Brett McGurk
@brett_mcgurk
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White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. Former presidential envoy. #GirlDad . Personal account.
Washington, DC
Joined April 2013
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Pinned Tweet
It’s the greatest honor to serve again on these historic grounds. Thank you for the kind words over the past few weeks. We’ll all do our best on behalf of the American people. 🇺🇸
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Trump says stop counting where I’m winning but keep counting where I’m losing. Biden says count all the votes regardless. One position is consistent with the principles of democracy. The other is not at all. It’s that basic.
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Here’s how this scene was viewed live in Australia. One of America’s closest and most dependable allies. Rendered speechless. Just watch.
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Donald Trump is not a Commander-in-Chief. He makes impulsive decisions with no knowledge or deliberation. He sends military personnel into harm’s way with no backing. He blusters and then leaves our allies exposed when adversaries call his bluff or he confronts a hard phone call.
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I served for two years in the Trump administration. There’s never coherent planning on anything because Trump himself eschews process and reacts to whatever is in the news. It’s all chaos and spasms—and it won’t change so long as he’s president.
No one saw this coming, the President often says. Except the medical professionals in his own administration. The National Security Council. His top trade adviser. The remarkable story of warnings delayed, dismissed and ignored.
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Today was my last day at the State Department. I wish my former civilian and military colleagues well as they work under extremely difficult circumstances to protect the interests of our great country. It was a privilege to serve alongside them.
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Turkish forces have fired on a declared U.S. military outpost in northern Syria. Turkey knows all of our locations down to the precise grid coordinate as confirmed by SECDEF and CJCS only two hours ago. This was not a mistake.
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This is an obscene and ignorant statement. 200k innocent people displaced. Hundreds dead. Credible reports of war crimes. ISIS prisoners escaping. US evacuating and bombing its own positions or handing them to Russia. Two kids in a lot?
WATCH: President Trump on Turkey attacking the Kurds: "Sometimes you have to let them fight, like two kids in a lot. You have to let them fight, and then you pull them apart!"
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New WH explanation is absurd and alarming. PDB briefer didn’t READ the report on bounties to Trump. So he wasn’t “briefed” even though it was in the brief. Meanwhile, the US alerted its allies. Trump spoke with Putin at least five times. Still, nobody told him? 1/4
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Mr. President: With all due respect, none of this is true. I’d recommend having meetings with your experts and policy team before making historic life-and-death decisions. Making such decisions after a one-off call from a foreign leader is malpractice.
The United States was supposed to be in Syria for 30 days, that was many years ago. We stayed and got deeper and deeper into battle with no aim in sight. When I arrived in Washington, ISIS was running rampant in the area. We quickly defeated 100% of the ISIS Caliphate,.....
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For the United States of America to have the worst
#Covid_19
trajectory in the ENTIRE world (even accounting for questionable data from China) represents a catastrophic failure of national leadership. The warnings were all there. There’s no excuse.
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Turkish state-backed media hails a “successful operation” to “neutralize” an unarmed 35-year old woman working to unite Arabs, Christians, and Kurds in NE Syria. Ms. Hevrin Khalef was reportedly dragged from a vehicle and shot to death. That’s a war crime.
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For the US to have one of the WORST domestic responses of any developed country in the world and then CEASE contributions to
@WHO
in the middle of a raging global pandemic is an embarrassment—a sign of weakness, panic, and scapegoating. It also endangers American citizens. 1/2
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Only four days into Turkish attack and one week after POTUS-Erdogan call:
* UN: 130k displaced (likely to 3x)
* ISIS terrorists escaping (caught after years of painstaking effort)
* Syrians executed on roadways by Turkish-backed opposition forces
* Main US supply lines cut..
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Perfect speech. Wow. First time I’ve watched one of these as a father. “I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I'll be the ally of the light, not the darkness.” -
@JoeBiden
. 🙏🏻 The message for this terrible moment.
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Today in Syria: Russia takes control of main U.S. military facility abandoned earlier this week by American forces on Trump’s orders. This area is south of Kobani and went to Russia under the Putin-Erdogan deal. Russia now also owns the airstrip we built.
