US intel chief denounces 'warmongers' after Hiroshima visit
US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard warned Tuesday after a trip to Hiroshima that "warmongers" were pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, in an extraordinary, if veiled, pitch for diplomacy.
Gabbard did not specify her concerns, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly brandished the specter of nuclear war as he cautions Europe and the United States against support for Ukraine.
Gabbard, a former congresswoman who has faced criticism in the past for her views on Russia, posted a video of grisly footage from the world's first nuclear attack and of her staring reflectively at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
On August 6, 1945, the United States obliterated Hiroshima, killing 140,000 in the explosion and by the end of the year from the uranium bomb's effects.
Three days later, a US plane dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, leaving around 74,000 people dead by the end of the year. Japan surrendered on August 15.
"This one bomb that caused so much destruction in Hiroshima was tiny compared to today's nuclear bombs," Gabbard said. "A single nuclear weapon today could kill millions in just minutes."
"As we stand here today closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before, political elites and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers," she said.
"Perhaps it's because they are confident that they will have access to nuclear shelters for themselves and for their families that regular people won't have access to."
Taking a tone more customary for a politician or activist than the director of national intelligence, Gabbard said: "So it's up to us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness."
Gabbard's remarks come as aides to President Donald Trump voice growing frustration with Putin, who has refused US-led, Ukraine-backed calls for a temporary ceasefire.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Gabbard criticized before the two entered President Donald Trump's cabinet, has warned that the United States could walk away from diplomacy over the Ukraine conflict if there are no positive signs.
Gabbard, a former Democrat, faced a heated confirmation hearing but ultimately prevailed after Democrats and some Republicans questioned her past statements, including some supportive of Russian positions.
She has said that the European Union and Washington should have listened to Russian security concerns about Ukraine joining NATO.
Gabbard's visit to Hiroshima comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the world's only atomic bombings.
The United States has never apologized for the attacks.
sct/aha
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump both booed and cheered attending Les Misérables at Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump was greeted with boos, as well as cheers, and chants of 'USA!' as he took his seat for the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. It's the first time Trump has attended a show at the venue since he fired the Kennedy Center's leadership, putting MAGA loyalist Richard Grenell in charge of the famed performing arts institution and naming himself chairman of the board. He promised to scrap 'woke' programming that aligned with what he called leftist ideology, which includes drag shows and 'anti-American propaganda,' the president wrote on Truth Social. The move upset some of the center's patrons and performers, and it was reported that several cast members planned to skip the show in protest of his attendance on Wednesday. When one group of ticket holders found out that Trump, Vance and their wives, Melania and Usha, would be in attendance, they donated their tickets to a group of drag performers, according to Qommittee, as reported by Houston Public Media. Videos posted on social media show the drag performers being cheered before Trump arrived. Other videos showed the president taking his seat to a combination of boos and cheers from the audience. When Trump walked the red carpet with first lady Melania Trump ahead of the show, he said he was not bothered by the reported boycott. 'I couldn't care less, honestly, I couldn't,' Trump said. 'All I do is run the country well. The economic numbers you saw them today, they're setting records. We took $88 billion in tariffs in two months, far beyond what anybody expected. There's no inflation. People are happy. People are wealthy. The country is getting back to strength again. That's what I care about.' Trump also spoke about his plans for the Kennedy Center, whose board he replaced with loyalists, some of whom were in attendance Wednesday, including Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. 'We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever,' Trump said from the red carpet. 'As you know it needs a little help from the standpoint of age and fitness, but it's going to be fantastic.' Trump has previously proclaimed his love for Les Misérables, telling Fox News: 'I love the songs; I love the play. I think it's great.' He has played the musical's rebellion anthem, 'Do You Here the People Sing?' at past events and rallies. The story revolves around revolution in France, and has been a massive smash for decades. Trump also suggested that 'we may extend' the show's run. Currently, Les Misérables is slated to run at the Kennedy Center through July 13. The political drama at the center comes just two months after audience members booed the Vances and they took their upper-level seats at the National Symphony Orchestra. Back in 2016, incoming vice president Mike Pence was booed when he attended a production of Hamilton with his family. Pence acknowledged that he heard 'a few boos" and "some cheers" and told his kids at the time, 'that's what freedom sounds like.' The ethnically diverse cast of the popular and sold-out musical, which tells the story of America's Founding Fathers, asked Pence not to leave the venue before he listened to what they wanted to say – which was that people were worried that Trump would 'not protect them.' While Trump demanded an apology from the cast at the time and called the show "overrated", Pence told Fox News at the time that he, his daughter and cousins "really enjoyed the show".
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
German defence minister visits Ukraine for talks on weapons support
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has arrived in Kyiv to discuss military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, the DPA news agency reported on Thursday. Pistorius plans to hold talks with Ukrainian government representatives about further weapons aid from Berlin, according to the report. "We are doing everything we can to support Ukraine so that it can defend itself and get into a position where Russia is prepared to enter into serious negotiations," Pistorius said ahead of his departure. The German defence ministry was not immediately available for comment. Germany is Ukraine's second-biggest military backer after the United States, whose commitment to Kyiv has been called into question, putting pressure on Europe to step up. Russia and Ukraine met for peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month in a renewed push to settle the conflict, which began with Russia's invasion in February 2022. However, fighting has raged on while the two sides disagree over a number of central issues, such as territorial concessions and the prospect of Ukraine's future NATO membership. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has already travelled to Kyiv and hosted President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin since taking office in May, recently gave Ukraine the green light for "long range fire" with weapons supplied by Germany and others, angering Moscow.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LAPD Chief Shuts Down Trump Claim About City Needing National Guard
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell sharply countered President Donald Trump's claims that the city was at a point of needing National Guard support, emphasizing Wednesday that protests were 'nowhere near' that level. McDonnell's remarks come after Trump cited the police chief as validating the White House's decision to send in troops to address largely peaceful immigration enforcement protests. 'If we weren't there, if we didn't bring in the National Guard and the Marines, you would probably have a city that was burning to the ground,' Trump baselessly stated while attending a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center Wednesday evening.'You would have had a big problem there, if we weren't – in fact, the police chief said so much if you look at what his statements were. He said we're very lucky to have had them.' When asked by CNN's Kaitlan Collins if Trump had correctly described his position, McDonnell disputed the president's statements. 'No, we were not in a position to request the National Guard,' he said. 'We're nowhere near a level where we would be reaching out to the governor for National Guard at this stage. And my hope is that things are going in the right direction now and that we wouldn't have had to have done that, or we won't either.' California's state and local leaders have vocally opposed Trump's decision to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests that began this past weekend, emphasizing that they're not needed and will only sow chaos. Trump has bypassed state leaders, however, and made the rare move of sending in members of the military without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. McDonnell told CNN that the role of these troops is 'still not clear' to the LAPD, describing them as a 'support entity to protect federal employees and facilities.' In the last week, both National Guard troops and Marines have been authorized to temporarily detain civilians, a move that has murky legal footing since they're largely barred from engaging in law enforcement activity unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act.
