‘Tactical blunder': Trump is ‘surrendering' military power in the name of peace
'He made one major tactical blunder … he fell into this trap of believing he started no wars,' Mr Kroger told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power.
'Trump took this view and looked at himself and said, yeah … I should be up for a Nobel Peace Prize.
'So, he basically said to the world he's surrendering American military power in the name of peace.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
12 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Gaza ceasefire talks held up by Israel withdrawal plans: Palestinian sources
Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza are being held up by Israel's proposals to keep troops in the territory, two Palestinian sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP on Saturday. Delegations from both sides began discussions in Qatar last Sunday to try to agree on a temporary halt to the 21-month conflict sparked by Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Both Hamas and Israel have said that 10 living hostages who were taken that day and are still in captivity would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he hoped to clinch a deal "in a few days", which could then lead to talks for a more permanent end to hostilities. But one Palestinian source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the talks, said Israel's refusal to accept Hamas's demand to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress. Another said mediators had asked both sides to postpone the talks until the arrival of US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Doha. "The negotiations in Doha are facing a setback and complex difficulties due to Israel's insistence, as of Friday, on presenting a map of withdrawal, which is actually a map of redeployment and repositioning of the Israeli army rather than a genuine withdrawal," one Palestinian source said. The source said Israel was proposing to maintain military forces in more than 40 percent of the Palestinian territory, forcing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians into a small area near the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, they added. "Hamas's delegation will not accept the Israeli maps... as they essentially legitimise the reoccupation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip and turn Gaza into isolated zones with no crossings or freedom of movement," the source said. A second Palestinian source accused the Israeli delegation of having no authority, and "stalling and obstructing the agreement in order to continue the war of extermination". - Latest strikes - The Gaza war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of at least 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Of the 251 hostages seized, 49 are still being held, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. At least 57,823 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 14 Palestinians were killed in the latest wave of Israeli strikes across the territory on Saturday. More than 30 people were killed on Friday, including 10 people who were waiting for aid handouts, the agency said. The Israeli military on Saturday said it had attacked "approximately 250 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in the last 48 hours. Targets included "terrorists, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional terrorist infrastructure sites", it added. Two previous ceasefires -- a week-long truce beginning in late November 2023 and a two-month one from mid-January this year -- led to the release of 105 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The second Palestinian source said "some progress" had been made in the latest talks on plans for releasing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and getting more aid to Gaza. Netanyahu, who is under domestic and international pressure to end the war, said this week that neutralising Hamas as a security threat was a prerequisite for any long-term ceasefire talks. That included the group giving up weapons, he said, warning that failure to do so would mean Israel would have to do so by force. bur-az/phz/dcp
SBS Australia
26 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Trump suggests reporter is 'very evil' for asking about Texas flood warning system
United States President Donald Trump has lashed out at a reporter during a tour of a flash flooding site in central Texas, suggesting she was a "very evil person" for asking a question about whether the area's warning alert system worked as well as it could have. His response is unlikely to dampen mounting concerns about official preparations, which have refused to go away after the flash floods killed at least 120 people and left another 170 missing. As he surveyed the damage from the deadly Fourth of July weekend floods in Texas that have killed at least 120 people, Trump appeared temporarily lost for words. "We just were making a little tour of the area. It's hard to believe the devastation. Trees that are 100 years old just ripped out of the ground. I've never seen anything like it," he said. However, he soon recovered his composure. 'Only a bad person would ask a question like that' Trump has previously been fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy. However, during his visit to the Texas flood plain in America's most populous Republican state, the president struck a far more sombre and sympathetic tone — highlighting the heartbreak of what happened while effusively praising elected officials and first responders. When a reporter asked him about whether the warning alert system for the devastating floods worked as well as it could have, Mr Trump lashed out. "Only a bad person would ask a question like that. I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask you a question that." Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy was on the tour with the president and backed his criticism of the reporter. "The governor said it best when he said that pointing fingers is for losers," he said. "This state is about looking forward and we'll figure out how to make our systems the best they can be. But importantly, when you see 26 feet of water rising a foot per minute, don't go around pointing fingers." That's something some locals, like nurse Aliz Treibs, agree with. "I know that everybody is trying to find fault and blame right now and try to make it about politics. But I just feel like this really has been just a horrible, horrible act of nature and nobody could have controlled this either way." But others, like the pastor at Christ is King church, Michael Bell, says there are people who should be held responsible for what happened, even if it's unclear who they might be. "I know there was something similar to this in 1987 that took some lives — not as extreme as this," he said. "But I know after that there were some discussions of some grander scale plans that could have been implemented to avoid catastrophe as regards to human life, you know? "So, there will be some accountability that has to happen. Some changes need to be made for sure." Concerns over official handling of flood Concerns about the official preparation for and response to the disaster have started at the top. Some have asked if those federal government cuts could have weakened the flood preparations or response. Dr Rick Spinrad — the former administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service — has told CNN that it's impossible to say right now. "A lot of the weather forecast offices now are not operating at full complement of staff, which means that you're really putting an extra burden on these folks. I don't know how much that was a factor in what happened in Texas," he said. But it's at the state and local level where most of the questions are being asked. Camp Mystic's disaster plan was approved by Texas officials just two days before the floods swept away an estimated 27 campers and staff members. The Department of State Health Services released records earlier this week showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations around procedures to be implemented in the case of a disaster. It remains unclear what was in the plan and whether or not it was implemented. Governor Gregg Abbott has scheduled a special session of the Texas Legislature, beginning on 21 July, which will discuss improving warning systems for weather events. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha says local officials will have their own review once they've completed the task of recovering those who perished in the floodwaters and cleaning up the area.
