Transcript

3.27.25 · Washington Post

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Speaker 1: Welcome to the reading of Today's Washington Post for Thursday,
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March the twenty seventh of twenty twenty five. Your reader
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is Alice Stainer, with the reminder that RADIOI is a
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program for those blind with other difficulties making it hard
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to hold or read printed material.
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Speaker 2: So I will start.
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Speaker 1: Off with the front page articles oversight and names and authors.
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To the very left of the front page, Maryland's lax
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oversight had a hand in disaster. Six deaths may have
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been preventable. Records tied to bridge collapse show by Katie
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Mettler and Tail Armas. To the right of that is
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an wonderful picture with blue blue waters and georgeous cherry
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blossoms entitled peak Joy and there is a Gentleman. Both
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gentlemen and the woman in white are embracing, and it's
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Ton Lee embraces his fiance heen Fom on Wednesday along
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the title basin beneath some of Washington's spained cherry blossoms,
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which are racing toward peak bloom this week. The cherry
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blossoms are gorgeous, different shades of white and pink against
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the blue of the title basin and the white of
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the couple. It's a very impelling picture. To the right
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of that, and on the far right of the front page,
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Trump imposes twenty five percent fee on autos. Tariffs could
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add ten million dollars to the price of or ten
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thousand dollars to the price of a car Whitehe says
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goal is to bring factories to the US. That is
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by David Lynch. Beneath the picture of the couple is
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an article On the left Leak affirms Vance's role as
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foreign intervention and skeptic by Natalie Allison and Michael Bernbaum.
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And to the right of that, still beneath the picture,
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Atlantic publishes transcript of Trump's team signal chat by Alex Horton,
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Missy Ryan, and Matt Bisner. And at the very bottom
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left justices uphold Biden era regulations on ghost guns by
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Justin Juvenal. There's a picture of a fierce fire season
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in Flat Rock, North Carona, with a group of firefighters
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over seeing controlled burn last week, timber from Hurricane Helene
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could provide a decade of fuel for Blaze's foresters say,
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so this is a controlled burn to get rid of
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debris that would cause fires down the road. And the
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final on the very right hand side of the page
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below Trump's twenty five percent auto tariff. With policy shifts,
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Trump is furthering Putin's goals, so our first article, Trump
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escalates global trade wall with new twenty five percent automobile tariffs.
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The President's plan will probably drive car prices up. The
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White House says the goal is to bring car manufacturing
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back to the United States. And there is a picture
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of President Trump pointing as he greets guests at the
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White House event. At a White House event last week,
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he announced new twenty five percent tariffs on imported cars
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and auto parts on Wednesday. It is by David Lynch,
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and you see him in front of the gold draperies
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behind many, many, many many flags, and there are a
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couple of children in front of that flag. He is
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in the forefront in his standard blue suit with his
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red tie, and to his right is one of the
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guards at.
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Speaker 2: The White House.
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Speaker 1: President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced plans to impose a
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twenty five percent tariff on imported automobiles and auto parts,
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gambling that consumers will accept higher prices on cars today
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in return for the promise of regaining lost manufacturing jobs
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in the future. Speaking in the Oval Office. The President
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said he was acting to encourage the return of auto
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manufacturing in the United States, predicting tremendous growth in the
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industry and enormous new tax revenue for the US Treasury.
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Trump told reporters will effectively be charging a twenty five
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percent tariff, but if you build your car in the
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United States.
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Speaker 2: There is no tariff.
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Speaker 1: Vehicles that meet the duty free requirements of the United
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States Mexico Canada trade agreement will be taxed only on
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the non US portion of their components. The White House
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said the government will begin collecting the new import taxes
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at twelve oh one am on April third. The White
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House later told reporters that the tariff would be added
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to an existing two point five percent levee, making the
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total charge twenty seven point five percent, and was aimed
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at addressing a critical threat to nationalsecurity. Trump's statement was
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the latest and the fusillade of trade pronouncement since his
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indulguration for a second term two months ago. Since re
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entering the White House, the President has ratcheted up import
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taxes on foreign steel and aluminum, as well as goods
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from China, Canada, and Mexico. On Tuesday, he is scheduled
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to announce US sweeping reciprocal tariff designed to raise US
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import taxes to match those levied by other nations on
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American products, perhaps his most decisive break yet with decades
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of trade orthodoxy. Seeking to allay financial market concerns, the
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President said Wednesday that people would be very surprised at
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how lenient tariffs will be. We're trying to keep it
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somewhat conservative, he said. Trump's des decision to raise taxes
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on imported vehicles represents a direct challenge to an industry
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that has never been more dependent upon cross border commerce.
