Selasa, 09 Juli 2019

Trump tweets likely deal UK ambassador a fatal blow - CNN

With a devastating set of tweets that all but declared Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch persona-non-grata, the President did more than simply feed a personal grudge. He turned Britain's extreme discomfort into political leverage over America's best friend.
By making it clear he would prefer an envoy more sympathetic to his worldview, Trump is effectively trying to make it more difficult for another country to get accurate diplomatic reporting and internal intelligence on an administration that has alarmed many foreign allies -- not just Britain.
Trump could have turned the other cheek and sought the high ground amid the rumpus over the UK ambassador's unsparing memos about his character and dysfunctional White House.
That is not the President's way.
Where other US leaders might have chosen a less contentious route, Trump seeks to escalate, indulging his ruthless sense of another party's weakness.
In lashing out at the British government and its envoy, Trump showed familiar traits — he's thin skinned and reacts poorly to public criticism -- even when it comes from a country and a government he's often rebuked himself. And he rarely lets pass a chance for revenge.
Trump's tweets sent a message to London that its ambassador, a career diplomat who was Monday branded an anti-Trump globalist by his foes back home, is no longer welcome in the White House.
After turning the episode into a full blown diplomatic crisis on Monday, Trump followed up on Tuesday with personal abuse of Darroch and a fresh attack on outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is standing by her envoy.
He tweeted that the ambassador was "wacky," "a very stupid guy" and a "pompous fool" and said that May's "failed" and "foolish" efforts to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union were a "disaster!"
Trump's tweets dealt a likely fatal blow to Darroch's strenuous efforts over two years to manage the almost-impossible task of forging stable ties with Trump's tumultuous White House.
In a sign that he is now out in the cold, the ambassador, who had contacts throughout the administration, was dis-invited from a dinner with Trump, the Emir of Qatar and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday night.
Trump is making clear that the "special relationship" under May's successor who will take over in a couple of weeks will be on his terms, a sentiment that could have enormous political and diplomatic implications in London and beyond.
"The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister," Trump tweeted.

'This is a relationship that is bigger than this situation'

The President's intervention makes the next British prime minister -- expected to be former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson -- effectively a supplicant to the US President.
His first order of business will be to repair Britain's most important diplomatic relationship. It's difficult to see how that might be accomplished without effectively appointing a new ambassador to Washington whom Trump finds favorable.
Britain will become increasingly beholden to the United States if it finally leaves the European Union since it will need a new free trade deal with Washington. By establishing fresh leverage over the UK, Trump improved his position ahead of a negotiation in which both sides expect him to drive a hard bargain.
The Trump administration also wants to peel the UK off from its European partners and hopes it will join its effort to punish Iran. Britain still supports the Iran nuclear deal that Trump exited and has come under pressure from top US officials.
Trump's state visit to London last month -- masterminded by Darroch -- was seen as Britain's best chance to deploy its own leverage to win over the President.
But if anyone thought that the warmth of his Buckingham Palace welcome in a successful state visit last month would cause Trump to give Britain a pass when it needed it, they were wrong.
Ironically, Darroch had predicted as much in one of a flurry of dispatches dating back two years that were handed to the "Mail on Sunday" by an unknown leaker.
"We might be flavor of the month, but this is still the land of 'America First,'" wrote Darroch, who in other memos described Trump as "inept" and his administration as mired in chaos.
British diplomats spent the weekend trying to contain the damage from the Mail's scoop that rocked US-UK relations.
Given the decades of friendship forged in war between Washington and London, it's likely that the current tensions will eventually be seen as just a wrinkle in a long relationship.
"Nobody is in a great position here," former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday, noting that Trump felt insulted and Britain embarrassed by the leak.
He added: "I would hope that we all recognize that this is a relationship that is bigger than this situation" and "any one personality."

