Latest news with #Neocons
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's Iran War Talk Is Testing His Ties With MAGA Loyalists
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump's hints that he may dispatch the US military to help Israel destroy Iran's nuclear program has spurred a revolt from his typically faithful America First base, further dividing a party already struggling to unite around the president's second-term agenda. Security Concerns Hit Some of the World's 'Most Livable Cities' JFK AirTrain Cuts Fares 50% This Summer to Lure Riders Off Roads How E-Scooters Conquered (Most of) Europe Taser-Maker Axon Triggers a NIMBY Backlash in its Hometown Trump continues to be non-committal on what he'll ultimately decide, but his rhetoric toward Iran has grown more belligerent in the six days since Israel launched its offensive — pushing the US closer to involvement in a foreign war. That's firmly at odds with a central tenet of Trump's own 'Make America Great Again' movement, fashioned during his political ascent amid voter frustration with decades of US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump sharpened his anti-war stance during the 2024 election as he hit President Joe Biden over the haphazard US withdrawal from Afghanistan and pledged to avoid conflicts overseas. As recently as last month — and speaking in the Middle East, where he's currently building up US forces for potential engagement — Trump lambasted the US 'neocons' for the wars they fought in the region. He said he wants the Mideast to be a place 'where people of different nations, religions and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence.' Now, as Trump agitates on Iran, the intra-MAGA fault lines are deepening. Trump and conservative media personality Tucker Carlson have traded barbs over the 'America First' doctrine as the former Fox News host calls for the US to steer clear of the Israel-Iran conflict. Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media influencer and staunch Trump supporter, jumped into the fray in Trump's defense. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has long pushed for a US attack on Iran, said that he's spoken to Trump and urged him to act. Graham played down the GOP divide, saying 90% of Republicans support Trump helping Israel and most Americans believe stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions is 'absolutely essential,' even if it involves the use of force. Graham's numbers, however, may be overly optimistic. Even as half of Americans view Iran as an enemy of the US, some 60% say that the US shouldn't get involved militarily in the Israeli war, according to a YouGov poll conducted between June 13 and June 16. That includes 53% of of Republicans, the poll showed. In a sign of how Trump is in some ways talking himself into the war — or at least rationalizing the option to do so — he's increasingly pointing to his long-held position that Iran shouldn't have a nuclear weapon. While Trump himself during his first term pulled out of a global agreement aimed at ensuring that Iran can't get atomic bombs, he's cast the prospect that it might do so as an existential threat to the US and its allies alike. Vice President JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who's also advocated for a more isolationist US, has pointed to Trump's consistency on the topic as he seeks to defend his boss against the base. The president acknowledged the split among Republicans in response to reporters' questions Wednesday morning on the White House lawn. 'So I may have some people that are a little bit unhappy now, but I have some people that are very happy,' Trump said. 'And I have people outside of the base who can't believe that this is happening, they're so happy.' Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally and early disciple of Trump's populist doctrine, said there's no urgency for the US to join Israel's campaign as it already succeeded in gaining control of Iranian airspace. He said that American involvement should be determined by US intelligence and not Israel's, and he stressed several times that this is Israel's fight to finish. But even as Trump's base bristles at the notion of the president taking the US into a war, Bannon said he'll ultimately retain support. 'The MAGA movement, the Marjorie Taylor Green's, Matt Gaetz, we will fight it up until the end to make sure he's got the full information. But if he has more intelligence and makes that case to the American people, the MAGA movement will support President Trump,' Bannon said. Tumult in the Middle East has driven oil prices higher. Under the most extreme scenario, should the US join Israel in the strikes and the Strait of Hormuz is shut, crude could surge past $130 a barrel, weigh on the global economy and drive up consumer prices, according to a Bloomberg Economics analysis. The debate between Trump allies calling for US involvement in the conflict and those urging him to steer clear was encapsulated in a recorded exchange between Carlson and Ted Cruz for the Texas senator's podcast. Carlson stumped Cruz on a question about Iran's population, saying that it's an important metric to know for anyone agitating for war with a country. Cruz, who spoke to Trump about Iran over the weekend, on Wednesday told reporters he doesn't envision US troops on the ground in Iran, but suggested a limited bombing strike to take out a nuclear weapons facility could be on the table for Trump. 'And if he does so, it will make Americans substantially safer,' Cruz said. The political ramifications will play out in Congress, either as part of the ongoing push-and-pull over executive branch powers or with the looming 2026 midterm election cycle. Only Congress has the constitutional authority to authorize war, but lawmakers have ceded that power to the president for more than two decades. The last authorization for use of military force approved by Congress was in 2002 for the Iraq war, and that came back to bite lawmakers politically. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, has introduced legislation that would force a vote on any US war with Iran. He was joined in the House by Republican Thomas Massie, who has already publicly sparred with Trump over the president's legislative agenda. Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged the ideological split within his party and defended Trump's war powers, signaling he doesn't intend to take up Kaine's bill anytime soon. 'We have people in our party, as you know, that have different views about America's role in the world,' Thune said. 'But I think the president is well within his authority, understands what's at stake in insuring Iran never has a nuclear weapon, and will do everything he can to protect America and American interests.' Ken Griffin on Trump, Harvard and Why Novice Investors Won't Beat the Pros Is Mark Cuban the Loudmouth Billionaire that Democrats Need for 2028? How a Tiny Middleman Could Access Two-Factor Login Codes From Tech Giants American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination Can 'MAMUWT' Be to Musk What 'TACO' Is to Trump? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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First Post
17-05-2025
- Business
- First Post
New Great Game: Why India, China should be wary of Trump's West Asia visit
Perhaps India should seek to decouple China from Pakistan and Turkey by reminding it of the threat posed by jihadists who may still be doing the 'dirty work of the West' read more In a speech delivered during his recent visit to Riyadh, President Donald Trump criticised the neoconservative faction within his Republican Party that is believed to have greatly influenced American foreign policy during the George W Bush administration. Addressing a US-Saudi investment forum, he said that the 'neocons' claim of being 'so-called 'nation builders' wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Instead, he said, 'The gleaming marvels of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi were not created by the so-called 'nation builders'… (referring to 'Neocons')… as the birth of a modern Middle East has been brought by the people of the region themselves.' With this statement President Trump bared the growing feud within the Republican Party, with the neocon group reportedly seeking a more strident US position against the Palestinian group Hamas and a war-like option for permanently resolving Iran's persistent belligerence. As part of a charm offensive to win support in West Asia, Trump surprisingly distanced himself from the neocon group and did not even speak about supporting political or democratic reforms in the region. Apparently, Trump was towing the ideological line of his paleo-conservative constituency, which has opposed neocon-backed US-led military campaigns in West Asia for a long time. It is important to understand that just like Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul, Trump largely falls under the Old-Right Republican camp, which opposes US support for the state of Israel and follows free-market libertarian economics within the US. In fact, many of Trump's policies directly correspond with the dictums of the paleo-conservative rulebook, namely the preservation of White Christian heritage, opposition to immigration from non-Western developing countries, support for free market capitalism at home but imposition of protectionist measures like high tariffs, denunciation of feminist and gay rights, enjoining of traditional family and gender roles, and general aversion to globalist ideals and institutions. Paleo-conservatives generally view the US more as a constitutional republic and suspect majoritarian democratic rule, which they believe could potentially override individual liberties. As conservatives, they have an aversion towards a modern, secular and more permissive lifestyle and are critical of the neocon support for globalisation and the growing influence of foreign lobbies in US politics, particularly Israel's alleged role in framing US foreign policy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The terms neoconservative and paleoconservative came into vogue following the divide in American conservatism over the Vietnam War. Those supporting the war became known as the neoconservatives or interventionists, while the earlier 'nationalists' were rebranded as 'paleo-conservatives' or 'isolationists'. Before Trump, Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul were said to be associated with paleoconservatism and US right-wing libertarian politics. Although helpful in understanding Trump's ideological moorings, his policies are not always consistent with his avowed political ideology. In fact, Trump is using his conservative and non-interventionist rhetoric in West Asia to promote US imperialist interests in a milder form, mainly to offset China's rising influence in West Asia through its Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), BRICS and BRI initiatives. Thus, Trump is not merely hunting for transactional deals in West Asia to salvage the faltering US economy but is essentially making a pronounced geopolitical overture to the Arab and Muslim world (notwithstanding Israeli objections) by holding negotiations with Hamas, forging peace deals with Houthis, lifting sanctions on Syria, making friendly overtures towards Turkey and rescuing Pakistan's military in its darkest hour. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump has always aired his intentions of breaking the BRICS bloc to secure US hegemony over the world. In late February this year, he even bragged about having broken BRICS by raising tariffs to over 150 per cent, albeit he recently brought them down substantially. With his recent trip to West Asia, Trump might want to decouple West Asia from China and seek to arrest the dragon's BRI outreach in the region. Meanwhile, China has been presenting itself as a prospective security provider for militarily weak Arab states and a geopolitical ally who could help resolve intractable disputes under its Global Security Initiative (GSI), which the US believes has undermined its stranglehold over a key region of the world. Thus, Trump's charmed offensive is in itself a veiled intervention in the region, as well as an attempt to revive relations with its old allies — Saudi Arabia and other GCC states — which had strained during Biden's term. However, it would be wrong to entirely discount a more clandestine plan, as indicated by his personal meeting with Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Riyadh — the former Al-Qaeda jihadist leader and presently the transitional president of Syria. Al-Sharaa's sudden rise to glory, from being a terrorist with a $10 million US reward on his head in December last year to being the first Syrian leader to meet a US president in almost 30 years, raises many questions about the West's sudden willingness to embrace this 'former' jihadist leader. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In this respect, two developments are important to note. First, Salafi Al-Sharaa recently swore an oath of allegiance at the hands of Sufi-Ash'ari scholars in Idlib in an attempt to restore the Ashari-Salafi break-up among jihadists during the Second Chechen War in the 2000s. The split caused Ash'ari separatist leader Akhmad Kadyrov to part ways with Salafi jihadist Shamil Basayev, and the former reverted to the Russian fold. However, Al-Sharaa's restoration of this old Ashari-Salafi inter-Sunni pact, apparently at the behest of Turkey, could now be used to reignite Sunni jihadism in several Muslim-majority governorates of Russia, such as Chechnya, Ingushetia, Tartarstan, Bashkorstan, Dagestan, and others. The other development has been the growing outreach of the US and Turkey in Central Asian states, particularly after the victory of Azerbaijan in its war against Armenia in 2023. In fact, Turkey has already named Central Asia as 'Turkestan' in many of its educational syllabi. With Al-Sharaa having a large number of hardcore jihadists from Central Asia among the top-ranking officers of his new army, the possibility of an Arab Spring-like uprising in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states, followed by its jihadist takeover, has emerged as a dangerous prospect. Any influence operation to this effect has the potential of undermining China's BRI project passing through Central Asia and may threaten southern Russia and the East Turkestan (Xinjiang) province of China. Thus, Russia could face a new internal insurgency just after the Ukraine war, while SCO countries might find a resurgence in Islamist insurgency and terrorism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With Trump already speaking of the US reclaiming the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, which he avers is now being used by China, and with the Pakistani military using US ally (Turkey's) drones against India, BRICS nations should be wary of the US-backed Great Game unfolding in the regions of West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. Perhaps India should seek to decouple China from Pakistan and Turkey by reminding it of the threat posed by jihadists who may still be doing the 'dirty work of the West', as Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif recently admitted his country did for many decades. In fact, China needs a strong ally in India if it seeks to rise as a global power, and the two major Asian civilisations would only benefit if they gave up their petty power struggles and fought together against the scourge of jihadism and the ongoing 'Plan for the New American Century' drafted at the turn of the century. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Adil Rasheed is Research Fellow and Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre, at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (MP-IDSA). He has authored several books such as 'Political Islam in West Asia and South Asia' (2023), 'Countering the Radical Narrative' (2020), 'ISIS: Race to Armageddon' (2015). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of MP-IDSA or Firstpost.
The Hill
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump Repudiates Neocons, ‘Nation Builders'—Celebrates Liberty at Saudi Conference! Robby Soave
Trump Repudiates Neocons, 'Nation Builders'—Celebrates Liberty at Saudi Conference! Robby Soave | RISING Robby Soave delivers radar on President Trump's Saudi Arabia visit where he blasted, 'interventionists,' and, 'new-cons,' in his speech. Trump Says He Will Lift Sanctions On Syria During Saudi Speech | RISING Robby Soave and Lynda Tran discuss President Trump lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria. Schumer Blocking Trump's DOJ Nominees Over Qatari Jet Gift | RISING Robby Soave and Lynda Tran discuss Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) hitting back at President Trump's plan to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar. How Apple's Offshoring Led To China's Economic Rise: Patrick McGee | RISING Author Patrick McGee joins Rising to talk about his new book 'Apple in China: 'The Capture of the World's Greatest Company.' Pope Leo XIV's Brother Louis Prevost Blasted Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden On Facebook | RISING Robby Soave and Lynda Tran discuss how pope Leo XIV's brother is a MAGA supporter who loves posting memes on social media. Tony Hinchcliffe Praises JD Vance On Bill Maher For defending Him After Puerto Rico Joke | RISING Robby Soave and Lynda Tran react to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe joining Bill Maher's 'Club random' to talk about the joke he made during then-presidential nominee Trump's campaign rally. Catherine Herridge Interview: Feds know More About Havana Syndrome 'Energy Weapons'! | RISING Investigative journalist discusses how the Biden administration tried to cover up, 'Havana Syndrome,' incidents reported in the mid-2010s. Pete Buttigieg Sparks 2028 Rumors, Holds Veterans-Focused Iowa Townhall | RISING Robby Soave and Lynda Tran discuss Pete Buttigieg addressing 2028 presidential speculations at his Iowa town hall.
