The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rex Tillerson

  • Pentagon to provide options against North Korea

    Pentagon to provide options against North Korea

    The U.S. military is  ready to provide options to President Donald Trump over the continued launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea, Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis said.

    Mattis, in a statement by the U.S. Department of Defence, however, said diplomatic and economic efforts remained the tools  of choice to convince North Korea to stop its nuclear and missile programmes.

    “The President and Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, have been very clear that we are leading with diplomatic and economic efforts.

    “The military remains ready in accordance with our alliance with Japan, with Korea,’’ Mattis said during a news conference at the Pentagon.

    “The North Korean launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4 is a very serious escalation and provocation and also an affront to the United Nations Security Council resolutions,’’ he said.

    The defence secretary stressed that the effort  against North Korea was purely diplomatically led, adding the weapons of choice are economic sanctions.

    He, however, added  that  these would  be buttressed by military capabilities.

    Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the administration points  man with regard to North Korea.

    “We stand ready to provide options if they are necessary,’’ Mattis said, pointing out that diplomacy with regards  to North Korea had  not failed.

    Mattis quoted  Gen. Vincent Brooks, the Commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, saying America and South Korea have exercised extreme self-restraint in avoiding war.

    He noted the shelling of South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, the sinking of a South Korean ship earlier that year and other provocations at sea, on land and in cyberspace.

    “Our self-restraint holds, and diplomatic efforts remain underway as we speak,’’ he said.

    The U.S. is working with allies to influence North Korea, while U.S. officials are also working with China – North Korea’s benefactor and the largest trading partner  to place more pressure on North Korean leaders to stop the nuclear and missile programmes.

    The Secretary said the Defence Department was still analysing intelligence from the North Korean launch, adding that “it clearly had a booster  which was a new development on a previous missile.’’

  • Qatar demands difficult to meet – U.S.

    Qatar demands difficult to meet – U.S.

    The U.S. says some of the demands by four Arab countries as conditions to lift the sanctions over Qatar would be difficult for Doha to meet.

    The U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in a statement on Sunday recommended that the countries sit together and find an amicable compromise to the crisis.

    Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate had accused Qatar of backing terrorism, a charge it denied.

    Tillerson said: “Qatar has begun its careful review and consideration of a series of requests presented by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

    “While some of the elements will be very difficult for Qatar to meet, there are significant areas which provide a basis for on-going dialogue leading to resolution.”

    According to him, a productive next step would be for each of the countries to sit together and continue this conversation.

    “We believe our allies and partners are stronger when they are working together towards one goal which we all agree is stopping terrorism and countering extremism.

    “Each country involved has something to contribute to that effort. A lowering of rhetoric would also help ease the tension.

    “The United States will continue to stay in close contact with all parties and will continue to support the mediation efforts of the Emir of Kuwait,” Tillerson said.

    On Saturday, Qatar’s foreign minister rejected the list of 13 conditions imposed by the four countries.

    The conditions have put Qatar under unprecedented diplomatic and economic sanctions for more than two weeks.

    The four countries also want Qatar to reduce its ties with Iran and close a Turkish military base, setting a deadline on Friday of 10 days.

  • UAE accuses Qatar of leaking demands, foiling mediation

    UAE accuses Qatar of leaking demands, foiling mediation

    The United Arab Emirates on Friday accused Qatar of derailing mediation efforts by leaking the list of demands sent by his country and the three other Arab states that cut ties with Doha over its alleged support for terrorism.

    Qatar’s emir “must realise that the solution to his crisis is not with Tehran, Beirut or Ankara, or Western capitals and the media, but [a solution] is through the return of confidence in him by his neighbours,” UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, wrote on Twitter.

    “Qatar leaking demands and concerns of its neighbors & Egypt either attempt to undermine serious mediation or yet another sign of callous policy,” wrote Gargash in a string of tweets on his official account.

    He warned that “leakage will further exasperate and prolong the Qatar crisis.”

    Kuwait has handed Qatar a list of demands by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reported earlier Friday.

    Kuwait said the list has not been sanctioned by either Qatar or Kuwait, which has been trying to mediate between the two sides.

    Gargash argued that the “crisis is real” and is being ignited by the “confused” administration of Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

    “Sometimes, divorce is better,” Gargash wrote.

