| Don't count on ever seeing Trump's 'Garden of American Heroes' Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:49 AM PDT  Call me cynical, but I have a feeling the National Garden of American Heroes announced by President Trump on Friday will never get off — or into — the ground, even if he doesn't put his son-in-law in charge of it. Establishing an official United States Hall of Fame will secure the reputations of Betsy Ross and Benjamin Franklin from the changing political winds, no less than the one in Cooperstown, N.Y., preserves for the ages the memories of Ted Williams and Roberto Clemente.
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| China detains professor who criticised Xi over coronavirus Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:45 AM PDT  Chinese authorities on Monday detained a law professor who published essays criticising President Xi Jinping over the coronavirus pandemic and accusing him of ruling "tyrannically", according to friends of the man. Xu Zhangrun, a rare outspoken critic of the government in China's heavily censored academia, was taken from his home in suburban Beijing by more than 20 people, one of his friends said on condition of anonymity. Xu published an essay in February blaming the culture of deception and censorship fostered by Xi for the spread of the coronavirus in China.
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| Supreme Court won't throw out ban on robocalls to cellphones Posted: 06 Jul 2020 08:19 AM PDT  A group of fundraisers, political organizations and pollsters filed a lawsuit alleging the prohibition was unconstitutional.
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| Great Power Showdown: How U.S. Navy Submarines Are Countering Chinese Expansion Posted: 05 Jul 2020 02:30 AM PDT  Let's take a look.
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| The WHO changed its coronavirus timeline to say it got its first report about the virus on the internet, not from Chinese authorities Posted: 05 Jul 2020 04:03 AM PDT  The agency says its China office found out about the "viral pneumonia" cases from reading an online press release from the Wuhan health commission.
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| Seven men arrested after shouting racist insults and doing Nazi salutes at black family on Oregon beach, police say Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:37 AM PDT  Seven men have been arrested after an alleged racist incident on the Fourth of July in an Oregon beach town.Police said that the men allegedly yelled racial slurs at a black family and used Nazi salutes while people spent Independence Day on the beach in Lincoln City, southwest of Portland.
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| Rocket fired toward US Embassy in Iraq injures child Posted: 05 Jul 2020 02:30 AM PDT  The Iraqi military said Sunday that a rocket aimed at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, home of the U.S. Embassy, struck a residential house and injured a child. Iraqi officials said the embassy's recently installed C-RAM air defense system may have attempted to intercept the rocket as the system was operational late Saturday. A recent spate of rocket attacks have struck close to the U.S. Embassy and targeted American troops in Iraqi bases.
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| South Korea rejects US extradition request over child abuse website Posted: 06 Jul 2020 12:14 AM PDT  A Seoul court says the man behind a massive child sexual abuse website could help future investigations.
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| Surge in NYC shootings fuels police reform debate Posted: 06 Jul 2020 05:02 PM PDT  New York reeled from a spate of holiday weekend shootings Monday, with police fueling controversy by partially attributing them to reforms undertaken following the death in custody of George Floyd. The Big Apple was rocked by 45 shootings -- which resulted in 11 deaths -- over the long July 4th weekend, up from just 16 shootings for the same period in 2019. Terence Monahan, the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed officer, said "tremendous animosity" shown towards officers following the recent Black Lives Matter protests had contributed by lowering police morale.
