Mediaboss Marketing

WASHINGTON No one knows how seriously to take President Donald Trump's threat to seize Iraq's oil.

Doing so would involve extraordinary costs and risk confrontation with America's best ground partner against the Islamic State group, but the president told the CIA this weekend, "Maybe you'll have another chance."

The recycled campaign comment is raising concerns about Trump's understanding of the delicate Middle East politics involved in the U.S.-led effort against extremist groups. Trump has said he was opposed to the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. But on the campaign trail and again on Saturday, the day after his inauguration, he suggested the costly and deadly occupation of the country might have been offset somewhat if the United States had taken the country's rich petroleum reserves.

"To the victor belong the spoils," Trump told members of the intelligence community, saying he first argued this case for "economic reasons." He said it made sense as a counterterrorism approach to defeating the IS group "because that's where they made their money in the first place."

"So we should have kept the oil," he said. "But, OK, maybe you'll have another chance."

The statement ignores the precedent of hundreds of years of American history and presidents who have tended to pour money and aid back into countries the United States has fought in major wars. The U.S. still has troops in Germany and Japan, with the permission of those nations, but did not take possession of their natural resources. And taking Iraq's reserves, the world's fifth largest, would require an immense investment of resources and manpower in a country that the United States couldn't quell after spending more than $2 trillion and deploying at one point more than 170,000 troops.

U.S. enemies and friends would oppose the move. While Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted U.S. help to retake IS-held territory in his country, he has repeatedly asserted Iraqi sovereignty. He said of Trump's oil vow in November, "I am going to judge him by what he does later."

Asked about the matter Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer stressed Trump's economic argument.

"We want to be sure our interests are protected," he told reporters. "We're going into a country for a cause. He wants to be sure America is getting something out of it for the commitment and sacrifice it is making."

There is uncertainty as to where Trump's idea derives from, though the president has noted that taking the oil is something "I have long said." Hints of this notion existed in some of the pre-2003 rhetoric from the Bush administration about the Iraq war "paying for itself." But top advisers to President George W. Bush have stressed how the future of Iraq's resources were pointedly left out of decision-making related to the invasion so as not to fuel a perception that the war was driven by oil concerns.

Bush "almost bent over backwards not to make a special effort to gain access for us to the oil resources," John Negroponte, who was Bush's director of national intelligence, told CNN.

Regarding Trump, former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told NBC, "I have no clue what he's talking about."

Taking the oil would require a permanent U.S. occupation, or at least until Iraq's 140 billion barrels of crude run out, and a large presence of American soldiers to guard sometimes isolated oil fields and infrastructure. Such a mission would be highly unpopular with Iraqis, whose hearts and minds the U.S. is still try to win to defeat groups such as IS and al-Qaida.

"This is totally wrong," said Zaher Aziz, a 42-year-old owner of a market stand in Irbil. "They came here by themselves and occupied Iraq. And now they want the Iraqis to pay for that?"

However unrealistic Trump's suggestion, intelligence officials believe more has to be done to cut off Islamic State oil revenues. The group seized significant oil when it stormed across Syria's border in 2014 and seized the city of Mosul and large swaths of Iraqi territory. The U.S. Treasury Department estimated that IS raked in $500 million from oil and gas sales in 2015. That figure is likely lower now as a result of U.S.-led operations, but officials say oil continues to fund the group's recruitment and far-flung terrorist activities.

"In terms of oil helping establish ISIS, of course that's oversimplification," said Hassan Hassan, co-author of the book "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror," using an alternate acronym from the militants. He said oil was a small part of the group's "origins and early years," when it morphed from an al-Qaida branch to an organization claiming a worldwide caliphate.

___

AP videojournalist Balint Szlanko in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.

See the rest here:
Trump's talk of keeping Iraq's oil sparking concerns | Fox News

By Isabel Coles | ERBIL, Iraq

ERBIL, Iraq KhudeedaNaif won refuge in the United States as a member of Iraq's Yazidi minority, but what he fears more than religious persecution is retribution for his brother's work as an interpreter for the U.S. army in Iraq.

Naif is one of the many affected by the U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on Friday to temporarily ban the entry of refugees and others from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Naif was scheduled to leave Iraq this week with his wife and two children when the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told him the trip was off until further notice.

The 35-year-old electrical technician will remain instead at a refugee camp in Dohuk, northern Iraq, where he has lived since Islamic State militants overran the Sinjar area in the summer of 2014, purging its Yazidi inhabitants.