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I’ve been through two presidential transitions. They’re complicated in the best case. To deny basic access in the midst of a raging pandemic that’s now killing 1k Americans per day is not just petty—it endangers national security and public health.👇
Trump appointee at GSA declines to sign letter authorizing Biden transition - The Washington Post
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I’ve flown on AF-1 with two presidents. They’re usually working.
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Nothing to see here. Just a Russian military aircraft landing at JFK with 60 tons of medical supplies to support America’s
#COVID19
response. A propaganda bonanza as our own government shrinks from America’s leadership role in a global crisis.
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If the White House has been sitting on credible intelligence about Russian threats to US forces overseas since MARCH, it further begs the question as to why it’s keeping an unclassified DNI threat assessment from the public for the first time ever. What’s in it?👇
Some background on the bottled-up report in thread below. This is the first year since the DNI’s first threat assessment in 2006 that there has been no public report. Someone doesn’t want the public to see it. WHY? Presumption: because its authors—IC professionals—tell the truth.
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With everything going on don’t forget that this week saw the first direct confrontation between regular US and Russian ground forces ever with seven Americans injured when Russians rammed their vehicle. Why do Russians feel so emboldened?
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Remarkable that there have been no resignations from this administration after all that’s transpired over the last 60 days and now today. The oath is to “bear true faith and allegiance” to the U.S. Constitution. It’s written that way for moments like this.
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“Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.” -Jim Mattis 💯
Even for Trump, it was a morning of especially wild tweets, advancing conspiracy theories claiming a coup against him and an inflated virus death toll while embracing a call to imprison Cuomo and offering support for Kyle Rittenhouse.
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Steve Linick served honorably across R and D administrations over three decades. He’s a professional who made the State Department better in every respect. I always welcomed his scrutiny of our campaign against ISIS and acted on his recommendations. A major loss for our country.
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I spent a lot of time with US Special Forces on the ground in Syria where they had a clear mission over two administrations to defeat ISIS. These images of US forces now in Syria with an ill-defined mission to guard small oil fields make me cringe.
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Remember when Trump withdrew from the WHO because he said it failed to warn us about COVID? Let’s judge him by his own standard. He’s now actively encouraging the spread of a deadly virus against all available date and science. This is insane.👇
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Trump plays golf as US forces in Syria now on a daily basis confront Russians thanks to his impetuous decision to abandon 2/3 of once-stable ground to Putin and Erdogan. Mr. President: Pick up the phone and tell Putin to stop harassing our troops.👇
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That we knew Putin may have a policy to target our troops while Trump is regularly on the phone and inviting Putin back to the G7—over objection of the same allies warned about the bounties—shows a total lack of care for our people and our country. 4/4
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* US forces fired on “danger close”
* Female politician brutally murdered
* Turkish forces operating well outside “security mechanism” area
* Increasingly impossible for US forces to remain in Syria at all
* No plan to take care of anyone who worked with us
Total disaster
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We need an independent commission to compare what was in the PDB with what Trump was regularly telling the public to include his often parroting President Xi. This report suggests a total dereliction of any POTUS’s first job: to protect the American people.
U.S. intelligence agencies warned Trump more than a dozen times in the President’s Daily Brief during January and February, the period during which Trump dismissed the danger,
@gregpmiller
&
@nakashimae
report
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TIMELINE 👉
PDB in late FEB includes Russia bounty intel (per NYT)
TRUMP spoke with PUTIN on:
MAR 30
APR 9, 10, 12
JUN 1
JUN 3: Trump says “common sense” for Russia to return to G7
INDEFENSIBLE
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Trump today said “nothing happened” when he handed 2/3 of ISIS’s former caliphate in Syria to Erdogan and Putin, leaving our partners to fend for themselves, and displacing 200k people fleeing bands of extremists responsible for war crimes. 1/6
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Trump has no idea what’s happening. US personnel have been scrambling to evacuate positions surrounded by hostile Turkish-backed opposition forces. They are evacuating under duress and then bombing positions so nobody can seize them.
