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New top story from Time: Despite the Pensacola Shooting, It’s a Good Thing for U.S. to Train Foreign Militaries

As the U.S. Navy reels in the wake of a horrific shooting at an iconic naval base in Pensacola, Florida – the heart of naval aviation – many voices are asking why we do have foreign militaries training here in the United States. In particular, this shooting, conducted by a Saudi Arabian Air Force 2nd lieutenant, has echoes of 9/11 when 15 of the 19 attackers were Saudi Arabian nationals. Why was this Saudi air force lieutenant here? And what should we be doing to improve the process of vetting and monitoring these foreign students in the heart of our national security structure?

There are a series of vital reasons why we have well over 5,000 officers and enlisted troops in the U.S. from over 150 countries on any given day, which range from facilitating foreign military sales to cultural engagement to building coalitions.

When I was a young junior officer in the Navy in the mid-1970s, I was sent to a missile school in Great Lakes, Michigan. Alongside my class of about 15 officers and enlisted was a similarly sized class of Iranian naval students. At the time, we were allies with the Iranians under the Shah of Iran and they had purchased four advanced guided missile destroyers and the Iranians were there to learn how to operate them. That class of Iranians were anything but religious in character – they were often seen closing the bar in the officer’s club and always ran up the biggest tabs there.

Over the course of several months, I got to know several of them very well and learned a great deal from them about Iran itself. As my long career unspooled, of course, Iran went from a U.S. ally to an implacable foe. But what I learned from those students about Iran – its imperial dreams, its sense of historical entitlement throughout the larger Middle East, their version of Shi’a Islam, its economy, and how its military operated – has been hugely important for me. This kind of cultural integration pays big dividends for the US military over time – when we learn about other militaries in the relatively relaxed framework of training, we often learn a great deal.

Another key reason is quite simple: to encourage other nations to buy U.S. technology, from high performance jets to air defense missiles to warships and tanks. While the US operates with a strict set of oversight rules guiding what technology can be transferred and to whom, most nations want US defense technology and many of the sales come with appropriate training. This is valuable not only for the obvious economic benefits, but also for interoperability between allies, partners and friends. When a majority of NATO members, for example, purchase communication systems from us, it makes alliance command and control far easier. Likewise if many of our partners operate U.S. aircraft like the F-16 or the new Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35, our common air defense is vastly better.

Finally, the personal connections that ensure are occasionally profound. To give two examples, when I was a mid-grade officer I attended the premier military institution, the U.S. National War College at Fort McNair. Through that connection, I met mid-grade officers in the Polish and Israeli militaries. One was later the Chief of the Polish defense forces, General Franciszek Gagor. When I was Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, that connection was pure gold. The other was a tall Israeli paratrooper who looked a lot like Clint Eastwood. His name was Benny Gantz, and he went on to be the head of the Israeli armed forces and now is possibly the next prime minister of Israel. He remains a close friend today. Even in this world of high-speed communications, social networks, and teleconferences, personal contact still trumps everything.

One question in the aftermath of the Pensacola shooting is obvious: vetting. There will be a thorough investigation, and the key finding will almost certainly be an analysis of where the system failed to vet the shooter, as well as those who had any knowledge of his intent before the incident. We’ll have to wait for those results, but knowing the military well, I believe there will be an even tighter set of standards applied – from deeper social network investigation, to increased records analysis in the home country, to increased law enforcement cooperation on both the civilian and military side.

It is worth noting the instinctive and instantaneous acceptance of the Saudi king’s reaction to the shooting by President Trump. Given his extreme skepticism about pronouncements from other allies (including most recently at the NATO summit), it is odd that Trump is so quick to support the Saudis, especially given the circumstances here. The President should take a more measured approach in assessing the incident until FBI and other investigations into possible terrorism connections run their course.

Will things always go smoothly with foreign military students? Of course not and Pensacola is only one example – we have seen drunk driving incidents, fatal collisions, desertions, sexual encounters, and many other occasional failures. But the overwhelming number of encounters produce real cultural learning, promote technological integration with allies and occasionally create a personal relationship that pays dividends over long decades of service – a pretty good return on investment.