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| China's state television channel severely violated British broadcasting rules Posted: 05 Jul 2020 05:53 AM PDT  Britain's television watchdog is expected to announce on Monday that China's state television channel severely violated British broadcasting rules by airing a forced confession of a UK citizen, the Telegraph understands. China's state broadcaster, which airs in English in the UK as CGTN, is likely to face sanctions, decided in a separate process by Ofcom, which could include hefty fines or being stripped of its broadcast license as a result of the investigation launched May 2019. The ruling could escalate diplomatic tensions between the UK and China at a time when MPs have become more vocal in pressing for a re-think of bilateral relations. The original complaint to Ofcom, filed by Briton Peter Humphrey, focused on a confession forced under duress from him by Chinese authorities in 2013. Mr Humphrey told the Telegraph in an interview last year that he was drugged and handcuffed to an iron chair inside a steel cage. Six uniformed police officers sat at a podium while the lead interrogator read questions from a clipboard and instructed Mr Humphrey how to answer, he said. A heavily edited version made to look like a news 'interview' with a bombshell 'confession' was broadcast around the world on CGTN, and other channels under parent Chinese state media organisation, CCTV – including in the UK. "They twisted things," Mr Humphrey previously told the Telegraph. "It was terrifying; all along, I knew I was innocent and that I was being falsely accused. I also knew that I had no way to escape."
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| ‘We Should Listen to the Argument’ for Removing George Washington Statues, Says Senator Duckworth Posted: 06 Jul 2020 06:41 AM PDT  Senator Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) said that "we should listen to the argument for removing George Washington statues" in an appearance on CNN's State of the Union Sunday. Statues of slave-owning historical figures such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson have become the latest target of the nationwide racial reckoning sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody this summer.When asked by CNN's Dana Bash if she supported taking down monuments of leaders who were slave owners, as she has expressed support of changing military bases named after Confederate leaders, Duckworth instead initially took aim at President Trump's Mount Rushmore speech on Friday.The senator, who the Washington Post reported Sunday is a serious contender in Joe Biden's search for a running mate in the 2020 presidential election, called Trump's priorities "all wrong.""He should be talking about what we're going to do to overcome this pandemic," she said. "What are we going to do to push Russia back? Instead, he had no time for that. He spent all his time talking about dead traitors."After further pressing by CNN's Bash, Duckworth said she thinks we should have a national dialogue over the historical monuments at some point and "listen to everybody.""I think we should listen to the argument there, but remember that the president at Mount Rushmore was standing on ground that was stolen from Native Americans who had actually been given that land during a treaty," she said.Trump has defended such monuments, and did so again in his speech Friday, saying, "By tearing down Washington and Jefferson, these radicals would tear down the very heritage for which men gave their lives to win the Civil War, they would erase the memory that inspired those soldiers to go to their deaths," he said. "They would tear down the principles that propelled the abolition of slavery and ultimately around the world ending an evil institution that had plagued humanity for thousands and thousands of years."
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| FDA Head Declines to Defend or Deny Trump Claim That 99% of COVID-19 Cases Are 'Totally Harmless' Posted: 05 Jul 2020 10:55 AM PDT  The President's claim contradicts the existing data
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| Olson Kundig’s Latest Design Embraces Its Hawaiian Habitat Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:46 AM PDT |
| NASA's powerful Hubble space telescope has beamed back a striking photo of a 'fluffy' galaxy with a ghostly, empty center Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:33 PM PDT  The photo from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows how newborn stars have used up all the gas at this galaxy's center.
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| 7 men were arrested after police said they taunted a Black family with racial slurs and Nazi salutes at an Oregon beach Posted: 06 Jul 2020 08:28 AM PDT  The incident happened Saturday during a July 4 celebration in Lincoln City, Oregon. Police said the men who were arrested were "highly intoxicated."
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| Frederick Douglass statue vandalized in Rochester park Posted: 05 Jul 2020 05:13 PM PDT  A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass was ripped from its base in Rochester on the anniversary of one of his most famous speeches, delivered in that city in 1852. Police said the statue of Douglass was taken on Sunday from Maplewood Park, a site along the Underground Railroad where Douglass and Harriet Tubman helped shuttle slaves to freedom. In Rochester on July 5, 1852, Douglass gave the speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," in which he called the celebration of liberty a sham in a nation that enslaves and oppresses its Black citizens.
