Pompeo says Soleimani killing part of new strategy to deter U.S. foes
By Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay ,Reuters•January 13, 2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said Qassem Soleimani was killed as part of a broader strategy of deterring challenges by U.S. foes that also applies to China and Russia, further diluting the assertion that the top Iranian general was struck because he was plotting imminent attacks on U.S. targets.
In his speech at Stanford University's Hoover Institute, Pompeo made no mention of the threat of imminent attacks planned by Soleimani. It only was in response to a question that he repeated his earlier assertion that pre-empting such plots was the reason for the Jan. 3 American drone strike on Iran's second most powerful official.
His speech, "The Restoration of Deterrence: The Iranian Example," focused on what he called an administration strategy to establish "real deterrence" against Iran following earlier Republican and Democratic policies that encouraged Tehran's "malign activity."
Democratic and some Republican lawmakers have challenged the administration over the self-defense rationale supported by undisclosed intelligence over imminent attacks. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the potential targets included four U.S. embassies.
On Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he had seen no intelligence forewarning of imminent attacks on embassies.
Trump on Monday added new fuel to the controversy by saying "it really doesn't matter" whether Soleimani posed an imminent threat.
Pompeo said there was "a bigger strategy" behind the killing of Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, Iran's elite foreign espionage and paramilitary force.
"President Trump and those of us in his national security team are re-establishing deterrence – real deterrence ‒ against the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
"Your adversary must understand not only that you have the capacity to impose cost but that you're in fact willing to do so," Pompeo said, adding that the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew in 2018 had emboldened Tehran.
"America now enjoys the greatest position of strength regarding Iran we've ever been in," he said, pointing to the damage done to the Iranian economy by U.S. sanctions that Trump re-imposed following his withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
"The importance of deterrence isn't confined to Iran," Pompeo said. "In all cases, we must deter foes to defend freedom. That's the whole point of President Trump's work to make our military the strongest it's ever been."
He cited the resumption of lethal military aid to Ukraine for defense against Russia-backed separatists, Trump's withdrawal from an arms control accord with Moscow and tests of a new U.S. intermediate-range cruise missile.
Pompeo also pointed to increased U.S. naval exercises in the South China Sea in response to China's militarization of disputed islands and Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports as aspects of the administration's deterrence strategy.
"We're restoring credibility to deterrence," he said.
even the axis of evil, the countries trump wants to be friends with so bad, are making fun of him.
he gets no respect from world leaders. we went from being back on track of being the leader of the world under obama to being a complete joke of a country under Trump.
Trump supporters: will trump call both of them two faced like he did Canada's PM? or will he not say one word cause his Daddy putin is involved?
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Landmark US, China deal signing will give Trump a trade war victory
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are set to sign a historic preliminary trade deal Wednesday, delivering on a cornerstone commitment of President Trump's 2016 campaign.
The agreement, the first piece of a broader pact that Trump says may have as many as three phases, is said to include commitments from Beijing to purchase $200 billion of U.S. products over the next two years, halt intellectual property theft and refrain from currency manipulation. In return, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on some products made in China, but keep duties the White House has imposed on $375 billion worth of merchandise.
"It's a really, really good deal for the United States, and it will work if reformers in China want it to work," Lighthizer told FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs on Monday evening. "And if that happens, great. If it doesn't happen, it's fully enforceable."
Landmark US, China deal signing will give Trump a trade war victory
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are set to sign a historic preliminary trade deal Wednesday, delivering on a cornerstone commitment of President Trump's 2016 campaign.
The agreement, the first piece of a broader pact that Trump says may have as many as three phases, is said to include commitments from Beijing to purchase $200 billion of U.S. products over the next two years, halt intellectual property theft and refrain from currency manipulation. In return, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on some products made in China, but keep duties the White House has imposed on $375 billion worth of merchandise.
"It's a really, really good deal for the United States, and it will work if reformers in China want it to work," Lighthizer told FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs on Monday evening. "And if that happens, great. If it doesn't happen, it's fully enforceable."
All of that means relatively nothing .... all of that could have been agreed within hours at the very start of the trade war.
The more significant part of the agreement relates to China promising to do better at intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.... THIS was what Trump thumped his chest about. This was the key element of the trade war .... (see facts matter). . . . . and there is some modest terms/statements in the agreement. YAY. As I said - nothing that China wasn't willing to include months and months and months and months ago.
