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Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing


*From:* Bulletin Intelligence <Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com>
*Sent:* Friday, December 21, 2018 7:56 AM
*To:* Biden@BulletinIntelligence.com
*Subject:* Office of Vice President Biden Intelligence Briefing for Friday,
December 21, 2018


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[image: Image removed by sender. Office of Vice President Biden
Intelligence Briefing]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=001-a6c&t=c>

*To: Vice President Joe Biden*

*Friday, December 21, 2018 8:00 AM EST*

*Holiday Message*

In observance of the Christmas holiday, we will not publish on Monday,
December 24, 2018 and Tuesday, December 25, 2018. Service will resume on
Wednesday, December 26, 2018. We wish our readers a safe and happy holiday.


Today's Table of Contents

*Biden in the News* <#SECTION_1>

• In Wake Of Mattis Resignation, Biden Says Trump Administration
“Abandoned” American Beliefs. <#S1>

• Writers: Biden’s Early Lead In Iowa Polls Far From A Guarantee Of Success.
<#S2>

• Sanders Atop Washington Examiner’s Presidential Power Rankings, Biden
Second. <#S3>

• AP Analysis: After Strong Year By Female Candidates, Early 2020 Focus On
“White Male Trio.” <#S4>

• DNC Will Sponsor At Least 12 Presidential Primary Debates Beginning In
June. <#S5>

• Page Six Highlights Warm Reception Biden Received At Broadway Play. <#S6>

*Leading the News* <#SECTION_2>

• House Approves Wall Funding, Sends Spending Bill Back To Senate. <#S7>

*Foreign Policy* <#SECTION_3>

• Trump: Syria Withdrawal “No Surprise,” Says “Others” Must “Finally Fight.”
<#S8>

• Officials: Pentagon Planning Pullout Of Up To Half Of US Troops In
Afghanistan. <#S9>

• ISIS Members Kill Two Women On Camping Trip In Morocco. <#S10>

• North Korea Says It Will Not Give Up Nuclear Weapons While US Still Poses
Threat. <#S11>

• Putin: Trump Bringing World Closer To Nuclear War. <#S12>

• Israel Begins Sealing Hezbollah Tunnels From Lebanon. <#S13>

• Western Democracy Activists Charged After Arab Spring Acquitted By
Egyptian Court. <#S14>

*Domestic Policy* <#SECTION_4>

• Mattis Resigns, Cites Disagreements With Trump. <#S15>

• Democrats Say Barr Memo About Mueller Probe Disqualifies Him To Be AG.
<#S16>

• WPost Analysis: Trump In A “Tailspin,” Acting “Totally Irrationally” Over
Media Criticisms. <#S17>

• Market Rout Continues As Dow Tumbles 464 Points To 22,859, S&P Falls 40.
<#S18>

• Trump To Sign Justice Reform Bill Tomorrow After House Passes It 358-36.
<#S19>

• Trump Signs Farm Bill Into Law. <#S20>

• Central American Asylum Seekers Will Now Wait In Mexico As Applications
Are Processed. <#S21>

*Cancer Research* <#SECTION_5>

• Cleveland Clinic Stem Cell Biologist Speaks About Sex Differences In
Glioblastoma. <#S22>

• Excess Body Weight Is Responsible For About Four Percent Of All Cancer
Cases Worldwide, Data Indicate. <#S23>

*Editorials/Op-Eds* <#SECTION_6>

• New York Times. <#S24>

• Washington Post. <#S25>
Biden in the News
In Wake Of Mattis Resignation, Biden Says Trump Administration “Abandoned”
American Beliefs.

The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=002-1ae&t=c>
(12/20, Seipel) reported that former Vice President Joe Biden “criticized
the Trump administration as having ‘abandoned’ American beliefs following
Defense Secretary James Mattis’s Thursday resignation announcement.” In a
tweet, Biden said, “I’ve had disagreements with Secretary Mattis, but we
shared the view – long-held by Democrats and Republicans in this nation –
that respect for our allies and a commitment to the most important and
effective alliances in history made America safer.” In a second tweet,
Biden added, “It is clear this administration has abandoned those core
American beliefs. Secretary Mattis’ presence and his voice of reason and
experience will be missed in the Pentagon and the Situation Room.”
Writers: Biden’s Early Lead In Iowa Polls Far From A Guarantee Of Success.

Writing at FiveThirtyEight
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=003-343&t=c>
(12/21), Geoffrey Skelley and Dhrumil Mehta say that a pair of recent Iowa
polls show former Vice President Joe Biden atop a hypothetical field of
2020 Democratic presidential candidates, with “[a]t least 30 percent of
likely Democratic caucusgoers” listing “him as their top choice for
president.” The findings “could be read as a good sign for Biden. In the
last four presidential elections where there was no Democratic incumbent
running, the Iowa caucus winner went on to become the party’s nominee,” and
“Biden has never polled this well in” the state. However, “most candidates
who polled at roughly 30 percent more than one year before the caucuses
have not won the caucuses or the nomination.” The writers add that current
polling doesn’t “necessarily tell us much other than which candidates have
name recognition – and on that front, Biden seems to be doing just fine.”
Sanders Atop Washington Examiner’s Presidential Power Rankings, Biden
Second.