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| 1 killed, 1 injured after car hits protesters on closed Seattle highway Posted: 05 Jul 2020 06:57 AM PDT  Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests
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| Trump administration refusing to let Dr Fauci appear on CBS show, host says Posted: 06 Jul 2020 07:02 AM PDT  CBS News host Margaret Brennan has claimed that the Trump administration has prevented Dr Anthony Fauci from appearing on her show for three months.The moderator of CBS' Face the Nation, claimed on the show on Sunday that the administration had not approved an interview with Dr Fauci since 5 April.
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| McConnell opens door to more coronavirus stimulus checks for low-income Americans Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:00 PM PDT  "I think the country needs one last boost," the Senate majority leader said of another round of direct payments.
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| Wasserman Schultz pushes to deny money for military bases named after Confederates Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:00 AM PDT  Like many Democrats and some Republicans, Broward Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wants to rename military bases that currently bear the names of Confederate generals.
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| This Chinese Submarine Could Drop a Nuclear Weapon on America Posted: 05 Jul 2020 06:30 AM PDT  Yet it is still armed with nuclear weapons.
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| I stayed at a Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott during the pandemic to see how hotels are handling new coronavirus protocols — here's how they stacked up against each other Posted: 06 Jul 2020 11:31 AM PDT  Michelle Gross, her husband, and their two dogs drove from New Jersey to North Carolina in mid-June and stayed at three hotels along the way.
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| Trump administration bars international college students if their school's classes are all online Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:02 PM PDT  Colleges could be in a tough spot if they want to keep international students enrolled.
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| Maxwell set for first New York hearing in Epstein sex abuse case Posted: 06 Jul 2020 10:22 AM PDT  British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has been brought to New York and is due to make her first appearance in court there on sex trafficking charges related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein this week, officials say. Maxwell -- who was arrested and charged in New Hampshire last week after months of living in seclusion -- is due to be arraigned in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, according to a letter prosecutors submitted to the judge. Maxwell is also accused of taking part in some of the sexual abuse.
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| I'm an autism expert who adopted 2 children with special needs. Myka Stauffer shouldn't have apologized for 'rehoming' her adopted son. Posted: 06 Jul 2020 10:29 AM PDT  Myka Stauffer, a popular influencer, should've apologized for missing a chance to educate her followers about the realities of autism and adoption.
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| India scientists alarmed over 'unrealistic' Covid vaccine deadline Posted: 06 Jul 2020 12:28 AM PDT  A group of Indian scientists has warned against an "unfeasible" August 15 deadline.
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| Franco's heirs clash with Spanish state over summer home Posted: 06 Jul 2020 01:16 PM PDT  The Spanish state on Monday clashed in court with the heirs of Francisco Franco over who should control a mock-castle used by the fascist dictator as a summer home. Officials in the A Coruña areadonated the property as a retreat for Franco in 1938, when he was the leader of the Nationalists in the Civil War. Spain's Left-wing coalition government demanded its return last year, contending that the formal transfer of the site in 1941 was illegitimate. Franco's family still enjoy use of the property On the first day of hearings expected to last for a week, the court in A Coruna province heard how the castle, which was built between 1893 and 1907, was enlarged after taking in local small-holders' land. "My grandmother was kicked out of her home," said 70-year-old Juan Pérez Babío. "She was pressured and had to leave her house, and that marked her for the rest of her life." During his two-year tenure, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has challenged lingering reverence for Franco, who ruled from 1939 to 1975, most notably by exhuming his body from a mausoleum for fallen war heroes. The Pazo de Meiras has long stoked controversy, with local campaigners arguing that the 16-acre property on the Galician coastline should have reverted to public ownership after Franco's death. According to the Franco regime's official account, the donation of the home was a mark of loyalty by the people of A Coruña to the general, who was born in nearby Ferrol. But historians claim that the leaders of A Coruña's council and business community essentially obliged locals to hand over a portion of their income to purchase the property. "There was nothing voluntary about the donations," said Carlos Babío, co-author of a historical study of the building. "Money was taken from workers' wages, and we are talking about practically the entire population of A Coruña in 1938." Key to the legal case is the question of whether any transfer of ownership actually took place. Spain's heritage council contends that the bill of sale for Franco taking ownership of the property in 1941 was a "fraud". No money changed hands and upkeep was still paid for by the state. In 2018 Franco's heirs tried to sell the property for 8 million euros after local officials placed a protection order on it, deeming the site a place of special cultural interest. The family has also clashed with the state over how to manage public visits, drawing criticism for allowing the Franco Foundation to run tours extolling the virtues of the dictator. An estimated 15,000 people were killed by Franco's regime and some 450,000 forced to flee, historians estimate. Citizens were divided over the government's removal last year of the dictator's body from the Valley of the Fallen, a memorial he constructed to commemorate those who died in the civil war that ushered in his far-right dictatorship. Francisco Franco, the dictator's grandson, argued that the state's attempt to reclaim the Pazo de Meiras was "part of a strategy of retaliation" over objections to exhuming his body from the mausoleum.
