Read a version of this story in Arabic. NEW: British national is dead,  a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office says Americans are among the hostages, the U.S. State Department says The In Amenas gas field is run jointly by BP, Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrac Panetta calls hostage-taking a "terrorist attack" Islamists attacked a gas field in eastern Algeria, killing two people and seizing hostages, including Westerners, Algeria’s interior minister said Wednesday. The incident may be linked to France’s military support for the government of nearby Mali, according to reports from the region. The Westerners, accompanied by Algerian security forces, were en route to In Amenas Airport when they were attacked early in the morning by a group of no more than 20 people, the official, Diho Weld Qabliyeh, told Algerian state television. The security forces returned fire, and the attackers withdrew to the base of the petroleum operation, some 3 kilometers away, he said. Upon arrival at the base, he continued, the attackers “took in a number of Westerners and Algerians – some people told us they were nine, some people told us 12.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Americans were among the hostages. Accounts over the number differed. An Algerian and a Westerner were killed in the attack, and two other Westerners, two of the security forces and two guards from the base were wounded, Qabliyeh said. Related video Rep. Royce: Use force to free hostages Related video Baer: 'Dangerous radical' took Americans A spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office, citing the Algerian government, said a British national was among the dead. British Foreign Minister William Hague, speaking in Sydney, Australia, said the captives included “a number of British nationals.” Hague said the Foreign Office had sent a “rapid deployment team” to Algiers to beef up staffing at the embassy. Algerian military forces were surrounding the building holding the hostage-takers and the hostages, Qabliyeh said. Late Wednesday, the hostage-takers released the Algerians they had been holding but continued holding the Westerners, Algerian state television reported. The group has issued demands, but they elicited no response, Qabliyeh said. “The authorities do not negotiate, no negotiations; we have received their demands, but we didn’t respond to them,” he added. A Mauritanian news agency, Al Akhbar, said the attackers demanded in a news release an end to “brutal aggression on our people in Mali.” It cited “blatant intervention of the French crusader forces in Mali” and accused the world of having left Syria’s people “groaning under the pressure of the butcher” President Bashar al-Assad. The news release said they chose to carry out the operation in Algeria because the country’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, had allowed French military forces to cross Algerian air space in attacking Mali. A U.S. official was skeptical. “The level of planning suggests that this was in train before the French overflights ever took place,” the official said. That view was echoed by another U.S. official, who told CNN’s Erin Burnett that, “as of now, the attack appeared organized,” not put together quickly or opportunistic. The official said it was likely that the attackers had cited Algeria’s opening of its air space to French fighters as the reason for the attack to protect their operational methods and make the attack appear spontaneous. The news release put the number of hostages at “more than 40,” including seven Americans, two French, two British and a number of other Europeans. An Islamist group claiming responsibility for the attack told the Mauritanian News Agency and Sahara Media that 41 “Westerners including seven Americans, (as well as) French, British and Japanese citizens have been taken hostage.” But the real number of U.S. hostages could be as few as three, two U.S. officials said Wednesday. The Algerian Press Service, citing a source from the provincial administration of Illizi, reported that “a little more than 20 foreign nationals are held hostage.” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in Europe meeting with NATO allies, called the incident “a terrorist attack.” Nine or 10 Americans were working at the site, and U.S. officials were trying to determine who had been abducted, a State Department official told CNN. The source said the abductors were demanding that members of their group being held prisoner be released and sent to northern Mali. The official was not clear about where the prisoners were. “The first priority is to gain understanding of what is happening,” a senior U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter said. “We are working on ways to improve that now.” The official added that a Special Operations team – the Commanders In-extremis Force – “is on a very short string.” He said that “another important piece will be for Libya to really lock down the nearby border on their side,” so personnel and weapons cannot get through. A U.S. official said the capability existed “to see the area” around the facility and that the ability to monitor the situation will “improve soon.” The CIF unit is prepared to move within four hours of being ordered to do so, a U.S. defense official told CNN. The official said that, before the hostage incident, the unit had been headed to Senegal, where it was to be on standby for missions in Mali, but that it may now move elsewhere. A second U.S. official said that any operation would take time to unfold.  “This is not the type of mission that you plan and execute overnight, it’s just not,” the official said. “We don’t know specifically how many militants or hostages there are. But with so little information, if you’re talking dozens of militants and up to 40 hostages, I don’t see how you go in without killing half the hostages.” The second official said that Marine Corps’ Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams would be deployed only to augment security at any nearby embassies. None is under threat. They would not be deployed for field operations in any rescue attempt, the official said. The Pentagon’s Africa Command is taking the military lead on the matter, and the State Department and FBI are the lead agencies in contact with the Algerian government, a Defense official said. The official said commanders have assets “not too far away,” including aircraft from the Air Force’s base in Aviano, Italy, and a Marine Corps FAST team in Sigonella, Italy. Any action would need to be approved by Algeria, “which is more than just a formality,” the official said. A spokesman for the group – whose name means “those who sign with blood” – said that jihadists controlled the plant. Saying that the operation was an act of revenge against Algeria, the spokesman said 400 Algerian soldiers were on the site “who have not been targeted by jihadists.” A spokesman for the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office told CNN that “13 Norwegians, all employees of Statoil, are involved in the incident at Amenas gas field in Algeria.” The UK Foreign Office said British nationals were caught up in the incident. Ireland’s foreign minister said there were reports that an Irish citizen was involved; the office of the French president refused comment on reports that French citizens were among the hostages. Oil giant BP, which operates the In Amenas field in a joint venture with Sonatrac, the Algerian national oil company, and Norway’s Statoil, said it was attacked by “unidentified armed people” who were occupying the site. Statoil Executive Vice President Lars Christian Bacher said 17 of its employees – 13 of them Norwegian – were in or around the facility at the time of the attack. “We have received information that five of the 17 are brought to safety in a military camp in the area,” he said in a statement. Four are Norwegian and one is a Canadian resident; two people were injured and have received medical treatment, he said. The gas field lies about 60 kilometers west of the Libyan border and some 1,300 kilometers from the capital, Algiers, BP said. The attack comes four days after Libyan, Algerian and Tunisian prime ministers reached security agreements during a summit in Libya, where they agreed to work together against terrorist threats. In a statement, Rep. Ed Royce, R-California, called the attack “the latest demonstration of a large and growing radical movement across North Africa” and said the French “have acted appropriately” in intervening in Mali. “Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its offshoots have been conducting regular kidnappings for years – financing much of its operations through ransoms, earning millions,” the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said. “The network has planted deep roots in Europe.  In recent years, cells have been broken up by authorities in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.  In Mali, its brethren are imposing the strictest interpretation of Islamic law – banning music and chopping off limbs.  Large amounts of weapons are flowing into the region.” Read related: U.S. supported France’s failed hostage rescue in Somalia CNN’s Carol Jordan, Laura Smith-Spark and Antonia Mortensen reported from London; Chris Lawrence, Elise Labott and Barbara Starr from Washington; Christine Theodorou, Hamdi Alkhshali, Joe Sterling and Yousuf Basil from Atlanta; Jomana Karadsheh from Tripoli, Libya; and Dheepthi Namasivayam from Paris.