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=004-e65&t=c>
(12/20, Carney) offers an updated list of its weekly “2020 Presidential
Power Rankings.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) moves up from second place to
first, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden who drop down a slot to
second, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Rep. Beto
O’Rourke (D-TX) rounds out the top five.
AP Analysis: After Strong Year By Female Candidates, Early 2020 Focus On
“White Male Trio.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=005-a67&t=c>
(12/21, Schor, Summers, Ramer) reports, “A year defined by the political
power of women is ending with men enjoying much of the attention,” as
former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Rep. Beto
O’Rourke (D-TX) “have emerged as early favorites in the opening phase of
the 2020” Democratic presidential race. The AP says that “the attention on
the presidential prospects of this white male trio might seem to miss the
message of the midterm elections, in which a record number of women were
elected,” raising “an uncomfortable question for the party: Two years after
Hillary Clinton fell short of the presidency, are Democrats ready to
nominate another woman to take on President Donald Trump?” While “there are
plenty of women in the 2020 mix,” adds the AP, “the early focus on the men
demonstrates how difficult it can be for women to break into political
power at the highest levels.”
DNC Will Sponsor At Least 12 Presidential Primary Debates Beginning In June.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=006-d9a&t=c>
(12/20, Barrow) reports that DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Thursday announced
that Democrats “will hold at least a dozen presidential primary debates
starting in June 2019 and running through April 2020.” Perez said the party
“will sponsor six debates in 2019 and six more in 2020,” which “could be
extended if the nomination process drags deep into the spring.” The AP
adds, “Exact dates, locations, media partners and qualifying thresholds
will be announced in early 2019. But Perez says early voting states of
Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina won’t host debates until
2020.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=007-b14&t=c>
(12/20, Lerer) reports that “with nearly three dozen Democrats” eyeing
White House runs, “party officials anticipate a rush of candidates eager to
grab a spot in the nationally televised forums.” The Times adds, “Depending
on the size of the field, the committee may decide to split the debate over
two evenings, and would conduct a public and random selection process to
determine which candidates speak on which nights.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=008-150&t=c>
(12/20, Scherer) says, “Up to this point, Democratic officials have not
consulted with prospective 2020 candidates or their staffs on the debate
planning, unless those people were involved in the 2016 primary campaign.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=009-68a&t=c>
(12/20, Gaudiano) reports that Perez detailed “reforms he said are designed
to make the process fair, transparent and inclusive. Unlike in previous
cycles, the party won’t focus exclusively on polling to determine which
candidates participate in the first two debates, he said. Candidates will
qualify for those debates by meeting criteria that includes polling and
other measures reflecting a candidate’s support, such as grassroots
fundraising.”

Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00a-97c&t=c>
(12/20, Thompson) reported that Perez “said he didn’t want any voters to
feel that the party was toying with the debate or debate schedule to help
out certain candidates. ‘The critical imperative is making sure everyone
feels their candidate got a fair shot,’ Perez said.” The DNC “did not say
how many candidates constituted too many for one stage.” In a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00b-2f8&t=c>
(12/20) op-ed, Perez touts the debate plan and adds, “When all is said and
done, I’m confident that every candidate will believe the process was
undeniably fair. And the American people will be just as confident that the
Democratic Party has their back.”

In an online “analysis” for CNN
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00c-a47&t=c>
(12/20), Chris Cillizza said that in its plan for the debates, “the party
has left one very, very large question unanswered: Who gets included – and
why?” Cillizza added, “There’s no good way to set up a debate schedule when
there are this many likely candidates running. But by glossing over the
specifics on how candidates will qualify for the debates, the DNC is
setting itself up for a world of pain next summer.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00d-272&t=c>
(12/20, Muñoz), Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00e-c3b&t=c>
(12/20, Oliphant), The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=00f-46b&t=c>
(12/20, Greenwood), and the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=010-4ad&t=c>
(12/20, Thomas, Epstein) also report on the story.
Page Six Highlights Warm Reception Biden Received At Broadway Play.

Page Six
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=011-f9f&t=c>
(12/20, Siegler) reports that former Vice President Joe Biden “seemed more
popular than the performers during a recent visit to Broadway,” receiving
“two standing ovations Wednesday as he took his seat at a matinee
performance of Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at the
Shubert Theatre, we’re told. We hear Biden, who was with wife Jill and
their two granddaughters, came backstage after the show, where star Jeff
Daniels gifted him with a pen that read, ‘Atticus Finch 2020.’”
Leading the News
House Approves Wall Funding, Sends Spending Bill Back To Senate.

After last night’s House vote on a spending bill aiming to avoid a
government shutdown, President Trump took to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=012-3e0&t=c>
to write, “Thank you to our GREAT Republican Members of Congress for your
VOTE to fund Border Security and the Wall. The final numbers were 217-185
and many have said that the enthusiasm was greater than they have ever seen
before. So proud of you all. Now on to the Senate!” Trump also remarked
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=013-329&t=c>,
“Soon to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, last week live from the Oval Office,
that the Republicans didn’t have the votes for Border Security. Today the
House Republicans voted and won, 217-185. Nancy does not have to apologize.
All I want is GREAT BORDER SECURITY!” The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=014-46a&t=c>
(12/20, Giaritelli) recounts the incident, and quotes Pelosi telling Trump,
“You will not win. ... The fact is you do not have the votes in the House.”
When Trump retorted “Nancy, I do,” Pelosi replied, “Well, then let’s take
the vote and find out.” Trump said at the time, “If I needed the votes for
the wall in the House I would have them in one session.” Ahead of the vote
yesterday, The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=015-275&t=c>
(12/20, Wong, Lillis, Elis) reported “while some Republicans voiced
confidence, others remained skeptical it had the necessary support to
pass.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=016-a40&t=c>
(12/20, Fredericks) also said “doubts remain whether Ryan can come up with
a bill that would pass,” and Axios
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=017-ba2&t=c>
(12/20, Kight) that “the new bill is unlikely to make it past the House,
much less the Senate.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=018-eb2&t=c>
(12/20, Collins, Jackson, Theobald) reports the bill “now heads back to the
Senate, which must either approve the measure or risk shutting down a
quarter of the government at midnight Friday. A Senate vote is expected
Friday afternoon.” To Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=019-076&t=c>
(12/20, Cowan, Gibson), the House vote “made a partial federal government
shutdown more likely this weekend,” while the Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01a-531&t=c>
(12/20, Ferrechio) headlines its story “Trump’s Veto Threat Pays Off” but
adds “the victory will likely be short-lived, as Democrats in the Senate
are expected to reject the bill.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01b-5b2&t=c>
(12/20, Ferris, Bresnahan) also reports “the House GOP proposal is D.O.A.
in the Senate,” though Breitbart
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01c-0f1&t=c>
(12/20, Moran) notes “House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) cheered
the bill’s passage in a statement,” saying, “Chuck Schumer and Senate
Democrats now have to decide whether it is worth shutting down the
government to keep us from securing our border.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01d-faa&t=c>
(12/20, Paletta) says GOP leaders “hurried to appease the president,” and
notes “no Democrats voted for the House measure.” The New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01e-089&t=c>
(12/20, Feuerherd), Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=01f-c85&t=c>
(12/20, Sherfinski), among other news outlets, also report on the House
vote.