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| De Blasio says outdoor dining on hold for 'a substantial amount of time' Posted: 06 Jul 2020 07:59 AM PDT  New York City entered Phase 3 Monday, but without indoor dining, as Mayor Bill de Blasio said it would be on hold for "a substantial amount of time."
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| Moscow Has a Field Day With Trump’s Fireworks at Mt. Russia-More Posted: 05 Jul 2020 07:50 AM PDT  Kremlin-controlled Russian state media set out to tickle U.S. President Trump's fragile ego amid falling ratings after his blustery appearance at Mount Rushmore on Friday. Mentioning that the American head of state had previously toyed with the idea he might be featured alongside Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lincoln, Russia's premier state media channel Rossiya-1 aired a graphic of Trump's mug right up there on the mountain beside them. Given the frequent allusions on Russian state media to Trump as Moscow's friend, even Moscow's "agent" in the White House, maybe the Kremlin would like to see the enormous monument renamed Mount Russia-More. But there were signs on Saturday, July 4, that, for now, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are trying to keep their longstanding bromance in check, at least where the official record is concerned. Putin sent a telegram congratulating U.S. President Donald J. Trump on America's Independence Day. Interesting move. By avoiding a phone call Putin also avoided any direct pressure to address reports about the Kremlin paying bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers and coalition forces in Afghanistan.Prior to the bounty leaks flooding out of the U.S. intelligence community, the calls between Trump and Putin had become unusually frequent, but those revelations put the brakes on the presidential chatter. Trump Uses Mount Rushmore Event to Sic Supporters on 'Evil' ProtestersTrump—who is at least as reluctant as Putin to discuss the matter—had also avoided calling to congratulate him on Russia's nationwide vote for constitutional amendments that assure Putin the Russian presidency for life.The Kremlin described the vote as a "triumphant referendum" demonstrating nationwide confidence in Putin. But only a handful of foreign leaders called to congratulate him, and as they rang in from the presidents of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and South Ossetia the impression of Putin as pariah for life was only heightened. While Trump was likely given a "Do not congratulate" input from his national security advisors, the old Chekist Putin can most certainly read between the lines. After all, Trump notoriously took Putin's side in Helsinki, denied Russia's proven interference in the U.S. elections, essentially abandoned U.S. bases in Syria for the benefit of the Russians, toyed publicly and divisively with the idea of re-admitting Russia to the G8, and threatened to remove nearly a third of U.S. troops from Germany—a midsummer night's dream for Putin.Trump-centric Fox News and the GOP follow the lead of America's most pro-Russian president, churning out talking points that increasingly benefit the Kremlin. Russian state media have aired so many of Tucker Carlson's comments that the host of Russia's state television program 60 Minutes Evgeny Popov lovingly described Carlson as "practically our co-host." Likewise, instead of concocting its own divisive propaganda, TASS simply quotes Devin Nunes and Mike Pompeo, both of whom sought to find and punish the leakers who exposed the Kremlin's alleged cash for kills program instead punishing Russia for putting a price on the heads of American soldiers.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 15 Air-Purifying Plants to Cleanse Your Space of Chemicals and Toxins Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:17 PM PDT |
| Outrage as Mississippi election commissioner complains 'the Blacks' are registering to vote in high numbers Posted: 06 Jul 2020 12:31 PM PDT  A Mississippi elections official became the subject of social media fury over the weekend when she tweeted that she was "concerned" about an increase in black voters."I'm concerned about voter registration in Mississippi," Gail Welch, an elections commissioner in Jones County, Mississippi wrote. "The blacks are having lots [of] events for voter registration. People in Mississippi have to get involved, too."
