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(CNN)Today, I admire Donald Trump. His remarks made in the aftermath of the terror attack in Manchester captured the mood in Britain perfectly. Terrorists are not soldiers, not even murderers -- they are "losers." And this tragic event validates Trump's initiative of uniting the world against terrorism. Suddenly, he feels like a serious international leader.

Trump to Meet the Pope at Vatican 06:40

That's why Trump's appearance at the Western Wall in Jerusalem was important too -- and quite emotional. Trump has made a commitment to Israel that clears up any doubt left by Obama. Critics will sniff that this shows his own lack of imagination, or the influence of neoconservatives.

But what is the alternative? To isolate the only properly functioning democracy in the region -- a friend to the West struggling to survive against the odds?

Moreover, Israel's experience and intelligence is critical to the defeat of ihadist terrorism. Which brings us to the final strand of Trump's Middle East tour.

Trump on ISIS: Obliterate this evil ideology 01:07

The greatest fear I had of Trump's foreign policy was that he might bleed popular American dislike of Islam into an all-out conflict with it. But, as he observed in his speech, the greatest victims of Muslim violence are Muslims -- so there are plenty of Muslims for America to ally with.

Trump's warmest reception has been among Muslims and Jews. He may find the Christians are a harder audience. When he visits Pope Francis on Wednesday, he meets a seasoned diplomat with his own sense of strategic priorities: tackle global warming, compel Europeans to take more refugees, defend Christian's overseas.

Yet any tensions between Francis and Trump will surely be overshadowed by the terror attack in Manchester. Israelis and Saudis speak bluntly about the threat posed to civilization by radical jihadists; Europeans retreat behind platitudes. It's good for all three to be rallied by a president who wants to emphasize what everyone has in common, which is a vulnerability to terror.

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On tour abroad, Trump does what Obama should have

Tabitha Garcia talks to ESSENCE about her political 5-year-old and the adorable video that made her internet famous.

Five-year-old Taylor James has always been curious. Recently, for example, she was obsessed with why elves make toys with their hands if they have magic.

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But her affinity for asking questions made her famous this week after a video of her asking her mother about the election went viral. This all started because she wanted to know, 'where did Barack Obama go?' And 'where is the presidents house.' She is still mad, her motherTabitha Garcia, 30, captioned the video.

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I did not prompt her with any of this, Garcia tells ESSENCE, explaining that the conversation started after they drove by a house that had Taylor wondering if it was where the commander-in-chief lives. My daughter asks me thousands of questions ALL of the time.

Taylors interest in the political process began when her pre-school set up a mock election between a pizza and a hamburger to teach the kids about voting. The school briefly touched on the two presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton but her interest was further piqued because Garcia watches CNN every day.

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So after she learned about the two presidential candidates at school she began to ask questions about who they really were at home, the Houston-based teacher explained of her daughter.

And like many of us, Taylors emotions were strongly attached the the outcome of the election. She even became upset once she realized Clinton lost.

But Garcia has tried to stay away from the topic of politics when possible: We only talk about it because she brings it up, she said. We discussed Barack Obama a long time ago because I have a bobble-head Barack Obama at home and she wanted to know why I had a toy in my room. So I had to tell her who he was.

The animated pre-schooler, who apparently gets herenergy from her mama, has other things to keep her interested;she is currently keen on science, reading and spelling.

As for fame? It is better Taylor doesnt know about her new-found viral popularity.

I tried to tell her that a lot of people saw her video, but she cried because she thought I was saying people were laughing at her.

She added: I told her that people liked the video and thought she was smart. Then she stopped crying. After that I just let it go.

We doubt this is the last time we get to see Taylor flex her smarts!

See the article here:
Mother Of 'Marack Obama' Viral Sensation: 'My Daughter Asks Me Thousands Of Questions ALL Of The Time' - Essence.com

Last week, former CIA Director John Brennan testified before the House Intelligence Committee that the United States knew about potential Russian interference in the presidential election at least as early as last year. While well-publicized investigations are now ongoing about potential contacts the Trump campaign had with Russia, theres a critical question being ignored: Why didnt the Obama administration take steps to stop Russian interference in an American election?