The vote capped a day capped by Trump’s apparent change of heart
about the Senate-passed bill. The President had taken to Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=020-3fb&t=c>
yesterday morning to write, “The Democrats, who know Steel Slats (Wall) are
necessary for Border Security, are putting politics over Country. What they
are just beginning to realize is that I will not sign any of their
legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border
Security. U.S.A. WINS! ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=021-a3b&t=c>
When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and
Border Security by leadership. Would be done by end of year (NOW). It
didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries –
but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!” Trump later wrote
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=022-fd7&t=c>,
“Democrats, it is time to come together and put the SAFETY of the AMERICAN
PEOPLE before POLITICS. Border security must become a #1 priority!”

Later yesterday, Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=023-f7c&t=c>
(12/20, Holland, Ahmann, Brice) reports, Speaker Ryan appeared alongside
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the White House after a meeting
with Trump, and said the President “wanted any spending agreement to secure
the US border.” Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=024-859&t=c>
(12/20, Ferris, Bresnahan) quotes Ryan as saying, “The president informed
us he will not sign the bill that came from the Senate last evening because
of his legitimate concerns for border security. ... So what we’re going to
do is go back to the House and work with our members.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=025-06a&t=c>
(12/20, Cochrane) says House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) “told
reporters that House Republicans would try to add $5 billion in border wall
funding to the Senate bill,” and “would also attempt to add disaster relief
money for those affected by storms and natural disasters as a way to lure
Democratic support.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=026-d32&t=c>
(12/20, Collins, Jackson) reports that the President further weighed in
“during a signing ceremony for an unrelated farm bill a few hours after he
told House Republican leaders at an emergency Oval Office meeting that he
would not sign the Senate funding proposal.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=027-18a&t=c>
(12/20, story 2, 2:35, Cordes) showed Trump saying, “I’ve made my position
very clear: Any measure that funds the government must include border
security.” The Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=028-3b7&t=c>
(12/20, Fabian) points out the President “said he would call the structures
‘steel slats’ in order” to give Democrats “a little bit of an out.” Said
Trump yesterday, “We don’t use the word ‘wall,’ necessarily, but it has to
be something special to do the job.”

The Daily Caller
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=029-6b6&t=c>
(12/20, Enjeti) reports White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders “quickly
released a statement” declaring, “President Trump just met with Republican
Members of the House. Not surprisingly, they all feel strongly about Border
Security – stopping the flow of drugs, stopping human trafficking, and
stopping terrorism. We protect nations all over the world, but Democrats
are unwilling to protect our nation. We urgently need funding for border
security and that includes a wall.”

Sanders later said on Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight[image: Image
removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02a-0c3&t=c>
(12/20), “I can assure you that at some point this President will get the
full funding that he wants for the wall because he said he is going to do
it and he’s never not gotten what he’s set out to do. We see that every
single day. He’s been delivering since day one of taking office and we are
seeing him continue to fight for what the people elected him to do and that
is border security, that it protecting American citizens.”

Reports are casting Trump’s decision to reject a “clean” spending
bill as a reaction to a backlash from his political base. ABC World News
Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02b-4e1&t=c>
(12/20, story 2, 2:20, Bruce), for example, referred to “a dramatic
about-face” by Trump, which “came after a conservative revolt – outrage
that the President might be backing down from his signature promise.” The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02c-ff3&t=c>
(12/20, Mascaro, Daly, Lucey) says Trump “has faced rare, bitter criticism
from some fellow Republicans over the past day for ‘caving’ on wall
funding.” The Los Angeles Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02d-2e9&t=c>
(12/20, Haberkorn) casts him as “receiving a torrent of criticism from
backers in Congress and conservative media upset that he appeared to be
caving,” and Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02e-599&t=c>
(12/20, Johnson, Everett) reports he acted “after pressure from his
conservative base approached unsustainable levels, rattling a president who
has come under fire over multiple issues this week.” Politico further
states Trump “obsessively monitored mounting criticism from the right that
cast him as an inept negotiator who is being rolled by Congressional
Democrats.”

Wolf Blitzer said on CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=02f-a41&t=c>
(12/20) that a shutdown “is looking increasingly likely” as the President
“is apparently bowing to conservative pressure and flipping positions
again, now saying he will not sign his temporary spending bill that doesn’t
include $5 billion for his border wall.” White House correspondent Kaitlan
Collins said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=030-65b&t=c>
(12/20), “A conservative revolt in recent days getting under the
President’s skin after his reliable allies turned into scathing critics.
... Sources telling CNN the President was fuming over the criticism,
lashing out at aides and telling them to fix this.”

