Month: May 2017

A week after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was close to picking a new FBI director to replace the one he fired, the White House has decided to renew its search, CNN reported Wednesday.

The Republican president said last Thursday that he was “very close” to selecting a new head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to replace James Comey, and that former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman was among the top candidates.

Trump left the following day on his first trip abroad as president, a nine-day visit to the Middle East and Europe, without naming a replacement.

Citing an unidentified senior administration official, CNN said Trump now wants to consider additional candidates for the job.

The White House and Lieberman did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department, which has played a lead role in the search, said it had no further information.

Trump fired Comey on May 9 in a surprise announcement that sparked days of political turmoil. Comey was leading the FBI’s probe of possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives whom U.S. intelligence officials say meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump and Russia deny any collusion.

Lieberman is a senior counsel at the New York-based law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, which has represented Trump on various matters for years.

Trump has tapped one of the firm’s partners, Marc Kasowitz, to be his private attorney while a special counsel investigates whether his presidential campaign worked with Russia to defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

If Trump were to nominate Lieberman, Lieberman might not be able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without a Justice Department waiver, according to Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm’s clients for one year. This cooling-off period was extended to two years by an executive order Trump signed in January.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said last Wednesday that Trump was scheduled to interview four candidates for the position before departing on his trip: Lieberman; acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating; and former senior FBI official Richard McFeely.
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Senior Russian intelligence and political officials discussed how to influence Donald Trump through his advisers, according to information gathered by American spies last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing three current and former U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence, the newspaper said the conversations focused on Paul Manafort, then the Trump presidential campaign chairman, and Michael Flynn, a retired general who was then advising Trump.

U.S. congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department this month are investigating whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Russian controversy

The controversy has engulfed Trump’s young administration since he fired FBI Director James Comey two weeks ago amid the agency’s investigation of possible Russia ties. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and Trump denies any collusion.

The New York Times report was the latest indication of the depth of concerns within the U.S. intelligence community about Russian efforts to tip November’s election toward Trump as he battled Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On Tuesday, former CIA Director John Brennan told lawmakers he had noticed contacts between associates of Trump’s campaign and Russia during the campaign and grew concerned Moscow had sought to lure Americans down “a treasonous path.”

According to the Times, some Russians boasted about how well they knew Flynn, who was subsequently named Trump’s national security adviser before being dismissed less than a month after the Republican took office.

Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Manafort, who was dismissed from Trump’s campaign, the newspaper reported.

The intelligence was among the clues, including information about direct communications between Trump’s advisers and Russian officials, U.S. officials received last year as they began looking into Russian attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of Trump’s associates were assisting Moscow, the newspaper said.

Former aide to testify

Separately, ABC News reported that Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign, would testify June 6 before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. ABC News said Page himself told it about the scheduled testimony.

Page was not immediately available to comment. A spokesman for the committee declined to confirm or deny whether Page would testify before the committee or, if he did so, whether he would appear in public.

On Wednesday morning, the top Democrat on the committee said it would subpoena Flynn in its probe into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential election after he declined to appear before the panel.

“We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need,” Representative Adam Schiff told journalists at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday they would subpoena two of Flynn’s businesses after he declined to hand over documents in its separate Russia probe.

Flynn, a retired general, is a key witness in the Russia investigations because of his ties to Moscow.

He was fired from his position at the White House in February, after less than a month on the job, for failing to disclose the content of talks with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, and misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

Reason for concern

On Tuesday, Brennan, the former CIA director, testified to the House intelligence panel that he had noticed enough contact between Trump associates and Russia during the 2016 campaign to justify an investigation by the FBI.

Brennan’s confirmation of contacts between Russian officials and members of Trump’s team, increased the pressure on investigators to determine whether the Trump camp colluded with the Russians.

Schiff said the House panel had invited its first group of witnesses to testify, it is obtaining documents, and assessing who will cooperate voluntarily, and who will have to be subpoenaed.

He also told reporters the committee was trying to obtain an audio recording of any conversation between Trump and Comey, or Comey’s notes on his meeting with the Republican president in January.

Schiff declined to comment specifically on what financial information the committee was obtaining, but speaking in general terms, he noted that one tactic Russians use to influence foreign nationals is financial entanglement.
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Even before the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a Manchester, England, arena Monday night, the Chicago Cubs were evaluating ways to make the area around Wrigley Field safer.

The City Council Budget Committee on Tuesday approved a $1 million donation by the World Series champions for the installation of 30 security cameras around the stadium in a densely populated neighborhood. The timing was coincidental — it was in the works for over a year — but the expensive undertaking underscores how difficult it is to keep large locales secure, especially after events.