SBS Australia
26 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Donald Trump suggests reporter is "evil" for asking about preparations ahead of deadly floods in Texas
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . As he surveyed the damage from the deadly Fourth of July weekend floods in Texas that have killed at least 120 people, U-S President Donald Trump appeared temporarily lost for words. "We just were making a little tour of the area. It's hard to believe the devastation. Trees that are 100 years old just ripped out of the ground. I've never seen anything like it." But Mr Trump soon recovered his composure. He has previously been fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy. During his visit to the Texas flood plain in America's most populous Republican state, the president struck a far more sombre and sympathetic tone - highlighting the heartbreak of what happened while effusively praising elected officials and first responders alike. "I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances. This was, I guess Kristi (Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem) said, a one in 500, one in 1,000 years. And I just have admiration for the job that everybody did. There's just admiration." Within that sympathetic stance, there has been little room for dissent. When a reporter asked him about whether the warning alert system for the devastating floods worked as well as it could have, Mr Trump lashed out. "Only a bad person would ask a question like that. I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask you a question that." Texas Republican Representative Chip Roy was on the tour with the president and backed his criticism of the reporter. "The governor said it best when he said that pointing fingers is for losers. This state is about looking forward and we'll figure out how to make our systems the best they can be. But importantly, when you see 26 feet of water rising a foot per minute, don't go around pointing fingers." That's something some locals - like nurse Aliz Treibs - agrees with. "I know that everybody is trying to find fault and blame right now and try to make it about politics. But I just feel like this really has been just a horrible, horrible act of nature and nobody could have controlled this either way." But others, like the pastor at Christ is King church - Michael Bell - says there ARE people who should be held responsible for what happened, even if it's unclear who they might be. "I know there was something similar to this in 1987 that took some lives - not as extreme as this. But I know after that there were some discussions of some grander scale plans that could have been implemented to avoid catastrophe as regards to human life, you know? So, there will be some accountability that has to happen. Some changes need to be made for sure." Concerns about the official preparation for and response to the disaster have started at the top. Since the flood, the president has been conspicuously silent on his past, repeated promises to do away with the national disaster agency FEMA as part of his plan to dramatically shrink the size of government. Some have asked if those federal government cuts could have weakened the flood preparations or response. Dr Rick Spinrad - the former administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service - has told CNN that it's impossible to say right now. "A lot of the weather forecast offices now are not operating at full complement of staff, which means that you're really putting an extra burden on these folks. I don't know how much that was a factor in what happened in Texas." But it's at the state and local level where most of the questions are being asked. Camp Mystic's disaster plan was approved by Texas officials just two days before the floods swept away an estimated 27 campers and staff members. The Department of State Health Services released records earlier this week showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations around procedures to be implemented in the case of a disaster. It remains unclear what was in the plan and whether or not it was carried out. The actions of the police have also been in the spotlight, Community Services Officer, Jonathan Lamb at the Kerrville Police Department saying he would characterise it as heroic. "One of our patrol sergeants lives out there in Hunt (Texas). And he got up and got ready to go to work. And he realized, when he hit the intersection of FM 1340 and Highway 39, that he was trapped on an island that was Hunt, Texas. And he saw people, dozens of people, trapped on roofs. He saw people trapped in swift moving water. He gave them encouragement over his public address system in his vehicle. He told them to be strong, that he would get to him as quickly as he could, and to hang on, and he knew he needed help. He went to another detective, Kerrville Police Department detective who lives out there and he woke him up and he said, it's bad, I need you to get your gear on and come find me. And then he went back out. And for 13 hours, those two officers, along with some Hunt volunteer fire department firefighters and an emergency room doctor, provided care to that Hunt community." Meanwhile, the American ABC News network has reported that a firefighter in Ingram, upstream of Kerrville, had asked the Kerr County Sheriff's Office at 4:22am on the 4th of July to alert residents of nearby Hunt of the coming flood. The network said its affiliate KSAT obtained audio of the call, which suggested the first alert did not reach Kerr County's CodeRed system for a full 90 minutes, with some warning messages not arriving until after 10am, when hundreds of people had already been swept away by raging waters. Kerr County ultimately experienced the biggest loss of life in the region. Governor Gregg Abbott has scheduled a special session of the Texas Legislature, beginning July 21, which will discuss improving warning systems for weather events. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha says local officials will have their own review - once they've completed the task of recovering those who perished in the floodwaters and cleaning up the area. "As with other significant events that our emergency services encounter, this incident will be reviewed. You have my word... You know, we don't have - we're not running. We're not gonna hide from anything. That's gonna be checked into at a later time."
