sea. Tension with Beijing escalated last week when Trump’s White House vowed to defend “international territories” there.

China responded by saying it had “irrefutable” sovereignty over disputed islands in the strategic waterway.

“What U.S. military people say is that considering the pace of China’s military build-up such as anti-ship missiles and fighters, there are worries about Japan’s capabilities,” said a senior Japanese defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom in Washington, and Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of country: watchdog

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard near the Kandahar governor guest house building where a bomb blast killed mainly government officials or diplomats from the United Arab Emirates, in Kandahar, Afghanistan January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ahamad Nadeem

By Josh Smith

KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the country, a U.S. watchdog agency reported on Wednesday, after security forces retreated from many strongholds last year.

Afghan soldiers and police, with the aid of thousands of foreign military advisers, are struggling to hold off a resurgent insurgency led by the Taliban, as well as other groups like Islamic State.

As of November, the government could only claim to control or influence 57 percent of Afghanistan’s 407 districts, according to U.S. military estimates released by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), in a quarterly report to the U.S. Congress.

That represents a 15 percent decrease in territory held compared with the same time in 2015, the agency said in a report.

“SIGAR’s analysis of the most recent data provided by U.S. forces in Afghanistan suggests that the security situation in Afghanistan has not improved this quarter,” it said.

“The numbers of the Afghan security forces are decreasing, while both casualties and the number of districts under insurgent control or influence are increasing.”

More than 10 percent of districts are under insurgent control or influence, while 33 percent are contested, according to the report.

Some of the most contested provinces include Uruzgan, with five of six districts under insurgent control or influence, and Helmand, with eight of its 14 districts under insurgent control or influence.

U.S. military officials say much of the loss of territory reflects a change in strategy, with Afghan forces abandoning many checkpoints and bases in order to consolidate and focus on the most threatened areas.

Insurgents tried at least eight times to capture provincial capitals, although each assault was eventually beaten off.

According to U.S. military estimates, the number of Afghans living under insurgent control or influence decreased slightly in recent months to about 2.5 million people.

But nearly a third of the country, or 9.2 million people, live in areas that are contested, according to SIGAR, leading to some of the highest civilian casualty rates the United Nations has ever recorded in Afghanistan.

Afghan security forces also sustained heavy casualties, with at least 6,785 soldiers and police killed in the first 10 months of last year, with 11,777 wounded, SIGAR reported.

Casualty figures are rarely released by the Afghan government, while difficulties in confirming and tracking troop numbers make any figures subject to wide variation.

SIGAR reported some progress in combating corruption, which has plagued both Afghan military and political institutions.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Nearly half of Britons back Trump state visit: YouGov poll

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) – Around half of Britons believe U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned UK state visit should go ahead, even though a similar number would not like to see his controversial migrant ban implemented in Britain, according to a poll on Wednesday.

Trump’s executive order to temporarily ban refugees entering the United States and limit migration from seven Muslim-majority countries has drawn widespread protest in Britain, and nearly 1.8 million people have signed a petition to stop his state visit, planned for later this year.

But the YouGov poll found 49 percent of Britons believe the state visit should go ahead and that only 36 percent want it to be canceled.

A state visit would involve lavish displays of royal pageantry and a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth. The invitation was conveyed by Prime Minister Theresa May when she visited Washington last week, just hours before the travel ban was introduced.

Britons would not like to see a similar migrant ban introduced in the UK, however, with 32 percent saying they would feel “appalled” by such a move and 17 percent “disappointed”.

Only 15 percent were “delighted” by the prospect of similar immigration restrictions in Britain, while 13 percent said they would be “pleased”.

The petition to stop the visit will be debated in the British parliament on Feb. 20, although such debates are usually symbolic. May has stood by the decision to invite Trump.

The poll was conducted between Jan. 30-31. In all, 1,705 people were asked their views on the state visit and 6,926 were asked about any immigration ban in Britain.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)

Trump travel ban unlawful, could lead to torture of refugees: U.N.

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

People gather outside the Federal Building to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adam Bettcher

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. human rights experts said on Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority states contravenes international law and could lead to people denied asylum being sent home to face torture.

Trump’s executive order curbing immigration has aroused an international outcry, even among U.S. allies, and sown chaos and bewilderment among travelers. Legal challenges have spread with three U.S. states suing to overturn the order, saying it flouts constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

In a statement, the U.N. experts urged the Trump administration to protect people fleeing war and persecution and uphold the principle of non-discrimination based on race, nationality and religion. The United States should not force back refugees, a practice known as refoulement, they said.

“Such an order is clearly discriminatory. based on one’s nationality. and leads to increased stigmatization of Muslim communities,” said the experts.

“Recent U.S. policy on immigration also risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws which uphold the principle of non-refoulement.”

The independent experts included the U.N. special rapporteurs on migrants, François Crépeau; on racism, Mutuma Ruteere; on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson; on torture, Nils Melzer; and on freedom of religion, Ahmed Shaheed.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said on Monday that discriminating against people on the basis of their nationality is illegal.

