“A contingent of U.S. Special Forces has been caught up in Turkish shelling against U.S.-backed Kurdish positions in northern Syria, days after President Trump told his Turkish counterpart he would withdraw U.S. troops from certain positions in the area,” Newsweek reports.
Trump Sends New Troops to Saudi Arabia
“The Pentagon will deploy about 1,500 extra troops to Saudi Arabia in answer to requests by the leading US military commander in the Middle East and, in part, because the US Navy is unable to send a relief aircraft carrier to deter potential Iranian aggression,” CNN reports.
“The move to bolster troops in the Middle East comes as President Trump’s decision to pull back US military forces from northeastern Syria has prompted bipartisan criticism from lawmakers.”
Ex-Ambassador Says Trump Pushed Her Out
“The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine whose abrupt ouster in May has become a topic of interest for House impeachment investigators said Friday that her departure came as a direct result of pressure President Trump placed on the State Department to remove her,” the Washington Post reports.
The New York Times says Yovanovitch “delivered a scathing indictment of his administration’s conduct of foreign policy, warning that private influence and personal gain have usurped diplomats’ judgment, threatening to undermine the nation’s interests and drive talented professionals out of public service.”
“Ms. Yovanovitch’s searing account, delivered at the risk of losing her job, could lend new momentum to the impeachment inquiry that imperils Mr. Trump.”
Pentagon Deemed Withholding of Ukraine Aid Illegal
Yahoo News: “The Pentagon was confused. Hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine had been appropriated in late 2018 by Congress, intended to help fend off aggression by neighboring Russia. But well into 2019, as summer was edging toward autumn, the funds had still not moved.”
“Department of Defense officials began to worry that the funds would never make it to Ukraine, since the appropriations would expire with the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. They even began to prepare a legal challenge to the freezing of the funds, leading to an unprecedented fight within the Trump administration.”
Quote of the Day
“Yeah, I disagree with what he’s doing now, I wish it wasn’t happening, but I still fully support it.”
— Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), on NPR, talking about President Trump and his pullout of troops from Syria.
Pompeo Deputy to Be Next Russian Envoy
“President Trump is set to formally announce his selection of John Sullivan, currently the deputy secretary of state, as the next American ambassador to Russia,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Moscow has agreed to accredit Mr. Sullivan to serve in the post—a precursor to a formal nomination—a State Department official said.”
Giuliani Pressed for Turkish Prisoner Swap
“During a contentious Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, Rudolph W. Giuliani pressed for help in securing the release of a jailed client, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader, as part of a potential prisoner swap with Turkey,” the New York Times reports.
“The request by Mr. Giuliani provoked an immediate objection from Mr. Tillerson, who argued that it would be highly inappropriate to interfere in an open criminal case.”
Ex-Trump Aide Will Describe ‘Shadow’ Policy on Ukraine
“Fiona Hill, who was until recently President Trump’s top aide on Russia and Europe, plans to tell Congress that Rudy Giuliani and E.U. ambassador Gordon Sondland circumvented the National Security Council and the normal White House process to pursue a shadow policy on Ukraine,” a person familiar with her expected testimony told NBC News.
“Hill’s appearance next week before Congress has stoked fear among people close to the president, said a former senior White House official, given her central role overseeing Russia and Ukraine policy throughout most of the Trump administration.”
Envoy to Ukraine Removed After Pushback on Giuliani
The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine was removed from her post after insisting that Rudy Giuliani’s requests to Ukrainian officials for investigations be relayed through official channels,” the AP reports.
“The ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, is scheduled to testify before congressional lawmakers on Friday as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Democrats say they expect her to appear despite the White House’s position that no administration officials cooperate with the probe.”
Lindsey Graham Tricked By Russian Pranksters
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) thought he was talking Turkey’s minister of defense in an August call but he was really talking to Russian pranksters, Politico reports.
In the call, Graham was primarily concerned with getting Turkey back into the F-35 program and urging the “defense minister” to refrain from using Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft weapon system.
But Graham also expressed sympathy for Turkey’s “Kurdish problem” and described the Kurds as a “threat.” Those private comments appear to contradict his public statements this week, in which he criticized Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria.
Erdogan Threatens to Send Millions of Refugees to Europe
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will send the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to Europe if European countries continue to criticize his military incursion in Syria, Reuters reports.
Said Erdogan: “We will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees your way.”
White House Shifted Authority Over Ukraine Aid
“The White House gave a politically appointed official the authority to keep aid to Ukraine on hold after career budget staff members questioned the legality of delaying the funds, a shift that House Democrats are probing in their impeachment inquiry,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Trump’s order to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine in mid-July is at the center of House Democratic efforts to investigate allegations that Mr. Trump used U.S. foreign-policy powers to benefit himself politically.”
Trump Adviser Says China Provided Info on Hunter Biden
Michael Pillsbury, an informal White House adviser on China, told the Financial Times that he received information about the business activities of Hunter Biden during a visit to Beijing in the same week President Trump urged China to probe the son of Joe Biden.
Said Pillsbury: “I got a quite a bit of background on Hunter Biden from the Chinese.”
Trump to Meet With China’s Top Trade Negotiator
President Trump said he planned to meet with the head of the Chinese negotiating team for the U.S.-China trade talks, Chinese vice premier Liu He on Friday, when talks are scheduled to conclude, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I?”
Ukraine to Probe Alleged 2016 Election Interference
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says his country will “happily” investigate whether Ukrainians interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections, the AP reports.
Zelenskiy told reporters that “we can’t say yes or no” as to whether there was any interference without an investigation. He said it’s in Ukraine’s interest to determine what happened.
Intelligence Officials Say ISIS Could Regroup
“A sustained Turkish military operation against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria — which President Trump appears to have permitted — would vastly increase the threat to Americans from the Islamic State militant group, which remains intent on attacking the West,” current and former intelligence officials tell NBC News.
“The immediate concern, officials say, is what will happen with the 12,000 ISIS fighters currently being guarded by the American-backed Kurds. The ISIS prisoners are the world’s largest concentration of terrorists. If those fighters are set free, officials fear a replay of what happened in Iraq between 2010 and 2013, when the core group who founded ISIS were released or escaped from detention after U.S. forces left the country.”
Trump Tests Bounds of GOP Support on Syria
“President Trump’s decision to suddenly withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria has angered evangelical Christian leaders and Republican hawks, cleaving his political coalition at the very moment he is trying to fortify his standing to survive the intensifying impeachment inquiry in Congress,” the Washington Post reports.
“Instead of enjoying uncontested GOP support as he plunges into a constitutional showdown with House Democrats and prepares for a bruising reelection campaign, Trump is now fighting on two fronts within his party.”
Trump Says ISIS Fighters Will Likely Flee to Europe
When asked if he was concerned that Islamic State fighters would be able to escape because of Turkey’s military operation in Syria, Trump predicted that the militants would not travel to the United States, CBS News reports.
Said Trump: “They’re going to be escaping to Europe.”
His comment was apparently meant to reassure Americans.
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