Search for the leaker

Back in London, May's government repeatedly said it stood by Darroch and decried the motives of the unidentified leaker.
Different theories are being floated about the motivation of the leaker. Possibly, he or she was an official sympathetic to anti-European, pro-Trump factions in the Conservative Party who want Darroch gone to insert a new ambassador more ideologically in tune with Trump.
Perhaps someone from the next government wanted to send a sign to Trump that the days of traditional UK diplomats favorably disposed to the EU and the international establishment are numbered. In Tuesday's "The Sun" newspaper, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- Darroch's boss and Johnson's last remaining rival in the leadership race -- said officials would consider whether a hostile foreign power keen to disrupt relations between the US and Britain was behind the leak.
Trump's friend, Nigel Farage, the anti-Europe Brexit Party leader who Trump has said would be a great ambassador in Washington, sought his own political leverage.
He blasted the current UK ambassador to Washington on his LBC Radio show as a "globalist," adding "Kim Darroch is anti-Trump."
The British government was left in a vulnerable position after Trump barred the doors for Darroch.
After all, the ambassador was only doing his job -- providing blunt assessments of a foreign government to his superiors back home. If Trump can force Darroch home, he would send a message to any foreign government keen to exploit Britain's willingness to bend to the will of a host nation.
And by replacing Darroch, the British government would be playing right into the hands of a leaker, who must have left British diplomats abroad uncertain whether their critical memos about foreign leaders will end up in the newspapers.
May's office released a statement expressing May's "full support" for Darroch.
"We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship," a spokesman said.
"At the same time we have also underlined the importance of Ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country."  
So in the short term at least, Britain probably cannot afford to withdraw Darroch because of the precedent it would establish at home and to its envoys around the world.
Darroch was expected to leave by early next year anyway. It would not be a surprise if the new British Prime Minister finds a way to quietly finesse his departure before then.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/us-britain-ambassador-memos-diplomacy/index.html

2019-07-09 14:57:00Z
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Trump says UK ambassador 'a very stupid guy' - BBC News

The UK's "wacky" ambassador to the US is "a very stupid guy" Donald Trump has said, amid a row over leaked emails.

This came after Downing Street reaffirmed its "full support" for Sir Kim Darroch.

On Sunday emails revealed the ambassador had called the Trump administration "clumsy and inept".

Sir Kim will now no longer meet the president's daughter Ivanka Trump as scheduled on Tuesday, the BBC has been told.

A spokesman for Theresa May said that Sir Kim is "a dutiful, respected government official" and confirmed there are no plans for Mrs May and Mr Trump to hold a call to discuss relations following the leak.

Earlier on Tuesday Mr Trump tweeted: "The wacky Ambassador that the U.K. foisted upon the United States is not someone we are thrilled with, a very stupid guy.

"He should speak to his country, and Prime Minister May, about their failed Brexit negotiation, and not be upset with my criticism of how badly it was handled.

"I told @theresa_may how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way-was unable to get it done. A disaster!

"I don't know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool. Tell him the USA now has the best Economy & Military anywhere in the World, by far...and they are both only getting bigger, better and stronger...Thank you, Mr. President!"

Number 10 previously called the leak "unfortunate" and has begun a formal investigation. It said the UK and US still shared a "special and enduring" relationship.

Sir Kim was scheduled to visit the White House alongside International Trade Secretary Liam Fox on Tuesday, but will not now be attending, the BBC's Nick Bryant says.

Confidential emails from the UK's ambassador, leaked to the Mail on Sunday, contained a string of criticisms of Mr Trump and his administration, and said the White House was "uniquely dysfunctional" and divided under his presidency.

Sir Kim, who became ambassador to the US in January 2016 about a year before Mr Trump took office, questioned whether this White House "will ever look competent" but also warned that the US president should not be written off.

The emails, dating from 2017, said rumours of "infighting and chaos" in the White House were mostly true and policy on sensitive issues such as Iran was "incoherent, chaotic".

Speaking on Monday following Mr Trump's initial comments on the leaked emails, Downing Street said the prime minister did not agree with Sir Kim's assessment but had "full faith" in him.

On Tuesday morning, before the president's latest comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship."

But he said ambassadors needed to be able to provide honest assessments of the politics in their country, and the prime minister stood by Sir Kim.

"The UK has a special and enduring relationship with the US based on our long history and commitment to shared values and that will continue to be the case," he said.

Conservative leadership contender and former foreign secretary Boris Johnson said he had a "good relationship" with the White House.

"I think it's very important that we have a strong relationship with our most important ally", he said.

