Trump might go to Russian WWII parade
Nothing like a good oldfashioned display of Russian military might to get President Donald Trump hyped.
Out of the blue, Mr. Trump floated the idea of accepting an invitation from President Vladimir Putin to attend the annual Victory Day parade in Red Square in Moscow.
“It’s a very big deal, celebrating the end of (World War II),” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday. “I appreciate the invitation; it’s right in the middle of the political season.
“I would love to go if I could,” he added.
The comments, which seemed designed to help Mr. Trump stay in Mr. Putin’s good graces, drew a rapid response from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“Always nice to spend time with supporters on the campaign trail,” she tweeted.
The Victory Day parade is an annual event. No U.S. president has ever attended.
Mr. Trump raised the idea of attending the parade at a time when his cozy ties with Mr. Putin are under even more scrutiny than usual. The heart of the impeachment scandal involves Mr. Trump’s decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine, which is locked in a war with Russian-backed separatists.
Macron blasts NATO
French President Emmanuel Macron shocked allies in an interview published Thursday, saying that he did not know whether NATO’s commitment to collective defense was still valid and that the alliance was experiencing “brain death” because of a lack of strategic coordination and leadership from the United States.
“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO,” Mr. Macron told The Economist. He said the U.S. under President Donald Trump appeared to be “turning its back on us,” notably by pulling troops out of northeastern Syria without notice. He called on Europeans, as he has often done, to do more in their own defense with the aim of “strategic autonomy.’’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded unusually sharply to what she called Mr. Macron’s “drastic words,” which she does not share. “That is not my point of view,” she said when asked about the remarks.
Asked for his own response, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised NATO in Leipzig, after spending the morning touring the former border that divided East Germany from the West, where he served as an officer in the Army.
“I think NATO remains an important, critical, perhaps historically one of the most critical strategic partnerships in all of recorded history,” Mr. Pompeo said.
Iraqi cleric urges calm
Iraq’s most senior Shiite cleric urged political leaders Friday to find a way out of the current anti-government protests and subsequent security crackdowns that have left more than 250 people dead, saying the country faces “great risks” if it continues.
The protests continued to spread, with tens of thousands of people in the streets of Baghdad and across the largely Shiite south demanding sweeping political change. Demonstrators in the capital set up tents for a sit-in that extended to new streets and onto the banks of the Tigris River.
In the latest violence, 32 people were injured by rubber bullets and tear gas canisters in Baghdad. Since the unrest erupted on Oct. 1, more than 250 people have been killed, mostly by security forces.
In his Friday sermon, Grand Ayatollah Ali alSistani said it is the responsibility of the security forces to ensure peaceful protests and avoid using excessive force against the demonstrators. He urged politicians to devise a plan that meets the protesters’ demands.