When fashion’s top influencers glided through the entrance to the Victoria & Albert Museum’s inaugural summer party last week, we had cause for pause. Big ticket fashion personalities at even bigger ticket museum events: haven’t we seen this before? We have, and perhaps we should plan on seeing a lot more. According to the editor of British GQ, Dylan Jones – also a member of the organizing committee for the V&A summer party – the two industries aren’t merely flirting but on course for a head-on, high impact collision. “Fashion and art have never been so closely entwined,” he argues. “Fashion is now considered to be an art form – and art has never been so fashionable.” Who made it better? Humans vs. machines Leading this charge was the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s May gala for current exhibit Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, drawing interest on an international scale to an exhibit that presents fashion from a curatorial point of view. In London, last year’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the V&A smashed all attendance records. Presently, Vogue 100: A Century of Style at London’s National Portrait Gallery and Making and Unmaking at the Camden Arts Centre, hosted by fashion designer Duro Oluwu, are both seeing a steady stream of traffic. Around the corner is the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party in July, traditionally hosted by a fashion house. This year’s co-host is Tommy Hilfiger, an appropriate choice since his early work was heavily influenced by the pop art movement. While the conflation between art and fashion roars ahead, a special mention must be given to the V&A, an early adopter to this movement. “Fashion has always been a pillar for us, and our fashion curators are very active,” says Nicolas Coleridge, president of Condé Nast and chairman of the V&A. “There is no doubt for us that certain elements and moments in fashion history are art, pure and simple.” Savage Beauty: The strange and stunning fashions of Alexander McQueen It appears that this volte-face of the art world’s view towards fashion could have much to do with the elevation of fashion’s techniques and use of materials. “There is a very contemporary return of interest in craftsmanship and skill in the use and development of new materials,” says Cassie Davies-Strodder, series curator of Fashion in Motion. “These interests are very much in line with ‘one off’ garments being made which have far more in common with works of art.” “The work of Dutch designer Iris van Herpen is a good example”, she argues. “Her sculptural designs use new materials and new techniques such as 3-D printing, and she also employs very specialist hand-craftsmanship.” Designers are also going deeper into artistic archives. Historically, designers have referenced inoffensive, universally liked art – Yves Klein “Blue”, Matisse’s “Cut Outs” or Van Goth’s “Sunflowers”, for example – a ‘safe option’ by fashion supremos with a focus on the bottom line. What you'll be wearing in 2050: Dragon skin and bones? However today designers are exploring less obvious mainstream art references. Now we see inspirations from the likes of Robert Mapplethorpe and Megumi Igarashi. This is exemplified by the Louis Vuitton men’s show last week, where designer Kim Jones collaborated with art’s bad boys version 2.0, Jake and Dinos Chapman. Bags and jumpers featured the Chapman Brother’s illustrations of what looked like rabies-infested, feral animals, with wide eyes and bared fangs, ready to pounce – not your usual LVMH fare. Even Kanye West got into the action for his Yeezy Season Two show, via a catwalk where models did little catwalking. His stylist for the show was performance artist Vanessa Beecroft who had the models line up in military formation. Disturbing and dystopian, fashion is now embracing the unsafe. Futuristic new Serpentine Gallery Pavilion opens in London The time is ripe to explore the intersection between the two industries, but Coleridge tells us there’s no reason to recreate the Met Gala in London. “The Met Gala is the Met Gala, there is no [event] like it and never [will] be, it’s unique.” he explains. “We just want people to raise a toast to art and fashion at our home. Goodness knows the world needs some levity about now.”


Editor’s Note: Victoria Fontan is interim chair of the Politics and Public Policy Department at the American University Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan; she is a doctoral candidate in War Studies at King’s College London. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. ISIS has taken Ramadi despite recent optimism by the U.S. and Iraq, says Victoria Fontan Coalition efforts are being negated by Baghdad's antagonism of Sunnis, she says Airstrikes need to be backed up with ground offensives and political solutions, she says It was only a month ago that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi triumphantly announced that his army would retake the Anbar province from ISIS. After a victory in Saddam’s former stronghold of Tikrit, it was taken as given that ISIS had lost ground in Iraq, and that U.S.-led coalition airstrikes were key to defeating the terrorist group on the long run. Only a week ago, the Pentagon made it clear that its strategy was working. If it weren’t for the Iraqi government, it certainly would be. The problem is that the coalition efforts and the Iraqi government’s actions are canceling each other out. When the coalition makes military advances, the Iraqi government sabotages them by antagonizing the very people who are needed to help root out ISIS, the Sunni population of Iraq. The catastrophic loss of Ramadi shows that Anbar, once again, is the canary in the Iraqi coalmine: It needs to be understood instead of being dismissed as the problem. It took a few years for the U.S. government to grasp this after the 2003 invasion, before successfully engaging Anbar Sunni tribes against al-Qaeda in this very city, in 2006. So far, the Baghdad government is too blinded by its sectarian politics to understand that it needs to rapidly change course before it reaches a political point of no return. No coalition airstrikes can help defeat a terrorist organization thriving on Baghdad’s perceived victimization of Iraqi Sunnis. Iran, Shia militias involvement mixed blessing for U.S., Iraq Sparse military gains over ISIS will always be eclipsed by governmental political mistakes, which remain at the core of ISIS’s often-reluctant Sunni support. Today, the state of the Iraqi army, weakened by Baghdad’s sectarian politics and the rise of Shia militias, is catastrophic. It appears that few soldiers are willing to die for a part of the country that they do not associate with: Anbar. The apparent flight of Iraqi troops from Ramadi alongside the famous Golden Division – Iraqi U.S.-trained special forces – is concerning. Retaking Anbar is only the tip of a complex iceberg, and while coalition airstrikes are working, benefits will only be long-lasting when complemented by adequate ground offensives and comprehensive political solutions. Victoria Fontan Until now, the Golden Division has been forced to systematically face ISIS. How can the Iraqi army retake Anbar after this? Even if Shia militias are flocking to the Habaniya air base to prepare a counter-offensive, they are part of the problem. According to Human Rights Watch, these militias have allegedly committed too many human rights abuses against Iraqi Sunnis after the Tikrit offensive, burning villages and executing Sunni civilians randomly. To make matters worse for Sunnis, the Tikrit offensive relied not only on Iraqi troops, but also a division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, headed by the much-detested General Qassim Suleimani. Many in Iraq took this as a slap in the face. ‘Complex iceberg’ While the Iraqi government is assuring that Anbar Sunni tribes have lent their support to the fight against ISIS, a Fallujah resident tells me that only five out of 26 tribes have joined in so far: Abuisha, Abufaed, part of Buissa, Geraifa and Abuboed from al-Qaim. Today, these tribes have warned on Iraqi’s al-Arabiya television channel they would not take part in the counteroffensive if Iranian General Suleimani came to Anbar. The remaining tribes may be reluctant to join in as they see how the government and Shia militias have treated the Jibouri tribe of Salaheddin since last summer. Even though it had participated alongside the militias and Iran in the Tikrit offensive, they have been left to mercy of Shia militias operating in the areas surrounding al-Alam and Dhulluyia. Retaking Anbar is only the tip of a complex iceberg, and while coalition airstrikes are working, benefits will only be long-lasting when complemented by adequate ground offensives and comprehensive political solutions. So far, Iraqi Sunni areas are like a whack-a-mole game, you hammer one ISIS presence only to see another one pop up elsewhere.


Obama has taken steps toward solidifying the alliance with Israel this month His meeting with Netanyahu was likely to be their last face-to-face consultations President Barack Obama confronted one of his most strained foreign partnerships Wednesday during a final meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the pair making a last attempt at patching up their stormy bond before Obama leaves office. Speaking before their session, Obama said he was aiming to ascertain the prospects for peace in the region as he prepares to end his presidency. “Our hope will be that in these conversations we get the sense of how Israel sees the next few years, what the opportunities are and what the challenges are in order to ensure we keep alive the possibility of a stable, secure Israel at peace with its neighbors,” Obama said. “These are challenging times. One thing that I would say about Prime Minister Netanyahu is that he is always very candid with us.” That candor has become a hallmark of the relationship between Obama and his Israeli counterpart, whom the White House has accused of being less-than-diplomatic in expressing his opposition to US policies like the nuclear agreement with Iran. Obama’s 30-minute meeting Wednesday with Netanyahu was likely to be their final opportunity for face-to-face consultations before a new president enters the Oval Office in January. Obama is intent on conferring solid ties with Israel upon his successor, despite the personal animus that developed between him and Netanyahu, as he looks to boost the relationship during the homestretch of a presidential campaign in which he hopes to see Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton prevail. Obama took a step toward solidifying the alliance this month by completing a long-term, $38 billion security aid package for Israel, the largest such agreement ever for a US ally. The aid, Obama said, “allows the kind of certainty in a moment where there’s enormous uncertainty in the region. It is a very difficult and dangerous time in the Middle East and we want to make sure Israel has full capabilities to keep the Israeli people safe.” In their talks, Obama said he and his Israeli counterpart would discuss challenges in Syria, and said he would get Netanyahu’s assessment of conditions in Israel and the West Bank. “Clearly there is great danger of not just terrorism but also flare-ups of violence,” he said. “We do have concerns about settlement activity as well.” Obama hopes to take steps in his final days in office to promote renewed talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians on peace, though his previous efforts toward reconciliation in the region have fallen short. “My hope is we can continue to be an effective partner in Israel in finding a path to peace,” Obama said. But the White House remains opposed to Israel’s expanded settlement activity in the West Bank, and has expressed disappointment at Netanyahu’s occasional skepticism about the viability of a two-state solution in the region. In the meeting Wednesday Obama raised “profound US concerns about the corrosive effect that that is having on the prospects of two states.” “They’ve never papered over their differences,” another senior administration official said of Obama and Netanyahu. In his final United Nations address Tuesday, Obama made scant reference to the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying only that “Israelis and Palestinians will be better off if Palestinians reject incitement and recognize the legitimacy of Israel, but Israel recognizes that it cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land.” The passing remark was in stark comparison to the large amounts of time Obama spent on the issue during addresses to the UN earlier in his tenure. The shift reflected the now-frozen peace negotiations, which moved in spurts during Obama’s presidency but never materialized into a workable solution. The White House has conceded that talks aren’t likely to resume while Obama remains in office but has remained open to the possibility the President could take steps in the next months to ramp up pressure on both sides to work toward a two-state solution. “With respect to Middle East peace, I wouldn’t rule out the President taking any particular step on the issue,” Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said Tuesday. “What I would say is his test has always been, can I make a positive difference by engaging on the Israeli-Palestinian issue? We’ve tried multiple tactics, none of them have succeeded, given the fact that the parties themselves have been unable to come together.” Obama’s talks with Netanyahu Wednesday capped a tumultuous personal history, though both displayed a businesslike camaraderie during their photo-op. The low point between the two men came in March 2015, when Netanyahu infuriated the White House by publicly lobbying against the Iran nuclear deal before Congress – a move the administration lambasted as a breach of diplomatic protocol. Netanyahu returned to Washington last November in an attempt to repair the relationship, meeting with Obama in the Oval Office and addressing both the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the left-leaning Center for American Progress, the think tank with ties to Clinton. Netanyahu on Wednesday invited Obama for a round of golf in Israel once he departs office in January, saying warmly that Obama’s “influential voice” on international politics would remain a force “for many decades.” “Our alliance has grown decade after decade, through successive presidents, bipartisan Congresses and with the overwhelming support of the American people,” he said. “It is an unbreakable bond.”