"The United States has been, will be for the foreseeable future, our number one political military friend and partner and we're going to continue to stress the vital importance of that relationship."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48921243

2019-07-09 12:51:55Z
CBMiJGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay00ODkyMTI0M9IBKGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvdWstNDg5MjEyNDM

Trump tweets likely deal UK ambassador a fatal blow - CNN

With a devastating set of tweets that all but declared Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch persona-non-grata, the President did more than simply feed a personal grudge. He turned Britain's extreme discomfort into political leverage over America's best friend.
By making it clear he would prefer an envoy more sympathetic to his worldview, Trump is effectively trying to make it more difficult for another country to get accurate diplomatic reporting and internal intelligence on an administration that has alarmed many foreign allies -- not just Britain.
Trump could have turned the other cheek and sought the high ground amid the rumpus over the UK ambassador's unsparing memos about his character and dysfunctional White House.
That is not the President's way.
Where other US leaders might have chosen a less contentious route, Trump seeks to escalate, indulging his ruthless sense of another party's weakness.
In lashing out at the British government and its envoy, Trump showed familiar traits — he's thin skinned and reacts poorly to public criticism -- even when it comes from a country and a government he's often rebuked himself. And he rarely lets pass a chance for revenge.
Trump's tweets sent a message to London that its ambassador, a career diplomat who was Monday branded an anti-Trump globalist by his foes back home, is no longer welcome in the White House.
After turning the episode into a full blown diplomatic crisis on Monday, Trump followed up on Tuesday with personal abuse of Darroch and a fresh attack on outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is standing by her envoy.
He tweeted that the ambassador was "wacky," "a very stupid guy" and a "pompous fool" and said that May's "failed" and "foolish" efforts to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union were a "disaster!"
Trump's tweets dealt a likely fatal blow to Darroch's strenuous efforts over two years to manage the almost-impossible task of forging stable ties with Trump's tumultuous White House.
In a sign that he is now out in the cold, the ambassador, who had contacts throughout the administration, was dis-invited from a dinner with Trump, the Emir of Qatar and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday night.
Trump is making clear that the "special relationship" under May's successor who will take over in a couple of weeks will be on his terms, a sentiment that could have enormous political and diplomatic implications in London and beyond.
"The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister," Trump tweeted.

'This is a relationship that is bigger than this situation'

The President's intervention makes the next British prime minister -- expected to be former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson -- effectively a supplicant to the US President.
His first order of business will be to repair Britain's most important diplomatic relationship. It's difficult to see how that might be accomplished without effectively appointing a new ambassador to Washington whom Trump finds favorable.
Britain will become increasingly beholden to the United States if it finally leaves the European Union since it will need a new free trade deal with Washington. By establishing fresh leverage over the UK, Trump improved his position ahead of a negotiation in which both sides expect him to drive a hard bargain.
The Trump administration also wants to peel the UK off from its European partners and hopes it will join its effort to punish Iran. Britain still supports the Iran nuclear deal that Trump exited and has come under pressure from top US officials.
Trump's state visit to London last month -- masterminded by Darroch -- was seen as Britain's best chance to deploy its own leverage to win over the President.
But if anyone thought that the warmth of his Buckingham Palace welcome in a successful state visit last month would cause Trump to give Britain a pass when it needed it, they were wrong.
Ironically, Darroch had predicted as much in one of a flurry of dispatches dating back two years that were handed to the "Mail on Sunday" by an unknown leaker.
"We might be flavor of the month, but this is still the land of 'America First,'" wrote Darroch, who in other memos described Trump as "inept" and his administration as mired in chaos.
British diplomats spent the weekend trying to contain the damage from the Mail's scoop that rocked US-UK relations.
Given the decades of friendship forged in war between Washington and London, it's likely that the current tensions will eventually be seen as just a wrinkle in a long relationship.
"Nobody is in a great position here," former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday, noting that Trump felt insulted and Britain embarrassed by the leak.
He added: "I would hope that we all recognize that this is a relationship that is bigger than this situation" and "any one personality."