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| Fire! America Loves to Go to War with the M4 Carbine Posted: 06 Jul 2020 12:00 AM PDT  Rugged, simple and accurate, the M4 carbine is the standard infantry weapon of not just the Army but all of America's ground forces.
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| Former Nazi camp guard, 93, faces German court reckoning Posted: 05 Jul 2020 10:12 PM PDT  The prosecution's closing arguments will be heard on Monday in the trial of a 93-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard for complicity in the murder of more than 5,000 people during World War II. In what could be one of the last such cases of surviving Nazi guards, Bruno Dey stands accused of complicity in the murder of 5,230 people when he worked at the Stutthof camp near what was then Danzig, now Gdansk in Poland. Dey, who has appeared in court in a wheelchair, denies bearing any guilt for what happened at the camp.
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| Confederate monuments coming down in Virginia, but 2 prominent Lee statues remain Posted: 06 Jul 2020 04:04 AM PDT  Memorials to Robert E. Lee in Richmond and Charlottesville are stuck in legal battles despite public protests and the governor's pledge.
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| Hong Kong activists are holding up blank signs because China now has the power to define pro-democracy slogans as terrorism Posted: 06 Jul 2020 06:27 AM PDT  At least 200 people with white signs amassed in malls across Hong Kong on Monday. China unilaterally passed a harsh new law on the city last week.
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| New rules: Foreign pupils must leave US if classes go online Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:49 PM PDT  International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.
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| U.S. trade groups urge China to increase purchases of U.S. goods, services Posted: 06 Jul 2020 07:36 AM PDT  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and over 40 trade associations on Monday urged top American and Chinese officials to redouble efforts to implement a Phase 1 trade agreement signed by the world's two largest economies in January despite pandemic-related strains. In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the groups said they were encouraged by the progress so far, but urged a significant increase in China's purchases of U.S. goods and services. The agreement called for China to purchase $200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services over the next two years.
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| Alleged drug plane burns on Mexican highway Posted: 06 Jul 2020 01:01 AM PDT |
| The Best Glassware to Upgrade Your Summer Beverages Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:03 PM PDT |
| Madeleine McCann suspect 'could have snatched another child', say parents of young girl he allegedly exposed himself to Posted: 05 Jul 2020 02:54 AM PDT  The German paedophile suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann "could have snatched another child", say the parents of a young girl he allegedly exposed himself to in 2017. Christian Brückner was arrested in Portugal for exposing himself at a playground, leaving parents terrified that the convicted sex offender could have gone further and taken their children away in his van. The new details of Brückner's twisted behaviour in the Algarve have once again put the spotlight on Portuguese authorities as to why they did not link the career criminal to the country's biggest ever missing persons case. Instead of facing trial in Portugal, he was extradited to Germany on an outstanding arrest warrant for separate child sex abuse charges. The German drifter, who spent two decades living on and off in Portugal was arrested in 2017 after four children told their parents he had flashed them at a playground in Sao Bartomoleu de Messines, a town less than an hour away from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing ten years before.
