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British Officials Angered by US Leaks of Manchester Intelligence to Media

Source: Mother Jones

May 24, 2017 11:00 AM

High-ranking British officials, including Home Secretary Amber Rudd, are speaking out against the United States, after a number of confidential details in the ongoing investigation into Monday's Manchester attack appeared in American media before British authorities confirmed them.

"The British police have been very clear that they want to control the flow of information to protect operational integrity, the element of surprise," Rudd said in an interview Wednesday with BBC's Radio 4. "So it is irritating if it gets released from other sources."

"I have been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," she continued.

The information in question includes the suspected attacker's identity and the detail that the attack was likely a suicide-bombing—intel that emerged in American reports hours before authorities publicly verified them. BuzzFeed reports CBS News and the Associated Press were among the American media to cite anonymous US intelligence officials in the reports in question. Notice the time-stamps below:

Read more: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/british-officials-angered-us-leaks-manchester-intelligence

Health Care Deep Dive: CBO's New Score & White House 'Funny Math' MTP Daily

'Space Aggressors' Train US Forces for Extraterrestrial Conflict

May 24, 2017 12:29pm ET

In a large, tin-roofed warehouse near Colorado's Rocky Mountains, members of a team of modern space warriors spend their days hatching plots to defeat the US military in extraterrestrial combat.

They're called Space Aggressors.

Their job is to act like the enemy during mock space battles to help US units prepare for a conflict that may one day extend into the cosmos.

"We play the bad guys," said Captain Christopher Barnes, chief of training for the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron. "Our job is to not only understand the different types of threats and potential enemies, but also to be able to portray them and replicate them for the good guys, our Air Force."

http://www.space.com/36988-space-aggressors-train-us-forces-for-extraterrestrial-conflict.html

".....a conflict that may one day extend into the cosmos." Right, like we don't ALREADY have weapons in space.

Trump Comes to Israel Citing a Palestinian Deal as Crucial

Source: New York Times

JERUSALEM — President Trump began a two-day visit to Israel on Monday with a blunt assessment for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: If Israel really wants peace with its Arab neighbors, the cost will be resolving the generations-old standoff with the Palestinians.

For years, Mr. Netanyahu has sought to recalibrate relations with Sunni Arab nations in a mutual bid to counter Shiite-led Iran, while subordinating the Palestinian dispute as a secondary issue. But as Mr. Trump arrived in Jerusalem after meetings in Saudi Arabia, the president indicated that he and those Arab states see an agreement with the Palestinians as integral to that new regional alignment.

“On those issues, there is a strong consensus among the nations of the world — including many in the Muslim world,” Mr. Trump said. “I was deeply encouraged by my conversations with Muslim world leaders in Saudi Arabia, including King Salman, who I spoke to at great length. King Salman feels very strongly and, I can tell you, would love to see peace with Israel and the Palestinians.”

Mr. Trump added that line to the remarks prepared for him, in effect tying the future of the anti-Iran coalition to the Palestinian issue despite Mr. Netanyahu’s longtime efforts to unlink the two. “There is a growing realization among your Arab neighbors that they have common cause with you in the threat posed by Iran, and it is indeed a threat, there’s no question about that,” Mr. Trump said.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/world/middleeast/trump-israel-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Keith Makes Me Regret My Agnosticism

Trump Wants to Achieve 'Lasting Peach' Between Israelis and Palestinians. Wait, What?

Source: Haaretz

One of U.S. President Donald Trump's goals during his visit to Israel is to "promote the possibility of lasting peach" – at least, according to the White House's press statement.

The fruity typo is the latest embarrassing incident in a string of cringe-worthy situations that have plagued Trump's visit to Israel thus far.



Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.791148

Chinese newspaper applauds reported 'anti-espionage' killing of CIA sources

Source: The Guardian

Reuters
Monday 22 May 2017 02.18 EDT

An influential state-run newspaper has applauded China’s anti-espionage efforts after the New York Times said China had killed or imprisoned up to 20 CIA sources, hobbling US spying operations in a massive intelligence breach.

The Chinese killed at least a dozen people providing information to the US Central Intelligence Agency between 2010 and 2012, dismantling a network that was years in the making, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

China’s Global Times, published by the official People’s Daily, said in an editorial in its Chinese and English-language editions that, if true, it was a victory for China.

“If this article is telling the truth, we would like to applaud China’s anti-espionage activities. Not only was the CIA’s spy network dismantled, but Washington had no idea what happened and which part of the spy network had gone wrong,” the paper said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/22/chinese-newspaper-applauds-reported-anti-espionage-killing-of-cia-sources

Donald Trump appears to 'curtsey' to Saudi king after mocking Barack Obama for bowing

Source: The Independent (UK)

Donald Trump has been accused of hypocrisy after appearing to "curtsey" while receiving a gold medal from the king of Saudi Arabia.

Back in 2012, Mr Trump criticised his predecessor Barack Obama for bowing to foreign leaders, including then-Saudi King Abdullah.

But he bowed his head while receiving the country's highest civilian honour on Saturday, the Collar of King Abdulaziz al-Saud.