The election was delayed for six weeks It comes as the nation battles extremist group Boko Haram Nigerians go to the polls Saturday to determine who will lead Africa’s most populous nation. The stakes are high in this election as the nation faces intensified attacks by extremist group Boko Haram. With security catapulting into a key issue, which candidate will voters trust to keep them safe? As Nigeria decides, here’s what you need to know: Nigeria is home to about 173 million people and is considered a powerhouse in the region. Its stability is crucial to combating the growing risk of Islamist terrorists, who thrive on instability. As Boko Haram seeks to extend its tentacles with its recent pledge of allegiance to ISIS, Nigeria has teamed up with neighboring Chad and Cameroon in a counteroffensive against  the terror group. And it appears  to be working, with its military  saying it has recaptured several key cities from the militants. The next leader will have to ensure the gains stay on track. As we have learned with ISIS in Iraq and Syria, any unaddressed local insurgency has the potential to spiral into an international problem. And let’s face it, the world does not need another failing state, especially one with such a massive population. Nigeria is also one of Africa’s largest oil producers and is a major supplier of crude oil to the United States. It hosts many international oil companies and workers. The key issues are power, security and the economy. But with the rise of Boko Haram, security has taken center stage. Just this year alone, the extremists have killed at least 1,000 civilians, Human Rights Watch says. One of the militants’ most brutal acts was the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls last April, a majority of whom are still missing. Boko Haram has become increasingly brazen, seizing towns in bloody attacks and declaring them Islamic caliphates. Militants have bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders alike. Although the current government is “having successes here and there” in its fight against Boko Haram, it’s not winning the war against  the terror group, says Ayo Johnson, a documentary filmmaker and analyst on African affairs. And despite recapturing some key towns from militants, he says, the government’s big picture on security is still hazy. “This elections will come down to who can protect Nigeria,” Johnson says. “Who can make Nigerians feel safe.” Nigeria overtook South Africa as the region’s largest economy last year. The government has made tremendous gains on the economy, Johnson says, but those gains have  been buried under the constant threat of Boko Haram. But many complain that the country’s vast wealth from oil exports does not trickle down to the average citizen. As many as 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty line and survive on less than a dollar a day, according to the CIA World Factbook. Nigeria is under economic pressure because of falling crude oil prices worldwide and a weakened currency. Corruption has been a hindrance to building a stable economy despite years of democracy, analysts say. There are 14 candidates on the ballot, but the race is more of a rematch between the current president and a former military ruler. The two faced off in the last election in 2011. President Goodluck Jonathan: Jonathan rode a wave of popularity in 2011. At the time, he portrayed himself as a man of the people. During campaigns, he talked about growing up without shoes,  a message that resonated with average Nigerians. But in recent years, his popularity has plummeted, with Nigerians saying he has not delivered on his promises for change. Key officials have defected from his ruling People’s Democratic Party to the newly formed All Progressives Congress. Muhammadu Buhari: The retired general has unsuccessfully run for election three times. Buhari ruled Nigeria in the 1980s following a military coup and was known for his tough regime, which some say was marked by human rights abuses. But he has pledged to make fighting graft and insecurity a priority if he wins, which might appeal to those who’ve run out of patience with the current government. His military rule background could be a plus or a minus. “Many Nigerians will not forget he was a military leader, during a dictatorship,” Johnson says. “Or maybe they will feel that they need a military leader to address fundamental problems such as terrorism.” The election was originally scheduled for February 14, but was delayed for six weeks. In addition to the presidential elections, Nigerians will elect  governors in 36 states. Like their U.S. counterparts, the nation’s governors have a lot of clout. Not only do they set priorities for federal funds, they are also responsible for security in their states and are thus the first line of defense against extremists, especially in the North, where militants have free rein. In populated cities such as Lagos, governors manage economies larger than those of some African countries. To avoid a runoff,  a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote and at least a quarter in two-thirds of the states. If no candidate wins, a runoff election will be held seven days later. CNN’s Christian Purefoy contributed to this report.


Erdogan comments about "cleansing" military raise US concerns about Turkish democracy Direction Erdogan takes post-coup will shape the next US president's relationship with crucial counter-terror ally Turkey’s attempted military coup has brought its relationship with the US to a perilous crossroads. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reaction to Friday’s unsuccessful coup is raising alarm bells in Washington as he undertakes a sprawling crackdown, demands extradition of a Turkish cleric from the US and suggests American involvement in the plot despite repeated US denials. Washington has spent years trying to cultivate the Muslim ally sitting at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East – a country crucial to the US fight against ISIS, stemming the tide of Syrian refugees and foreign fighters and tight military cooperation as a NATO member state. Now, there are fears that cooperation could slip and with it US interests. The US, surprised by the coup and long concerned about Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies, is trying to strike a tricky balance between opposing an undemocratic attempt to topple the government and pushing the government to ease up on its counter response. The White House has watched Erdogan crack down on the independent pillars of a democratic state – including the judiciary, the media, political opponents and academics – with increasing concern. “None of us have been under any illusions for some time” about Turkey’s increasingly undemocratic nature, said one senior State Department official, who described Erdogan as being “all about consolidating power.” At the same time, Turkish criticism of the US could well increase to the detriment of the countries’ ties. “A radical expansion of power and authoritarian rule will come with the need to point to foreign and domestic enemies, and the US is foreign power par excellence in Turkey,” said Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, a former US envoy to Turkey. “They use us to gin up support.” US and European officials are warning Erdogan not to go further down the road of authoritarianism or blame-shifting, issuing lightly veiled threats about the consequences, including potential disqualification from NATO. Erdogan’s response to the crisis – either a tougher, broader crackdown or an attempt to reach out to Turkey’s divided constituencies – will redefine US-Turkey ties, analysts say, and could add yet another Mideast headache for the next US president to tackle in 2017. “The relations with the US will be a subset of where Erdogan wants to take the country now,” said Jeffrey. “The coup is history. The question is what he does with it.” Related gallery Military coup in Turkey The path he chooses could have particularly dire consequences for military cooperation. Two defense officials told CNN there is a growing sense that much of the US military relationship with the Turkish military may have to be rebuilt following the attempted coup. Given the large number of senior Turkish military officers arrested, one defense official said the question has become, “Who do we even talk to?” And US officials privately point to Erdogan’s comments this weekend about cleansing the military to explain their concerns that he could use the attempted coup as an opportunity to consolidate power. Already, there are worries that the Pentagon’s relationship with the Turkish military could suffer in ways that could affect US national security interests, including arms sales and future military exercises, as well as the fight against ISIS in neighboring Syria. If Erdogan works at improving relations with other elements of Turkey’s political system, and doesn’t do permanent institutional damage, that will open the door to improving relations with the US and with the new White House occupant in 2017, Jeffrey said. “If he continues his quasi-authoritarian government and Turkey becomes an institutionally limited democracy, that will mean a divided, weakened, dysfunctional Turkey, which we don’t need and will violate our values,” Jeffrey said. “We will have to react to that. It would be a recipe for worse relations.” Secretary of State John Kerry issued a veiled warning to that effect at a Brussels press conference Monday, where his European Union counterpart Federica Mogherini warned that Turkish attempts to reinstate the death penalty in order to punish those accused of involvement with the coup could disqualify it from becoming an EU member. Kerry delivered a reminder that NATO had standards for its members, too. “NATO has a requirement with respect to democracy,” Kerry said. “NATO will measure very carefully what is happening and my hope is that Turkey is going to move in ways that do respect what they have said to me many times is the bedrock of their country.” Kerry said that in three conversations with Turkey’s foreign minister in the last few days, “he assured me they fully intend to respect the democratic process and the law.” But he warned that “the level of vigilance and scrutiny is obviously going to be significant in the days ahead” and cautioned against “a backsliding.” Related video Exclusive: Turkish president won't rule out death penalty A senior US administration official said Kerry was simply reiterating a long-standing message to ensure the Turkish government is aware of the need to preserve civil society and stand by the values in the NATO charter. At a time of fear, emotion and tension, it was important for Kerry to reiterate to Erdogan to “be careful not to overreach, which has been the basic thrust of our message all along,” the official said. That official downplayed tensions between the US and Turkey, which have simmered over the past few years over differences on how to approach the fight against the Syrian regime and against ISIS, as well as Erdogan’s rule. “It would not be fair for differences over domestic policies to cloud the fact that the strategic relationship has grown much closer over time,” said the official, who stressed “common interest and common effort” in the fight against ISIS, also know as Daesh. Officials at the State Department were less circumspect. “There is a worrying trend in Turkey about lack of freedoms,” this official said. “We have been expressing our concerns as much as we can, and with a NATO ally and a key partner in the anti-Daesh coalition, that gets dicey and uncomfortable.” RELATED: Why Turkey’s coup attempt matters big time for the United States So Kerry is delivering the message that “you can’t use this coup attempt to further crack down on freedom of speech, press and academic freedoms and civil society,” this official said. If Erdogan ignores that warning at takes a more deeply authoritarian turn, relations with the US will get worse, Jeffries warned. In turn, Turkey will likely produce more open displays of direct hostility to the US. US Ambassador to Turkey John Bass has already had to publicly rebut allegations from senior Erdogan government figures that the US was behind the coup or supported it. “This is categorically untrue,” Bass said in a statement issued Monday. “Such speculation is harmful to the decades-long friendship between the two great nations.” Turks have accused a Turkish cleric and Erdogan rival living in exile in Pennsylvania of being a key coup plotter. In a televised speech on July 16, Erdogan said that “if we are strategic partners,” the US would grant a Turkish extradition request for the cleric. Both Bass and Kerry responded by making clear that the US has clear legal standards for such request that so far haven’t been met. “We need to see genuine evidence that withstands the standard of scrutiny,” Kerry said. “Let me emphasize that we’ve never had such a request, we’ve never had such evidence.” Jeffrey noted that the Turkish narrative about about Gulen “is the kind of thing that is done deliberately to gin up support.” And if Erdogan makes the argument that he is the only person to keep Turkey safe and on track, it would “exacerbate relations with the US. It will be difficult for us to put up with it and they will actively pick on the US as a reason for the crackdown,” Jeffrey said. Related video Exclusive: Turkish president wants cleric extradited The most concrete impact may be on the military. The Pentagon will watch to see what officers are appointed to fill senior commander jobs in the Turkish military and determine how to interact with them. An immediate test will come later this week when a Turkish military delegation is expected to show up in Washington for a counter-ISIS meeting with other nations in the coalition. Sensitivities are so high right now that the Pentagon will neither say who was scheduled to come or who might still be coming. Jeffrey noted that the military is one of very few commonalities left in the US-Turkey relationship. “Our relationship with Turkey is almost entirely transactional with the military,” Jeffrey said. There’s a little energy cooperation, very little trade and “there isn’t much left on values – the whole idea of a liberal democracy in the Middle East is gone.” If political ties do get worse over the coming months, the next president will find it hard to continue good military relations, Jeffrey said, “because all decisions involving the US military realm are taken at the political level.”