Search for the leaker

Back in London, May's government repeatedly said it stood by Darroch and decried the motives of the unidentified leaker.
Different theories are being floated about the motivation of the leaker. Possibly, he or she was an official sympathetic to anti-European, pro-Trump factions in the Conservative Party who want Darroch gone to insert a new ambassador more ideologically in tune with Trump.
Perhaps someone from the next government wanted to send a sign to Trump that the days of traditional UK diplomats favorably disposed to the EU and the international establishment are numbered. In Tuesday's "The Sun" newspaper, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- Darroch's boss and Johnson's last remaining rival in the leadership race -- said officials would consider whether a hostile foreign power keen to disrupt relations between the US and Britain was behind the leak.
Trump's friend, Nigel Farage, the anti-Europe Brexit Party leader who Trump has said would be a great ambassador in Washington, sought his own political leverage.
He blasted the current UK ambassador to Washington on his LBC Radio show as a "globalist," adding "Kim Darroch is anti-Trump."
The British government was left in a vulnerable position after Trump barred the doors for Darroch.
After all, the ambassador was only doing his job -- providing blunt assessments of a foreign government to his superiors back home. If Trump can force Darroch home, he would send a message to any foreign government keen to exploit Britain's willingness to bend to the will of a host nation.
And by replacing Darroch, the British government would be playing right into the hands of a leaker, who must have left British diplomats abroad uncertain whether their critical memos about foreign leaders will end up in the newspapers.
May's office released a statement expressing May's "full support" for Darroch.
"We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship," a spokesman said.
"At the same time we have also underlined the importance of Ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country."  
So in the short term at least, Britain probably cannot afford to withdraw Darroch because of the precedent it would establish at home and to its envoys around the world.
Darroch was expected to leave by early next year anyway. It would not be a surprise if the new British Prime Minister finds a way to quietly finesse his departure before then.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/us-britain-ambassador-memos-diplomacy/index.html

2019-07-09 12:32:00Z
52780327823117

Trump seizes on cables scandal to jam UK - CNN

With a devastating pair of tweets on Monday that all but declared Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch persona-non-grata, the President did more than simply feed a personal grudge. He turned Britain's extreme discomfort into political leverage over America's best friend.
By making it clear he would prefer an envoy more sympathetic to his worldview, Trump is effectively trying to make it more difficult for another country to get accurate diplomatic reporting and internal intelligence on an administration that has alarmed many foreign allies -- not just Britain.
Trump could have turned the other cheek and sought the high ground amid the rumpus over the UK ambassador's unsparing memos about his character and dysfunctional White House.
That is not the President's way.
Where other US leaders might have chosen a less contentious route, Trump seeks to escalate, indulging his ruthless sense of another party's weakness.
In lashing out at the British government and its envoy, Trump showed familiar traits — he's thin skinned and reacts poorly to public criticism -- even when it comes from a country and a government he's often rebuked himself. And he rarely lets pass a chance for revenge.
Trump's tweets sent a mutli-pronged message to London that its ambassador, a career diplomat who was Monday branded an anti-Trump globalist by his foes back home, is no longer welcome in the White House.
Trump's tweet dealt a likely fatal blow to Darroch's strenuous efforts over two years to manage the almost-impossible task of forging stable ties with Trump's tumultuous White House.
In a sign that he is now out in the cold, the ambassador, who had contacts throughout the administration, was dis-invited from a dinner with Trump, the Emir of Qatar and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday night.
Trump also took what may be a final swipe at outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, accusing her of making a "mess" of Britain's exit from the European Union -- a body Trump disdains.
And he made clear that the "special relationship" under her successor who will take over in a couple of weeks will be on his terms, a sentiment that could have enormous political and diplomatic implications in London and beyond.
"The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new Prime Minister," Trump tweeted.

'This is a relationship that is bigger than this situation'

The President's intervention makes the next British prime minister -- expected to be former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson -- effectively a supplicant to the US President.
His first order of business will be to repair Britain's most important diplomatic relationship. It's difficult to see how that might be accomplished without effectively appointing a new ambassador to Washington whom Trump finds favorable.
Britain will become increasingly beholden to the United States if it finally leaves the European Union since it will need a new free trade deal with Washington. By establishing fresh leverage over the UK, Trump improved his position ahead of a negotiation in which both sides expect him to drive a hard bargain.
The Trump administration also wants to peel the UK off from its European partners and hopes it will join its effort to punish Iran. Britain still supports the Iran nuclear deal that Trump exited and has come under pressure from top US officials.
Trump's state visit to London last month -- masterminded by Darroch -- was seen as Britain's best chance to deploy its own leverage to win over the President.
But if anyone thought that the warmth of his Buckingham Palace welcome in a successful state visit last month would cause Trump to give Britain a pass when it needed it, they were wrong.
Ironically, Darroch had predicted as much in one of a flurry of dispatches dating back two years that were handed to the "Mail on Sunday" by an unknown leaker.
"We might be flavor of the month, but this is still the land of 'America First,'" wrote Darroch, who in other memos described Trump as "inept" and his administration as mired in chaos.
British diplomats spent the weekend trying to contain the damage from the Mail's scoop that rocked US-UK relations.
Given the decades of friendship forged in war between Washington and London, it's likely that the current tensions will eventually be seen as just a wrinkle in a long relationship.
"Nobody is in a great position here," former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told CNN's Erin Burnett on Monday, noting that Trump felt insulted and Britain embarrassed by the leak.
He added: "I would hope that we all recognize that this is a relationship that is bigger than this situation" and "any one personality."