Likewise, the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=031-b82&t=c>
(12/20, Cochrane) describes him as “facing a fierce repudiation from the
hard-line House Freedom Caucus and his supporters over a perceived retreat
from his signature campaign promise,” and notes Ann Coulter “was one of
multiple conservative supporters warning that the president would
jeopardize his re-election prospects if he failed to secure wall funding.”

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=032-bdf&t=c>
(12/20, Miller, Colvin) also draws attention to the pressure from Coulter
and Meadows, among others on the right. Rush Limbaugh is quoted as saying,
“Trump should not sign this bill and leave for Mar-a-Lago, and tell them
it’s not gonna get signed and their precious government’s not gonna get
back up and running ‘til there’s $5 billion.” Reuters
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=033-cc9&t=c>
(12/20, Holland) reports that Pelosi “has said including that money in the
bill would be a ‘non-starter’ for her members.” Bloomberg News
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=034-ec9&t=c>
(12/20) reports that Rep. Peter King (R-NY) “was strongly critical of party
members, many of whom are members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus,
who threw the spending bill into chaos,” tweeting: “Freedom Caucus pressure
to shut down the government is irresponsible policy and political
malpractice. 21st Century version of Charge of the Light Brigade.”

Senior adviser to the President Stephen Miller said on CNN’s
Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=035-733&t=c>
(12/20), “The fundamental issue here is whether or not Democrats will
supply votes to pass border security or whether they’re going to push for
open borders.” Miller added that the President has “made clear that he’s
not interested in continuing to build the wall one stretch at a time. He
wants to build the wall by getting the money now. ...Republicans and
Democrats alike have a fundamental duty to the working people of this
country to secure our border. This is straightforward common sense. Let’s
have both parties come together and do what’s right for the people of this
country and most especially for the needy Americans this time of year who
deserve to have a secure country, a secure economy, and a secure social
safety net.”

NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=036-223&t=c>
(12/20, story 3, 1:50, Jackson) said that “no matter what, the President
will break a campaign pledge. He said Mexico would pay for a wall but now
he wants taxpayers to, threatening a shutdown if Congress doesn’t agree.”
Echoing that theme, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said on CNN’s Situation Room[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=037-987&t=c>
(12/20), “If the President will deliver on his campaign promise and get
Mexico to pay for it, then we may be able to work something out.” Schiff
added, “I think what’s really going on here is he needs to shut down the
government to show his base that he’s serious about this and to do this as
a sop to his base. ... They have had two years where they controlled
everything and didn’t do it. They don’t have the votes for it. They know
it, and just to do this as a gesture to his base I think is
unconscionable.”

NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=038-02b&t=c>
(12/20), “Maybe there was a way to deliver on this earlier on, before this
election, before you had a lame duck Congress, but now how do you deliver
on this when you know that Democrats are going to take over the House in
February? What leverage does the President have? I think right now it seems
like what the White House wants to do is show that the President is doing
everything that he can. He’s throwing down a marker and then he can kind of
say maybe Democrats, they just wouldn’t give it to me. But he’s still going
have to deal with this fact, why don’t you have a wall after two years of
Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and you in the White House?”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=039-60a&t=c>
(12/20, Paletta) reports that Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chairman of the
House Freedom Caucus, “has urged Trump to veto any spending bill and force
a debate over the wall, even if it leads to a shutdown, pleaded with
colleagues to oppose the spending bill. ‘We have to fight now or America
will never believe we’ll fight,’ Meadows told the closed-door GOP caucus.”
The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03a-490&t=c>
(12/20, Peterson, Ballhaus, Duehren) runs a similar story.

Ahead of the House vote, McCarthy said on Fox News’ Special
Report[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03b-dee&t=c>
(12/20), “The Senate sent over to us what is a continuing resolution that
funds the government as is with no border security in there. even though we
have already been funding and building the wall. It also had nothing in
there when it came to disasters. ...We will take a continuing resolution.
We will add $5 billion to that for border security. We’ll also add the
money in there for disaster relief. ... We’ll send that over to the Senate.
They can take action. We don’t have a problem until Friday. I think there
are some differences and we can find common ground.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03c-536&t=c>
(12/20), “We should have done it earlier. We should have done it in March
on the big spending bill. We told the American people we would. Then we
said, ‘No, no. We are going to do it September.’ Didn’t do it then on that
spending bill. Then we said we will do it on December 7. No, we didn’t do
it then. Then we said we will do it on December 21. We did it tonight in
the House. ... We just passed it in the House, that is step one. It now
goes back to the Senate, and we will see what happens from there. We need
to stand firm on this because, as you said, as the President said, this is
a central promise we made to voters in 2016. This is our last, best chance
to do what everyone knows is just good, common sense.”

The Washington Examiner
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03d-7e7&t=c>
(12/20, Quinn) points out Pelosi “has been adamant that her party would not
back legislation that includes money for the wall, telling reporters that
Republicans were having a ‘meltdown’ over wall funding.” Schumer, “speaking
on the Senate floor, called the effort by House conservatives to add $5
billion to the spending bill ‘futile,’ as such a measure would not pass the
Senate.” The Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03e-a22&t=c>
(12/20, Miller) reports “the negotiations are complicated by the rapid
departure of senators from Washington after the stopgap measure passed.” The
Hill
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=03f-1a5&t=c>
(12/20, Carney) says, meanwhile, that “GOP senators emerged from the
closed-door meeting in visible disbelief that...Trump is refusing to sign a
seven-week stopgap measure to fund the government that cleared the chamber
by a voice vote less than 24 hours ago.”