There is no ambiguity now about Russia’s current tactics in Syria – they are seeking to take over the airspace in the region and be the agenda-setting force on the ground, several senior administration officials told CNN. “Yesterday’s demarche to the U.S. by Russian officials in Baghdad was clear in its intent,” one senior administration official said. “Make sure you don’t have anyone around ISIS targets and get out of the air.” And while U.S. officials have no plans to cede Russia any ground, they also said it appears that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a dramatic chess move that the Russians have not thought through – one official even called it a “strategic blunder.” Had the Russians been clear that they are providing support in Syria to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regime’s collapse – a scenario that would benefit ISIS – they might have gotten some credit on the world stage. But their very first strikes in the region hit CIA-backed anti-Assad rebel forces, Arizona Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Thursday on CNN’s “New Day.” READ: Russian airstrikes in Syria leave U.S. scrambling for response And U.S. officials note that every bomb against a non-ISIS Sunni target puts them more in bed with Iran and Hezbollah, which are Shiite. U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf warn that this could set off a huge sectarian conflict and that the deeper the Russians get into this, the harder officials believe it will be to get a diplomatic process with the Saudis and others restarted. “It is going to be hugely tempting for the Saudis to start financing their guys again,” another senior administration official said. “Syria will be a magnet for every jihadi, who will rush to fight the Russians, just like they did in Afghanistan. The problem is while this will cause problems for the Russians, it will also mean trouble for the Gulf, when the jihadists come home.” “The Russians can’t be stupid,” another senior administration official said. “This is going to be wildly expensive. And they can’t hold out long. They know in the end there is no future for the guy (Assad) because the whole reason they had to come in is because Assad and his forces were extremely vulnerable. So we are hoping they will come to their senses, stabilize the situation and then we can agree on the Assad piece.” The U.S. wants to see Assad transition out of power in order to end the civil war. Related gallery Tense moments between Obama and Putin U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is working on “deconflicting” with Russia to avoid military mishaps in the coming days, but those talks probably won’t happen Thursday. Secretary of State John Kerry will continue to meet with his counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. U.S. officials expect Carter and Kerry to make it clear to Russia the U.S. has the legal authorities necessary to continue its anti-ISIS campaign. Kerry is also meeting with world leaders interested in ousting Assad, but nobody is putting much stock in that group because the Russians must be in place first, according to a U.S. official. “Everyone is feeling their way on this,” a second senior administration official said. Officials said there is a recognition that Assad isn’t going anywhere soon. But they are also mindful that as they seek to deconflict with the Russians, they must be careful not to be seen as supporting the Syrian dictator. However, there is a corner of the U.S. government  – analysts, members of Congress – saying that Assad should stay for now, including Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who said as much Wednesday on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” The growing refugee crisis in Europe is another wild card that is helping Assad’s case, because some European countries are saying it may be better to work with him than continue to see the situation escalate and the refugee flow increase.