Search for the leaker

Back in London, May's government repeatedly said it stood by Darroch and decried the motives of the unidentified leaker.
Different theories are being floated about the motivation of the leaker. Possibly, he or she was an official sympathetic to anti-European, pro-Trump factions in the Conservative Party who want Darroch gone to insert a new ambassador more ideologically in tune with Trump.
Perhaps someone from the next government wanted to send a sign to Trump that the days of traditional UK diplomats favorably disposed to the EU and the international establishment are numbered. In Tuesday's "The Sun" newspaper, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt -- Darroch's boss and Johnson's last remaining rival in the leadership race -- said officials would consider whether a hostile foreign power keen to disrupt relations between the US and Britain was behind the leak.
Trump's friend, Nigel Farage, the anti-Europe Brexit Party leader who Trump has said would be a great ambassador in Washington, sought his own political leverage.
He blasted the current UK ambassador to Washington on his LBC Radio show as a "globalist," adding "Kim Darroch is anti-Trump."
The British government was left in a vulnerable position after Trump barred the doors for Darroch.
After all, the ambassador was only doing his job -- providing blunt assessments of a foreign government to his superiors back home. If Trump can force Darroch home, he would send a message to any foreign government keen to exploit Britain's willingness to bend to the will of a host nation.
And by replacing Darroch, the British government would be playing right into the hands of a leaker, who must have left British diplomats abroad uncertain whether their critical memos about foreign leaders will end up in the newspapers.
May's office released a statement expressing May's "full support" for Darroch.
"We have made clear to the US how unfortunate this leak is. The selective extracts leaked do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship," a spokesman said.
"At the same time we have also underlined the importance of Ambassadors being able to provide honest, unvarnished assessments of the politics in their country."  
So in the short term at least, Britain probably cannot afford to withdraw Darroch because of the precedent it would establish at home and to its envoys around the world.
Darroch was expected to leave by early next year anyway. It would not be a surprise if the new British Prime Minister finds a way to quietly finesse his departure before then.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/us-britain-ambassador-memos-diplomacy/index.html

2019-07-09 10:57:00Z
CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNubi5jb20vMjAxOS8wNy8wOS9wb2xpdGljcy91cy1icml0YWluLWFtYmFzc2Fkb3ItbWVtb3MtZGlwbG9tYWN5L2luZGV4Lmh0bWzSAVxodHRwczovL2FtcC5jbm4uY29tL2Nubi8yMDE5LzA3LzA5L3BvbGl0aWNzL3VzLWJyaXRhaW4tYW1iYXNzYWRvci1tZW1vcy1kaXBsb21hY3kvaW5kZXguaHRtbA

Trump Says He Will No Longer Deal With British Ambassador Whose Critical Cables Were Leaked - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump celebrates his bond with Queen Elizabeth II. He is less charitable about those who serve her.

On Monday, Mr. Trump said the White House would no longer deal with the British ambassador to the United States after the envoy described the Trump administration as “clumsy and inept” in confidential cables that were leaked. The president also accused Prime Minister Theresa May of botching Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, reviving a critique he first leveled against her a year ago.

Mr. Trump’s criticisms, delivered in a pair of midday tweets, were a rude farewell to Mrs. May and a British leadership that is likely to be replaced in the coming weeks by harder-line, pro-Brexit forces more to the president’s liking. In his rebuke of the ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch, Mr. Trump came close to declaring him persona non grata — an extraordinary breach between the United States and one of its closest allies.

The British government scrambled to repair the damage, dispatching its trade minister to Washington to apologize to the president’s elder daughter, Ivanka Trump. The sudden rupture of the so-called special relationship came barely a month after the queen feted Mr. Trump with a 41-gun salute and a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

It was a reminder of the fact that underneath the pageantry, the ties between Britain and the United States have been fraying for some time.