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New top story from Time: France Braces for Even Worse Travel Woes With More Nationwide Strikes Planned

(PARIS) — France braced for even worse transportation woes when the new work week begins Monday due to nationwide strikes over the government’s redesign of the national retirement system. French President Emmanuel Macron convened top officials to strategize for the high-stakes week ahead.

Sunday saw more travel chaos as the strikes entered their fourth day, with most French trains at a standstill. Fourteen of Paris’ subway lines were closed, with only two lines — using automated trains with no drivers — functioning. International train routes also suffered disruptions.

Monday will be an even bigger test of the strike movement’s strength and of commuters’ and tourists’ patience. Unions are calling for more people to join the strike Monday. Many employees worked from home or took a day off when the strikes began last week, but that’s not sustainable if the strikes drag on.

Warning of safety risks, the SNCF national train network and the Paris transit authority RATP warned travelers to stay away from train stations Monday instead of packing platforms for the few trains still running.

“On Dec. 9, stay home or find another means of locomotion,” SNCF warned travelers.

Facing a challenging week ahead, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe met Sunday afternoon and evening with government ministers involved in the pension reform, and later met with Macron.

Macron, a centrist former investment banker, argues that the retirement overhaul will make a convoluted, out-dated pension system more fair and financially sustainable, uniting 42 different plans into one. The government says it won’t change the official retirement age of 62, but the new plan is expected to include financial conditions to encourage people to work longer as lifespans lengthen.

Unions see the reforms as an attack on worker rights and fear that people will have to work longer for smaller pensions. Some French workers can now retire in their 50s.

The new retirement plan will affect all French workers but the strikes involve primarily public sector workers, including train drivers, teachers and hospital employees.

New nationwide protests are scheduled Tuesday and the prime minister will release details of the new retirement plan on Wednesday.

Yellow vest activists joined the protests Saturday, adding retirement reform to their list of economic grievances in protests around the country. Police fired tear gas on rowdy protesters at largely peaceful marches through Paris and the western city of Nantes.

New top story from Time: Red Sox Legend David Ortiz Makes First Appearance Since Being Shot

(SANTO DOMINGO) — Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz made his first public appearance in the Dominican Republic on Sunday nearly six months after he was shot in what authorities called a case of mistaken identity.

The Dominican-born superstar was greeted by a standing ovation and raucous cheers when he entered the Quisqueya Stadium Juan Marichal for the Game of Legends, a charity exhibition and home run derby featuring Dominican major league players and retired stars.

“Praise God and long live the Dominican Republic,” Ortiz said to the thousands of fans in the country’s most important stadium.

He thanked his fans, fellow players and the press for its support after the shooting.

“I’m happy to be here with my people,” he told The Associated Press before the game. He did not play.

Also present were Dominican stars such as Hall of Famers Pedro Martínez and Juan Marichal, Mets second baseman Robinson Canó and Nationals outfielder Juan Soto.

A 10-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion, Ortiz helped the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought in 2004 and batted .688 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 to win the Series MVP.

Ortiz retired after the 2016 season with 541 home runs, and the team retired his uniform No. 34.

He maintained a home in the Boston area and had been living part of the year in the Dominican Republic, where he was often seen getting his cars washed and hanging out with friends, including other baseball players, artists and entertainers.

He was seriously wounded June 9 when a hit man allegedly hired by a drug trafficker mistakenly shot him as he sat with friends in a Santo Domingo bar, authorities have said. They said the target was meant to be Sixto David Fernandez, a cousin of the man alleged to have arranged the attack.

Authorities said the hit men confused Ortiz with Fernandez. The two men are friends and were sharing a table.

Officials said the killing was contracted by Victor Hugo Gomez, described as an associate of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel. Authorities said Gomez wanted Fernandez killed because he believed his cousin turned him into Dominican drug investigators in 2011. They said Gomez then spent time in prison in the Dominican Republic with one of at least 11 suspects arrested in the shooting.