Gulf Insider
14-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
US Unveils $1.4BN Weapons Sale To UAE
Oil, weapons, the United States, and the Gulf Arab monarchies… the foundation of relations, the 'bread and butter' going back at least half-a-century which is still going strong. With President Donald Trump kicking off his Mideast tour in Saudi Arabia, and set to travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next, the State Department has unveiled a weapons sale of over $1.4 billion to the United Arab Emirates. 'The sale, which the State Department said was approved and notified to Congress, includes $1.3 billion for Chinook helicopters and $130 million for parts and support for F-16 fighter jets,' CNN writes. The UAE will be the final stop in Trump's Middle East tour, or what the White House described as his 'historic return to the Middle East'. Of course, major arms sale are also expected for Saudi Arabia – and the UAE and Saudis often act in concert when it comes to defense needs, as was the case during the coalition's war on Yemen in the last decade. Click here to read more Also read: Trump Torches Neocons & Interventionists, Emphasizes 'Peace Through Strength' Deal-Making In Major Saudi Speech
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Critics Condemn Donald Trump's ‘Disgusting' New Plan For Undocumented Immigrants
Critics, including the human rights organization Amnesty International, slammed Donald Trump's announcement about opening a detention center at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay to house up to 30,000 undocumented immigrants. 'We're going to send them out to Guantanamo,' the president said Wednesday, just before signing the Laken Riley Act into law. Trump did not expand on his plan to move people who are living illegally in America — but who for various reasons can't be deported to their home nations — to the U.S. military base where only a handful of suspects remain being held after being detained during the U.S.'s early-2000s war on terror. On social media, critics slammed the move as 'disgusting' and cruel. Some pointed out the logistical issues of housing so many people in the relatively small base. Amnesty International said in a statement that Guantanamo Bay 'has been the site of torture, indefinite detention without charge or trial and other unlawful practices by the U.S. government.' 'President Trump should be using his authority to finally close the prison there, not re-purposing the facility for offshore immigration detention,' it added. Trump's first term (and shortlived) White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who is now a vocal critic of his onetime boss, railed: 'Also known as a concentration camp. Yet no dissent. No courageous political leader willing to stand up to this.' Guantanamo Bay has been the site of torture, indefinite detention without charge or trial and other unlawful practices by the U.S. government. President Trump should be using his authority to finally close the prison there, not re-purposing the facility for offshore immigration… — Amnesty International USA (@amnestyusa) January 29, 2025 Also known as a concentration camp. Yet no dissent. No courageous political leader willing to stand up to this. — Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 29, 2025 For all you MAGA folks who say you hate Neocons:George W. Bush had 780 detainees at GuantanamoDonald Trump is promising a concentration camp of 30,000But sure, go ahead and tell me how you're all about freedom and smaller government — Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) January 30, 2025 30,000 human beings are going to be 'detained' in Guantanamo Bay by the United States after Holocaust Remembrance Day. This is what we are doing.I'm going to throw up. — Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) January 29, 2025 Hours after Holocaust Memorial Day, Trump opens a prison for immigrants at the German political firewall against modern Nazis crumbles. Does "Never Forget" still mean anything? — Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) January 29, 2025 I find this absolutely 'Today I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay.' — Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 29, 2025 WH Press Secretary's 'Unconstitutional' Claim Is Dismantled By Critics In Blink Of An Eye Alina Habba's Hot Take On Who Actually Decides The Law Sparks Uproar Online 'Am I Allowed?': Critics Aren't Laughing At Trump's Latest 'Looneytunes' Joke