The insurgents systematically killed, captured and enslaved thousands of Yazidis, whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions and are regarded by Islamic State as devil-worshippers.

A U.N.-appointed commission of independent war crimes investigators said last year the crimes against the Yazidis amounted to a genocide.

Naif fled across the border to Syria on foot with his immediate family and thousands of other Yazidis before returning to Dohuk.

But the family was afraid for their lives even before the Islamic State started its attacks.

"People came here (to the camp) because there was a threat to the Yazidis in general, but for the people who worked for the Americans we had to be cautious even when we were home," he said, contacted on the phone from the Kurdish capital Erbil.

Trump's executive order bars the admission of people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The order said "religious minorities facing persecution in their countries" would be given priority when refugee admissions resume.

More than one hundred Yazidis are waiting for their IOM asylum applications to be processed, Saib Khidr, a prominent Yazidi lawyer and human rights activist close to the Baba Sheikh, the top religious leader of the community.

A Yazidi woman was denied boarding a flight to the United States on Sunday, he said.

Khidr said he had hoped Yazidis would be among those given priority but was concerned that Trump only mentioned the persecution of Syrian Christians when asked about the issue in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network.

"We're disappointed," he told Reuters in Baghdad. "We're waiting for the American side to clarify its position."

Germany, Canada and the United States are usually the top desired destinations for Iraq's Yazidis, Khidr said.

Naif said his brother was killed in a suicide bombing along with two Americans in 2008 when U.S. forces occupied the country from 2003 to 2011.

Although Iraqis working for the Americans use a pseudonym, his brother's identity -- and by extension that of his family -- was revealed when he was killed.

"Eventually, we are going to get killed," Naif said.

Naif's family obtained a refugee visa to join his four sisters, brother and mother in the United States after six months of interviews and medical tests.

Interpreters and translators who worked for the U.S. military and American state agencies in Iraq are eligible to apply to a Special Immigration Visa (SIV).

U.S. consular services are currently processing "fewer than 500" application under the SIV program, said a State Department official. Overall, "more than 20,000 Iraqis have received immigrations benefits" from this program, the official said.

"We hope that he (Trump) changes his mind and at least takes the people who worked with them (the Americans)," Naif said.

"We protected them," he said. "We never expected this."

(Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

QUEBEC CITY Two suspects were under arrest after a shooting at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday evening killed six people and wounded eight, police said on Monday, and a source said one was French-Canadian and the other was of Moroccan heritage.

KIEV The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in an offensive by pro-Russian separatists over the past two days has risen to seven, Ukraine's military said on Monday, in the deadliest outbreak of fighting in the east of the country since mid-December.

MEXICO CITY Israel should apologize for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's praise for U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to build a wall on the Mexican border, Mexico's foreign minister said on Monday, calling it an "aggression" against the country.

Read this article:
Trump travel ban leaves Iraq's persecuted Yazidis in limbo - Reuters

5450882

Iraqs parliament passed a reciprocal ban on visas for U.S. citizens Monday, two lawmakers told The Associated Press.

The description of the ban as reciprocal indicates that the ban on U.S. visas will remain in place, as long as the Trump administrationprohibits Iraqi citizens from entering the U.S. for a period of 90 days. Trumps executive order said the administration will undergo a comprehensive review of the visa application process for the barred countries, and will further implement extreme vetting.

Iraqs parliament has not officially announced the action.We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the U.S administration, the foreign affairs committee of the lawmaking body said Sunday. Their statement continued,Iraq is in the frontline of the war of terrorism and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.

The lawmakers did not specify what type of visas the reciprocal ban would apply too. The U.S. has nearly 5,000 troops in Iraq supporting the counter-ISIS mission, along with thousands more civilians, contractors, and other support personnel. Iraq is also a major site of U.S. operations against ISIS in Syria.

The Iraqi action comes amid the U.S. backed Iraqi Security Forces operations to retakethe city of Mosul from Islamic State.

Follow Saagar Enjeti on Twitter

Send tips to[emailprotected]

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [emailprotected].

See the rest here:
Iraq Wants To Bar Americans In Response To Trump's Temporary Suspension - Daily Caller

BAGHDAD Iraq has asked the United States to reconsider the travel ban on its citizens, the foreign ministry said on Monday, taking a more diplomatic line than the Iraqi parliament which had demanded the government "retaliate".

"It is necessary that the new American administration reconsider this wrong decision," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Noting their cooperation in fighting the Islamic State group, the statement added: "We affirm Iraq's desire to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries."