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Imports of automobiles, parts, and engines last year totaled a
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record four hundred and seventy four point three billion dollars,
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according to the Census Bureau. Vehicles sold in the United
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States with name planes from Ford gm Oustillantes emerged from
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supply chains that snake back and forth across US borders
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with Mexico and Canada and draw on parts and components
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from Europe and Asia. But the white ease had Americans
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dependence upon other countries for roughly half of the sixteen
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million vehicles purchased last year, left a withered domestic industry.
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Trump invoked his Section two three two national security powers
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under a nineteen sixty two Tree Fade law to impose
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the tariffs. Our auto industry was a critical pillar of
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American arsenal of democracy that helped win World War Two,
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said Pete Navarro, the White House Senior Counselor for Trade
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and Manufacturing. And importantly, we were a manufacturing nation then,
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where we were manafactured as opposed to simply assembled cars,
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where we manufactured as opposed to simply assembled cars from
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foreign parts. And what has happened is the foreign trade
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cheaters have turned America into a lower rage assembly operation
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of foreign parts that threatens our national security. Trump's tariff
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plan drew applause from Shawn Fain, president of the United Autoworkers,
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who said it was a major step in the right
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direction for auto workers and blue collar communities. But many
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business groups attack the tariffs, with the National Foreign Trade
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Council representing multinational corporations saying they would do irreparable harm
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to the auto industry. The new auto tariffs show that
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the president is prepared to run greater political risks than
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during his first term. Trade defensive with the average price
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of a new car nearing fifty thousand dollars, Trump's tariffs
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could add more than ten thousand dollars to one of
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the most expensive purchases many American households make. The industry
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groups have said those higher cost could sting consumers still
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sensitive to inflation after punishing price hikes of the post
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pandemic economy. This will be another important example of consumer
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facing products getting hit, said economist Chad Brown of the
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Peterson Institute for International Economies. The President described Wednesday's announcement
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as very modest, but his insistence that automakers pull their
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supply lines back within the United States would be major
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disruption for an industry that employees more than three median
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Americans in factories, dealerships, and warehouses across the country. On
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Wall Street, shares of General Motors and Stallantes fell more
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than three percent, while Ford was almost unchanged. Trump had
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given automakers a brief for pree earlier this month, exempting
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most of the output of their Mexican and Canadian facilities
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from tariffs he imposed on other products from the US neighbors.
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After please from the chief executives of the big three
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car companies, the President expected the companies to begin relocating
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their production operations during the one month respite. White House
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Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said at the time, Levitt told
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reporters he told them they should get on it, start investing,
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start moving shift production here to the United States of America. Well,
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they will face no tariff. That is the ultimate goal,
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Levitt total reporters that won't be easy. For decades, presidents
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of both parties have encouraged manufacturers to establish supply chains
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based on deficiency and low cost. Changing those production networks
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will take years, cost millions of dollars, and may achieve
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the president's goals only by sacrificing other objectives. You've already
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got the best priced, quality, and delivery mare. You're telling
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them to do something different, and it'll be worse, said
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William runch, a trade specials with the Center for Strategic
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and International Studies in Washington. You may get cars that
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are not as good as the ones you're getting now.
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Job games from reshored manufacturing may disappoint. Thanks to rapidly
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changing technology, autoparts factories are far more productive today than
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they were during the outsourcing heyday of the nineteen nineties,
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meaning any new factories will need fewer workers than they
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did in the past, and sticker shock may be coming
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to local new car lots. The tariffs imposed today will
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make it more expensive to produce and sell cars in
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the United States, ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options
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for consumers, and fewer manufacturing jobs in the United States,
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said Jennifer Safin Stafavian president and CEO autos Drive America,
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which represents the US operations of foreign carmakers. Trump also
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said Wensday that he would consider lowering the tariffs in
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the United States charges for Chinese imports if the Chinese
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government agrees to help sell the video sharing platform TikTok
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to a US owner. The auto industry has long been
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a preoccupation for the president. In twenty eighteen, he threatened
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tariffs on European cars if the European Union did not
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lower its barriers to imported vehicles from the United States.