    The Qatari emir’s role in providing “funding, a media and political platform” to serve “the agenda of extremism cannot be accepted,” he said.

    Al Jazeera Media Network is owned and funded by the Qatari royal family.

    The network, especially the Arabic-language channel, has repeatedly angered Arab leaders since its establishment in 1996, shaking up a broadcasting world until then dominated by government mouthpieces.

    One of the biggest disputes was in 2002, when Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador to Doha to protest at Al Jazeera’s “negative” coverage of Saudi politics.

    In recent years, critics have argued that it is strongly supportive of Islamists, especially Egypt’s now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

    Meanwhile, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik attacked the demands presented to Qatar, which reportedly includes shutting down a Turkish military base in the small Gulf country.

    “I have not seen this request formally yet, but it might mean intervention in bilateral relations,” he said, according to private broadcaster NTV.

    “I say that the Turkish base in Qatar is for the training of Qatari soldiers, for the security of Qatar and the region. Nobody should be bothered by this.

    “There is no such consideration to bring this agreement back to the table,” Isik added.

    On June 5, the four countries severed diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

    Doha has repeatedly denied the accusations.

    The four countries have not made their demands public yet.

    Later in June, several African countries cut relations with Qatar and others downgraded ties.

    On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Arab countries involved in a diplomatic spat with Qatar to present their demands.

    “Our role has been to encourage the parties to get their issues on the table, clearly articulated, so that those issues can be addressed and some resolution process can get underway to bring this to a conclusion,” he said.

    “Our desire is for unity within the Gulf,” he added.

  • Trump says he prefers having rich person in charge of economy

    Trump says he prefers having rich person in charge of economy

    U.S. President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t want a poor person in charge of the economy, as he defended his cabinet, which is thought to be the wealthiest in the country’s history.

    “Somebody said, ‘Why did you appoint a rich person to be in charge of the economy?’” he told supporters at rally in Iowa.

    “So I said …. because that’s the kind of thinking we want… because they’re representing the country.”

    Making a particular reference to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a billionaire former investor, Trump said:, “They don’t want the money. And they had to give up a lot to take up these jobs.”

    Trump, himself a billionaire, went on to refer to Gary Cohn, his chief economic advisor.

    “This is the president of Goldman Sachs. Smart. Having him represent us, he went from massive paydays to peanuts, to little tiny … I’m waiting for them to accuse him of wanting that little amount of money.

    “These are people that are great, brilliant business minds, and that’s what we need, that’s what we have to have so the world doesn’t take advantage of us.

    “We can’t have the world taking advantage of us any more. And I love all people, rich or poor, but in those particular positions I just don’t want a poor person.

    “Does that make sense? Does that make sense?

    “If you insist I’ll do it but I like it better this way, right?”

    Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is also a billionaire heiress, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former boss of oil giant Exxon, is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

    Other rich appointees include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a former hedge fund manager, and Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who made his fortune selling books on his career in medicine and his political ideas.

  • France,Germany France to agree to NATO role against ISIS: sources

    France,Germany France to agree to NATO role against ISIS: sources

    France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.

    The decision to allow the NATO to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda.

    “NATO as an institution will join the coalition,” said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions.

    “The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States. France and Germany believe it is.”

    Flying to the NATO meeting in Brussels with Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday it would be an important step for the Organization to join the U.S.-led, 68-nation coalition.

    “I think they’re going to support NATO joining and becoming a formal member,” he said, referring to “a couple of countries that are still thinking it over” but not giving details.

    A senior French diplomat said Paris was ready to accept NATO joining, but that its role would be limited to training and intelligence, things allies were already involved in.

    “We want to ensure that momentum (in the U.S.-led coalition) is not disturbed,” the diplomat said.

    U.S. and other European officials want to show Trump, who called NATO “obsolete” because he said it was not doing enough against terrorism, that the alliance is responding.

    While Islamic State is on the verge of defeat in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul and bracing for an assault against its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria, U.S. officials are concerned fleeing militants could leave a vacuum that could prompt Arab tribal fighters to turn on each other to gain control.

    All 28 NATO allies are members of the coalition, but the alliance as a formal member could become more involved, contributing equipment, training and the expertise it gained leading nations against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has also made the case for a non-combat role for the alliance in Syria and Iraq.