Gomez later resurfaced in the U.S. as one of dozens of suspects sought by federal authorities following a March 2019 drug trafficking sting in Houston.

Doctors in the Dominican Republic removed Ortiz’s gallbladder and part of his intestine after the shooting and he underwent further surgery in the U.S.

“I thought he was never going to come back here,” said Filvia Núñez, a fan who said she was surprised and delighted to see Ortiz Sunday.

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New top story from Time: Female Minister, 34, Tapped to Become Finland’s Youngest Prime Minister

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A 34-year-old transport minister and lawmaker has been tapped to become Finland’s youngest prime minister ever and its third female government leader.

Finland’s ruling Social Democratic Party council voted 32-29 late Sunday to name Sanna Marin over rival Antti Lindtman to take over the government’s top post from incumbent Antti Rinne.

Having emerged as Finland’s largest party in the April election, the Social Democrats can appoint one of their own to the post of prime minister in the Nordic nation of 5.5 million.

Marin has been the party’s vice chairwoman, a lawmaker since 2015 and served as until this week as the minster for transport and communications. According to Finland’s biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and the Ilta-Sanomat tabloid, Marin will become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister.

Finland currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency until the end of the year. Lawmakers are likely to approve the appointment of Marin and her new government quickly so she can represent Finland at the Dec. 12-13 EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.

Rinne stepped down Tuesday after a key coalition partner, the Center Party, withdrew its support, citing lack of trust. The Center Party also criticized Rinne’s leadership skills prior to a two-week strike by the country’s state-owned postal service Posti in November that spread to other industries, including the national flag carrier Finnair.

Rinne’s resignation prompted the formal resignation of a coalition of the Social Democrats and the Center Party and three junior partners: the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People’s Party of Finland.

On Sunday, Social Democrats and the four other coalition parties said they are committed to the government program agreed upon after the April election and will continue in Marin’s new government. The new government will still have a comfortable majority of 117 seats at the 200-seat Eduskunta, or Parliament.

Social Democrats said Sunday they’re seeking to have Rinne, a former trade union leader, become the parliament’s vice speaker. He also plans to stay on as the Social Democrats’ chairman until a party congress next summer.

New top story from Time: Saudi Gunman Tweeted Against U.S. Before Naval Base Shooting

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism.

Investigators are also trying to establish whether the killer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, of the Royal Saudi Air Force, acted alone or was part of a larger plot.

Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the rampage at a classroom building Friday, was undergoing flight training at Pensacola, where members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction.

“We are, as we do in most active-shooter investigations, work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism,” said Rachel J. Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Jacksonville.

Authorities believe the gunman made social media posts criticizing the U.S. under a user handle similar to his name, but federal law enforcement officials are investigating whether he authored the words or just posted them, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Also, investigators believe the gunman visited New York City, including Rockefeller Center, days before the shooting and are working to determine the purpose of the trip, the official said.

All foreign students at the Pensacola base have been accounted for, no arrests have been made, and the community is under no immediate threat, Rojas said at a news conference. A Saudi commanding officer has ordered all students from the country to remain at one location at the base, authorities said.

“There are a number of Saudi students who are close to the shooter and continue to cooperate in this investigation,” Rojas said. “The Saudi government has pledged to fully cooperate with our investigation.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the investigation was proceeding under “the presumption that this was an act of terrorism”and he called for better vetting of foreigners allowed into the U.S. for training on American bases.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday afternoon, DeSantis also said the gunman had a social media trail and a “deep-seated hatred of the United States.”

He said he thought such an attack could have been prevented with better vetting.

“You have to take precautions” to protect the nation, DeSantis said.

“(backslash)To have this individual be able to take out three of our sailors, to me that’s unacceptable,” the governor added.

Earlier in the week of the shooting, Alshamrani hosted a dinner party where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, another U.S. official told the AP on Saturday.

Alshamrani used a Glock 9 mm weapon that had been purchased legally in Florida, Rojas said. DeSantis questioned whether foreigners should continue to be allowed under federal law to buy guns in the U.S. and called it a “federal loophole.”