Manchester police would not say if the bomber blew himself up inside or outside the arena, so it is not clear if rigorous bag screening or additional pre-event security would have helped prevent the deaths and injuries. The venue tweeted on Monday night that it happened “outside the venue in a public space.”

“The risks now are higher outside of a stadium or venue than inside,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. “Being able to check and monitor activity outside is becoming increasingly important.”

The cameras will provide a 360-degree view outside the stadium, Green said. They will be installed around Wrigleyville and on a highway exit near the ballpark, but aren’t likely to be ready until next season.

“We’re being vigilant, not only for our fans but for the larger community that calls this place home,” Green said.

After the 2005 suicide bombings that killed 52 people riding subways and a bus in London, Britain installed barriers around airports, transportation hubs and government buildings. However, bag checks are not routinely conducted on passengers boarding the country’s trains and buses. Security at sporting events and museums remains scattershot, experts say.

The attack in Manchester illustrated the challenges in securing public spaces and potentially the limits of existing methods, although security protocols vary by country and venue. Most of the 130 people killed in the November 2015 attacks at multiple Paris locations were attending a show at the Bataclan concert hall.

“The level of screening is dependent on two things – the level of processes undertaken and the size of the venue. But nothing is consistent,” Bob Ayers, a security expert who used to work for the CIA, said. “Think about (the) London Underground. If you try to do airport-style screening, people would never get anywhere on time. Nothing is ever 100 percent.:

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for security at the arena on Monday. Telephone calls and emails were not immediately answered on Tuesday.

Bag checks and going through metal detectors have been standard procedure at stadiums and arenas in North America for at least the last seven years. Since 2012, fans attending National Football League games could only bring clear plastic bags into stadiums.

Major League Baseball mandated metal detectors at all ballparks in 2014. Spokesmen for MLB and the NFL said the leagues continue to improve and modify security plans as necessary in conjunction with law enforcement officials.

“I think our people have done a really good job doing everything they can to protect our fans and protect the players and everyone involved that’s here in this building, you me, but you’re always worried,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before Tuesday’s game against the Royals.

Security was at a heightened level before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night between the Celtics and Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Fans were having bags checked before entering a plaza near the arena where bands were performing and fans could watch the game without a ticket.

This was the first time that there have been large trucks blocking all access to the perimeter roads around the arena and outdoor area.

Survivors of the bombing said security screening ahead of the Ariana Grande show was haphazard, raising the question of whether public arenas and other crowded spaces are being safeguarded to the extent they could be.

“There was almost no security check,” concert-goer Nikola Trochtova, who was leaving the Manchester Arena when she heard an explosion, told Czech public radio on Tuesday. “They let us get in without any check.”

Another survivor of the Monday night attack, Ryan Molloy, said some people had their bags checked on the way into the concert, while others did not.

Grande’s panicked fans stumbled to escape the arena after hearing loud noises and seeing people running toward the exits. The bombing took place at the end of the concert when security is much more relaxed as some audience members already were streaming toward the city’s main train station. An 8-year-old girl was among the dead.

“Authorities could consider a perimeter farther away from the main space of the arena, but the practical matter then becomes where the screening should be done,” Wendy Patrick, a California lawyer and threat assessment expert, said. “But the focus of our attention is generally driven by the latest attack.”

Sean Braisted, an official with the mayor’s office in Nashville, Tennessee, said the city is still moving ahead with plans for outdoor events and watch parties near Bridgestone Arena during the Stanley Cup Finals. Residents gathered outside Bridgestone Arena during Monday’s Western Conference finals game against Anaheim.

Large screens were set up outside but security was tight, with many officers restricting traffic around the arena and monitoring the crowd.

Ansley Bancroft, a resident of neighboring Franklin said she is often anxious.

“It’s always been a fear of mine,” Bancroft said. “I am terrified of, like, airports and stuff like that. Just because we are all born to believe that could happen anywhere anytime. … But after hearing about (Manchester), it did make coming to such a large event a lot more nerve-wracking.”
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Developments Tuesday concerning President Donald Trump include his discussions with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying both are “ready to reach for peace”; the release of his federal budget, his current Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats testifying before Congress, and his comments on the terror attack in Manchester:

WATCH: US President Trump visits Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem

Trump: Israeli, Palestinian Leaders ‘Ready to Reach for Peace’ — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are “ready to reach for peace.” Trump made the remark alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech at the Israel Museum. Trump had held talks with Netanyahu on Monday and met him again on Tuesday after a brief visit to the West Bank for a one-hour discussion with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Proposed Trump Budget: More Military; Less for Social Programs — The president is proposing major changes in the way Washington’s $4.1 trillion budget is spent, with more money for the military, border security, and veterans. The just-published budget for next year also slashes money for programs that benefit the poor. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s top budget official, said for the first time the budget looks at spending from the point of view of the taxpayers, rather than the people who get government help.