    “NATO joining the coalition will also provide a better platform for coordinating the activities of NATO allies in the fight against terrorism,” Stoltenberg said.

    “It sends a strong and clear message of unity in the fight against terrorism and especially in light of the terrorist attacks in Manchester,” he said.

    A suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, in an attack on a crowded concert hall in the English city on Monday.

    Some allies including Britain were keen for NATO to do even more, for example using its AWACS surveillance planes over Syria and running command-and-control operations.

    German and French opposition means that for the moment, only one plane will watch over Syria from NATO-ally Turkey’s airspace to provide air traffic information to improve safety for planes.

    French government spokesman Christophe Castaner told reporters that President Emmanuel Macron would speak to Trump at their lunch in Brussels on Thursday and that he understood Trump’s call for a greater NATO role in Syria and Iraq.

    “The president will say that he is attentive to this (Trump’s call), but to make clear that it is not about transforming NATO into the sole strike force against Islamic State,” Castaner said. 

  • New U.S. ambassador to Israel officially takes up post

    New U.S. ambassador to Israel officially takes up post

    David Friedman was officially received by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as new U.S. ambassador in a ceremony Tuesday, less than a week before President Donald Trump is set to visit.

    It is unclear whether the settlement-friendly Friedman will work out of the US Embassy building in Tel Aviv.

    He hinted shortly after his nomination last year that he foresaw himself working from Jerusalem, implying the embassy would move there, in a break from precedent.

    However, Trump has backed off his campaign promises to move the embassy, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told broadcaster NBC on Sunday that “the president is being very careful to understand how such a decision would impact a peace process.”

    Friedman advised Trump throughout his presidential campaign and has taken a hardline position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, going after US Jewish groups who back a two-state solution and saying he does not find Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank illegal.

    Israel has long considered Jerusalem to be its capital, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the run-up to Trump’s visit, has called for all countries to relocate their embassies there.

    However, since the Palestinian Authority would like to make East Jerusalem the capital of an eventual state, picking Jerusalem as an embassy site would show clear favour to one side over the other.

    To avoid this, most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

     

  • U.S. to tighten sanctions on North Korea

    The United States is to tighten sanctions on North Korea and step up diplomatic moves aimed at pressuring the country to end its nuclear and missile programmes.

    The BBC reports that President Donald Trump’s strategy was announced after a special briefing for all 100 U.S. senators.

    Earlier, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific defended the deployment of an advanced missile defence system in South Korea.

    Tensions have risen amid fears the North is planning new weapons tests.

    “The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula,” said a joint statement issued by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.

    “We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies.

    “The president’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our allies and regional partners.”

    The U.S. already has extensive sanctions in place on North Korea, including a blanket ban on trade and a blacklist of anyone dealing with North Korea.

    It is not clear what further sanctions Washington could impose.

  • U.S ‘will press’ Russia to ditch Assad

    United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is holding talks in Russia with Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, as America urges Moscow to stop supporting Syria.

    The visit comes amid tensions over last week’s suspected chemical attack in Syria and U.S strikes on a Syrian base, the BBC reports.

    Russia has condemned the American strikes and stands by Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, its long-time ally.

    President Donald Trump has said the U.S has no further plans there and is “not going into” that country’s civil war.

    On Tuesday his defence secretary made clear the priority remained the defeat of the Islamic State jihadist group.

    “Our military policy in Syria has not changed,” Jim Mattis said.

    Last week’s air strike has led to confusion over U.S policy in Syria, with some officials suggesting a more aggressive stance against President Assad.

    Mr. Tillerson is meeting Mr. Lavrov after warning that Russia risks becoming irrelevant in the Middle East because of its support for Mr. Assad.

    He also insisted Syria’s president can play no part in the country’s future.

  • U.S ‘disappointed’ at Russia’s position on Syria attack

    The United States is “disappointed but not surprised” at Russia’s response to its strikes on a Syrian air base suspected of storing chemical weapons.

    At least six people are reported to have been killed in the U.S missile strikes early on Friday, the BBC reports.

    Syria’s ally Russia accused the U.S of encouraging “terrorists” with its unilateral actions.