"I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant. Our soldiers are out of there. Our soldiers are totally safe"
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Michael Atkinson’s statement reads like another warning from a career professional: “I have never been a political or partisan person. To the contrary, I have spent my seventeen-year career as a public servant acting without regard to partisan favor or political fear.” 1/2
JUST IN: Striking new statement from IC inspector general Michael Atkinson, who was fired by Trump on Friday. “It is hard not to think that the President’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations...”
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Hard truth: Erdogan knows that Trump wants U.S. forces to leave Syria. Putin knows that Trump wants U.S. forces to leave Syria. Khamenei and Assad know the same thing. Trump himself yesterday (incredibly) said we no longer have forces in Syria. We do, and today they were shot at.
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Bottom line: Trump tonight after one call with a foreign leader provided a gift to Russia, Iran, and ISIS. FWIW, I warned of this here in
@ForeignAffairs
— and recommended alternatives given the hard realities on the ground and in this White House.
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“Trump has lost the right and authority to be commander in chief” - Retired Marine Corps General Anthony C. Zinni👇
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Trump administration officials are working overtime to say he never gave the green light to this disastrous gift to ISIS, Russia, and Iran. I don’t envy them. But it’s demonstrably false:
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The WH statement tonight on Syria after Trump spoke with Erdogan demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of anything happening on the ground. The “United States” is not holding any ISIS detainees. They are all being held by the SDF, which Trump just served up to Turkey.
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Secretary Mnuchin today briefed from the WH podium that Trump signed an authorization to impose sanctions but that no sanctions have been imposed. This is meaningless nonsense. 100k people are already displaced and US soldiers are being fired upon. What’s the bar for sanctions?
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It’s wildly irresponsible for a president to stand at the WH podium and spitball about an international incident like this as hundreds of casualties are still missing or being treated. DOD should clean this up tonight.
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Wait? The DNI won’t release the US Intelligence Community’s global threat assessment to the American people (for the first time ever) but he’ll release RUSSIAN intel that US analysts say may be fabricated?👇
To recap: The country’s top intelligence official just declassified a Russian intel assessment that he acknowledges might be exaggerated or fabricated by the Russians.
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Trump’s comments tonight regarding Iran and Iraq are not only unacceptable, they’re unAmerican. American military forces adhere to international law. They don’t attack cultural sites. And they’re not mercenaries. Reckless and unprecedented words from a Commander-in-Chief.
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This suggests our country is as safe as Trump’s attention span during an oral briefing (notoriously short). On its face: he doesn’t read and nobody tells him what he needs to know even when making policy on the phone with hostile foreign counterparts. 2/4
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UPDATE: Australia's prime minister calls for an investigation into the assault on an Australian news team.
Australian PM Scott Morrison has demanded an investigation into the assault of an Australian journalist and cameraman at the hands of US Police, that was broadcast live on one of the country’s biggest morning shows
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Trump made a similarly impulsive decision when I was managing the policy. I resigned over it and stand by every word in this op-ed. Tonight is a sad replay but seems even worse as US officials had since convinced the SDF that we planned to stay.
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Last year at this time
#Mosul
was an
#ISIS
capital. Tonight, its brave citizens welcome 2018 with hope, light, and fireworks. Here’s to a more peaceful and free Middle East in 2018.
#HappyNewYear
#الموصل
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The President of the United States of America appears to be calling for a mass migration of Kurds to the desert where they can resettle atop a tiny oil field. Shocking ignorance of history, geography, law, American values, human decency, and honor.
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Watching this clip of Dr. Birx, five of my own observations after serving in the Trump administration:
1. You can’t stay above crazy: On any issue, the crazy will catch up to you
2. There’s no policy: You’re always a Tweet away from all going sideways
Here is Dr. Birx's reaction when President Trump asks his science advisor to study using UV light on the human body and injecting disinfectant to fight the coronavirus.
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Pointing to some disagreement in the IC is irrelevant. That’s standard course for major items like this. The WH now acknowdges it was serious enough to alert allies. Even presuming moderate confidence, any minimally competent president knows and acts accordingly. 3/4
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Ten days after Erdogan visits Trump in the White House, Turkey flies NATO aircraft to test its new Russian S400 missile system, as Turkish-backed extremists reportedly continue operations in NE Syria. Embarrassing.