“What a mess she and her representatives have created,” Mr. Trump said of Mrs. May. “I told her how it should be done, but she decided to go another way.” Of Mr. Darroch, he said, “I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the U.S. We will no longer deal with him.”

Mr. Trump’s threat left Mr. Darroch’s status uncertain, though the British government stoutly defended his right to send home “honest, unvarnished assessments” of the political situation in Washington. In a statement on Monday, the government lamented the leaking of the cables, which, it said, “do not reflect the closeness of, and the esteem in which we hold, the relationship.”

The diplomatic uproar came at an awkward moment for Britain, which has been isolated and paralyzed by its looming deadline to leave the European Union. After failing to win support in Parliament for a negotiated exit, Mrs. May announced she would step down as leader of the Conservative Party and relinquish the prime minister’s post as soon as the party elects a new leader.

Boris Johnson, a pro-Brexit former foreign secretary and former mayor of London, is the odds-on favorite to replace her — a prospect that clearly delights Mr. Trump, who all but endorsed him last month during his visit to Britain. Mr. Johnson has pledged to pursue a “no deal” exit from the European Union.

“The good news for the wonderful United Kingdom is that they will soon have a new prime minister,” Mr. Trump said. “While I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent State Visit last month, it was the Queen who I was most impressed with!”

Mr. Trump praised the queen as a “spectacular woman” and claimed that during their meetings, her staff said she had not had so much fun in 25 years. By contrast, he and Mrs. May joked uneasily about their differences over how Britain handled its negotiations with the bloc.

“I seem to remember the president suggested that I sue the European Union,” Mrs. May said. “Which we didn’t do. We went into negotiation, and we came out with a good deal.”

“I would have sued, but that’s O.K.,” Mr. Trump replied. “I would have sued, and settled, maybe.”

In his cables, Mr. Darroch described the White House as a “uniquely dysfunctional environment” and said Mr. Trump was an unpredictable character. “There is no filter,” he wrote. He also said the president faced the prospect of further disclosures that could lead to “disgrace and downfall.”

The cables were obtained by a British tabloid, The Mail on Sunday, which published them over the weekend. The leak prompted theories about whether pro-Brexit forces were less interested in harming Mr. Darroch, whose tenure in Washington is nearing an end, than in torpedoing a likely successor: Mrs. May’s national security adviser, Mark Sedwill. Mr. Sedwill is viewed by some in London as having maneuvered to prevent the government from pursuing a no-deal Brexit.

For all of his private criticism, Mr. Darroch has cultivated close ties with people in Mr. Trump’s orbit. He hosted lavish diplomatic parties at the ambassador’s baronial residence that drew a parade of prominent officials, including Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner; a former Trump White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly; the former White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon; and Mr. Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.

In London on Monday, former diplomats debated whether Mr. Trump had effectively made Mr. Darroch persona non grata in Washington, a step that generally leads to a diplomat’s removal.

“I think Sir Kim is done in Washington,” said Lewis A. Lukens, who served as deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy in London from 2016 to 2019. “It’s a shame because he has been an extraordinarily effective ambassador for the U.K. in Washington. And he was just doing his job — providing the government in London with his candid, honest assessment of the dynamics in Washington.”

Sir Christopher Meyer, who was ambassador in Washington from 1997 to 2003, said it was too early to know what the president’s tweet meant for Mr. Darroch’s status.

“Does he mean that Kim will never be able to meet him again?” he asked. “Does he mean access to the White House staff, like the chief of staff, is blocked? Does he mean that Kim is denied access to the National Security Council?”

Mr. Meyer said Mrs. May’s support seemed unshakable, but that when a new prime minister takes office in two weeks, the situation may change. A new prime minister, he said, could select a political appointee who could “take a strong partisan position,” instead of a career diplomat like Mr. Darroch.

He said he doubted it would be Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader, whom Mr. Trump has repeatedly recommended for the job.

“Farage? Well, Darth Vader could be appointed, if that was the wish of the British government,” Mr. Meyer said. “But now he’s sitting on top of a burgeoning political party. I think his larger ambition would be there, rather than in Washington.”

Whatever the motivation, analysts agreed that the leak was particularly destructive, given the fragility of Britain’s diplomatic position. The British government has parted company with the United States over the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate accord and Mr. Trump’s attacks on the NATO alliance.