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| The Future of Maximum Pressure Posted: 06 Jul 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Embargoes and sanctions are key aspects of the U.S. "maximum pressure" strategy against the Iranian regime. That policy has brought a deluge of criticism on the Trump administration, but it may be the best option for countering Iran's aggression.The U.S. has recently announced its goal of extending the arms embargo that is currently set to expire on October 18. Established by the U.N. in 2007, the embargo prohibited the export of arms to Iran, adding to a 2006 embargo on nuclear-weapons technology. The expiration is a term in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the "Iran deal." When the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018, it reimposed pre-JCPOA sanctions on entities under its jurisdiction. It now hopes to convince the other signatories to extend the embargo in response to the Islamic Republic's aggression in the region, enablement of terrorist groups, and continued escalation of uranium enrichment. Should the signatories reject this proposal, the U.S. could invoke the agreement's "snapback" provision, which allows any of the original signatories to reinstate pre-JCPOA sanctions and pressures. In this case, the U.S. would presumably reinstate the embargo as its official policy, and perhaps hold other countries accountable should they trade arms with Iran.In a representative article, Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council offers five criticisms of the administration's approach. First, she notes that Trump's promise to shrink Iran's ballistic-missile program and block its regional aggression has not been fulfilled. Second, maximum pressure and threats of a snapback could push Iran to withdraw from the JCPOA and Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)—which it has threatened to do—and thereby allow it to pursue a nuclear-weapon capacity more freely. Third, the American attitude toward the JCPOA will alienate European allies. Fourth, the Trump administration may weaken the impact of sanctions by overusing them; Slavin cites China as an example, noting that it built "parallel international financial mechanisms" when faced with American sanctions. Fifth, Slavin believes that maximum pressure emboldens Iran's hard-liners and could lead to a more conservative parliament in next year's elections.These criticisms have a measure of truth. Their bottom line is that maximum pressure alienates the U.S. from its allies and burns diplomatic bridges with Iran. Nevertheless, it is the best option to hold the regime accountable, given its bad diplomatic record.Historically, diplomacy has not been successful in dealing with the Islamic Republic. Take the nuclear program. Though Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, says nuclear weapons are haram (forbidden by Islam), Iran has violated the NPT on a number of occasions, and has been condemned for building undeclared nuclear facilities such as the one in Natanz. Iran pursued a nuclear-weapons program until 2003 as well. This lack of transparency led the IAEA to conclude in a 2006 resolution that Iran was guilty of "many failures and breaches of its obligations to comply with its NPT Safeguards Agreement." The resolution went on to note an "absence of confidence that Iran's nuclear programme" was "exclusively for peaceful purposes," owing to a "history of concealment of Iran's nuclear activities." Treaties such as the NPT are clearly not taken seriously by the Islamic Republic, and its past pursuit of nuclear weaponry calls its anti-nuclear statements into question.What's worse, according to American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Michael Rubin, the JCPOA offered Iran many "goodies" despite its restrictions. The agreement's lifting of sanctions meant that Iran could more thoroughly fund its proxies and bolster its ballistic-missile program. By focusing too heavily on Iran's nuclear program, the deal freed up resources for the regional expansion of power, a key regime goal. Moreover, the JCPOA was weak on nuclear control: Sunset clauses in the agreement left Iran with the ability to restart a nuclear program as early as 2030.Rubin says that, since diplomacy usually fails with Iran, he is in general a fan of maximum pressure. A merit of the policy is its ability to raise the cost of Iranian aggression. "Sanctions offer additional steps between war and peace and enable policymakers to have options that avoid worst-possible outcomes," Rubin tells National Review. This allows the U.S. to "respond to bad Iranian behavior short of having to engage in military action to do so." An arms embargo can also prevent war by making it harder for Iran to be militarily prepared for a major confrontation.Rubin also notes that maximum pressure forces Tehran to "make basic guns-and-butter decisions." If it chooses guns, the Iranian government will have to "pay the consequences for those decisions in terms of potential popular unrest." This already