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Colonel (Ret.) Rich Hooker is a class act. He’s a decorated war veteran and former NSC colleague of mine. In this essay he writes a personal and patriotic defense of LTC Vindman. One might hope a serving DOD official will stand up and do the same.
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Turkey has neither the intent, desire, nor capacity to manage 60k detainees in al Hol camp, which State and DoD IGs warn is the nucleus for a resurgent ISIS. Believing otherwise is a reckless gamble with our national security. Background here👇
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We’re moving rapidly up an escalatory ladder with no offramp, strategy, or achievable objective when it comes to Iran. My thoughts are with the American military and diplomatic personnel in Iraq. Take cover. Be safe.
White House: "We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team."
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Regarding Syria and Turkey, there is some disinformation out there (including from the POTUS himself), so here is some background on what is admittedly a complex matter with no easy or magic formulas:
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It is dangerous to keep Americans in harm’s way with no support or backing from their commander-in-chief. Marie Yovanovoch spoke to this principle for diplomats confronting the Russians in Ukraine. The same goes for our brave soldiers and diplomats on the ground tonight in Syria.
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Senior US officials keep trying to clean this up, claiming US troops are really staying in Syria due to ISIS, but the troops are there on Trunp’s orders, and he keeps saying this (“only for the oil”) — which is totally illegal.
Trump, with Erdogan next to him, on Syria: "We are keeping the oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil."
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The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is great news for the United States of America and the entire civilized world. Congratulations to our Special Forces and intelligence analysts who put this raid together. Painstaking, dangerous, heroic work. Justice done. 🇺🇸
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I’ve had the privilege of serving with President-elect Joe Biden over the last decade. He’s the leader we need at this critical moment in history. I’ll be honored to join his NSC team under the leadership of
@jakejsullivan
. 12 days!
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Last five days —
Trump: All US troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas
National Security Advisor: 2,500 troops in Afghanistan next year
Chairman of Joint Chiefs: Nobody should speculate on numbers
US official (to NYT): “Oh my God!”
Taliban: Endorses Trump
GEN Mark Milley on
#NPR
dismisses Nat Sec Advisor’s announced troop cuts in
#Afghanistan
. “Robert O'Brien or anyone else can speculate as they see fit...I'm going to engage in the rigorous analysis of the situation based on the conditions .. and conversations with the president.”
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Trump spoke with Erdogan on July 14. He spoke with Putin and MbS on July 23. But he can’t say when he last saw his National Security Advisor? 🤔
Pres Trump unable to say when he last saw his National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, now in quarantine, having tested positive for Coronavirus. "I haven't seen him lately," said the president, during brief Q&A before departing WH via Marine One.
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Thirty percent of countries around the world have no
#COVID19
response programs and depend on WHO for assistance. The United States is not about to fill this gap. So more people die and the virus spreads in order to deflect from Trump’s negligence. 2/2
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The Turkish proposed “safe zone” would effectively extend Turkey’s border 30km into Syria, including areas of Christians, Kurds, and other vulnerable minorities. Our diplomats were working on a plan to forestall such a debacle. Where’s Pompeo?
Earlier this year in
@ForeignAffairs
, I noted that Erdogan’s “safe zone” is really a plan to extend Turkey’s southern border 20 miles into Syria (left). Today before the UNGA, he confirmed as much with a map (right). The territory happens to cover all the Kurdish areas of Syria.
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The callousness with which Trump describes what is now an emergency evacuation of US military positions — some of which we’re bombing as we leave — shows a total lack of regard for consequence and dishonors those who volunteered to serve our great country.
Trump on Turkey/Syria via
@colvinj
: “All American soldiers are away from the site. Syria and Turkey can fight...They’ve got a lot of sand over there...“There’s a lot of sand that they can play with."
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Bottom Line: We have a commander-in-chief who has NO CLUE what’s going on with US troops under his command and in harm’s way. His own SECDEF consistently says they’re doing something different from what he says they’re doing. This is totally incoherent and dangerous.