CQ Roll Call
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=040-601&t=c>
(12/20, Tully-McManus) recounts that “an attempt by...Pelosi to force a
vote on a full-year CR was rejected Thursday afternoon after some
procedural gymnastics.” Pelosi “attempted to bring the ‘clean’ continuing
resolution – without the additional border wall funding that President
Donald Trump is insisting be included – to the floor as a privileged
resolution.” Roll Call adds “the presiding officer ruled that the
resolution didn’t qualify as a question of the privileges of the House.”
Lawmakers “voted 187-170 to table Pelosi’s appeal of that decision.”

*GoFundMe Campaign Raises Over $8 Million In Four Days For Wall. *The
Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=041-cf6&t=c>
(12/20, Bever) reports, “If neither Mexico nor Congress is going to
fund...Trump’s border wall, then Brian Kolfage has a more expedient plan:
GoFundMe.” The Post adds that “in just four days, the military veteran’s
crowdsourced campaign for construction of the border wall has raked in more
than $8.85 million in donations from more than 145,000 people.” Kolfage, “a
triple amputee who won a Purple Heart while serving in Iraq, is aiming to
raise $1 billion for wall funding through the GoFundMe.” He “proposed on
the GoFundMe page that if every one of the 63 million people who voted for
Trump donated $80, they would get the wall that Trump promised them,
echoing an idea included in a New York Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=042-efb&t=c>
column over the weekend.”

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=043-00b&t=c>
(12/20, story 8, 1:40, Dokoupil) showed Kolfage saying, “GoFundMe says this
is the largest goal ever started on the site and if it’s not reached, the
billion dollars will go back to all the people who donated.”
Foreign Policy
Trump: Syria Withdrawal “No Surprise,” Says “Others” Must “Finally Fight.”

In a three-tweet missive Thursday morning, President Trump defended his
decision to remove US forces from Syria, which had faced criticism from
many policymakers and analysts, including traditional Trump supporters. The
President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=044-29a&t=c>
at 6:42 a.m., “Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning
on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it,
I agreed to stay longer. Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy
of ISIS. We were doing there work. Time to come home & rebuild. #MAGA”. He
then tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=045-cbd&t=c>
14 minutes later, “Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle
East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars
protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are
doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight. ...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=046-c10&t=c>
Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving,
despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS
and others, who they hate, without us. I am building by far the most
powerful military in the world. ISIS hits us they are doomed!”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=047-442&t=c>
(12/20, Jackson) reports on the tweets and adds, “Members of Congress,
however, disputed Trump’s contention” that ISIS “has been totally defeated
and said they would regroup after the US withdraws the 2,000 or so troops
it has now in Syria. Critics also said Trump’s decision guarantees that
Bashar al Assad of Syria remains in power, benefiting Iran and
strengthening Russia’s foothold in the Middle East; they also said it would
leave Kurdish allies vulnerable to reprisals from ISIS.” The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=048-26d&t=c>
(12/20, Wagner) reports the tweets “came a day after Trump justified
pulling out of Syria by claiming” that the US had defeated ISIS, “an
assertion that was widely criticized as premature, risking future
aggression in the absence of US forces.” On the CBS Evening News[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=049-256&t=c>
(12/20, lead story, 2:40, Glor), Weijia Jiang reported the President’s
decision “shock[ed] allies and even top advisers.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04a-f71&t=c>
(12/20, Sullivan), reporting on the tweets, says “there were still few – if
any – specifics available about how the United States military would
accomplish the logistical undertaking of withdrawing 2,000 troops amid
Syria’s continuing seven-year civil war and remaining pockets” of ISIS
fighters. The Times adds that Secretary of State Pompeo said
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04b-db2&t=c>
on Laura Ingraham’s radio show that “the president’s decision was made with
‘lots of consultation between all the senior-level officials, including
myself.’” The Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04c-1b2&t=c>
(12/20, Leary) reports Pentagon officials said they have been charged with
developing and submitting a troop withdrawal plan by next Wednesday.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360[image:
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<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04d-55f&t=c>
(12/20), “We have to talk about what is at stake with this, and hope the
President changes his mind and hope the people around him can get in his
ear.” But the Washington Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04e-bad&t=c>
(12/20, Ernst) reports Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) backed the President’s
decision, saying critics of the decision “are acting like the US should be
‘the world’s policeman.’” Paul told Fox News, “Ultimately,
self-determination is about the people who live there standing up and
fighting.”

Dan Balz of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=04f-bc8&t=c>
(12/20) writes that Trump “wants the most robust military in the world, but
he doesn’t seem to want to use it. He has been consistent in questioning
the commitment of US forces in trouble spots such as Syria and
Afghanistan.” But “however consistent he has been in enunciating” foreign
policy goals, “he has not shown much mastery of navigating the legislative
process or of developing support from allies. ... He leads by impulse, by
upending the status quo, leaving friends and adversaries to scramble.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=050-adb&t=c>
(12/20, Oprysko) also covers the President’s Thursday morning tweets.

*Trump Says Graham Appears To Be “Against Saving Soldier Lives.” *On
Thursday afternoon, Trump responded to criticism of his Syria withdrawal
plan from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The President tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=051-aee&t=c>,
“So hard to believe that Lindsey Graham would be against saving soldier
lives & billions of $$$. Why are we fighting for our enemy, Syria, by
staying & killing ISIS for them, Russia, Iran & other locals? Time to focus
on our Country & bring our youth back home where they belong!”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=052-f56&t=c>
(12/20, Hayes) reports Graham said on the Senate floor Wednesday evening
that while “he would also like for troops to be back” in the US, a
“presence in Syria would allow the country to stabilize and halt any future
spread of radical Islam, calling the 2,000 soldiers there almost a
‘virtual’ border wall that keeps terrorists at bay and the US safer.”
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=053-56d&t=c>
(12/20, Oprysko) headlines its brief report on the tweet “Trump Torches
Graham For Criticizing His Syria Troops Plan.”

On NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=054-3ca&t=c>
(12/20, story 2, 1:25, Holt), Andrea Mitchell reported that “angry
Republicans” including Graham are “pleading with Mr. Trump to change his
mind.” Graham replied to the President in an eight-tweet thread
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=055-3be&t=c>
that began, “Mr. President, I admire and share your love and admiration for
our troops. The troops believe in their commanders and so should you. They
are worthy of your trust. I urge you to follow sound military advice when
it comes to withdrawing from Syria and the fight against ISIS. Withdrawing
from Syria is a shared goal but the ‘When and How’ matter. I believe you
are on course to make the same mistake President Obama made in Iraq. It
will turn out no better for you than it did for him.”

NBC’s Frank Thorp tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=056-dbb&t=c>
that Graham said Thursday that Defense Secretary Mattis “told him ‘it was
not the time was not right to leave (Syria),’ and that ‘ISIS has been hurt
badly, that the change in strategy to be more aggressive has paid off but
they’re not defeated, and that a replay of Iraq was very likely.’” In
his Washington
Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=057-cc7&t=c>
(12/20) column, Hugh Hewitt writes that Trump has made a “major error,” and
“needs to gather in his experienced, genuine supporters on the Hill,”
including Graham, “and revisit the decision to pull U.S. troops out of
Syria.”

*Putin: “Donald Is Right” About Withdrawing US Troops. *Under the
headline “Putin Welcomes US Pullout From Syria,” the AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=058-817&t=c>
(12/20, Isachenkov) reports that during his annual end-of-the-year news
conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin “welcomed the US decision to
pull its troops out of Syria, saying Thursday that ‘Donald is right.’”
Putin also said he agrees with Trump that ISIS “has been defeated, making
the US presence in Syria unnecessary,” and “argued that the US troops
shouldn’t have been there to start with.” The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=059-64f&t=c>
(12/20, MacFarquhar, Kramer) reports that Putin “expressed skepticism,
however, that the United States would follow through on Mr. Trump’s
pronouncement, noting that the government had similarly pledged to pull out
of Afghanistan by 2014 but still stations forces there.”

Bill Kristol tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05a-f50&t=c>,
“The president who’s doing the most to weaken American leadership and erode
American authority and undermine American credibility around the world
isn’t Vladimir Putin. It’s Donald Trump.”

*US-Allied Kurdish-Led Forces Fear Turkish Invasion, May Free ISIS
Prisoners. *The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05b-24f&t=c>
(12/20, Karam, El Deeb) reports that the “Kurdish-led” Syrian Democratic
Forces, identified as “the United States’ main ally in Syria,” has
“categorically rejected” Trump’s claim that ISIS has been defeated. The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05c-bd9&t=c>
(12/20, Rasmussen, Gauthier-Villars) reports under the headline “Key US
Partner In Syria Thrown Into Disarray” that the SDF warned that without US
troop support, it is vulnerable to attacks from both ISIS and Turkey.

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05d-f42&t=c>
(12/20, Cunningham) reports that Turkey’s defense minister said Thursday
that SDF forces “would be ‘buried’ in their trenches in any Turkish
operation to rout the fighters from the border,” adding that Turkey is
“preparing ‘intensely’ for a military offensive” where SDF is strongest.
The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05e-c53&t=c>
(12/20, Saad, Nordland) reports that the SDF, facing this pressure, is
“discussing the release of 3,200 [ISIS] prisoners” that it is holding “in
about seven makeshift prisons near Ainissa in northern Syria.” The SDF says
“the home countries of many of [the prisoners] had refused to take them
back,” and that “it would need all of its fighters to defend against a
possible Turkish military invasion.”

NBC foreign correspondent Richard Engel tweeted
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=05f-bce&t=c>,
“A sr military official told me US special forces troops distraught, upset,
morally disturbed by having to tell their kurdish allies in Syria that,
because of orders, their promises of defense won’t be kept.” Marine veteran
Tommy Meyerson, who returned this year from service in northeastern Syria,
pens an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=060-c92&t=c>
(12/20) urging the President to reconsider, writing that Syria’s Kurds have
been thankful for, and rely on, US support, and that gains can be easily
reversed if the US exits.

*WPost Analysis: Syria Decision Reveals “Trump Doctrine.” *Karen
DeYoung of the Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=061-f1c&t=c>
(12/20) writes, “Despite threatening to withdraw US military forces from
virtually every long-term deployment in the world,” the President “has been
repeatedly constrained by the counsel of his own revolving-door national
security team. Until now. If there is a Trump Doctrine, the Syria
withdrawal has brought it to full flower.” Trump criticized action in Syria
as early as 2013, and as President, “never wavered in his determination to
leave Syria and other parts of the world.”

*Politico: “Never Trumper” Jeffrey Caught Up In Trump’s Decision. *
Politico
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=062-edf&t=c>
(12/20, Toosi) has a feature on James Jeffrey, a “well-respected veteran
diplomat” and “Never Trumper” who nevertheless became the President’s
special representative for Syria engagement. Jeffrey was the US ambassador
to Iraq at the time of the US withdrawal, “and is widely believed to have
joined the Trump administration in part to prevent a repeat of that
disastrous scenario. Now, some fellow foreign policy hands are wondering
why he would bother to stick around.” Jeffrey “has not commented publicly
since Trump’s announcement,” but on Thursday, “there was no sign that he
intends to quit.”