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At the time, German officials grew frustrated trying to explain
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to the President that European consumers had little appetite for
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Detroit's big pickup trucks in sport utility he vehicles, which
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were a poor fit for the continent's narrow streets. The
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EU imposes a ten percent tax on American cars, while
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the US tariffs on vehicles from Europe is just two
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point five percent. Under pressure from Trump in recent weeks,
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European officials have suggested the block could lower its levee
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to match the US figure. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Karney
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and veiled a proposal to strengthen Canada's auto sector with
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the two billion dollar Strategic Response Fund. Carney, who is
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leading Canada's Liberal Party in elections next month, called for
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developing an all in Canada network for auto parts manufacturing
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to build more car parts in Canada, limit cross border
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movements of parts during production, and detract investment. Mexico is
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the seventh largest producer of motor vehicles in the world,
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with nearly four million a year rolling off its assembly
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lines for manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford, Stalantis, and Volkswagen.
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Its industry is heavily export oriented, and nearly eighty percent
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of Mexican auto exports went to the United States in
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twenty twenty four, according to Mexico's Government of Statistics Agency.
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The industry is vital to Mexico's economy and accounts for
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four point seven percent of gross domestic product and nearly
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twenty two percent of manufacturing GDP. According to trade groups,
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it generates more than two million jobs in Mexico a year.
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Much of Mexico's trade deficit with the United States comes
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from sales of passenger vehicles and parts. The next article, JD.
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Vance in Signal Chat cements his role as skeptic of
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foreign intervention. Foreign policymakers worry that the Vice president embodies
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a potentially permanent shift in the United States approach to
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European ally. And there's a picture of Vice President Vance
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walking to a meeting at the Capitol on March eleventh.
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The Vice President has repeatedly argued that European nations have
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been coasting on US defense spending. You see him in
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between a gentleman looking back to him, a Capitol policeman,
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and he is on the sort of left side, and
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on the right side are two other members of Congress,
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and behind them, I suppose another member of Congress, and
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then they're on steps somewhere within the Capital. The articles
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by Natalie Allison and Michael Birnbaum and a chain of
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private messages among President Donald Trump's top national security officials.
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Vice President JD. Vance appeared even behind the scenes to
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be serving as one of the administration's most consistent skeptics
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of foreign intervention, a key component of Trump's America First platform.
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The dynamic has been on display in rankers encounters in Europe,
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in an angry Oval office meeting with Ukraine's leader, in
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blistering assessments of US allies during Vance's public appearances, and
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now inside a private group chat that plans to bomb
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Yemen's Huti militants. All of it has international polym policymakers
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scrambling to adjust their strategies. Diplomats, ministers, and other senior
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officials abroad ozeroing in on Vance as one of their
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biggest challenges as they confront how to handle Trump's second term.
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They say Vance appears to be the most committed in
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Trump's inner circle to scaling back international commitments. The ideological
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viewpoints contrast with what these leaders say is Trump's more
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transactional nature. The president, they felt could be swayed with flattery,
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US investments and other deals that he could present as
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the easy victories may its is a trickier counterpart and
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more skeptical of them. In ways they can do little
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to address. Mindful that the vice president could be Trump's
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successor in twenty twenty nine, some officials say Vance's policies
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could be emblematic of a deeper and more permanent shift
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in how the United States operates in the world, one
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that extends even beyond the massive disruption that Trump has
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already created.
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Speaker 2: There is a battle.
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Speaker 1: Going on within the party of a foreign policy and
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there was a little window in that signal Chat said
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Kelly Bokhara, follows a senior adviser at the Quincy Institute
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for Responsible Statecraft, a group that advocates a more restrained
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role for US military engagement in the world and has
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host advanced for foreign policy discussions. I was heartened to
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see that ged Advance was at least providing some rag teaming,
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some pushback on what seemed to be another unauthorized military
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action against another country, Wallows said in the text thread
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with Trump's top national security vivisors on the encrypted chat
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app app signal, which was first published by the Atlantic.
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They had stood at among a raft of senior administration
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officials by raising a red flag of concern about the
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planned attacked on the huties which began to unfold March fifteenth,
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Dvance told the group he would be out of town
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for most of the day, visiting a manufacturing facility in Michigan,
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a trip intended to highlight his and trump Stated commitment
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to bringing jobs back to the United States. But I
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think we are making a mistake, Vance said to the
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group about the bombing. According to the text messages obtained
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by The Atlantic, Vance went on to explain that the
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hooties were interfering much more with Europe's trade in the
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Suez Canal than with that of the US, and it
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would be hard to explain to the public why it
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was necessary for the US to get involved. People close
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to Vance have noted that the Vice President, apparently unaware
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that a journalist was on the thread, committed in the
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group text to keep private his reservations about the operation,
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and said he would support the plan if to Sence
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Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials involved believed they should
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move forward. That didn't stop him from raising concerns with
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the others on the chain about whose need to benefit
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the most from the operation, if Trump's foreign policy would
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come across as inconsistent, and if US officialists were acting
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too quickly. Vance was open to a strike on the
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Hutis despite being skeptical of taking action immediately, and was
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not suggesting that conducting one should be off limits altogether.