WATCH: Trump comments on Manchester attack

Trump: Manchester Bomber an ‘Evil Loser’ — Trump responded to the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, Tuesday, calling the attackers and other terrorists “evil losers. … I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term, they would think that is a great name. I will call them, from now on, losers because that’s what they are: losers,” he said.

Trump’s Intel Chief Mum on Pressure to Rebut Russia Evidence — Trump’s intelligence chief declined to comment Tuesday on media reports that the president pressured him to publicly deny that evidence existed of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential race. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats told a Senate panel: “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president.” In recent days, news outlets have reported that Trump made separate appeals to Coats and to National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, urging them to rebut allegations that Russia colluded with Trump campaign aides to help the real estate magnate win the White House.

Veteran Reporter Compares Watergate, Trump’s Travails — Walter Mears, who covered Washington in the early 1970s, says for any parallels between Watergate and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections, there are also major differences. In Watergate, the smoking gun was a White House tape proving that Richard M. Nixon ordered a cover-up – the final evidence that forced him from the White House. In the Russia investigation, the smoke hasn’t cleared because President Donald Trump keeps shooting.
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President Donald Trump has put forward a $668 billion defense budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The proposal released Tuesday would increase the Defense Department’s base budget to $574.5 billion — $52 billion over congressional spending caps. It would buy six ships, several new fighter jets and munitions, while growing the U.S. fighting force by more than 56,000 service members.

Pentagon Chief Financial Officer John Roth told reporters on Tuesday the increases would help with military readiness. “The world has become a more dangerous place,” he said.

John “JV” Venable, senior research fellow for defense policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the budget would need to continue to increase by about $20 billion to $30 billion each year for the next two years — and sustain that budget increase for several years — to ensure the force is properly funded.

“We’ve put so many demands on our services. We ask so much of them,” Venable told VOA. “We have funded it at 75 to 80 percent of what they need to do that job for so long, right now, the dividends are paid in worn equipment and people who are discouraged.”

The budget also calls for about $65 billion for a contingency fund for overseas operations, including $46 billion for operations in Afghanistan. The remainder of this fund would pay for countering Islamic State operations in Iraq and Syria, bolstering NATO allies and U.S. partners in Europe, and building partner capacity around the globe.

The $668 billion total budget also would include about $28 billion for defense-related spending by the Energy and Justice departments.

The overall budget proposal is calling for cuts to many social programs, including those that help the poor pay for food and medical care.

However, Venable said social cuts should not be compared with the government’s defense increases, which he says are needed to maintain borders and allow freedom of movement across the globe.

“The world needs a strong U.S. military to make that happen, like it or not,” he said.

The U.S. Constitution says the government should establish justice, insure domestic peace, provide for defense, promote general welfare and secure freedom.

Air Force desperate for relief

The budget increase comes as U.S. Air Force readiness is at an all-time low, Venable said.

“Since its inception in the late ’40s, the Air Force, I don’t think, has ever been at this level of readiness,” said Venable, a 25-year veteran of the Air Force.

Air Force General Carlton Everhart, commander of U.S. Air Mobility Command, agreed that force growth is needed in his service branch, which currently is in need of about 1,500 pilots and has an additional 1,600 pilots who are eligible to leave the Air Force within the next four years.

“If you look at things we’re doing every day, it’s a big deal,” Everhart said in a recent interview with VOA.

Even though the United States has the most expensive Air Force in the world, the shortage of pilots, specifically the shortage of fighter jet pilots, has threatened to affect U.S. operations within the next calendar year if left unchecked, Air Force Major General Scott Vander Hamm told VOA in an exclusive interview last November.

The U.S. air campaign has been critical in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, dubbed Operation Inherent Resolve, where the American-led coalition is training local fighters to defeat terrorists on the ground while supporting ground troops’ efforts with multiple airstrikes each day.

In addition to funding more pilots and fighter jets, the budget would also provide money to buy 15 new KC-46 air tankers, which are used for aerial refueling.

“If you look at Inherent Resolve right now, 90 percent of all refuelings that have happened in that operation has been on the backs of our tankers,” Everhart told VOA.