    “I’m disappointed in that response,” said U.S Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

    “It indicates their continued support for the Assad regime and, in particular, their continued support for a regime that carries out these horrendous attacks on their own people.

    “So I find it very disappointing, but, sadly, I have to tell you, not all that surprising,” he added.

    Moscow has promised to strengthen Syria’s anti-aircraft defences.

    It is also closing down a hotline with the U.S designed to avoid collisions between their air forces over Syria.

  • ‘US endorsement of terrorism strategy will boost Nigeria’s image’

    ‘US endorsement of terrorism strategy will boost Nigeria’s image’

    A group, the Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC), has lauded an endorsement recently by the United States of America of Nigeria-terrorism strategy, describing the move as capable of enhancing and consolidating the nation’s image as a leading figure in the global coalition against terrorism and violent extremism.

    It also said that it will ultimately boost the morale of troops currently engaged in the final operations to rid the North East of the scourge of Boko Haram.

    The group said this in a joint statement issued on Monday in Abuja by its National Coordinator, Musa Tukur Tilde and the Chief Media Strategist, Emeka Nwapa while reacting to remarks in Washington D.C by the U.S Secretary of State, Mr Rex Tillerson who spoke at a World Conference on Global Coalition Against Terrorism.

    Tillerson, in his opening remarks, while emphasising the need for intelligence and information-sharing in combating terror averred that Nigeria and West Africa have done very well using synergy, intelligence and information sharing to halt terrorists’ attacks thereby defeating Boko Haram.boko haram victim

    He urged countries with challenges of domestic terrorist groups to build and adopt the excellent examples of synergy, intelligence and information sharing system which Nigeria employed to win the war against Boko Haram.

    The CPC, an advocacy group that is in the vanguard of mobilising public support for the military’s counter-terrorism war as well as promoting democracy, good governance and citizen engagement in the country maintained that the United States’ public praise of President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategy to defeat Boko Haram is highly commendable.

    “To President Muhammadu Buhari whose uncommon zeal, sincerity, commitment and clear-headedness about how to defeat Boko Haram within 18 months in office, we say a big thank you.

    “To the Nigerian delegation to the Washington counter-terrorism summit led the CDS, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin whose purpose-driven leadership of the Armed Forces anchored on synergy and doggedness in actualizing Mr President’s objectives, we say big kudos.

    “To our courageous and gallant troops and the commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole, either fallen or standing, may God bless you all for doing us very proud,’’ the group said, pointing out however that it was the entire Nigerian people that the United States singled out at the World Conference for recognition and commendation.

    Recalling that not too long ago, President Buhari had received a phone call in London from the new U.S President Donald Trump who commended Nigeria for her giant counter-terrorism strides, the group noted that at the last 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York late last year came an unprecedented endorsement from former U.S President Barack Obama who openly praised President Muhammadu Buhari and the gallant Nigerian military for defeating Boko Haram.

    •President Buhari (middle) with United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle during a visit in 2015
    •President Buhari (middle) with United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle during a visit in 2015

    “It is worth noting that these endorsements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s successful counter-terrorism strategy by two successive bi-partisan political dispensations in the U.S in a space of three months is perhaps Nigeria’s greatest achievement now. It is our greatest feat as a nation of hope and promise against threats to our national unity, security, stability and prosperity‘’, the group said.  

    The group observed that such endorsement by the United States is not cheap, pointing out that the U.S has the strongest fighting force in the world apart from being the champion and leader of this free world where violent extremism and terrorism pose great dangers.

    “With all the intelligence and information at his disposal, any President of the United States says what he means and means what he says. Therefore, when he says Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy is good enough for adoption by other countries, it is the best endorsement by the world’s acclaimed counter-terrorism leader. As an affiliate to ISIS, Boko Haram is the world’s most deadly terrorist group after ISIS and al-Queda. The U.S is, therefore, convinced about our military’s gallantry over Boko Haram,’’ it said.

    “The United States is at the forefront of the global coalition against terrorism. Al Qaeda attacked the twin towers in New York 16 years ago. September 2017 is the 16th anniversary of 9/11 so the memory is still fresh in the average American. When they cite their experience with terrorists, the world should listen. For President Obama and President Donald Trump to single out our military for special commendation is a headliner. It is a vote of international confidence on our Armed Forces under the Chief of Defence Staff,” the group said.