Republican DeSantis said he supports that the Second Amendment but that it “does not apply to Saudi Arabians.”

Family members and others identified the three dead as Joshua Kaleb Watson, a 23-year-old graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who joined the Navy after graduating from high school last year; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia.

The official who spoke Saturday said one of the three students who attended the dinner party hosted by the attacker recorded video outside the classroom building while the shooting was taking place. Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said.

In a statement, the FBI confirmed Sunday that it had obtained base surveillance videos as well as cellphone footage taken by a bystander outside the building, and had also interviewed that person.

Rojas would not directly answer when asked whether other students knew about the attack beforehand or whether there was anything “nefarious” about the making of the video. She said that a lot of information needs to be confirmed by investigators and that she did not want to contribute to “misinformation” circulating about the case.

Rojas said federal authorities are focused on questioning the gunman’s friends, classmates and other associates. “Our main goal is to confirm if he acted alone or was he part of a larger network,” she said.

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, said on CBS’ “”Face the Nation” that the shooting looked like “terrorism or akin to terrorism.” But he cautioned that the FBI was still investigating.

“Look, to me it appears to be a terrorist attack,” he said. “I don’t want prejudge the investigation, but it appears that this may be someone that was radicalized.” O’Brien said he did not see evidence so far of a “broader plot.”

The U.S. has long had a robust training program for Saudis, providing assistance in the U.S. and in the kingdom. More than 850 Saudis are in the United States for various training activities. They are among more than 5,000 foreign students from 153 countries in the U.S. going through military training.

Foreigners allowed into the U.S. for military training are subject to background checks to weed out security risks.

“This has been done for many decades,” Trump said on Saturday. “I guess we’re going to have to look into the whole procedure. We’ll start that immediately.”

___

Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Lolita Baldor, Ben Fox, and Robert Burns in Washington; Jon Gambrell in Dubai; Bobby Caina Calvan in Tallahassee, Florida; and Tamara Lush in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.

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Donald Trump Takes Aim At Problem Of US Toilets Flushed "15 Times"

President Donald Trump told a White House gathering Friday that he's taking aim at the problem of US toilets that require flushing "10 times, 15 times."

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White House Rejects Participation In "Baseless" Trump Impeachment Probe

The White House on Friday responded to a deadline on an invitation to defend President Donald Trump in his impeachment probe by denouncing the entire process as "baseless."

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Elon Musk Cleared Of Defamation Over "Pedo Guy" Tweet

Tesla co-founder Elon Musk was cleared of defamation on Friday by a jury in Los Angeles over a tweet in which he labeled a British caver "pedo guy."

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SFGATE: After alleged elevator sexual assault, BART searches for suspect

After alleged elevator sexual assault, BART searches for suspect
Published on December 07, 2019 at 05:32AM by Madeline Wells

The BART Police Department is searching for information on a suspect who may have committed sexual assault early Friday in a Millbrae Station parking garage elevator.

New top story from Time: Supreme Court Blocks Trump Administration From Restarting Federal Executions

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from restarting federal executions next week after a 16-year break.

The justices denied the administration’s plea to undo a lower court ruling in favor of inmates who have been given execution dates. The first of those had been scheduled for Monday, with a second set for Friday. Two more inmates had been given execution dates in January.

Attorney General William Barr announced during the summer that federal executions would resume using a single drug, pentobarbital, to put inmates to death.

Read more: The Death of the Death Penalty

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C., temporarily halted the executions after some of the chosen inmates challenged the new execution procedures in court. Chutkan ruled that the procedure approved by Barr likely violates the Federal Death Penalty Act. The federal appeals court in Washington had earlier denied the administration’s emergency plea to put Chutkan’s ruling on hold and allow the executions to proceed.

Federal executions are likely to remain on hold at least for several months, while the appeals court in Washington undertakes a full review of Chutkan’s ruling.

The Supreme Court justices directed the appeals court to act “with appropriate dispatch.”

Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a short separate opinion that he believes the government ultimately will win the case and would have set a 60-day deadline for appeals court action. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined Alito’s opinion.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said the legal fight would continue. “While we are disappointed with the ruling, we will argue the case on its merits in the D.C. Circuit and, if necessary, the Supreme Court,” Kupec said in a statement.

Four inmates won temporary reprieves from the court rulings. Danny Lee was the first inmate scheduled for execution, at 8 o’clock Monday morning. Lee was convicted of killing a family of three, including an 8-year-old.

The government had next planned on Friday to execute Wesley Ira Purkey, who raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl and killed an 80-year-old woman. His lawyers say Purkey is suffering from dementia and he has a separate lawsuit pending in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Then in January, executions had been scheduled for Alfred Bourgeois, who tortured, molested and then beat his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to death, and Dustin Lee Honken, who killed five people, including two children.

A fifth inmate, Lezmond Mitchell, has had his execution blocked by the federal appeals court in San Francisco over questions of bias against Native Americans. Mitchell beheaded a 63-year-old woman and her 9-year-old granddaughter.

New top story from Time: Germany’s Angela Merkel Voices Feeling of ‘Deep Shame’ During Auschwitz Visit

(OSWIECIM, Poland) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced a feeling of “deep shame” during her first-ever visit on Friday to the hallowed grounds of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Adolf Hitler’s regime murdered more than a million people.

Merkel noted that her visit comes amid rising anti-Semitism and historical revisionism and vowed that Germany would not tolerate anti-Semitism. She said Germany remains committed to remembering the crimes that it committed against Jews, Poles, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals and others. Speaking to a gathering that included former Auschwitz inmates, she said she felt “deep shame in the face of the barbaric crimes committed by Germans here.”

“Nothing can bring back the people who were murdered here. Nothing can reverse the unprecedented crimes committed here. These crimes are and will remain part of German history and this history must be told over and over again,” she said.

She called such responsibility a key element in German national identity today.

Read more: Europe’s Jews Are Resisting a Rising Tide of Anti-Semitism

Merkel also brought a donation of 60 million euros ($66.6 million). The money will go to a fund to conserve the physical remnants of the site — the barracks, watchtowers and personal items like shoes and suitcases of those killed.

Together, those objects endure as evidence of German atrocities and as one of the world’s most recognizable symbols of humanity’s capacity for evil. But they also are deteriorating under the strain of time and mass tourism, prompting a long-term conservation effort.

Accompanied by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Merkel began by seeing a crematorium and walking under the gate with the notorious words “Arbeit Macht Frei.” That was a cynical phrase that meant “work will set you free,” when the truth was that inmates were subjected to either immediate execution, painful scientific experiments or forced labor.

Merkel and Morawiecki went next to the site of executions, where they bowed their heads before two wreaths bearing their nations’ colors. The stay lasting several hours also included a visit to the conservation laboratory, where old leather shoes were laid out on a table, and to a laying of candles at Birkenau, the part of the vast complex where Jews were subjected to mass murder in gas chambers.

The donation to the Auschwitz Foundation comes in addition to 60 million euros that Germany donated when the fund was launched a decade ago, according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum.

That brings the total German donation to 120 million euros and makes Germany by far the most generous of 38 countries that have contributed. As with the earlier donation, half comes from the federal government and half from the German states, an acknowledgement of the German nation’s responsibility.

Since becoming chancellor in 2005, Merkel has paid her respects at other Nazi concentration camps, and she has been five times to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum and memorial.

Still, Poland’s Foreign Ministry called her visit “historic,” in an obvious acknowledgement of the unique status Auschwitz has in the world’s collective memory. The ministry also noted that it was just the third visit of an incumbent head of a German government.

Nazi German forces killed an estimated 1.1 million people at the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex during their occupation of Poland during World War II. Most of the victims were Jews transported from across Europe to be killed in gas chambers. But tens of thousands of others were killed there too, including Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and Roma, or Gypsies. The camp was liberated by the Soviet army on Jan. 27, 1945.

____

Gera reported from Warsaw.

Trump Says He Will Delay Terrorist Designation for Mexican Cartels

By BY CHRISTOPHER MELE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2sLwrdx