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This Tweet speaks to dangerous and incoherent policy:
* US troops are not “going home”. They’re going to Iraq to manage a resurgent ISIS that we enable by abruptly leaving Syria.
* “New areas” aren’t “being resettled w/Kurds.” Kurds are being forced out of traditional areas.
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Attn:
@IvankaTrump
Women are absolutely critical to the National Security of a Nation & need to be brought to the negotiating table during peace talks. Great being at the
@statedept
addressing the
#WarsawProcess
today w/ Brian Hook on
#WGDP
and
#WPS
.
🎥:
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Republican Governor of Utah👇
Our hospitals cannot keep up with Utah’s infection rate. You deserve to understand the dire situation we face.
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There’s a similar defect at the core of US foreign policies across the board: maximalist objectives for a minimalist president combined with no process to assess facts, develop options, or prepare contingencies. Our personnel are left exposed at the slightest moment of friction.
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Syria, last 24 hours:
* US military returns in force from Iraq to guard oil fields
* Thousands of refugees stream in other direction into northern Iraq
* Erdogan threatens again to “do the cleansing work” in Kurdish areas US forces left to Russia and Assad
Incoherent
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“Mr. Trump’s pullout has handed the Islamic State its biggest win in more than four years and greatly improved its prospects.”
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A lifetime of selfless service to our country. Surely more to follow.
Today I officially requested retirement from the US Army, an organization I love. My family and I look forward to the next chapter of our lives.
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Findings by international observers:
“Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president ... harm public trust in democratic institutions.”
"Making sure that every vote is counted is a fundamental obligation for all branches of government."
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Erdogan tried a similar gambit with VP Joe Biden in a meeting at the UNGA in September 2016. Biden said, sorry, the White House can’t intervene in a criminal matter.
#Protip
: Right answer.
In May 2018, Bolton says, Erdogan handed Trump a memo claiming innocence for a Turkish firm under investigation by SDNY for violating Iranian sanctions.
"Trump then told Erdogan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people."
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Olivia Troye did the right thing. Both in service to our country and in telling the truth about what she saw. The one thing nobody can take away is your integrity. Olivia kept hers.👇
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The crazy has now caught up to our public health institutions in the middle of a deadly pandemic. It’s hard to think of a worse case scenario.
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Bob Gates on Donald Trump:
“He is unqualified and unfit to be commander-in-chief.”
Plainly said by a man who served EIGHT presidents. 🇺🇸
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The consequences of such unreliability from the Oval will reverberate well beyond Syria. The value of an American handshake is depreciating. Trump today said we could “crush ISIS again" if it regenerated. With who? What allies would sign up? Who would fight on his assurances?
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President Trump is parroting official Russian propaganda to discredit reports—now confirmed by multiple news services—about Russian bounties on American troops.
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The Iranian people are our allies. In the wake of this horrific airplane tragedy, why not lift Trump’s useless travel ban against Iranian citizens? Encourage them to visit and see America. Seize all high ground away from Khamenei. Should be a bipartisan no brainer.
#IranProtests
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As this news breaks, important to ask: where’s the DNI threat assessment? An unclassified version is released each year to inform the American people about threats to our nation, including public health threats. Except this year. WHY NOT? What’s in it? 🤔
The president has notified Congress that he is removing the inspector general for the intelligence community, the official who helped make sure Congress got the Ukraine whistleblower complaint. The firing will take effect in 30 days, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.
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The US just ratified Turkey’s plan to effectively extend its border 30km into Syria with no ability to meaningfully influence facts on the ground. Turkey says it’s the entire border from the Euphrates to Iraq (450x30km) to be controlled by its military forces. Non-implementable.
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My thoughts on the successful Baghdadi operation in tomorrow’s
@washingtonpost
. A landmark day for the United States and the civilized world that could not have happened absent our Syrian Kurdish partners.
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I’ve worked for three presidents and participated in a number of foreign leader calls. I cannot recall a president that seems to believe — and then parrots — whatever a foreign leader tells him on the phone. Such information is often false, intended to influence more than inform.