Tillerson insisted he enjoys a close relationship with Trump He would not directly deny that he'd called Trump a 'moron' Discord between President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat is at an all-time high, spilling into public view in recent days and peaking with a NBC News report Wednesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron” in a Pentagon meeting. Trump was aware before Wednesday’s report that Tillerson had referred to him as a “moron” at the Pentagon this summer, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN, but it’s unclear whether Trump discussed the remark with Tillerson. Trump was not present at the Pentagon meeting. A White House source also confirmed to CNN that Trump knew about the insult prior to Wednesday. During a hastily arranged statement Wednesday morning, Tillerson insisted he enjoys a close relationship with Trump and called him “smart.” But he would not directly deny that he’d called Trump a “moron.” Related article After 'moron' report, Tillerson reaffirms commitment to Trump “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that,” Tillerson said from the State Department Treaty Room. “I’m just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration.” Though Tillerson didn’t deny calling Trump a moron, Trump tweeted: “The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!” I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man... Trump was flying aboard Air Force One at the time to greet survivors of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. Trump later told reporters inside a Las Vegas hospital he has “total confidence” in Tillerson and called reports that the secretary of state called him a moron “fake news” and “totally made up.” Trump answered the question after praising the work of doctors and nurses who responded to Sunday’s mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip. After Tillerson’s comments, a person familiar with Trump’s thinking said the President is not pleased that Tillerson’s terming him a “moron” has been made public, but isn’t on the verge of asking for his resignation. On Thursday morning, the President tweeted that Tillerson never threatened to resign. The President and Tillerson have an uneasy relationship, the person said, but Trump is wary of another high-profile departure from his administration after a tumultuous eight months in office. Trump is cognizant that his administration and inner West Wing operation are shedding staff at an alarming clip. Trump has either dismissed or seen quit a chief of staff, national security adviser, press secretary, two communications directors, chief strategist, acting attorney general, FBI director, and – as of Friday – a Health and Human Services secretary. Trump, above all, wants to project a sense of competence and believes the rapid turnover of staff helps fuel the notion his administration is in chaos, according to the source. Over the past several months, Trump has been agitated – but not outright furious – at the distance Tillerson has put between himself and the White House on issues like Qatar, Charlottesville and North Korea. Tillerson’s pressure on Trump to certify Iran’s compliance with the deal in July made him more upset, but nearly every national security official within the administration was on Tillerson’s side, making it harder for Trump to fully blame his top diplomat. Separately, another official suggested Tillerson will want to help Trump get through his November slog through Asia, an exhausting five-country tour that includes a high-stakes visit to Beijing. Tillerson was in Beijing last week to lay some of the groundwork for those talks. Sources say Vice President Mike Pence has become a bit of a sounding board for Tillerson, and the two men often have lunch together. After the “moron” remark, an aide says Pence advised Tillerson on “setting expectations” and counseled him on how to work with the administration toward the President’s goals. Pence’s spokesman denied Pence discussing with Tillerson the chief diplomat’s potential resignation. “At no time did he and the secretary ever discuss the prospect of the secretary’s resignation from the administration. Any reporting to the contrary is categorically false,” said Jarrod Agen, Pence’s spokesman. A senior White House adviser said there is “certainly some friction there to say the least” between Tillerson and the White House but pointed fingers at West Wing staff rather than directly at the President. This person said Tillerson is “obviously growing frustrated because of the unpredictable nature of his job.” Related article Rex Tillerson kind of, sort of just admitted he called Trump a 'moron' Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, said that Tillerson and Trump spoke after the secretary of state’s remarks on Wednesday. “It was a good conversation and they’re all good,” she said. Nauert also said Tillerson told her he’d never used “moron” to describe the President. But Trump isn’t the only person in the West Wing who Tillerson has been at odds with. He became so “irate” with national security adviser H.R. McMaster earlier this year on a conference call that Defense Secretary James Mattis had to step in, an administration official directly familiar with the incident says. “Tillerson and McMaster do not do well together,” said the official, who left the administration several weeks ago in an unrelated matter. This person, who is directly familiar with other multiple interactions involving Tillerson, declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. During that conference call, Tillerson, Mattis and McMaster were discussing the way ahead on the proposed strategy for fighting the war in Afghanistan. McMaster was pressing for a faster decision-making process from the Pentagon and State Department. As the official described it, Tillerson finally became so irritated with the White House pressure, he said they could move ahead without him. It is not clear if that was a threat to resign. “Voices were raised” during that call, the official said. Mattis then stepped in and reminded McMaster that the State Department and Pentagon did not have a significant number of Senate-confirmed senior staff officials who could quickly work these problems. The official said McMaster then realized “he overstepped” and backed off. Related video Haley: 'Tillerson is not going anywhere' But the official also describes a series of meetings and interactions in which Tillerson has become repeatedly irritated. The official said Mattis has tried to “mentor” Tillerson and treates him “with the respect of a peer, with talent, but maybe a guy without the political skills.” The official described private meetings in which Tillerson has become “a little more hotheaded” than he appears in public, using salty language, a trait that Mattis shares. Though Tillerson’s departure seems imminent, the friction between the President and his top diplomat may not have reached its boiling point yet. A person close to Tillerson said it has always been his plan to stay on at the State Department through the first year of the Trump administration but acknowledged again Wednesday that his future is “up to the President.” Trump recently seemed to undercut Tillerson when he said he was wasting his time attempting new dialogue with North Korea. “I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful secretary of state, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Save your energy Rex. we’ll do what has to be done!” Despite this, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday that Trump still had confidence in Tillerson, despite their different messages on North Korea.


Pope Francis received a warm welcome in Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic on his whistle-stop tour of the three African nations. A man not known to pull his punches, he was on a mission to address some of the hard-hitting issues affecting the region. But did he cover them all? As he made his way across the continent we asked you to send in your #MessageToThePope and share what issues you thought he should raise. Here’s what you said – and what Pope Francis said too. Above all what you desired was for the pope to preach love for one another: Africa is blessed. Love you Papa. God bless humanity. #MessageToThePope pic.twitter.com/m0yvLlvnWl #messagetothepope #popeinafrica. I aspire to your humility and servitude to be a better Christian and Catholic. @cnn pic.twitter.com/Y9QoSxKIsT Issue addressed? YES It was a sentiment he spread throughout his appearances, calling on believers and non-believers alike to embrace their common humanity: May my visit to Africa be a sign of the Church’s esteem for all religions, and strengthen our bonds of friendship. The Catholic community in Africa has grown at a rate of 238% since 1980 – a population close to 200 million strong. The continent as a whole has 1.1 billion citizens, and by 2050 three of the world’s top ten most populous nations will be in  Africa according to one survey. It was no surprise then that employment, living conditions and living standards were issues you raised: #MessageToThePope.unreal disparities, inhumane living conditions for many people in #Africa @CNNAfrica kindly pray for the youths to get employment in Kenya because we are learned but unlucky to be employed pic.twitter.com/g7CucpG5JH Issue addressed? YES Francis visited the Kangemi slum in Nairobi, meeting Sister Mari Killeen, known as Kenya’s Mother Teresa, in a private audience on November 27. Talking in the shantytown he described injustices against the less fortunate as “new forms of colonialism,” stating that the “dreadful injustice of social exclusion” leaves the poor with an unfair distribution of land, lack of access to infrastructure and minimal basic services. An inescapable issue, corruption was among the most prevalent topics in your responses: @CNNAfrica #MessageToThePope > Urge our leaders to end "top-down" corruption in #Kenya! #PopeInKenya #PapalMass pic.twitter.com/nPstdwlCGh @CNNAfrica #messagetothepope advise our kenyan leaders to abstain from corruption. #MessageToThePope. African leaders should stop investing in fancy houses and cars but invest in their People through education, health... #MessageToThePope. African leaders should love their People as they love themselves... @Pontifex basically cleaned up the mess-wht the church leadershp hs failed to speak agnst for yrs #MessageToThePopehttps://t.co/3W2OBPgMU7 Issue addressed? YES Not only did the pope shine a spotlight on the murky practices of governments – he turned it on himself. “[Corruption is] not just in politics,” he said in a speech to bishops at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi. “It is in all institutions, including in the Vatican, there are cases of corruption.” “Each time when we accept a bribe and we put it in in our pockets, we destroy our hearts, we destroy our personalities and we destroy our country.” It’s a perennial issue for the Church and one that ranked high on your agenda: #MessageToThePope Please repeat your message, that #birthcontrol won't make them to #sinners. It will improve their #health & #life quality. Issue addressed? NO Nowhere in Pope Francis’ speeches in Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic did he highlight the issue of birth control. And when pressed by the media on the return flight to Rome, the pope compared condoms to “band aids” and argued there were more pressing issues at hand. He has previously been quoted as saying that “some think that… in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No,” arguing instead for “responsible parenthood.” However Francis maintains that “God gives you methods to be responsible” – or rather, that the Vatican is opposed to artificial birth control, a point made explicit by Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to Cameroon in 2009. The pope’s visit included a stop in Central African Republic, an active warzone and a first for Francis. Close to one million people have been displaced in the country since the outbreak of war in 2013, but it was not the only conflict you raised: I'd like @Pontifex 2 address #terroism like #BokoHaram which has hit African countries, AIDS and economic options #MessageToThePope #MessageToThePope @Pontifex should intervene in the Central African Republic conflict. @cnni Issue addressed? YES The pope was philosophical about violence in one of his speeches in Kenya, alluding to the biblical Cain and Abel and the death of brother at the hand of brother. In Nairobi he urged unity and the need to overcome factionalism: “As we look to the future, let us pray that all men and women see themselves as brothers and sisters, united in and through our differences.” He put this notion into action in Bangui, Central African Republic, meeting with Muslim public leaders at a multi-faith gathering at the Koudoukou mosque in the capital on November 30. Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters, and we must act as such. Pope Francis’ message of tolerance was sought by some of you in matters beyond war: @pontifex #MessageToThePope Ugandans_ learn tolerance of people with different views, preferences; tackle corruption; reduce poverty gap Issue addressed? MAYBE Uganda is a country in which its LGBT community has been persecuted, either on the streets or in government policy. In light of some of his earlier remarks, many thought the pope would preach tolerance of homosexuality; however there seemed scant evidence of a direct intervention. Nevertheless, there were some veiled comments. In Uganda he urged people to treat “everyone with dignity and not exclud[e] anyone,” and in a prepared speech at a meeting of clergymen at St Mary’s Church in Kampala he did say “May we never forget that our ‘yes’ to Jesus is a ‘yes’ to his people” – perhaps a nudge to priests that believers come in all shapes, sizes and indeed, sexual preferences. As COP21 begins in Paris, plenty of you messaged us about your concerns regarding climate change: @CNNAfrica Peace,fight poverty and to act on climate change #messagetothepope Please speak about the evil of poaching, the risk of species extinction and the sacredness of animal life.  Thank you. Issue addressed? YES Pope Francis had been in Kenya less than 24 hours before he raised the matter, touching on the “grave environmental crisis” in a speech at State House, Nairobi. The pope also went on to talk at length about ecological issues, visiting the U.N. Environmental Program Headquarters in the Kenyan capital, and arguing that illegal poaching “fuels political instability, organized crime and terrorism.” Delia Gallagher contributed to this story.