*Friedman, Logan: Trump “Right To Accept Victory In Syria.” *Benjamin
Friedman of Defense Priorities and Justin Logan of the Center for the Study
of Statesmanship at Catholic University write in a USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=063-2fd&t=c>
(12/20, Friedman, Logan) op-ed, “Trump is right to accept victory in Syria.
By September, ISIS had lost 99 percent of the territory its vaunted
caliphate once held, according to a Pentagon Inspector General’s report.
With the last vestiges of Islamic State territory in Syria falling to
U.S.-backed forces in recent days, the goal that drew the U.S. into Syria
is achieved.”
Officials: Pentagon Planning Pullout Of Up To Half Of US Troops In
Afghanistan.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=064-3ed&t=c>
(12/21, Baldor) reports that the Pentagon is developing plans to withdraw
“up to half of the 14,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan, US
officials said Thursday, marking a sharp change in the Trump
administration’s policy aimed at forcing the Taliban to the peace table
after more than 17 years of war.” According to one official, the troops
“could be out by summer, but no final decision has been made.” The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=065-58d&t=c>
(12/20, Lubold, Donati) cites an unnamed US official as saying that more
than 7,000 US troops will begin to return home from in the coming weeks.

According to the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=066-7a7&t=c>
(12/20, Gibbons-Neff), the Administration “has ordered the military to
start withdrawing roughly 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming
months, two defense officials said Thursday.” One official said Trump made
the decision “at the same time he decided to pull American forces out of
Syria.” Jake Tapper, however, said on CNN’s The Lead[image: Image removed
by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=067-99c&t=c>
(12/20) that “multiple sources...warn that the President has not yet made
any final decision on the matter.”

USA Today
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=068-f71&t=c>
(12/20, Brook, Fritze, Jackson) says the move marks “the latest in a series
of abrupt changes to .. military policy the president is either eyeing or
has executed over the past 24 hours.” Taken together with Trump’s
announcement Wednesday that he is withdrawing US troops from Syria, “the
moves appeared to represent a reshuffling of the administration’s military
strategy that more closely aligns with what Trump promised during his
campaign but that has been opposed” by Defense Secretary Mattis and “others
inside the Pentagon.”

The Washington Post
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=069-79c&t=c>
(12/20, Lamothe, Dawsey, Ryan, Sonne) says the move is one “that many of
Trump’s senior advisers and military officials have warned will plunge the
country further into chaos.” It also comes as the US “attempts to negotiate
a peace deal with the Taliban, potentially undercutting leverage that
American diplomats have.”

*US Officials Discussed Potential Three-Month Ceasefire With
Taliban Envoys. *At what the New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=06a-a5c&t=c>
(12/20, Mashal) calls their “most substantial formal talks so far with the
Taliban,” US officials on Thursday “discussed the future of the American
military presence in Afghanistan and an offer of a three-month cease-fire
during which the insurgents and the Afghan government could have
negotiations.” US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad “briefed Afghan leaders in
Kabul on two days of talks with the Taliban this week in the United Arab
Emirates,” according to the Times, which says the talks “included
representatives from the UAE...Saudi Arabia; and Pakistan – the only three
nations that recognized the Taliban regime before it was toppled by the
American invasion in 2001 and that still have varying degrees of influence
over the insurgent group.” The Times notes that the “Taliban
representatives refused to meet with a delegation sent...by the Afghan
government.”
ISIS Members Kill Two Women On Camping Trip In Morocco.

The CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=06b-c72&t=c>
(12/20, story 7, 1:25, Glor) reported four men claiming to be members of
ISIS have been arrested following “a vicious deadly attack on two young
women who were on a camping trip in the mountains of Morocco.” CBS’ David
Begnaud said the bodies of 24-year-old Louisa Jespersen from Denmark and
28-year-old Maren Ueland from Norway “were found in a remote region where
they were camping.” According to Moroccan prosecutors, the suspects
“pledged allegiance to ISIS in a video that was made before the killings. “
North Korea Says It Will Not Give Up Nuclear Weapons While US Still Poses
Threat.

The AP
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=06c-7c1&t=c>
(12/20, Tong-Hyung) reports North Korea said Thursday that it “will never
unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the United States first
removes what Pyongyang called a nuclear threat.” To the AP, the
“surprisingly blunt statement jars with Seoul’s rosier presentation of the
North Korean position and could rattle the fragile trilateral diplomacy to
defuse a nuclear crisis that last year had many fearing war.” The statement
carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency “also raises
credibility problems” for the South Korean government, which has”
continuously claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is genuinely
interested in negotiating away his nuclear weapons.”

The New York Times
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=06d-470&t=c>
(12/20, Sang-Hun) says the statement had the effect of “clarifying a
position that had remained vague since the leaders of both countries met in
June.” While the North Korea has for decades “maintained that it would not
eliminate its weapons program until the United States closed its regional
‘nuclear umbrella,’” the Times says yesterday’s statement “confirmed that
the North’s position on denuclearization remains unchanged despite June’s
summit meeting in Singapore.”

The Washington Post
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(12/20, Kim) reports that US-North Korea talks “appear to have stalled as
Pyongyang has demanded the removal of international sanctions as a
precondition for denuclearization.” The Post says “a number of analysts
warned after the Trump-Kim summit that North Korea had little intention of
giving up its weapons without substantial US concessions in return.”

*Pompeo, US Envoy Remain Optimistic. *The AP
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(12/21, Tong-Hyung) reports US special envoy Stephen Biegun on Friday
“expressed optimism about the diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear
crisis,” despite the North’s “surprisingly blunt statement.” Biegun said
ahead of a meeting with South Korean officials “that the allies are
committed to ending seven decades of hostility and creating” what he called
a “new, brighter future for all of the Korean people.” The AP says Biegun
did not, however, “directly address the North Korean statement,” but his
comments “echoed” those of Secretary of State Pompeo, who told a Kansas
radio station, “We are hopeful that in the new year President Trump and
Chairman Kim will get together not too long after the first of the year and
make even further progress on taking this threat to the United States away
from us.”