seems to be the case: In the last year, Iran has faced massive anti-government protests over the country's dire economic condition. In 2018, after the implementation of sanctions, Iran's GDP shrank 4.8 percent. Rubin thinks that maximum pressure can raise the cost of pursuing a nuclear program to a level that forces the regime to back down: "If pursuit of Iran's nuclear program becomes so expensive it can imperil the regime, history suggests the regime will reverse course. . . . That's what happened with the Carter-era American hostages, and that's what also happened with the decision to end the Iran–Iraq War."Rubin and other experts who support maximum pressure do offer some caution, however. While the policy holds Iran accountable and has succeeded in the past, it needs a clearer purpose. "You can't have pressure just for the sake of pressure," says Rubin. "What does the Trump administration want?" Is it regime change? Is it just an end to the nuclear program? Is it a new deal? The answer is unclear.Giselle Donnelly, another AEI scholar, notes an additional weakness in the maximum-pressure strategy, namely its "disconnect" from Trump's other policies in the Middle East. "Maximum pressure would suggest you're pushing ahead on multiple fronts," she says. But the Trump administration has decreased its presence in the Middle East over time — for example, by pulling out of Syria and Afghanistan — while targeting Iran with maximum pressure. This combination of policies has ignored the ways in which Iran's fate is intertwined with that of the region, especially in places such as Syria, where Iran has always tried to exercise its influence. Maximum pressure must be both local and regional: "It's great to hold Iran accountable," says Donnelly, "but they're much more interested in exercising regional influence [than in developing nuclear weaponry]."Donnelly also thinks the U.S. has an image problem in the Middle East following the Trump administration's general retreat from the region: "The thing that worries me the most is that we have transmitted the message that we don't care." This perceived indifference enhances the way in which, should Iran withstand U.S. pressures, "it looks like progress for them."Donnelly and Rubin's criticisms amount to a statement of the need for a more coherent total strategy. Overall, however, the Trump administration has at least been willing to confront repeated Iranian transgressions head on, and in so doing has taken a very different approach from that of its predecessor. Going forward, the U.S. should consider strengthening its regional posture and Middle Eastern alliances while closely monitoring regional conflicts involving Iran.Fast-forward to November. The American presidential election may determine the future of the maximum-pressure strategy. Biden has been highly critical of the Trump administration's approach to Iran and is on the record saying he would like the United States to rejoin the JCPOA. Perhaps this would mend diplomatic relationships with U.S. allies and lead to more fruitful conversations with the Iranian government. Experience should make us suspect, however, that this is wishful thinking. Unless held accountable, the Iranian regime is likely to continue its terroristic and destabilizing conduct
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| Aliens Are Out There But Still Pretty Rare, Study Says Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:02 PM PDT  The search for extraterrestrial intelligent life could offer important insights into how long our own civilization can survive.
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| Russian Village in 'Danger Zone' of Possible Nuclear Missile Test Posted: 06 Jul 2020 02:36 PM PDT  Nenoksa is once again the crosshairs after a radioactive accident last year.
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| A US senator wants to propose legislation blocking middle seats on planes after he flew on a crowded American Airlines flight Posted: 05 Jul 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Sen. Jeff Merkley blasted American Airlines on Twitter after a crowded flight, asking "how many Americans will die because you fill middle seats."
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| Trump's angry words, virus darken US July 4th weekend Posted: 04 Jul 2020 06:08 PM PDT  The United States marked an unusually somber Independence Day on Saturday, with President Donald Trump bashing domestic opponents and China -- but praising the country's coronavirus response, despite a record surge in cases. Across the country, virus fears dampened or nixed Main Street parades, backyard barbecues and family reunions on a day when Americans typically celebrate their 1776 declaration of independence from Britain. Instead of adopting a unifying tone, Trump -- facing a tough re-election and eager to mobilize his political base -- railed against protesters demanding racial justice after unarmed African American George Floyd was killed by a white police officer.
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