Trump has reduced his demands to get this deal done - he has not achieved what he wanted. And if China does what it's historically done and ignore this stuff .... Trump will have done nothing but stall the economy and turn the farming community into a social welfare program costing billions of dollars to prop up.
Last edited by mgh888; 01/15/2003:37 PM.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
So can you tell us how it's different from when the trade war was started in the first place? I mean they seemed to be buying a lot of grain from us then too.
Just as a starting point.......
The value of U.S. agricultural and related exports to China has more than tripled over the last 10 years, reaching a record $29.6 billion in FY 2014 before declining slightly in FY 2015.
Seems like they bought billions more in grain from us in 2014 and 2015 than they will be buying under Trump's new deal. Hmmmmm.... I didn't know going backwards made for a good job. Only in Trumplandia!
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
All of that means relatively nothing .... all of that could have been agreed within hours at the very start of the trade war.
The more significant part of the agreement relates to China promising to do better at intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.... THIS was what Trump thumped his chest about. This was the key element of the trade war .... (see facts matter). . . . . and there is some modest terms/statements in the agreement. YAY. As I said - nothing that China wasn't willing to include months and months and months and months ago.
Trump has reduced his demands to get this deal done - he has not achieved what he wanted. And if China does what it's historically done and ignore this stuff .... Trump will have done nothing but stall the economy and turn the farming community into a social welfare program costing billions of dollars to prop up.
I don't know how you make up your facts but The phase one deal is seen as a sort of truce and includes concessions by the Chinese to crack down on intellectual property theft and the forced transfer of American technologies.
All of that means relatively nothing .... all of that could have been agreed within hours at the very start of the trade war.
The more significant part of the agreement relates to China promising to do better at intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.... THIS was what Trump thumped his chest about. This was the key element of the trade war .... (see facts matter). . . . . and there is some modest terms/statements in the agreement. YAY. As I said - nothing that China wasn't willing to include months and months and months and months ago.
Trump has reduced his demands to get this deal done - he has not achieved what he wanted. And if China does what it's historically done and ignore this stuff .... Trump will have done nothing but stall the economy and turn the farming community into a social welfare program costing billions of dollars to prop up.
I don't know how you make up your facts but The phase one deal is seen as a sort of truce and includes concessions by the Chinese to crack down on intellectual property theft and the forced transfer of American technologies.
It's a funny thing. Before Trump was president Republicans knew you couldn't trust China to keep a deal they made. Now, since Trump is president, suddenly China and Russia are the most trustworthy nations on the globe.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
It's a funny thing. Before Trump was president Republicans knew you couldn't trust China to keep a deal they made. Now, since Trump is president, suddenly China and Russia are the most trustworthy nations on the globe.
There are only losers in trade wars. China and the USA lost billions in the meantime. Putin is happy about that. Putin’s game is to separate previous USA regimes from present using the trump era. If he can make that cut that divide he starts with a clean slate. It’s good for Russia. The trump era pffft.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
You guys need to stop getting your news from reading the walls of your hate bubbles.
China trade deal has new provisions to safeguard US tech secrets
The U.S. and China agreed that people from each country will “be able to operate openly and freely in the jurisdiction of the other Party without any force or pressure from the other Party to transfer their technology to persons of the other Party.” Any transfers of technology or licenses between people of each country must be voluntary, according to the agreement.
The countries also agreed to a provision to prevent either state from directing or supporting domestic companies from acquiring foreign technology in sectors and industries “that create distortion.” This provision gets to the heart of new rules unveiled by the Treasury Department on Monday that attempt to provide further scrutiny over foreign investments in U.S. companies for national security reasons. The rules would require more transactions between foreign investors and U.S. firms to seek clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
CFIUS has already cracked down Chinese investments of this sort. Last year, health tech start-up PatientsLikeMe was forced to find a buyer after CFIUS forced its Chinese majority owner to divest its stake, CNBC reported in April.
Oh yeah. China is going to go around to businesses and stop them from reverse engineering our technology. How much ocean front property in Arizona have you purchased so far?
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Here’s what the trade agreement says about forced tech transfer:
1. Natural or legal persons (“persons”) of a Party shall have effective access to and be able to operate openly and freely in the jurisdiction of the other Party without any force or pressure from the other Party to transfer their technology to persons of the other Party.
