Israel Can't Nix Iran's Nukes
Declaring that it is 'now or never' for Israel to take out Iran's nuclear program, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh ignore a lesson of the Gaza war: You can't eliminate what you can't find ('Iran Takes Trump's Negotiators for a Ride,' op-ed, May 28). Consider, after months of fighting in the Palestinian enclave, that the massive Israeli effort has yet to uncover all the tunnels and other redoubts secluding Hamas fighters and Israeli hostages. Against the Middle East's geographic Jupiter, could the Israeli air force do a better job in finding and eliminating the totality of Iran's nuclear enterprise? Can it prevent rebuilding, mindful that Tehran reconstituted key elements despite Israel's repeated sabotage? Absent a proficient expeditionary ground force to find, search and destroy all suspect nuclear sites or the use of its nuclear arsenal, 'now or never' Israel doesn't have the capability.
Bennett Ramberg
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Newsweek
36 minutes ago
- Newsweek
How Countries on Trump's Travel Ban List Have Responded
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump issued an order on Wednesday banning travel from 12 countries and implementing partial restrictions on people from an additional seven. The countries impacted by the order have started responding, with Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accusing the Trump administration of being "supremacists." But Somalia's ambassador to the U.S. said the country remained "ready to engage in dialogue." Demonstrators protesting Trump's travel ban that he issued during his first term in June 2017. Demonstrators protesting Trump's travel ban that he issued during his first term in June 2017. AP The Context Trump announced on Wednesday that travel will be fully restricted for people from 12 nations: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. He added that people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face partial restrictions. Trump said the move is to "protect the nation from foreign terrorist and other national security and public safety threats." He cited the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, targeting a group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is facing attempted murder and federal hate crime charges related to the attack. What To Know Somalia In its order, the White House said: "Somalia stands apart from other countries in the degree to which its government lacks command and control of its territory... The U.S. Government has identified Somalia as a terrorist safe haven." Somali ambassador to the U.S., Dahir Hassan Abdi, said in response: "Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised." Venezuela The White House said that Venezuela "does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures" and it "has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals." The country's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello hit back, accusing the Trump administration of "fascism." "Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans," he said. "The people who govern the United States are bad people - it's fascism, they are supremacists who think they own the world and persecute our people for no reason." What People Are Saying Trump said in a video address: "The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country, by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas. We don't want them." The Afghan-American Foundation said in a statement: "This new travel ban doesn't just block visas — it blocks families, breaks promises, and betrays those who stood with the U.S. in Afghanistan. You can't say Afghanistan is 'safe' and also label the Taliban terrorists." Renata Segura, director of the Latin America and Caribbean program at the International Crisis Group, said: "Haitians as a group have not exerted any kind of violence... To accuse [Haitians] in some way of being violent people is completely unrealistic, and also so, so terribly unfair for a country that is going through the crisis that Haiti is living right now." What Happens Next Trump said that the list of countries is "subject to revision based on whether material improvements are made." He added that further countries could be added "as threats emerge around the world."


News24
41 minutes ago
- News24
Gaza aid group delays site opening after ‘deeply disturbing' killing of 27 Palestinians
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The military said the incident was under investigation. Britain called for an 'immediate and independent investigation', echoing a demand from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. READ | Gaza aid centres close and 'are considered combat zones' after Israel fire killed 27 UK Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer said the deaths of Palestinians as they sought food were 'deeply disturbing', calling Israel's new measures for aid delivery 'inhumane'. Israel recently eased its blockade of Gaza, but the United Nations says the territory's entire population remains at risk of famine. The GHF originally said it was closing aid distribution sites in Gaza on Wednesday for 'renovation' and that they would reopen Thursday. But the group said late Wednesday that its facilities would not open at the regular time on Thursday, without clarifying when they would resume service. 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Food shortages in Gaza have propelled fresh international calls for an end to the war, but a truce between Israel and Hamas remains elusive. The US, Israel's key ally, used its veto power at the UN Security Council on Wednesday to block a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump, posting on social media: 'That is the only way to destroy the Hamas terrorists' holding hostages in Gaza. Hamas condemned the veto as 'disgraceful' and accused Washington of 'legitimising genocide' in Gaza. The Israeli military maintains that its forces do not prevent Gazans from collecting aid. Army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli soldiers had fired toward suspects who 'were approaching in a way that endangered' the troops. AFP UN human rights chief Volker Turk called attacks against civilians 'unconscionable', and said they 'constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime'. The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said Gazans face an 'unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents'. Scenes of hunger in Gaza have also sparked fresh solidarity with Palestinians, and a boat organised by an international activist coalition was sailing toward Gaza, aiming to deliver aid. The boat from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed Sicily on Sunday carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, along with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars. Eyad Baba/AFP Israel's military said it stood ready to 'protect' the country's maritime space, with army spokesperson Defrin saying 'we are prepared' to handle the flotilla, without elaborating. In response, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said it 'strongly condemns Israel's declared intent to attack' the boat, calling it a 'threat'. Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat the Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 4 335 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, taking the war's overall toll to 54 607, mostly civilians. Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1 218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The army said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424.