As former chair of the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee, I engaged in a bipartisan effort with Congressman Jim Himes (D-Conn.) to get the Obama administration to define what offensive and defensive actions were in the context of cyber warfare. Unlike conventional warfare, theres no front in a cyber war, so learning whether youre on offense or defense in a given situation is critical. For example, if there is a known threat, does NSA take steps to merely defend against the threat or actively seek to counteract that threat? Despite our efforts to discuss the issue with officials and amend bills on the floor to force the issue, the Obama administration continued to stonewall.

Had the Obama administration decided to clarify when to actively fight a threat and when to defend against one, we could have mitigated the threat of Russian interference in our election process. If the Obama administration had used the tools at its disposal, its entirely possible we wouldnt need the current investigations. They could have cut the Russians off at the pass.

A few weeks ago, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a mountain of documents related to the targeting and minimization procedures used by the NSA. Targeting is how we determine which potential foreign intelligence sources we are monitoring. Minimization is how we restrict the amount of information disclosed from the raw intelligence.

The documents revealed something very disturbing about the so-called Section 702 collection, which is one of the ways the NSA collects internet transactions. I was a big supporter of Section 702 collection while in Congress, but as with all legislation its only as good as the implementation. I was shocked to learn about the Obama administrations failure to follow Section 702s targeting and minimization procedures. Not surprisingly, the FISA court reprimanded the government about its lack of candor and the serious Fourth Amendment issue[s] presented by these Obama administration violations.

Beginning in 2011, the Obama administration cast a wider net than allowed by law. Instead of limiting searches to foreign agents who were targets of investigations, the administration searched for communications about those peoplemeaning Americans who only mentioned a foreign agent would have their communications accessed and analyzed without any warrant or probable cause. This is an obvious violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Further, these kinds of searches can result in the disclosure of the identities of U.S. citizens collected as part of the raw intelligence. The minimization procedures require the masking of the names of U.S. individuals who are incidental to a foreign communication. But we know from Susan Rice and others that the Obama administration repeatedly unmasked the identities of citizens found in raw intelligence.

Something I would have never imagined would occur in America resulted from this illegal use of intelligence: surveillance tools were likely used on our fellow citizens who were not suspected of a crime. While using methods designed to keep us safe, the Obama administration was trampling on the law and our constitutional rights. While refusing to do anything about the Russian threat they knew was coming, the Obama administration targeted the Trump campaign for surveillance.

We can all hope that no future administration, regardless of party, weaponizes intelligence-gathering against its own citizens for political purposes under the guise of public safety. And we can hope that in this new war where the battle is in binary code instead of bullets and bombs that no administration again violates the constitutional rights of Americans.

Lynn Westmoreland served in the U.S. House as a Georgia Republican from 2005-17.He headed the House subcommittee on the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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How did Obama's massive surveillance state fail to defend Americans against Russia? - The Hill (blog)

New York Times

Manchester, NATO, Barack Obama: Your Friday Briefing New York Times ... Manchester sees itself as the multicultural capital of northern England, and the city held itself to a high standard in memorial events for the 22 people killed in Britain's deadliest terrorist attack since 2005. Crowds sang the Oasis song Don't ...

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Manchester, NATO, Barack Obama: Your Friday Briefing - New York Times

Story highlights

(CNN)Former President Barack Obama delivered a poignant message to the people of Manchester today following Monday night's deadly terrorist bombing.

"As the father of two daughters, I am heartbroken by the extraordinary tragedy that has occurred in Manchester," Obama said in a video posted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesperson.

Standing alongside Merkel and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Berlin, Obama offered his condolences to those affected by the suicide bombing, which targeted a pop concert attended mostly by teenage girls.

"To all the families who have been affected, to all those who are still recovering, to those who have lost loved ones, it's unimaginable to think about the cruelty and the violence that the city of Manchester has suffered," Obama said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you. There are families all around the world who are grieving with you," he added, appearing visibly moved.

Obama said that the city had shown its character in the "kindness and ways in which you are assisting each other" in the wake of the attack, which left at least 22 dead.

"Just know that the entire world is in solidarity with you right now," he said.

Obama's comments followed a tweeted response Tuesday, in which he said "Americans will always stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of the UK."

Our hearts go out to those killed and wounded in Manchester. Americans will always stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of the UK.

President Donald Trump condemned the perpetrators of the attack, calling them "evil losers."

"So many young beautiful innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. I won't call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that's a great name. I will call them from now on losers because that's what they are," TrumpsaidTuesday.

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Obama: 'As the father of two daughters, I am heartbroken' by Manchester attack - CNN