Editor’s Note: Jonathan Adelman is a professor at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. The views expressed are his own. Jonathan Adelman: Russia is trying to project image of reliable ally in Middle East Moscow forced America's hand over sending forces to Syria, he says Russia’s bold but limited military move into Syria has upended the strategy of the United States and its allies, who have reacted with plans to put U.S. boots on the ground. The White House announced Friday it would be sending “less than 50” Special Operations forces to northern Syria to offer logistical support to local Kurdish and Arab forces fighting the terrorist group ISIS. The move follows Russia’s decision a month ago to join the conflict in Syria. That announcement was widely derided in the West, echoing the repeated dismissal of Vladimir Putin’s “machismo.” But the reality is that such criticism fails to account for the successes of the Putin-Sergey Lavrov team – a success that is underscored by Moscow’s forcing President Barack Obama’s hand over troops in Syria. Related video Intel Chief: Putin is 'winging this' in Syria Many Russians feel that the greatest disaster of the 20th century was not the Great Patriotic War, which killed about 27 million Russians by 1945, but the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a point Putin made in 2005 when he lamented this “major geopolitical disaster of the century.” Since then, Putin, a conservative nationalist, has regained the summer playground of Joseph Stalin and parts of the left-bank Ukraine, which were under Russian control for more than 300 years. Putin also captured Crimea, which Catherine the Great annexed in 1783 and where she established a new naval base. And while he has been condemned abroad, he has been rewarded at home with almost 90% support in polls. Now, Putin’s government has moved from providing massive arms shipments to the failing Bashar al-Assad regime to making a bold move on the ground and in the air. No doubt emboldened by the fact that the clock is running down on Obama’s time in office, Russia has (falsely) claimed its intervention was aimed at ISIS rather than moderate secular rebels. And although some estimates place the personnel deployment at around 2,000 and a few dozen jets, that presence, along with long-range cruise missiles, means Putin has been able to project great power strength even while minimizing the chance of losses. All this is to help Moscow project itself as a decisive and reliable ally to partners in the region, an implied contrast with the United States. True, talks this week between pro- and anti-Syrian government forces agreed on the need to launch a “credible, inclusive, nonsectarian” political process. But by intervening forcefully, Russia keeps its options open of either keeping Assad in place or else dumping him if convenient. Meanwhile, Russia appears to have a careful strategy vis-à-vis Iran. By arming the Iranians and preserving Alawite Syria and Shiite Iraq, including through the announcement of a four-way intelligence-sharing agreement between Iraq, Iraq, Russia and Syria – Moscow is aligning with an Islamic fundamentalist regime that likely sees itself as a rising power in the region. But Russia has concluded a multibillion-dollar arms sale with Egypt, sold nuclear reactors to Jordan and Egypt and may cooperate on building 16 reactors with Saudi Arabia. By the end of 2015, the kings of six Sunni Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, will have visited Putin in Moscow. The goal may well be an effort to achieve some kind of resolution – or “victory” – in Syria before pivoting to exert its influence elsewhere in the region. By fighting ISIS, Russia demonstrates its ability to tackle Sunni extremists head-on and fill the vacuum left by a retreating America. Putin may have in mind a lesson expressed by the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who said, “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse.” All this suggests that even as the United States has sought to withdraw from the Middle East, Russia has tried to position itself to become a major player. Obama’s backpedaling over not putting U.S. forces on the ground in Syria, a move that appears a direct response to Russian maneuvering, simply underscores the shift in influence. Putin’s critics might be right in arguing he is making a big mistake, and entering a quagmire in Syria. But Russia just might also succeed. Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.Read CNNOpinion’s Flipboard magazine.


Editor’s Note: Richard W. Painter is the S. Walter Richey professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota. He was the chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush from February 2005 to July 2007. Painter is the author of several books on government ethics as well as the ethics of bankers and lawyers. The views expressed are his own. Richard W. Painter: Russia investigation more serious than Watergate scandal in 1970s Russian attempt to subvert political system would have been seen as crisis then, he says Here’s a hypothetical question: What would have happened if the Watergate break-in had been carried out by the KGB? It seems silly to ask, considering that the 1972 burglary – an effort to plant listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters to glean damaging information the Nixon campaign could use was an amateur job committed by anti-communist guys who in the Cold War era of the time were on “our side.” And nobody had to worry about Richard Nixon being too close to a US adversary; he had made his political career by overstating the communist threat. If his statement, “I am not a crook,” was not entirely true, at least he was our crook. But it isn’t a silly question at all. Imagine how the Watergate scandal would have unfolded, and the firestorm that would have erupted, if the Watergate job had been done by the KGB. Instead of sending bungling burglars into the Watergate complex, a much more professional job could have been done by someone like a young Vladimir Putin, who would become a rising star in the KGB a few years later. Back then we took seriously Russian efforts to destabilize governments around the world. An attempt by the Russians to subvert our political system – through coordination not with the hapless American Communist Party but with the campaign of a major party candidate – in the 1970s at least would have been viewed as a national crisis of epic proportions. And back then one word would have been used to describe the crime committed by anyone who coordinated with the Russians in such subversive activity: treason. An attempt by the Russians to subvert our political system – through coordination not with the hapless American Communist Party but with the campaign of a major party candidate – in the 1970s at least would have been viewed as a national crisis of epic proportions. Richard W. Painter The good news of course is that this did not come to pass. Nixon was a lot of things, good and bad, but he was not a traitor. Forty-four years later, with the Russia investigation embroiling President Donald Trump, we know that a number of high-ranking people in his campaign and administration have been close to, and have received financial benefits from, the Russians. The President’s own son only a few years ago reportedly said the Trump family makes a lot of money in Russia. Although the President now denies that is the case, we don’t know for sure, because he won’t release his tax returns and other financial records that would reveal that information. Related article Holtzman: We forget Watergate at our peril If Watergate had been a KGB operation to subvert a Democratic Party candidate and support Nixon, Sen. Howard Baker’s famous question – “What did the president know and when did he know it?” – would have become the most pressing question of the day. If there had been substantial evidence of the president’s high-ranking campaign officials coordinating with the KGB or other foreign intelligence operatives, Congress might even have invoked the 25th Amendment or some other procedure to take control of the nuclear arsenal from the president temporarily and perhaps the vice president.  In those days, we would not have risked the Russians having any influence over our military. Related video Behind the biggest break-in of the 1970s And if the Russians or some other foreign adversary had been involved in the Watergate break-in, the call for an independent investigation by a special prosecutor would have been even more intense. With the odor of KGB activity in the room, any attempt by the president to interfere with the independence of the investigation would have been an impeachable offense. The attorney general, deputy attorney general and other political appointees of the president likely would have been required to recuse themselves from investigation of the president’s political campaign. (An attorney general who, like Jeff Sessions, had lied in his confirmation hearings about his own contacts with the Russians would have been out of office in a heartbeat.) Trump puts his interests before national interestHow close was Comey to the truth?Callan: The first step to impeachmentZelizer: Trump’s nuclear option on Russia probeHow Republicans in Congress can win on ComeyTrump had to do it Trump puts his interests before national interestHow close was Comey to the truth?Callan: The first step to impeachmentZelizer: Trump’s nuclear option on Russia probeHow Republicans in Congress can win on ComeyTrump had to do it And if, as is the case today, the president or anyone else high up in the administration had been suspected of having financial dealings with the Russians or any other adversary, tax returns and all other relevant documents would have been subpoenaed immediately by Congress. If these records showed no compromising payments, they would have been publicly released as soon as possible to reassure a panicked public. Meanwhile, we still don’t know who in the Trump campaign was talking with the Russians and when. We don’t know who in the campaign knew that the Russians were engaged in criminal spying activities for the benefit of the campaign. Several people, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Sessions, have not told the truth about their contacts with the Russians, and Flynn secretly received money from the Russians until shortly before he took the top job at the National Security Council. Sign up for CNN Opinion’s new newsletter.Join us on Twitter and Facebook The only valid precedent for the situation we are in today would be the Watergate break-in, with the Nixon campaign’s knowledge, being carried out by the KGB. The situation we are in now is not Watergate. It is worse and more dangerous.


