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from the the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The view among the national security officials was unanimous: Military aid to Ukraine should not be stopped. But the White House's acting chief of staff thought otherwise.
That was the testimony of Laura Cooper, a Defense Department official, whose deposition was released Monday in the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
"My sense is that all of the senior leaders of the US national security departments and agencies were all unified in their - in their view that this assistance was essential," she said. "And they were trying to find ways to engage the president on this."
Cooper's testimony was among several hundred pages of transcripts released Monday, along with those of State Department officials Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson.
Cooper told investigators that, in a series of July meetings at the White House, she came to understand that Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, was holding up the military aid for the US ally.
[...] When she and others tried to get an explanation, they found none.
[...] She said it was "unusual" to have congressional funds suddenly halted that way, and aides raised concerns about the legality of it. The Pentagon was "concerned" about the hold-up of funds and "any signal that we would send to Ukraine about a wavering in our commitment", she said.
Cooper told investigators that she was visited in August by Kurt Volker, the US special envoy to Ukraine, who explained there was a "statement" that the Ukraine government could make to get the security money flowing.
[...] "Somehow, an effort that he was engaged in to see if there was a statement that the government of Ukraine would make," said Cooper, an assistant defence secretary, "that would somehow disavow any interference in US elections and would commit to the prosecution of any individuals involved in election interference."
For a handy reference to the documents that have been released concerning this, npr has posted Trump Impeachment Inquiry: A Guide To Key People, Facts And Documents:
Written words are central to the Ukraine affair. The significance of the whistleblower's original complaint and the White House's record of its call with Ukraine are debated, but the text is public. Here are the documents to refer to as the inquiry proceeds:
Texts and memos
- Call:The White House memorandum (Sept. 25)
- Aid:The Pentagon letter on military aid to Ukraine (Sept. 25)
- Complaint:The whistleblower complaint (Sept. 26)
- Texts:Batch of texts between diplomats released by House Democrats (Oct. 4)
The whistleblower's complaint has largely been corroborated by witness testimony, public statements and media reports. See how the document checks out — with a detailed annotation of the text.
Testimony released by Congress following closed depositions
- Christopher Anderson, former special adviser for Ukraine negotiations
- Laura Cooper,deputy defense secretary
- Catherine Croft, former Ukraine adviser on the National Security Council
- Fiona Hill, former White House adviser on Russia
- George Kent, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs
- Michael McKinley, former State Department adviser
- Gordon Sondland,U.S. ambassador to EU
- William Taylor, acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
- Alexander Vindman, top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council
- Kurt Volker, former Ukraine envoy
- Marie Yovanovitch, ex-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday November 13 2019, @06:22PM (1 child)
The rest of the world is about 96% of the world's population. The US is about 4%.
(before some [another] idiot says [citation needed], I would point out googling for "US population", "world population", and using sophisticated mathematical techniques known as division. You will be familiar with division if you made it past the fifth grade.)
I wonder when the 96% of the population might figure out that they have a lot of trading partners who are not the US? Some of those partners might be more trustworthy than the US. Some more stable. And without four-year upheaval in policy. And especially not our current angry bull in a china shop administration.
This is just an opinion. Not everyone here will share it. But maybe, just maybe, the Emperor really is naked! There, I said it.
When our president says "America first". Listen to that. Now it's not that I don't think my country shouldn't look out for our own interests. But starting trade wars with our own allies is eye opening. Cozying up with and openly admiring dictators who were our enemies until this administration is revealing. Like we should have military parades, and goose step marches. Look at what unexpectedly happened last century.
We do live on a planet with other nations. And what happens DOES affect us.
It appears unseemly to bring world leaders to the president's private club, while NK launches missiles during dessert, for photo ops, and to increase the price of admission to the president's club. I know people will squirm that I said this, but it actually happened. The nuclear football guy posing for photo with one of the club guests.
This is the new world of crazy we live in. And some people here think it is a good thing! If you think my country's president is a nut-bar, maybe take that seriously and act accordingly for your own best interest.
Young people won't believe you if you say you're older than Google. (born before 1998-09-03)
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:17PM
Here in Canada I am very aware that there is 96% of the world to trade with.
But I am also aware that it's a lot easier to ship across the border to the US than to India.