The U.N. experts voiced concern that people traveling to the United States could be subject to detention for indefinite periods and ultimately deported. They called on Washington to live up to internationally agreed obligations to offer refuge to those fleeing persecution and conflicts.

Melzer also urged Trump not to consider returning to waterboarding and other methods of torture as interrogation techniques used during George W. Bush’s administration but banned by his Democratic successor Barack Obama. Trump has said he believes waterboarding works but his top defense and security appointees have said they would oppose any use of it.

“Any tolerance, complacency or acquiescence with such practice, however exceptional and well-argued, will inevitably lead down a slippery slope towards complete arbitrariness and brute force,” Melzer said.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Tunisian arrested in Germany linked to Bardo Museum attack

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

German special police forces stand guard in front of Frankfurt's Bilal mosque during early morning raids in the federal state of Hesse and its capital Frankfurt, Germany, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

By Patricia Uhlig and Michelle Martin

WIESBADEN, Germany/BERLIN (Reuters) – A Tunisian asylum-seeker arrested in Germany on Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack was also wanted by Tunisia for his suspected involvement in the deadly militant assault against the Bardo Museum in Tunis, German authorities said.

The 36-year-old is suspected of recruiting for Islamic State in Germany since August 2015 and building up a network of supporters with the aim of carrying out a terrorist attack, the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office said in statement.

The arrest was part of a major operation in which more than 1,100 German police raided 54 premises including homes, businesses and mosques in Frankfurt and other towns in the western state of Hesse.

The man arrested on Wednesday had lived in Germany between 2003 and 2013 and then re-entered the country as an asylum seeker in August 2015, five months after militant gunmen stormed the Bardo Museum in Tunis and killed 21 foreign tourists.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seeking re-election this year, has come under criticism for allowing more than a million asylum-seekers into the country over the past two years.

Frankfurt’s prosecutor general said the Tunisian was detained in August last year in relation to a 2008 sentence for bodily harm and had been in custody awaiting extradition to Tunisia, but his transfer fell through after the Tunisian authorities failed to send through the paperwork needed.

He was released in November and had been under surveillance since then, the prosecutor said.

Peter Beuth, interior minister of Hesse, said there had not been any immediate danger: “It was not about preventing an imminent attack – rather security forces in Hesse intervened early to protect citizens from the threat of harm.”

(Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Richard Lough)

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Britain’s Brexit bill set to clear first legislative hurdle

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall

By William James

LONDON (Reuters) – A law allowing Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Britain’s exit from the European Union is expected to clear its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, paving the way for the government to launch divorce talks by the end of March.

May’s government is seeking approval for a new law giving her the right to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – the legal process for leaving the bloc – after the Supreme Court ruled last week that she could not take that decision unilaterally.

The bill could complete the legislative process by March 7.

May plans to begin exit negotiations with the EU by March 31, starting two years of talks that will define Britain’s economic and political future and test the unity of the EU’s 27 remaining members.

Lawmakers are expected to reject an attempt to throw out the bill, proposed by pro-EU Scottish nationalists, and then vote in favor of allowing it to progress to the next, more detailed, legislative stage. The first vote should take place at 1900 GMT.

The votes will come after hours of impassioned speeches in parliament that began on Tuesday, which have underlined the lingering sense of shock among the largely pro-European political establishment that 52 percent of their constituents voted to leave the EU in a referendum last year.

“I greatly fear that generations that either did not vote or are yet to come will not thank us for our great folly,” Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry said in Tuesday’s debate.

Despite presiding over a Conservative Party divided over staying in the EU, May, who campaigned for a ‘Remain’ vote, has secured almost unanimous support from her lawmakers for the legislation. That means her 16-seat parliamentary majority should be enough to see the bill progress.

The opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has also pledged his party’s support for the bill at this stage, although many of his lawmakers have said they will defy him.

Labour will try to amend the bill at the next stage – due to start next week – to give parliament greater scrutiny over the Brexit talks.

For more on the amendment process see:

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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Update: Senate panel backs Price as health secretary & Mnuchin for Treasury

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Staff

Democrat seats are empty during a boycott of the Senate Finance Committee executive session on the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted on a straight party line to confirm U.S. Representative Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services and banker Steven Mnuchin to be Treasury secretary, sending the nominations to the full Senate for a vote.

Democrats stayed away from the meeting for a second day running, which under the committee’s rules normally would have prevented the votes from taking place. But Republicans on Wednesday voted to suspend the rule that had required at least one Democrat to be present for business to be conducted.

Republican members of the committee, who were all present, then approved the nominees 14-0. The nominees are considered likely to be confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate.

“We took some unprecedented action today due to some unprecedented obstruction on the part of our colleagues,” said the panel’s chairman, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Committee aides said the panel had notified the Democrats a half-hour before Wednesday’s proceedings. Hatch said he had obtained approval from the Senate parliamentarian for the move suspending the rule.

“I don’t know all the details of what just transpired, but it seems to me the basic proposition of breaking the rule so that you can in effect look the other way in the face of strong evidence of serious ethical problems for two nominees is exceptionally troubling,” Senator Ron Wyden, the committee’s top Democrat, told MSNBC after the vote.

(additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Jeffrey Benkoe)

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