By executive order on Friday, President Donald Trump banned U.S. entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and temporarily halted the admission of refugees.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

MEXICO CITY Israel should apologize for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's praise for U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to build a wall on the Mexican border, Mexico's foreign minister said on Monday, calling it an "aggression" against the country.

PARIS French election candidate Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope are being questioned by prosecutors as part of an investigation following press allegations that Penelope Fillon was paid for fake jobs, BFM television said on Monday.

ERBIL, Iraq KhudeedaNaif won refuge in the United States as a member of Iraq's Yazidi minority, but what he fears more than religious persecution is retribution for his brother's work as an interpreter for the U.S. army in Iraq.

Go here to read the rest:
Iraq asks Trump administration to 'reconsider' travel ban - Reuters

LONDON (AP) The Latest on President Donald Trump, his travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries and other immigration actions (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

The foreign minister of Qatar says his country is against President Donald Trump's blanket banning of refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said in Serbia on Monday he hopes U.S. authorities will further assess the move and "we hope that they are going to do the right thing" about it.

Several of those stopped at U.S. airports since Friday are believed to have traveled on flights from Qatar.

The foreign minister says: "When it comes to be addressed in a Muslim framework, I think this is something we will stand against."

The 90-day ban, imposed on Friday, affects travel to the United States by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

___

2:45 p.m.

The president of the American University of Beirut has criticized President Donald Trump's executive order to indefinitely bar refugees from Syria and keep individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

Fadlo Khuri, a dual Lebanese-American citizen, said in a statement released Monday that the AUB community has watched the fallout at America's airports with "growing concern" in the last 72 hours.

The university is one of the oldest and most prestigious educational institutions in the Middle East.

Khuri says: "We find this action and its implications to be in conflict with the enduring values of liberty and justice for all, which the original framers of the US constitution fought to protect."

Founded in 1866, AUB enrolls around 8,500 students from all over the world.

___

2:20 p.m.

Turkey's national airline says it will reimburse passengers who were unable to fly to the United States due to the U.S. ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Turkish Airlines said Monday that customers who could not board their flights would be fully reimbursed and not charged any fines.

The carrier did not say how many Turkish Airlines passengers were affected by the ban.

A company official did not immediately respond to questions from the Associated Press.

The 90-day ban, issued by President Donald Trump on Friday, halts travel to the United States by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

___

2:15 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is renewing her criticism of President Donald Trump's order suspending entry to the U.S. for people from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting refugee admissions.

Merkel said Monday that "the necessary and determined fight against terrorism in no way justifies a general suspicion against people of a certain faith in this case against people of Muslim faith or people with a certain origin."

She added that she believes the U.S. action also "contradicts the basic concept of international help for refugees and international cooperation."

Merkel's words echoed similar comments by her spokesman Sunday, the day after the German leader voiced her regret at the decision during a telephone with Trump.

___

1:55 p.m.

Pakistan's interior minister says President Donald Trump's action banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States will hurt "global unity against terrorism" and could backfire and "help terrorists achieve their goals."

The minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, also said on Monday that the U.S. administration's measure will "add to the miseries" for the victims of terrorism world over as Muslim countries were the ones most hit by terrorism.

Khan says linking terrorism with Islam is not justifiable since only a few hundred misguided people turn to militancy and defy the message of Islam out of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims.

___

2:05 p.m.

An Iraqi lawmaker says the parliament's decision calling for a "reciprocity measure" in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order is non-binding for the Iraqi government.

The deputy parliament speaker, Sheik Humam Hamoudi, says the vote approved in the Iraqi parliament on Monday was "a recommendation" and did not move as a "law."

Hamoudi's statement is echoed by Kirk Sowell, a political and legal analyst focused on Iraq and publisher of the newsletter "Inside Iraqi Politics."

Read More

Sowell says that the Iraqi "parliament absolutely lacks the authority to originate legislation of any kind regulating anything the executive branch does."

___

12:40 p.m.

The European Union has vowed it will not discriminate against refugees based on nationality, race or religion and will never choose for isolation and inequality.

EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said that the 28-nation bloc is carefully studying the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to impose a travel ban on refugees to see how much it will impact EU citizens.

Schinas also quoted from a Sunday interview of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in which he said: "We have to make choices about the world we want to live in. We must choose between isolationism, inequality and national egotism on the one hand. And openness, social equality and strength through solidarity on the other."

