USA and Canada

Photo: President Buhari. Credit: Premium Times.

Trump Apparently Met His Match in Nigerian President Buhari

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Try as he might, President Trump couldn’t land a deal with Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari at their tête-à-tête in Washington end of April 2018.

Deploying his usual tough talk on trade, the U.S. president was shooting for a deal that would open the doors to U.S. farm products by “ripping down” Nigerian trade barriers that protect the fragile state of that country’s agricultural economy.

Nigeria had too many trade barriers, President Trump complained, and should lift those barriers ASAP. He pointed out that Nigeria receives significant aid from the U.S. to fight terrorism and questioned whether the U.S. was getting its money’s worth.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 15 May 2018

Photo: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir told CNN on May 9 that his country stands ready to build nuclear weapons if Iran restarts its nuclear program. @CNNPolitics

Thwart Saudi Threat To Acquire Nuclear Weapons

By Daryl G. Kimball and Thomas Countryman

Following is the text of Statement from Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association and its Board of Directors Chairman and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation,Thomas Countryman,– The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – We are deeply disappointed by the counterproductive response from the Trump administration to the statements from senior Saudi officials threatening to pursue nuclear weapons in violation of their nonproliferation commitments.

We call on the White House to immediately reiterate the longstanding, bipartisan policy of the United States that it will actively work against the spread of nuclear weapons to any country, friend or foe.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 15 May 2018

Pugwash, UN and ICAN Warn of Ramifications of US Quitting Iran Nuclear Deal

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The announcement by President Donald Trump to abandon the Iran nuclear deal is "a costly mistake that can hold wide-ranging ramifications beyond its strictly nuclear parameters," the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize winner Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs have warned.

The decision undoes many years of constructive and patient diplomacy between Iran and the P5+1, which produced a landmark agreement in non-proliferation, said Pugwash president Sergio Duarte and Secretary-General Paolo Cotta Ramusino in a statement on May 9.

: J Nastranis; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 10 May 2018

Photo: President Donald Trump meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in February 2017. Credit: Office of the President of the United States.

Canada Slams U.S. Decision to Quit Iran Nuclear Accord

By Suresh Jaura

TORONTO (IDN) – In 2012, Canada abandoned diplomatic ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran. Former Canadian minister of foreign affairs, John Baird, cited Iran’s support for the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War and non-compliance with United Nations resolutions on its nuclear program, recalls Katie Dangerfield writing in Global News.

When the Iran nuclear deal was created in July 2015, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was skeptical of the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 nations (US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany). However, after Prime Minister Trudeau was elected in October 2015, he promised to restore ties between Iran and Canada, Dangerfield adds.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 10 May 2018

Photo: Trump ending U.S. participation in Iran Nuclear Deal. Credit: White House.

Experts Denounce U.S. Withdrawal From Iran Nuclear Deal

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Experts have deplored President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran Nuclear Deal. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) called it "a dangerous move" that "will have major international consequences". Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the independent Arms Control Association said the decision was "an irresponsible act of foreign policy malpractice".

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation based in Santa Barbara warned in a statement: "The decision to withdraw from the treaty: 1. Makes it more likely Iran will pursue nuclear weapons. 2. Makes war between the U.S. and Iran more likely. 3. Separates the U.S. from its major allies. 4. Shows U.S. commitments are not reliable. 5. Further reinforces lack of U.S. leadership in the world. 6. Will likely have adverse effects on achieving nuclear deal with N. Korea."

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 08 May 2018

Iran Nuclear Deal Withdrawal 'Misguided', 'Serious Mistake'

By Barack Obama

The following is the text of former President Barack Obama's remarks on his successor Donald Trump's decision on May 8, 2018 to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. The original appeared on Obama's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10155854913976749 - The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 08 May 2018

Photo: Official portrait of CIA deputy director Gina Haspel. Credit: CIA

Trump Nominates a Torturer to Become CIA Boss

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Charles Dickens in his novel “A Tale of Two Cities”, set during the French revolution of 1789, draws the character of Madame Defarge. She along with other members of the Tricoteuse, the knitting women, perch every day next to the guillotine, knitting into hats and socks the names of those to be executed, while watching the upper aristocracy and upper bourgeoisie being dispatched to their death one by one. They were regarded as respected sisters of the revolution.

I can’t help being reminded of her when I read the CV of the woman nominated by President Donald Trump to be the new head of the CIA, Gina Haspel, who is due to be cross examined at a Senate hearing on May 9. She is a career officer who ran a CIA “black site” in Thailand. She implemented the torture policies of President George W. Bush. She also, according to the Economist, transmitted her boss’s orders to destroy video evidence of brutal interrogations.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 08 May 2018

Photo: President Buhari with U.S. counterpart Trump at Oval Office on April 30, 2018. Credit: Information Nigeria.

Trump Promises Nigerian Leader Banned Military Aircraft

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – At a long-awaited meeting between President Donald Trump and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the U.S. president announced the approval of a dozen warplanes for Nigeria whose sale had been frozen by former President Barack Obama.

Rebuking his Nigerian counterpart for the proliferation of violence throughout that country, Trump expressed concern for “the burning of churches and killing of Christians.” President Buhari blamed the violence on militia trained by the late former Libyan President, Muammar Gadaffi. He thanked the U.S. for “giving us the aircraft that we asked for,” adding: “We’re even more grateful for the presence of U.S. military advisors in Nigeria.”

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 May 2018

Photo: The Allée des Nations, with the flags of the UN member countries. Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0

U.S. Charm Offensive Takes Center Stage in Geneva

Viewpoint by Rick Wayman

The writer is Programs Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF). In April 2016, he received the 'Activist of the Year' award from the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) for "dynamic leadership in bringing the Marshall Islanders' Nuclear Zero litigation to world attention, activating the next generation of peace leaders, and guiding ANA as board member and tech guru." – The Editor

GENEVA (IDN) – In February, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was widely and, I would say, unfairly criticized by the U.S. media, politicians, and even diplomats for its participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. By sending high-level, suave officials to the Olympics, the narrative went, the DPRK was engaged in a “charm offensive” to win over the world and make us forget about its serious human rights violations.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 26 April 2018

Photo: An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 3, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. William Collette)

US Launches Minuteman III Missile Test in Cloud of Secrecy

NEW YORK (IDN) – With little prior notice from military officials, the U.S. launched a Minuteman III Ballistic Missile on April 25 morning at approximately 5:26 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Civilians and residents living near the base, who regularly receive ample notice of missile tests, were left in the dark this time as the missile raced through the early morning sky, according to the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

The U.S conducts three or four ICBM tests each year. These are the same class of missiles for which the U.S. has been highly critical of the North Koreans for developing and testing, the Santa Barbara based Foundation said.