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According to a person of knowledge of his position, who,
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like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition
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of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly
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on the matter, had Vance been adamantly opposed to taking action,
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he would have been more insistent, the person said. And
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when Hegsath sent text messages shortly before the bombings outlined
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the specifics of the plans that tax timeline, Vance replied
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with the message of support. I will say a prayer
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for victory, the Catholic convert wrote, But the Vice President
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made clear in his messages that he saw downsides worth
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considering chiefly that Europeans stood to benefit more from the action.
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Speaker 2: I just hate.
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Speaker 1: Bailing Europe and again, Vance wrote. That message came weeks
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after the Vice President delivered a blistering rebuke of European
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officials at the Unique Security Conference in February. This speech
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astonished many of Europe's centrist leaders, especially Germans, who saw
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it as an effort to boost the right wing alternative
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for Germany days ahead of national elections. Like Vance, the
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party is deeply skeptical of migration. Some of its supporters
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have also embraced the extremist label and revelent acts such
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as the stiff arm Nazi salute, which banned in Germany.
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You cannot win a democratic mandate by centering your opponents
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for putting them in jail, Vance told the crowd of
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europe security elite. Frederick Mertz, the center right politician who
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days later led his Christian Democrats to election victory, has
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reacted by saying that Germany can't continue to depend on
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the US nuclear umbrella, upending generations of national policy that
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viewed close Transatlantic relations as core to the country's security
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and identity. Later that month, Vance instigated a public argument
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in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodomia Zelensky that
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ended with administration officials ejecting the Ukrainian from the White House.
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Who should be thanking the president for trying to bring
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an end to this conflict, Vance told zelen sparking the
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fierce exchange. And there is a picture of Ukrainian President
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Volodim Zlensky with his arms crossed, sitting on the edge
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of the chair, sitting next to the president looking downwards,
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sitting on the edge of his chairs with his hands
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folded in front of him in his usual sort of
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v position, and the secretary or Vice President Vance sitting
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on the sofa to their right with his arm pointing
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at Zolensky, with his fingers pointing to Zelensky. The Trump
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administration in particular, Vance has argued repeatedly about how European
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nations have been coasting on US defense spending. People with
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knowledge of Vance's mindset have noted that his comments in
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the text thread echoed those same concerns. Beyond this tough
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on Europe stance, Vance has raised other concerns about the
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downstream effects of such an attack. Oil prices could see
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a moderate to severe spike, he wrote in the signal exchange.
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Vance allies suggested that his frank remarks reflected his desire
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not only to prompt a conversation about ideological consistency for
25:17
consistency stake, but also to look out for Trump's public image. Trump,
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according to multiple officials and the text threat, including Headsath,
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had already given the green light for the mission. I'm
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not sure the President is aware how inconsistent this is
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with his message on Europe right now, Vance wrote, in
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a rare deviation from Trump's position since taking office, they're
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doing so in private. Others downplayed scrutiny of Trump's Advances
25:51
comments by noting that he made the same arguments in
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private that he's already made in public. Vance wanted to
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ensure that Trump had been given all the facts about
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the potential attack, including that European nations stood to benefit
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more from it than the US, said the second person
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with knowledge of his intentions. Vance was seeking input from
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his colleagues, the person said about whether they also shared
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concerns over how well briefed Trump had been, but he
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ultimately trusted the rest of the group's consensus. The person added.
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Trump has backed Vance's skeptical approach to Europe in the
26:30
days since the conversation was published. Trump believes that Europe
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has been, as the Vice President put it, freeloading on
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the backs of American taxpayers and off the backs of
26:41
the United States of America, and he wants to ensure
26:46
that Europe pays their fair share. The White House Press
26:51
Secretary Caroline Levitt said Wednesday, let me put Trump believes
27:00
that Europe has been, as the Vice president put it,
27:02
freeloading on the backs of American taxpayers and off the
27:06
backs of the United States of America, and that he
27:09
wants to ensure that Europe pays their fair share. That
27:13
is a quote from Press Secretary at Caroline Levitt Wednesday.