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Trump just pledged to fire Dr. Fauci. Meanwhile, in El Paso: “a backlog of 85 bodies tonight” requiring “a fourth mobile morgue.”👇
#vote
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I served on the NSC with
@RepSlotkin
. She’s 💯 right. Five calls with Putin with this information available. Trump not only says nothing but welcomes Putin’s return to the G7 over objection of our allies. It’s indefensible.
WATCH: Fmr. CIA Analyst
@RepSlotkin
talks about her experience preparing intel material
#MTPDaily
"If this came across our desk, something that was so important to our strategic relationship with Russia ... I would say 'hey Mr. President I'm just making you aware of this.'"
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Warning: Erdogan today says his "safe zone" as agreed with Trump stretches 450x32 kms, from the Euphrates to Iraq. This includes all majority Kurdish and Christian areas of Syria. Senior U.S. officials say it is far narrower. Listen to Erdogan, not Trump.
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Lavrov wouldn’t know about a bounty program let alone have any influence over its operations. That’s not how the Russian system works. The warning must come from Trump to Putin or it’s useles. But Trump still calls this threat to US troops a hoax. Awful.
NEW:
@SecPompeo
warned Russian foreign minister Lavrov in July 13 call about Russia's bounties on US troops in Afghanistan. Trump calls US intel on the bounties a “hoax.” Pompeo was livid over the issue, but keeps quiet about the call. w/
@EricSchmittNYT
.
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It is equally wrong and immoral to make any false promises to the SDF and suggest that Trump is committed to staying in Syria when everyone knows that he is not. These false promises delayed, and may now have foreclosed, what was an alternative arrangement for them with others.
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And with each day this Turkish attack continues, the risks increase for American personnel and our ability to get out safely at all becomes gravely jeopardized. Either Trump changes course rapidly and clearly (ASAP) or else it is necessary to plan a safe exit.
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Kobani is a predominantly Kurdish area and site of the turning point against ISIS in 2015. This military facility was later critical to the defeat of ISIS’s so-called caliphate. Unfortunately for the Kurds, there’s no oil in the area.
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Recall earlier last week, US officials were downplaying Trump’s disastrous order as only involving <50 people on the border for a limited Turkish incursion. Ten days later we are executing emergency “break glass” evacuation procedure reserved for an extreme worst-case scenario.
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Trump again this morning told Fox & Friends “nobody could have predicted something like this.” Reminder below that’s just flatly untrue. You don’t gut the fire department and then blame shock and surprise when houses are burning to the ground.
Trump says the coronavirus came “out of nowhere.” But last year, the DNI WARNED that we were vulnerable to a pandemic “that could lead to massive rates of death and disability, severely affect the world economy, strain international resources...” 👇
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Is anyone in the WH questioning whether it’s helpful to issue staged photographs of a president at work (when he’s not) and an edited video made to look like one take (when it’s not)? Because it’s not helpful.
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I lost my dad earlier this year. We had a hard relationship. In the midst of COVID and so many suffering alone, I wrote this essay on my experience with an estranged father and sudden loss. Not something I normally write. Love your parents while you can. 🙏🏻
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Since Trump’s Oct 6 call with Erdogan: 180k displaced; war crimes; areas US abandoned carved up between Erdogan and Putin. The least we can do is provide refuge for those who worked with us and need it. My
@nytimes
oped with Jon Finer.
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Indeed, US officials signed the SDF up to a “security mechanism” plan by which it removed all defensive barriers on the Syrian side of the border to forestall a Turkish incursion. EUCOM issued this just yesterday. Was Trump ever even briefed on this plan?
U.S. and Turkish militaries are executing concrete steps as part of the security mechanism framework to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns. The Department of Defense will be transparent as each phase of the security mechanism is implemented.
#WorkingTogether
#Allies
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* This is not a “ceasefire” plan. It’s a demand to evacuate towns besieged by Turkish-backed extremists, the same tactic used by Asad.
* What oil? We were in Syria to protect the American people from ISIS. Our military does not seize foreign oil.
* Name of SECDEF is wrong.
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Serious question: how many people need to be displaced or killed in NE Syria before Trump in his “great and unmatched wisdom” determines that Turkey has gone too far and it’s time to “obliterate” its economy?
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