“The overall relationship is in bad shape,” said Thomas Wright, an expert on Europe at the Brookings Institution. “There are so many things that Trump has done to irk or undermine the U.K. government.”

Mr. Trump’s state visit, he said, was choreographed to paper over those differences, reflecting how dependent on the United States British officials believe they will be once Britain leaves Europe. So did Britain’s panicky reaction to the leaked cables. Britain’s trade minister, Liam Fox, said he planned to apologize to Mr. Trump’s daughter when the two meet this week during his visit to Washington.

“Either our Civil Service or elements of our political class have not lived up to the expectations that either we have or the United States has about their behavior, which in this particular case has lapsed in a most extraordinary and unacceptable way,” Mr. Fox said Monday on BBC Radio.

His act of contrition with Ms. Trump speaks equally to her rising status in the administration and Britain’s dwindling status as it faces a post-Brexit future.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/08/us/politics/donald-trump-kim-darroch.html

2019-07-09 00:45:00Z
CAIiEIQZjKEzJbic4KGBMzdEq8EqFwgEKg8IACoHCAowjuuKAzCWrzwwt4QY

Senin, 08 Juli 2019

Iran condemns UK's seizure of oil tanker as 'threatening act' - Al Jazeera English

Iran has denounced Britain's detention of an Iranian tanker last week as "threatening" and an "act of piracy", following a dramatic intervention that has sparked Tehran's fury amid tensions over its nuclear programme.  

What's behind the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker?

British Royal Marines, police and customs agents on Thursday stopped and seized the Grace 1 vessel in Gibraltar on suspicion it carried Iranian crude oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad 's government.

In a speech broadcast live on state television on Monday, the Iranian defence minister, Amir Hatami said the tanker's seizure "will not be tolerated by us and will not go without a response".

Describing the act as "threatening", he added: "This is an incorrect and wrong action, an action similar to maritime robbery ... certainly these kind of robberies will not be tolerated."

Echoing Hatami's sentiments, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  said the vessel's capture by Britain has set "a dangerous precedent and must end now". 

"Iran is neither a member of the EU nor subject to any European oil embargo. Last I checked, EU was against extraterritoriality. UK's unlawful seizure of a tanker with Iranian oil on behalf of #B_Team is piracy, pure and simple," Zarif tweeted.

Zarif has in the past said a so-called "B-team" - including President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - could goad the US President Donald Trump into a conflict with Tehran.

Authorities in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on Spain's southern tip, say the crude was destined for Syria's Baniyas refinery. 

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, told reporters in Tehran on Sunday that "the port named in Syria does not even have the capacity for such a supertanker to dock".

"Its destination was somewhere else," he said, without elaborating. 

Gulf tensions  

Araghchi said the tanker was crossing the Strait of Gibraltar because its "high capacity" meant "it was not possible for it to pass through the Suez Canal". He added that Iran was currently following "the legal path through court" but hoped the issue could be resolved by diplomatic consultations. 

Iran has demanded that the UK release the tanker immediately, with a senior commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard saying on Friday it was Tehran's "duty" to do the same and seize a British oil tanker if its vessel was not released immediately.

On the same day, Gibraltar's Supreme Court ruled the vessel could be held for 14 more days. 

Iran has summoned the British ambassador twice to formally protest against the incident, according to Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari. "Iran says it does not recognise the EU's sanctions on Syria as they have not been endorsed by the United Nations," she added. 

Iran set to exceed uranium enrichment limit in 2015 nuclear deal

Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said last week Gibraltar seized the supertanker after a request by the US.

Washington has reimposed punishing sanctions on Iran, including on its oil sector, after unilaterally abandoning a 2015 multilateral deal that offered Iran relief from global sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. 

'Economic war'

Tehran has accused the Trump administration of waging "economic war" against it with a "maximum pressure" campaign to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero.

Iranian crude exports were about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) or less in late June, industry sources said, a fraction of the more than 2.5 million bpd Iran shipped in April 2018, the month before Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal.

European signatories to the deal - the UK, France and Germany - oppose Washington's exit from the agreement, but have struggled to salvage it and protect Iran from the sanctions. 