Ivanka Trump is traveling with the President in Germany She will participate in a panel on a new women's entrepreneurship initiative "If she weren't my daughter it would be so much easier for her," President Trump said First daughter Ivanka Trump took the stage at the G20 summit Saturday, joining World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on a panel to formally roll out the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (“We-Fi”), a World Bank facility focused on promoting women’s entrepreneurship in developing countries. The billion-plus-dollar We-Fi will provide both financial and non-financial World Bank resources, including loans, technical assistance and guidance, mentorship opportunities, and policy reform to eliminate barriers for women in developing nations. Funding for the facility comes from both the public and private sectors, including international financial organizations, commercial financing foundations, private equity firms, and individuals. President Donald Trump, speaking during the panel, joked about his daughter. “If she weren’t my daughter it would be so much easier for her,” Trump said. “Might be the only bad thing she has going, if you want to know the truth.” “I am very proud of my daughter Ivanka,” he said. “Always have been, from day one, I have to tell you that, from day one, she has always been great.” The President also said the US will commit $50 million to the program. We-Fi was first announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Women-20 summit in Berlin this spring, which Ivanka Trump attended on behalf of the administration. Though Ivanka Trump will be an advocate for We-Fi moving forward, the White House has said she will play no operational, administrative or fund-raising role in the initiative. “This incredible facility will have a significant impact on women’s economic development around the world,” the President said in a statement. “It will help increase opportunities and economic growth while addressing unique barriers women entrepreneurs face. I am proud the United States is helping to lead support of this unprecedented initiative.” Ivanka Trump has experience as a female entrepreneur herself. In addition to a career in real estate, she created a successful apparel and accessory business. She took a formal leave of absence from her eponymous brand in January, but kept her ownership stake and moved the assets into a trust. But many women looking to start their own businesses have far less access to capital and other financial resources, technology, markets or extensive mentorship connections. Those challenges are particularly prevalent for women in developing countries. The creation of the facility was Ivanka Trump’s idea as she held meetings on the topic of women’s empowerment during the beginning of her father’s administration, including one with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who shepherded the facility’s creation. A World Bank source told CNN in May that Ivanka Trump played an “instrumental” role advocating for the facility. She was in communication with Kim as the facility passed through its working stage phase, praising his leadership on social media. “Thank you World Bank President Jim Yong Kim for your ongoing leadership in support of women’s economic empowerment and for joining me today in a meaningful discussion with Saudi Arabian women entrepreneurs and elected officials,” Ivanka Trump posted on Facebook following a discussion on the President’s first foreign trip. CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report from Hamburg.

Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)


"It is unfortunate we are where we are in the House," he said. Democrats have repeatedly called for Devin Nunes to step down A leading House moderate Republican said the Senate should oversee Congress’ investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. “What I think should happen right now is the Senate is going to lead this discussion, this investigation on the Russian meddling into the election,” Rep. Charlie Dent said Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom,” referring the Senate intelligence committee’s probe. “I think that’s where it is.” “It is unfortunate we are where we are in the House. It seems like there is not going to be a House report on intelligence, on the Russian meddling, so we have to turn our eyes to the Senate,” Dent added. Key House Democrats have called on Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes to recuse himself from an investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, widening a stunning partisan split over the probe. Nunes had worked closely on the House investigation into ties between top aides to the campaign of President Donald Trump and Russian officials. But the California Republican has been heavily criticized following a visit to the White House grounds one day before going to the President and the public with possible evidence that his transition aides’ communications were picked up in surveillance by US intelligence. Nunes has repeatedly defended his actions and some Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have said they have “full confidence” in his ability to oversee the probe. But Dent said that there doesn’t appear to be enough cooperation among the House Intelligence Committee to more forward. “My sense is right now the House is in a situation where the House has been overly politicized,” Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, said. “It doesn’t seem like there is much cooperation on either side and it seems like Sens. (Richard) Burr and (Mark) Warner are doing a good job of running a fair investigation and I think that’s where we will have to look right now to get a real report on this.” Dent stopped short of saying that the House committee should end their investigation. “I think the House should try,” he said. “But at this moment, I’m not optimistic just given the tone and the tenor and the various shots being taken by both sides.” “It sounds to me they are getting into a stalemate position,” he added.

House Intelligence Committee investigation into Russian meddling


This page includes the show Transcript The Weekly Newsquiz tests your knowledge of events in the news January 18, 2018 An oil spill in the East China Sea leads off our coverage this Friday, followed by a look into the volatility of Bitcoin. We’re explaining why America’s flu season is causing misery nationwide. And we’re looking into how the “king of cheeses” is used as currency in Italy. Please note that CNN 10 will not air on Monday, January 15 in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. WEEKLY NEWSQUIZ Click for a printable version of the Weekly Newsquiz. 1. In what U.S. state did a false alarm from an emergency missile alert system cause panic last weekend? 2. In what Middle Eastern nation would you find Idlib province, where fighting between rebel and government forces is threatening the lives of civilians? 3. When he was born on January 15, 1929, future U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was originally given what first name? 4. Name two of America’s “Big Three” automakers, who are all investing in driverless technology. 5. As a way to encourage his children to play outside in the winter, a father in Old Lyme, Connecticut recently helped build what in his yard? 6. What two rival countries announced this week that their athletes will march together under one flag at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games? 7. What desert country is home to the world’s largest desalinated water reserve? 8. In what Pacific body of water did a tanker recently sink after a deadly accident, potentially releasing thousands of gallons of oil into the sea? 9. H1N1 and H3N2 are examples of what disease, which is causing problems across the continental U.S.? 10. What type of cheese, known as the “king of cheeses,” is used as currency in part of Italy? TRANSCRIPT Click here to access the printable version of today’s CNN 10 transcript. CNN 10 serves a growing audience interested in compact on-demand news broadcasts ideal for explanation seekers on the go or in the classroom. The show’s priority is to identify stories of international significance and then clearly describe why they’re making news, who is affected, and how the events fit into a complex, international society. Thank you for using CNN 10


They tell stories that their lives depend upon. All insist they were shocked and appalled when they learned what ISIS was really like. They are the former brides of ISIS fighters – once lured into living in the so-called caliphate – now stuck between the militants’ crumbling stronghold and home countries that most likely don’t want them back. A French widow of an ISIS member who dreams of being on the Mediterranean, sunbathing in a bikini on the beach. A Syrian English teacher from Homs who insists she was en route to Turkey when she got waylaid in Raqqa, and fell in love with a Moroccan militant. And three Indonesian sisters who say they were lured to Raqqa, ISIS’ self-proclaimed caliphate, by the promise of free healthcare and education. In the scorching heat of the Syrian desert, dozens of runaway ISIS brides sit in a crowded concrete jail and wait with their children. The women are segregated from the rest of a sprawling refugee camp in Ain Issa, around 30 miles (50 km) north of ISIS’ de facto capital, Raqqa. Saida, originally from Montpellier, in southern France, is among the ISIS wives who fled as US-backed forces closed in on the city. Many of the women say they paid smugglers to guide them to the outskirts of Raqqa, where Kurdish forces picked them up before bringing them here. “I love life, I love to work, I love my jeans, I love my makeup, I love my parents,” says Saida, who wears a floral headscarf. “The only thing I want is to go back, to take my car and travel back.” She sits near her 14-month-old son, whose face is pockmarked with insect bites from the month they spent in the wilderness, escaping Raqqa on foot. Saida says she and her husband, a fighter named Yassine, paid smugglers $6,000 to shepherd them out of the city. Yassine died on the journey, she says, leaving her stranded with their young son. Saida, and other foreign women like her, flocked to the “Islamic caliphate,” drawn by the promise that they could start a new life with strong, devout men. They say what they found there was something entirely different – fighting in all female dorms, sex obsessed ISIS fighters, women divorced and remarried as many as six times. The French woman recalls arriving in Raqqa and swiftly being placed in a women’s dormitory, a “madafa” she calls it, where new female arrivals waited to be selected by ISIS fighters. She says she was shocked by the dormitory’s rules and its relentless rounds of speed dating – a jihadi form of Tinder. “When the woman arrives in this madafa, she makes a sort of CV,” Saida says. “She puts down her age, her name, what her personality is like, and what she looks for in a man. And men also post their CVs. It’s ‘dating.’” “So you meet, you talk for 15-20 minutes, and then it’s a yes or no. If they both agree then they get married. It’s very quick,” she adds. May, a Syrian English teacher from Homs, says she wasn’t looking for love when she arrived in Raqqa. She claims she was just passing through the city on her way to Turkey, where she had decided to move after her first husband was killed by a sniper. She was staying with her children at a friend’s home when she met Bilal, who was living next door. “I think God sent him to me,” she says, giggling. Like many of the ISIS wives being held in the jail, May describes Bilal as a good man, a pacifist who didn’t want to fight. But she gossips about other women back in Raqqa who she says weren’t so lucky. “They [European women] look at the European men here that are in ISIS, that they are strong men with guns and they can protect them. It’s an idea, it’s like movies,” May says. “Many were very shocked because when they got married to the men, three to four days or one month later, they are divorced.” She mentions one woman who was married and divorced at least six times, until the judge in the caliphate’s divorce court threatened her with being whipped or jailed. May still pines after her husband, who is supposedly imprisoned in the nearby border town of Kobani. She’s daubed his initials on a wall of the prison in blue paint, encircling them in a heart. May confesses she doesn’t know what she’ll do if she never sees Bilal again. “I want someone to kill me. Because I can’t kill myself, because this is suicide,” she says with conviction. There are some newer arrivals in a tent outside the prison – three Indonesian sisters: Rahma, Fina, and Noor, who say they never actually wed ISIS fighters. The women, who paid a huge sum to travel with their family from Jakarta to Raqqa, say they were disappointed to find that the ISIS fighters were not the “pure Muslims” they had believed them to be. “They say they want to jihad for the sake of Allah, but what they want is only about women and sex. It’s disgusting,” Rahma says. “I heard if they marry a widow they will get a thousand dollars,” Fina adds. “They ask me to marry in the morning and they want the answer from the night.” Noor says she was most shocked by the infighting in the all-female dorm. “The manner of the women inside the dorm is very different, it is very far from Islam,” she says. “[They have a] harsh manner, gossiping, shout at each other, back biting, and fighting between the women. Oh I was very surprised.” The women, who claim they came to Raqqa to find free healthcare for Rahma’s cancer and computer studies for Fina, are now anxious to get in touch with an Indonesian embassy and return home. But it’s unclear whether any of the women here will ever make it out of Syria, let alone home. And as US coalition-backed forces tighten the noose on Raqqa, many more women who pledged allegiance to ISIS are sure to flee. It’s just one of the many challenges authorities face as ISIS’ self-declared caliphate unravels, scattering the militants and their families.