Budget constraints in the past decade have placed the Air Force in a position where its current tanker, the KC-135, could be 100 years old before it is retired, even with the fiscal 2018 budget increases, he added.
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President Donald Trump is proposing to balance the federal budget within 10 years by slashing many social programs, including some that help the poor pay for food and medical care, called food stamps and Medicaid.

Officials have outlined some new details of the president’s first spending plan. A president’s budget has to be approved by Congress, so the final form is often quite different from what the chief executive proposes. Democrats oppose many of Trump’s plans, and the president’s Republican allies in Congress are divided on some budget issues.  

In his campaign, Trump promised not to cut Social Security, a government-run old-age pension program, or Medicare, which helps elderly people pay for doctors, hospitals and medicine. That means deeper cuts to some other programs.  

Critics of Trump’s budget, including a group called “Campaign to Fix the Debt,” says these popular and expensive programs make up just over half of government spending over the next 10 years. They say it is difficult to balance the budget without trimming this spending. They also say administration officials have based the budget on “unrealistic and rosy economic growth projections.”
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The U.S. Senate has confirmed Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the next ambassador to China.

The confirmation came by a bipartisan vote of 82 to 13 Monday, with all 13 of the votes against the Republican president’s nominee coming from Democrats.

Washington has been trying to persuade China to agree to new sanctions on Pyongyang, which has conducted dozens of missile firings and tested two nuclear bombs since the start of 2016.

President Donald Trump has warned that a “major, major conflict” with North Korea is possible over its weapons programs, although U.S. officials say tougher sanctions, not military force, are the preferred option.

Branstad says he intends to use his decades-long relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping to advance U.S. and international interests. The two met in 1985 when Xi, then a provincial official, led an agricultural trade delegation to Iowa.  

Xi has called Branstad, 70, an “old friend” after decades of dealings on agricultural trade during his long career in politics in Iowa, an important farming state.

Branstad is in his sixth nonconsecutive term as Iowa’s governor. With more than 22 years at the helm of state government, he is the country’s longest-serving governor. He is due to be replaced in Des Moines by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, who would be the state’s first female governor.
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The United Nations’ top diplomat in Iraq said the so-called Islamic State’s days “are numbered” in that country and the liberation of the city of Mosul is “imminent.”

“The days of so-called ISIL caliphate in Iraq are numbered, thanks to the bravery and patriotism of the Iraqi security forces, including the popular mobilization forces, the peshmerga and the tribal volunteers, as well as the endurance of the Iraqi people,” the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq, Jan Kubis, told Security Council members Monday.

“The liberation of Mosul is imminent,” he said of the terror group’s last stronghold in Iraq. “Operations are shifting to remaining areas and pockets of Daesh presence, including along the borders with Syria,” Kubis said.

ISIL and Daesh are two acronyms by which the terror group is known.

The terrorists seized Iraq’s second largest city in mid-2014. Iraqi national forces with support from the international anti-ISIL coalition began military operations to retake Mosul in October 2016. The eastern part of Mosul was retaken in late January and the battle for the western sector started the following month.

“We have restored 90 percent of the right bank and we have made the protection of civilians our priority, as terrorists are using them as human shields,” Iraq’s U.N. envoy Mohammed Sahib Mejid Marzooq told the meeting.

But the military operations have come at a high cost to the Iraqi population. The U.N. Office of Humanitarian Affairs says nearly 660,000 people have been displaced from Mosul city since the operation began last year; nearly a half million of them are from western Mosul.

The United Nations says civilians coming out of the city have reported shortages of food, clean drinking water, fuel, medicines and infant formula.
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Many Muslims around the world reacted positively to U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech Sunday to dozens of Arab and Muslim leaders at the Arab Islamic American Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh. There, Trump called for Muslim unity in the fight against terrorism.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had called for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S.  But Sunday he outlined his vision for U.S.-Muslim relations and the need for Muslim countries to jointly combat terrorism, saying the fight against terrorism was “a battle between good and evil.”

“President Trump gave an effective speech focusing on one of the major challenges facing the Middle East and the world: terrorism and extremism,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations. “His call on Muslim leaders at the summit to do more to take on extremists and terrorists was important.”

The former top Muslim U.S. diplomat praised Trump’s offer to “build partnerships with Muslim majority countries to promote peace and prosperity.”

“Bravo President Trump,” tweeted Anwar Gargash, UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs. “Effective and historic speech defining approach towards extremism and terrorism with candid respect and friendship.”

Muslim leaders and analysts said the U.S.-Saudi initiative would help counter the expanding waves of extremism in the region.

“A Muslim nations -U.S. cooperation would help counter extremism and extremist groups, Siraj Wahab, deputy managing editor of the Arab News daily in Jeddah, told VOA’s Urdu service.  