In an interview with the German Die Welt, Juncker said that "it is by standing for opening, social equality and solidarity that Europe can credibly act on the world stage to find common forward looking solutions."

___

12:15 p.m.

Doctors Without Borders says U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order suspending entry for refugees from Syria into the United States is putting lives in danger.

The Paris-based advocacy group says Trump's order "will effectively keep people trapped in war zones, directly endangering their lives."

Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French-language acronym MSF, called Trump's order "an inhumane act against people fleeing war zones."

It called on the U.S. government to lift the ban, end the exclusion from specific countries, and to restart the resettlement of refugees.

___

12:10 p.m.

The U.S. Embassies in London and Berlin have advised people from the seven countries affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban not to seek a visa, or schedule an appointment even if they are a dual nationals.

The statement posted on the London embassy's website on Monday issued the guidance to "aliens from the countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen."

It says, "if you are a national, or dual national, of one of these countries, please do not schedule a visa appointment or pay any visa fees at this time."

There has been widespread confusion about whether the ban applied to dual nationals.

The embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

___

11:55 a.m.

Two lawmakers say that the Iraqi parliament has approved a "reciprocity measure" after U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily banning citizens from Iraq and six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

The measure, adopted by lawmakers at a Monday session of parliament, is to apply to Americans entering Iraq.

Lawmakers Kamil al-Ghrairi and Mohammed Saadoun told The Associated Press that decision is binding for the government. Both say the decision was passed by a majority votes in favor but couldn't offer specific numbers. No further details were available on the wording of the parliament decision.

It was also not immediately clear who the ban will apply to American military personnel, non-government and aid workers, oil companies and other Americans doing business in Iraq.

It was also not known if and how the Iraqi measure would affect cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group in Mosul.

Trump's order includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.

___

11:20 a.m.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry says "tens of thousands" of people are likely to be affected by the recent U.S. travel ban.

An executive order issued Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump temporarily restricts entry to America of people from seven majority-Muslim countries.

Foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer says Germany is trying to understand the practical implications for its citizens who also hold a passport from one of the affected countries. He told reporters in Berlin on Monday that Germany hoped to receive further "clarity" from Washington in the coming hours.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had expressed regret Sunday about Trump's decision, but refrained from condemning it.

Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Monday that Merkel intended to "work for a good German-American relationship."

___

11:00 a.m.

British Prime Minister Theresa May's office says that a state visit to Britain by U.S. President Donald Trump later this year will go ahead, despite increasing calls for it to be canceled over his temporary ban on residents of seven majority-Muslim countries entering the U.S.

Her office says "an invitation has been extended and accepted."

No date has been announced for the state visit, which involves lavish pomp and ceremony, often with a stay at Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

An online petition on a government website has attracted more than 1 million signatures opposing the trip. Protests against the travel ban are planned Monday in London and other British cities.

___

10:50 a.m.

Iran's senior vice president is calling President Trump's executive order on travel and visa process ban "illegal, inhumane and against human rights."

The official IRNA news agency Monday quotes Ishaq Jahangiri as saying the order should be reviewed at the international level.

Jahangiri says: "We will definitely take stance against this illegal, inhumane and anti-human-rights activity in international bodies. And once again (we) will review and explore American human rights in international bodies in order to let the world to know what a system they are facing."

He did not elaborate.

The executive order suspended issuing visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 90 days.

___

10:40 a.m.

The world's largest body of Islamic nations has told The Associated Press that it has "grave concern" over U.S. President Donald Trump's order banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued a statement Monday to the AP warning that "such selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists and will provide further fuel to the advocates of violence and terrorism."

It called upon the U.S. to "reconsider this blanket statement and maintain its moral obligation to provide leadership and hope at a time of great uncertainty and unrest in the world."

The 90-day ban, imposed Friday, affects travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. All are OIC members.

___

10:30 a.m.

Air France has blocked 15 passengers from Muslim countries from traveling to the U.S. because they would have been refused entry under President Donald Trump's new immigration ban.

Air France said in a statement it was informed Saturday by the U.S. government of the new restrictions, and had no choice but to stop the passengers from boarding U.S.-bound flights.

An airline spokeswoman said Monday that the passengers were taken back to their point of departure or otherwise taken care of. She would not provide the passengers' names, nationalities or other details.

The passengers were from seven Muslim-majority countries affected by the three-month immigration ban: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

See the original post:
The Latest: Iraq lawmakers says ban on Americans not binding - Yahoo Finance