*Desperate North Koreans Pay Smugglers To Escape To China. *The Wall
Street Journal
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=070-a5b&t=c>
(12/20, Jeong) reports that President Trump’s talks with North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un have not had much impact on the lives of ordinary
residents. While some still risk their lives to escape, the Journal says it
has become increasingly difficult under since Kim came to power. North
Koreans pay smugglers as much as $18,000 to cross into China, roughly five
times more than it cost just a few years ago.
Putin: Trump Bringing World Closer To Nuclear War.

The AP
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(12/20, Isachenkov) reports that during his annual news conference
Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that there is “a rising
threat of a nuclear war because of the US pullout from arms control
treaties and its destabilizing military plans,” which he said “could lead
to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet.”
Putin “pointed at Washington’s intention to walk away from the 1987
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and its reluctance to negotiate
the extension of the 2010 New START agreement.”

On the CBS Evening News[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(12/20, story 6, 1:50, Glor), Charlie D’Agata said, “Few would have
expected Putin to raise the specter of a nuclear war when he criticized
President Trump’s threat to pull out of a treaty which bans both countries
from basing certain missiles in Europe.” Putin (through a translator):
“This might lead to the collapse of the entire civilization and maybe our
planet. Those missiles would be positioned in Europe, what will we do? We
need to ensure that we are safe.”
Israel Begins Sealing Hezbollah Tunnels From Lebanon.

Reuters
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(12/20) reports the Israeli military has begun to “seal off four tunnels
that it said had been dug by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah under the
border from Lebanon.” Israel says Hezbollah dug the tunnels “with the aim
of launching cross-border attacks with backing” from Iran. UN peacekeepers
in Lebanon “have said they had so far confirmed the existence of four
tunnels which the Israeli army discovered in recent weeks in the vicinity
of the border.”
Western Democracy Activists Charged After Arab Spring Acquitted By Egyptian
Court.

The New York Times
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(12/20, Walsh) reports a court in Egypt has “acquitted 41 American,
European and Egyptian employees of groups that promoted democracy and media
freedom...bringing an end to a seven-year case that was a thorn in
relations with the United States and had become emblematic of the official
backlash against civil society following the Arab Spring protests of 2011.”
Among the groups affected were “the National Democratic Institute, the
International Republican Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a
German organization.” However, “many of those convicted were sentenced in
absentia after fleeing Egypt,” and “none served any jail time.”
Domestic Policy
Mattis Resigns, Cites Disagreements With Trump.

President Trump announced on Twitter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=075-4b5&t=c>
yesterday that Defense Secretary Mattis “will be retiring, with
distinction, at the end of February.” Trump added, “During Jim’s tenure,
tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase
of new fighting...
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=076-dd9&t=c>
equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and
other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary
of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!”
Media reports are highlighting Mattis’ resignation letter
<http://mailview.bulletinintelligence.com/mailview.aspx?m=2018122101biden&r=email-8d77&l=077-242&t=c>,
released shortly after Trump’s announcement, in which the Secretary urges
him to find “a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with
yours.”

All three major network newscasts led with the story last night. ABC
World News Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(12/20, lead story, 3:30, Raddatz) called Mattis’ decision “really
astonishing,” as “this is a man whose life has been about service and
sacrifice. He cares deeply about our troops in this country. He had said he
would never leave the post as long as he felt his service to the President
was valued and productive. That no longer was the case. It seems clear that
the situation was intolerable for Mattis, and clear that this is in protest
to Trump pulling out the troops from Syria.” The CBS Evening News[image:
Image removed by sender. Video]
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(12/20, lead story, 2:40, Glor) said that “for Mattis, the [Syria]
withdrawal was the last straw,” NBC Nightly News[image: Image removed by
sender. Video]
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(12/20, lead story, 2:05, Welker) referred to “a bombshell,” and added that
“tensions have been simmering for months, and Trump seemed to publicly
criticize Mattis in a recent interview.” Trump was shown saying, “I think
he’s a Democrat.”

The New York Times
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(12/20, Landler) reports, “For most of his tumultuous 23 months in
office...Trump has tried to shake off anyone who would restrain his
insurgent style of leadership,” and “with the resignation of...Mattis” he
“is at last a president unbound.” The Washington Post
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(12/20, Demirjian) says Mattis “was seen by Washington and the world as a
safeguard against a president addicted to chaos and animated by a different
moral code.”

On CNN’s Situation Room[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(12/20), Trump adviser Stephen Miller said, “As Mattis said, the
President’s entitled to a Secretary of Defense that has strong alignment
with his views. ... This is an opportunity for the country to get a
Secretary of Defense who will be aligned with the President on these
critical issues.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Fox Business’ Lou
Dobbs Tonight[image: Image removed by sender. Video]
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(12/20), “The President and Secretary Mattis have agreed to disagree on a
number of topics but they continue to have a good relationship, and I think
that this is probably something that will be made into a much bigger thing
in the media then it will be in the White House over the coming weeks.”

The Military Times
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(12/20, Shane, Mehta) reports that “on numerous occasions over the last two
years, both Republicans and Democrats have lauded” Mattis “as a calming
presence within the turbulent Trump administration and a voice of reason
for the sometimes impulsive commander in chief.” Mattis is “also wildly
popular among troops. A Military Times poll conducted in late September
found that nearly 84 percent of troops had a favorable view of his work
leading the armed forces. Among officers, the figure was almost 90
percent.”

USA Today
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(12/20, Jackson) notes “Trump did not mention his disputes with Mattis,
including his announcement this week of a Syria pullout that the defense
secretary had opposed,” but Politico
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(12/20, O'Brien, Bender) headlines its report “Defense Mattis Breaks With
Trump In Resignation Letter,” and says he “saw his influence wane in recent
months as Trump turned more toward hawks in his inner circle like Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo and White House national