Buffalo University professor Faizan Haq echoed Wahab’s comments and said “President Trump talks straight and this trip on the whole will enhance the cooperation between Muslim countries and United States.”

Afghan Ambassador to Washington Hamdullah Mohib said the historic battle between good and evil cannot be won unless the world is united and acts as one.

‘Global threat’

“Terrorism is a global threat that demands a global solution, and the Afghan people and security forces have been thrust into the forefront of the fight,” Mohib told VOA’s Afghan service. “As President Trump said, ‘every country in the region has an absolute duty to ensure that terrorists find no sanctuary on their soil,’ and I would add that every country in the region also has a duty to cut off all financing and sponsorship for these groups.”

In his speech, Trump accused Iran of destabilizing the Middle East region. “From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms, and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region.”

Pakistani politician Shireen Mazari tweeted that it seemed that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have teamed up against Iran.

“After KSA King’s speech & Trump’s speech there can be no doubt that the KSA-led alliance is focused against Iran!”

Khalilzad said Trump should have also mentioned other factors that have contributed to the emergence of extremism in the region.

“Besides highlighting the negative role played by Iran’s policies in producing extremism and terror and calling for an end to providing sanctuaries, it would have been good if the president had also focused on additional factors, especially the challenge of governance that contribute to the rise and persistence of the challenge, and reforms and changes needed to address them.”

Reacting to Trump’s speech in a tweet, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, suggested that the speech was rather a business deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

“Iran – fresh from real elections – attacked by @POTUS [President Trump] in that bastion of democracy & moderation. Foreign Policy or simply milking KSA of $480B?”

Speaking with VOA’s Afghan service prior to Trump’s speech, Afghan Ambassador to Qatar, where the Afghan Taliban has a political office, said that while the Arab governments are concerned about the Islamic State group (IS) and Taliban, some wealthy Arab individuals are supporting them. “It all depends on what President Trump says to them today, to gain their full cooperation in the fight against ISIS,” Faizullah Kakar, the Afghan Ambassador said.

In Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said Saturday the Riyadh meeting was important because “it is the first time a meeting between the new American government and Islamic countries [are] addressing issues that are of concern to us all, especially regarding the fight against radicalism and terrorism.” Indonesia has recently been hit by a wave of terror attacks. As many as 384 Indonesians have joined the Islamic State group, according to Indonesia’s counterterrorism agency.

“Indonesia will convey our experience and the steps we have taken in the fight against terrorism and radicalism. How we use soft power and hard power approach in combating radicalism and terrorism.”

Robertus Robet, an Indonesian analyst, believes the speech indicates the U.S. no longer wants to be at the forefront of the war on terrorism.

“America will play a supportive role and the countries in the Middle East are front-line in the so-called ‘good and evil, war,” Robet told VOA. “Whether later will be realized in the form of a policy where American troops are no longer in the front lines, and diplomacy plays a bigger role in the future, we will have to see.”

Possibility of ‘reset’

Some Muslim analysts said the speech would help Trump hit a reset with the Muslim world.  

“The soft tone and positive narrative in Trump’s speech would help eliminate the reservations of Muslims about his narrative during the election campaign,” journalist Wahab said.

As a candidate, Trump proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States which led to a strong condemnation by Muslims in the U.S. and around the world. Analysts say that Sunday’s speech will present a softer image of Trump in the Muslim world. As president, he ordered temporary bans on people from certain Muslim-majority countries, which have been blocked by courts that ruled they were discriminatory.

In Turkey, the opinion remained divided.

“Some of them [Turks] think that Trump picked Saudi Arabia for his first foreign visit to make up for his anti-Muslim stance in the campaign period and also his executive orders to limit travels of some Muslim countries’ citizens,” Ilter Turan, a political science professor at the Istanbul Bilgi University, told VOA’s Turkish service. “Others think that Trump still doesn’t like Muslims but pretend that he likes because of trade agreements and interests.”

Some analysts, however, are skeptical if Trump would be able to effectively execute his vision as he faces many domestic challenges.

“The question is, can president Trump fulfill the promises he made during his visit and the speech?” asked Bilal Wehab, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The answer depends on how Trump will solve his internal problems in Washington, D.C.”

But Dhaka-based Bangladeshi journalist, Mizanur Rahman Khan, believes that Trump’s speech was indicative of “a new angle about how America looks forward to the Muslim World and certainly a departure from earlier perceptions.”

VOA’s Afghan, Bangla, Deewa, Indonesian, Kurdish, Turkish and Urdu Services contributed to this report.
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