Iran has responded by announcing a phased reduction of compliance with the pact. On July 1, it surpassed uranium stockpile limits set by the treaty, and on Sunday said it would begin enriching uranium beyond the permitted cap "within hours". 

The heightened frictions between the US and Iran escalated to the brink of a military confrontation in June when Iranian forces shot down a US military drone it claimed had violated its airspace. Washington denies the claim, saying the spy plane was shot down over international waters. 

Iran set to exceed uranium enrichment limit in 2015 nuclear deal

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/iran-condemns-uk-seizure-oil-tanker-threatening-act-190708064328708.html

2019-07-08 14:20:00Z
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Trump criticises UK ambassador over leaked 'inept' emails - BBC News

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Theresa May has "full faith" in the UK ambassador who criticised the Trump administration in leaked emails but she does not agree with his assessment.

The PM's spokesman added that the leak was "absolutely unacceptable" and No 10 had made contact with the White House.

Sir Kim Darroch, the UK's ambassador in Washington, described Donald Trump's administration as "inept" in emails.

The US president responded by saying "we're not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well".

The government has begun an inquiry into the leak of emails, in which Sir Kim said the White House was "uniquely dysfunctional" and "divided" under Mr Trump.

The prime minister's spokesman said it was "the job of ambassadors to provide honest and unvarnished opinions" but Mrs May "does not agree with the assessment".

"The leak is absolutely unacceptable and, as you would expect, contact has been made with the Trump administration setting out our view that we believe that it is unacceptable," he added.

Trade secretary Liam Fox told the BBC the leak was "unprofessional, unethical and unpatriotic", adding that whoever released the emails had "maliciously" undermined the defence and security relationship with the US.

"I hope if we can identify the individual, either the full force of internal discipline - or if necessary the law - will be brought to bear because this sort of behaviour has no place in public life," he said.

Analysis: Damage is 'considerable'

By James Robbins, BBC diplomatic correspondent

Just imagine if every heavily encrypted report to Whitehall from all UK ambassadors overseas was instantly available on your mobile.

The candour would cease immediately and they'd become ultra-bland and useless as a tool in policy-making.

So, damage in this case is considerable. There will be a large number of potential suspects.

Diplomatic telegrams are seen by scores, often hundreds of people - ministers and officials - across several departments. That is to ensure grown-up and private conversations can be had based on large amounts of source material.

Of course, there is damage to relations between the UK and the Trump White House too.

Mr Trump likes to dish out insults and criticism (remember his frequent belittling of Theresa May over Brexit, and his all out verbal attacks on the mayor of London) but he is pretty thin-skinned when the verbal arrows are aimed at him.

The one person who is not under suspicion in London is Sir Kim himself. After all, as his current political master, Mr Hunt, has made clear, he was just doing his job.

As the Foreign Office launched an investigation into the source of the leak to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters in New Jersey: "We're not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well.

"So I can understand it and I can say things about him but I won't bother."

In the emails, the UK ambassador to Washington said: "We don't really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction-riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept."

Sir Kim questioned whether this White House "will ever look competent" but also warned the US president should not be written off.

Frank opinions

Dating from 2017 to the present day, the leaked emails said rumours of "infighting and chaos" in the White House were mostly true and policy on sensitive issues such as Iran was "incoherent, chaotic".

Although the Mueller investigation later found allegations of conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia were not proven, Sir Kim's emails said "the worst cannot be ruled out".

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Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said if Boris Johnson becomes prime minister and the UK leaves the EU by 31 October, "people like" Sir Kim would "not be around".

Asked about speculation that he might take on the diplomatic role, Mr Farage said: "I don't think I'm the right man for the job", adding that he was "not a diplomat".

However, he said he "could be very useful" when dealing with the US administration.

Who is Sir Kim Darroch?

Sir Kim is the British ambassador to the US, which means he represents the Queen and UK government interests in the US.

Born in South Stanley, County Durham in 1954, he attended Durham University where he read zoology.

During a 42-year diplomatic career, he has specialised in national security issues and European Union policy.

In 2007, Sir Kim served in Brussels as UK permanent representative to the EU.

He was the prime minister's national security adviser between 2012 and 2015, dealing with issues such as the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, Russian annexation of Crimea, the nuclear threat from Iran and the collapse of government authority in Libya.

He became ambassador to the US in January 2016, several months before Donald Trump became president.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48903915

2019-07-08 11:37:30Z
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