2. Any transfer or licensing of technology between persons of a Party and those of the other Party must be based on market terms that are voluntary and reflect mutual agreement.
3. A Party shall not support or direct the outbound foreign direct investment activities of its persons aimed at acquiring foreign technology with respect to sectors and industries targeted by its industrial plans that create distortion.
Neither Party shall require or pressure persons of the other Party to transfer technology to its persons in relation to acquisitions, joint ventures, or other investment transactions
China also agreed to create an action plan to “strengthen intellectual property protection aimed at promoting its high-quality growth” within 30 working days after the deal goes into effect. Both countries agreed to “determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions of this Agreement within its own system and practice.”
Here’s what the agreement says about IP enforcement:
Each Party shall determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions of this Agreement within its own system and practice. If necessary, each Party shall provide suggestions for the amendment of laws to its legislative body according to its domestic legislation procedure. Consistent with the Bilateral Evaluation and Dispute Resolution Chapter, each Party shall ensure that its obligations under this Agreement are fully implemented.
Within 30 working days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, China will promulgate an Action Plan to strengthen intellectual property protection aimed at promoting its high-quality growth. This Action Plan shall include, but not be limited to, measures that China will take to implement its obligations under this Chapter and the date by which each measure will go into effect.
All of that means relatively nothing .... all of that could have been agreed within hours at the very start of the trade war.
The more significant part of the agreement relates to China promising to do better at intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.... THIS was what Trump thumped his chest about. This was the key element of the trade war .... (see facts matter). . . . . and there is some modest terms/statements in the agreement. YAY. As I said - nothing that China wasn't willing to include months and months and months and months ago.
Trump has reduced his demands to get this deal done - he has not achieved what he wanted. And if China does what it's historically done and ignore this stuff .... Trump will have done nothing but stall the economy and turn the farming community into a social welfare program costing billions of dollars to prop up.
I don't know how you make up your facts but The phase one deal is seen as a sort of truce and includes concessions by the Chinese to crack down on intellectual property theft and the forced transfer of American technologies.
Many of these provisions on intellectual property aren't actually new .... that's one angle. The other angle is how much bite the agrement has.... answer - not much.
So long as the tariff imposition is in good faith, Beijing agreed not to retaliate. But the good-faith and proportionality requirements give China a lot of room to act. Rather than retaliate with tariffs, the deal says the party whose actions led to the complaint could withdraw from the deal—although then China would be free to retaliate. A senior U.S. administration official said he figured Beijing would be very reluctant to take such steps, which would shatter the deal.
But it is unclear whether U.S. companies, wary of retaliation by China, will refer disputes to the enforcement mechanism. Most trade deals use arbitration panels to settle disputes, figuring they can be impartial.
“There is a strong element of Yogi Berra’s quip about déjà vu all over again,” said James Green, a former U.S. trade negotiator in Beijing under Mr. Trump. “The dispute resolution section will have the same problem we’ve always faced—U.S. companies are reluctant to become poster children for market access problems or discriminatory treatment.”
As I stated - there is some language in the agreement - it is not much and not a victory of the USA.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
This is phase one and is more in depth than many thought it would be. Phase two will cover the rest.
Yeah ... Trump is totally trustworthy, not at all prone to hyperbole and exaggeration and is an excellent negotiator ! Kim Jong -un will testify to these things.
oh - and as for 'nice try' - my post was accurate and you ignored that I stated there was language in there. In your triggered state you went of sideways and rambling like a drunk sailor .... and now your back peddling with "it'll be covered later" .... smdbh
Last edited by mgh888; 01/15/2005:53 PM.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
Just relax already. Wax the inside of your hate bubble and know that...
TRUMP GOT THIS!
I think this is just the way Librals say thanks President Trump.
Or maybe this is what Trump Sheep repeat without thinking regardless of context or subject ... coz critical thinking is prohibited and is actively stamped out.
The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.
especially since there are no mechanisms in the deal to enforce it.
have you seen some of it? nothing in there is concrete.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Oh I've seen some of it. But what do you expect in Trumplandia? They don't care about actually reading the deal. They just parrot what their talking heads say about it and yell about how great it is just because Trump signed it.
The sheeple syndrome.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
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