Tag: Troop

Cabinet ministers were told they must agree emergency contingency plans to keep planes flying to North America and Australia, as well as keeping British troops legally in Bosnia, in case the EU forces a no-deal exit. Before their marathon cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, briefed ministers that major security and commercial decisions would need to be completed if Brussels rejected Theresa May’s plan to ask for a short extension to article 50. A cabinet source said the decisions were likely to result in large costs to the taxpayer and that decisions would also need to be taken on direct rule in Northern Ireland and payment of the UK’s £39bn divorce bill to the EU. Negotiations would need to be urgently completed on a future fisheries agreement so that EU fishing boats could be expelled from British waters. Sedwill, the UK’s highest-ranking civil servant, is said to have warned cabinet ministers that some of the biggest decisions were likely to be very difficult to reverse, because they involved international agreements. The warnings from Sedwill, who is also May’s national security adviser, follow an earlier letter he wrote to ministers warning that no deal would lead to food price rises and a reduction in security capacity. Sedwill also warned that the UK would face a recession “more harmful” than the 2008 financial crisis and that food prices could increase by up to 10%. On Wednesday, Lord Kerslake, a former head of the civil service, called for the analysis to be made public. “The publication of such advice now is vital to ensure that parliament is fully informed, and to avoid any suggestion that information has been partially leaked to support a particular point of view.” At least 14 members of May’s cabinet spoke out against the possibility of a long article 50 extension and would only endorse a short Brexit extension. However, on Wednesday the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that unless the withdrawal deal was passed within nine days the UK would crash out of the EU or have to sign up to a long delay.

Live from the Senate floor: Senate is expected to vote on amendment that expresses displeasure with U.S. troop withdrawal from the Middle East. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well…

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump struck a nakedly political tone during a Thanksgiving call with US service members stationed around the world as he steered the conversation toward controversial political topics. Speaking with a US general in Afghanistan, Trump likened the fight against terrorists to his efforts to prevent a group of migrants from illegally entering the United States, and he assailed federal judges who have ruled against his administration. US Presidents have traditionally called troops stationed abroad during the holidays to boost morale and remind the country of their service, making Trump's rhetoric yet another striking break from the norms of presidential behavior. Trump has not shied away from politicizing the military in the past, and on Thursday, he drew on US men and women in uniform to justify his controversial deployment of nearly 6,000 US troops to the southern border. After the call wrapped, Trump continued to focus on the 9th Circuit and his administration's efforts to prevent the group of migrants -- many of whom are seeking asylum -- from crossing into the US illegally. "The whole border." Trump also once again undermined the CIA's assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the murder of Khashoggi, insisting the agency did not conclude bin Salman was responsible. I don't know if anybody's going to be able to conclude that the crown prince did it," Trump said. That's a big difference." This country is so much stronger now than it was when I took office that you wouldn't believe it."

Theresa May is increasing the number of British troops serving in Afghanistan to more than 1,000 for the first time in years as she heads to a crunch Nato summit where allies will come under intense pressure from Donald Trump to spend more on defence. Ministry of Defence sources fear that the US president, who will attend the Brussels summit, could threaten to pull troops out of eastern Europe and refuse to contribute to joint Nato exercises unless they commit to boosting their contribution. Before taking off on Air Force One, Trump tweeted about the US giving more money to Nato than any other country. First meeting - NATO. The U.S. is spending many times more than any other country in order to protect them. Not fair to the U.S. taxpayer. On top of that we lose $151 Billion on Trade with the European Union. Charge us big Tariffs (& Barriers)! She will say: “Nato is as vital today as it ever has been and our commitment to it remains steadfast. Britain is one of only five countries that currently meets the Nato targets of spending 2% of GDP on defence.

By contrast, my Mexican cousins in the business world hardly seemed fazed by Trump’s move. While the United States continues to be Mexico’s largest trading partner, Mexicans have increasingly sought to engage the global economy beyond its northern neighbor. In short, more Mexicans are beginning to look beyond the United States for Mexico’s economic vitality. But most Mexicans have long grown used to such slights, having heard about the history of American neocolonialism since grade school. Perhaps even more extraordinary was their unanimous agreement with the highly unpopular Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto in condemning Trump’s move. Peña Nieto gained a reputation as a Trump enabler, welcoming candidate Trump in his only foreign visit during the American elections in 2016. Mexican desire for dignity has defined personal and national relations with the United States for decades, so much of Trump’s rhetoric rings hollow. Economic disparities resulting from NAFTA drove Mexican immigration into the United States in greater numbers than the absence of any wall. Texas retailers felt the impact most immediately. Trump’s call to increase the military presence on the border will only add to misery and death, while damaging economies on both sides of the border.