Explosion hit people who were leaving their towns on Saturday The attack killed 126 people, including 68 children, monitoring group says Video appears to show children gathered around someone handing out sweets moments before Saturday’s suicide vehicle bombing that killed dozens of evacuees from besieged Syrian villages, the UN’s human rights agency said Tuesday. The agency didn’t give further details about the footage, such as whether it shows the explosion in Rashidin, a suburb of Aleppo in northwestern Syria. But the statement fits with other reports, including one from a witness who said many of those killed or injured in the attack were children who were picking up handout snacks. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, in which 126 people – including 68 children – were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Dozens of others were injured, according to Syria Civil Defense, the volunteer rescue groups also known as the White Helmets. “While at this stage (we’re) unable to confirm how the attack was carried out or those responsible, footage seen by the UN human rights office showed children gathering around a person giving out sweets just prior to the explosion,” Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a written statement Tuesday. CNN has not verified and is not showing the footage, which spread on social media. The explosion happened outside a line of parked buses that were evacuating hundreds of people from two regime-held but rebel-besieged villages in northwest Syria. At least 109 of those killed were evacuees from the pro-regime Shia villages of Al-Fu’ah and Kafraya; the rest were aid workers and rebels guarding the convoy, according to the Syrian Observatory. Rebels allowed the evacuees to leave their villages last week as part of a deal with the Syrian government, which the insurgents have been fighting for six years. As part of the deal, the government also allowed thousands of people to leave two rebel-held towns that regime forces had long besieged. Those towns were Madaya and Zabadani in southwestern Syria. Both sets of evacuees headed to areas friendly to them. The deal, dubbed the Four Towns Agreement, was brokered by Iran and Qatar, Agence France-Presse reported. Saturday’s explosion happened as the Al-Fu’ah and Kafraya convoy, bound for a regime-controlled portion of Aleppo, paused at a checkpoint in Rashidin. Part of the convoy continued into Aleppo late Saturday,  after the attack, SANA reported. An explosives-rigged vehicle exploded near the parked convoy in Rashidin, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. The vehicle had been packed with children’s food supplies, perhaps to disguise it, a SANA correspondent said. Related article Syria photographer takes action instead of pictures, picks up injured boy It wasn’t immediately clear whether the vehicle that exploded had anything directly to do with the snacks distribution that was reportedly happening at that moment. Photographer and activist Abd Alkader Habak said he was there filming someone who was “distributing snacks to some of the evacuees.” He said he stepped aside to talk with one of his colleagues, and then felt the explosion, which sent him to the ground. “The majority of those killed or injured were children” who had gathered for the snacks, he said. The attack likely amounts to a war crime, said Colville, the UNHCR spokesman. Intentional attacks on civilians are among war crimes listed in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Some of those who were injured in Saturday’s attack are effectively missing, because they are “believed to have been taken by armed opposition groups to opposition-controlled hospitals” in Syria’s Idlib governorate, Colville said. “Due to their perceived sympathies for the government of Syria, their families are concerned for their safety,” Colville said. He did not say how many injured people this applied to. Journalist Sarah Sirgany and CNN’s Salma Abdelaziz, Eyad Kourdi, Hamdi Alkhshali and Hilary Clarke contributed to this report.


UN is "convinced that it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement," spokesman says It has always disputed claims that Nepalese peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti after earthquake For the first time, the United Nations has acknowledged its own involvement in a devastating cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2010 that killed at least 10,000 people. The UN has always disputed claims that Nepalese peacekeepers brought cholera to the island nine months after an earthquake struck Haiti, the first known appearance of the disease there in over 150 years. Cholera is an acute gastrointestinal illness caused by ingesting food or drink contaminated with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. It can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting, which leads to extreme dehydration. Patients who are not treated quickly to restore lost fluids can die within hours. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 3 million to 5 million cases of the illness every year worldwide and 100,000 deaths. After a leak Thursday to the New York Times of a scathing report by a UN investigator, UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told CNN that “over the past year, the UN has become convinced that it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement in the initial outbreak and the suffering of those affected by cholera.” The UN says it is considering several options. Related article Haiti cholera victims demand U.N. compensation The draft report the New York Times obtained, prepared by Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston and commissioned by the UN, says the epidemic “would not have broken out but for the actions of the United Nations.” The UN is not saying that it caused the epidemic. It can choose to accept the findings of the report or adjust the findings after discussions with Haiti and other member countries. The final version will be presented to the United Nations within two months. “We’re trying to figure out how to resolve this,” Haq said Thursday, “figuring out how to do the right thing.” Reports have claimed that poor sanitation at a UN peacekeeper camp allowed sewage to seep into a river. When asked whether the UN was saying for the first time that it was responsible for the outbreak, Haq said, “I don’t have anything to say about that.” Related article Haiti searches for clean water solutions Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said on CNN’s “Amanpour” on Thursday that the UN is seeking to combine “an element of compassion” with the organization’s strict legal position on immunity for actions of peacekeepers. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has instructed aides to work out a solution, he said, and “we expect UN member states to accept moral responsibility” for the outbreak. In the past, UN member countries have feared heavy financial obligations for Haiti and other cases that could arise around the world. Activists fighting for justice for the Haitian victims were overjoyed at the possibility that the UN was changing its position. Beatrice Lindstrom of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti said, “this is a groundbreaking first step for justice.” Related article U.N. sued for 'bringing cholera to Haiti,' causing outbreak that killed thousands However, Lindstrom added, “the real test is what comes next. Promises will not stop cholera’s killing or compensate for the damage to poor families in Haiti.” She wants a public apology from the UN and a plan to compensate victims. US Sen. Ed Markey, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the acknowledgment is “an important first step in reinstating trust with the Haitian and global community.” He called on the UN to “support the development of solutions that prevent disease transmission and provide treatment for the thousands of people suffering from this deadly scourge.” Several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the victims. But the UN never budged from its denial of involvement in the deaths. A class-action lawsuit in a Brooklyn federal court blames the UN for the spread of the disease. Haq said Thursday that the UN’s legal position has not changed. See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter. At one point in the long-running saga, Ban was served on a New York sidewalk with legal papers regarding the case. The UN says it has been involved since 2010 in trying to eradicate cholera in Haiti. However, five special investigators for the UN chastised Ban this year, saying he undermined the credibility of the organization by denying responsibility for the cholera outbreak.


Park Sang-hak says he wants his countrymen to know the truth about Kim Jong Un North Korea denies any involvement in the death of Kim Jong Nam A North Korean defector is packing balloons with information about Kim Jong Nam’s death and floating them north from South Korea. Park Sang-hak, who says he defected in 1993 after picking up a leaflet sent from South Korea, told CNN he wants to show ordinary North Koreans the true nature of the country’s leader. Kim Jong Nam was the eldest half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Malaysian authorities allege North Korean agents killed Kim Jong Nam by wiping the highly toxic VX nerve agent on his face at an airport in Kuala Lumpur on February 13. South Korean intelligence officials say the North Korean leader directly ordered the killing, a claim Pyongyang vehemently denies. “Even South Koreans were shocked to hear the news of Kim Jong Nam’s assassination,” Park said. “Can you imagine how North Koreans will react?” News of the killing has likely gone unreported in North Korea, where the press is tightly controlled by the government. Park hopes the leaflets, SD cards and USB drives will offer people inside North Korea a glimpse of the outside world, including Kim Jong Nam’s death. The killing has sparked a diplomatic row that’s left citizens from both countries trapped in Malaysia and North Korea, respectively. Park has previously used balloons to send pamphlets and other pieces of information to North Korea. Pyongyang considers it a hostile act and tells its citizens the leaflets are South Korean propaganda, defectors say. The North Korean government has tried to kill Park before, likely in part due to his campaign to get information inside North Korea. CNN’s Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report