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Democrats are trying to ‘Biden' Fetterman
Democrats are trying to force out Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) like they pushed out former President Joe Biden. Their orchestrated campaign against a senator is a carbon copy of last year's leaks and pressure against a president, only this time it is sooner and less subtle. For the last few weeks, there's been a steady flow of stories from former Fetterman staffers divulging damaging details about Pennsylvania's senior, and now, only Democratic, senator. Fetterman is a striking figure personally — tall, bald and raw-boned, he looks like a mixed martial arts fighter in his signature hoodie. He has been no less of a fighter politically. Having battled back from a stroke, he won a close race (just under a 5 percent margin) for his seat in 2022; even in office, he has had health scares. When Fetterman ran, and even early on in his Senate tenure, Democrats stood with him (in 2023, the Senate Majority Leader even relaxed floor rules for Fetterman). Now, they are clearly moving away with an increasingly loud whispering campaign. Sound familiar? It should. Democrats did the same to their sitting president less than a year ago. Following a debate that convinced them Biden couldn't win reelection (though it only showed what nonpartisan Americans had already been seeing), they ratcheted up the pressure to drive him out. Now, in that debacle's aftermath, and attempting to exculpate themselves from blame, they can't books fast enough to reveal the infirmities Biden had, but they worked to hide throughout his term. History is repeating itself. We witnessed an aggressive cover-up during his 2022 election, and now we are seeing a leaking and whispering campaign against Fetterman, now that he's politically inconvenient. And this is not a case of staffers going off the reservation. No staffer or Senate colleague behaves in this way without a tacit understanding that this is blessed by the party and party retribution will follow. So, what provoked Democrats' ire at Fetterman? Unlike Biden, who toed the left line into political oblivion (evidenced by his abysmal job approval ratings), Fetterman has been unwilling to go along to get along with Democrats' leftist lunacy, especially when it comes to fudging a moral equivalency between Israel's self-defense and Hamas's terrorism. The Democrats' ouster effort isn't cutting off their noses to spite their face. If Fetterman seeks reelection, he's virtually certain to be primaried by challengers seeking to exploit the rift between him and the party's left. For Democrats, only bad things come from such internecine fighting. For one thing, Fetterman could win: after all he has won before, and he is the incumbent. Then Democratic leaders are stuck spending precious money on a candidate they clearly don't want (and who likely displeases some elite lefty donors) to retain a seat they need. Even if a challenger beats Fetterman in a primary, it costs a lot of Democratic cash and opens intra-party wounds that may cause some to sit out a general election when Democrats will need all supporters on deck — after all, they just lost their other Senate incumbent in the state 2024. However, if Fetterman resigns, Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, gets to name a replacement. This would give Democrats a new senator now, one more to their ideological liking, and give that candidate a boost with incumbency and on fundraising. But what if Democrats so alienate Fetterman that he jumps ship and switches parties? Isn't that the Democrats' worst-case scenario? Nope. Their worst nightmare is the primary fight just mentioned. Yes, a party switch means short-term loss of a Senate seat; however, Democrats are already four seats away from a majority — a fifth makes only a marginal difference. Compared to longer-term primary havoc, and possibly losing the seat to a Republican for a full term (and potentially more) or having to deal with Fetterman for six more years, it's a risk they're willing to take. And if he switches, he becomes the Republicans' problem — an unreliable vote and primary confusion they'd have to sort out. The ultimate proof of what Democrats are doing to Fetterman is what they and their media allies didn't do to Biden for four years. If there really were problems with Fetterman, the Democrats and their allies could keep them quiet … if they wanted to. The fact that they aren't says everything. Emboldened by pushing out a president, now they're aiming for a senator. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, 'there they go again.' J.T. Young is the author of the recent book, 'Unprecedented Assault: How Big Government Unleashed America's Socialist Left,' from RealClear Publishing and has over three decades of experience working in Congress, the Department of the Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget, and representing a Fortune 20 company.