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Trump's focus on trade imbalances has many US allies led
27:23
many US allies to settle on a formula they hoped
27:26
would curry his favor major purchases of US made weaponry
27:32
that would boost US jobs while bolstering their defenses at
27:35
the same time. The approach was successful during Trump's first term,
27:40
in part because many of the president's foreign policy advisors
27:44
came from traditional Republican backgrounds and were not adverse to
27:48
a robust US military presence around the globe. Mike Pence,
27:55
Trump's first term vice president, fit that bill with the
27:59
two wo men are no longer on speaking terms. Pince's
28:04
nonprofit advocacy group Advancing American Freedom issued a policy paper
28:10
Tuesday congratulating Trump on the military action in Yemen. The
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isolationists are wrong, the paper read, Vance is now at
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the forefront of Republican leaders who view US power differently. Many,
28:25
like Vance, are weary of anything that could drag Washington
28:28
into foreign entanglements, even if US jobs could result from
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European orders of US weaponry. Vance has been happy to
28:37
serve the role of provocateur, including this week when he
28:40
plans a visit to you a US military base in Greenland,
28:45
an autonomous territory of Denmark that Trump has said he
28:49
wants to take over. Danish and Greenlandic leaders were riled
28:53
by the original plan for Second Lady Yusha Vance to
28:58
come uninvited to the terran to watch a dog sled
29:01
race in Greenland's capital, but they now say they are
29:06
comfortable with a trip that is confined to the base.
29:10
A third person familiar with Vance's role in the internal
29:14
conversation said that similar to the signal chat, the Vice
29:19
President frequently takes the role of sharp skeptic of decades
29:23
of US policy toward Europe. Three years into the war
29:27
in Ukraine, for instance, Vance has regularly questioned the US
29:31
interest in continuing to ship arms to Kiev, especially when
29:35
major economies such as Germany have continued to be slow
29:38
to increase defense spending, invest in their military industries and
29:43
display as much urgency to help Kiev, as he says
29:47
Washington has. We have to accept that there are trade offs.
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Vance said last year before he was picked by Trump
29:57
to be the vice president, saying that he believed that
30:00
US industrial might be needed to focus on competition with China.
30:08
America cannot manufacture enough weapons to support four different wars
30:12
in four different areas of the world.
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Speaker 2: We just can't do it.
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Speaker 1: Trump allies say his advances. Allies say his approach is
30:22
indicative of a generational shift in US policy and that
30:26
his views are on the upswing. You see younger people
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under the age of fifty five jin X and younger
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who are like, you know what, Those wars sucked.
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Speaker 2: We were sold a bill of goods.
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Speaker 1: We aren't the world's policeman anymore, and we can't be,
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Voho said.
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Speaker 2: And I think he reflects a lot of that.
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Speaker 1: The next article is entitled Atlantic publishes transcript of Trump
31:00
teams signal chat. The episode has infuriated Democrats, who have
31:06
demanded resignations and forced the White House to defend most
31:10
of the administration's top national security figures. The article is
31:16
by Alex Horton, Missy Ryan, and Matt Weiser. And there
31:21
are three individual pictures of Vice President Dave D. Vance
31:26
in his blue suit with a red tie and the
31:29
American flag on his lapel, next to Secretary Defense Secretary
31:36
Pete Hegseth, who is in a blue suit with a
31:39
striped red, white and blue tie and a light blue
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shirt with I don't know what that pin is on
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his lapel, and the white National Security Advisor Michael Walls,
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who is in a dark blue suit with a maroon
31:56
tie and white T shirt a white a white shirt
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with a flag and crossed arrows. The Atlantic on Windsdy
32:09
published a transcript of top Trump administration officials group chat
32:14
discussing an eminent US attack on HUTI militants and Yemen,
32:20
revealing a full accounting of the sensitive information they exchanged
32:24
while the magazine's editor, Jeffrey Goldberg observed their conversation as
32:30
it occurred over an unclassified, commercially available messaging system or
32:36
messaging platform. The newly disclosed material adds to a mounting
32:42
controversy about the decision by the nation's most senior national
32:47
security officials, including President Donald Trump's National Security adviser, his
32:54
secretaries of Defense and State, the Director of National Intelligence,
33:00
the CIA director and Vice President J. D. Vance to
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discuss sensitive military planning using the messaging app Signal, which
33:10
is encrypted but not permitted by government rules for discussions
33:14
of classified information. Further ruling the debate is their total
33:19
lack of awareness that the group accidentally included a journalist.
33:24
Former officials and lawmakers said the negligent tradecraft almost certainly
33:30
violated the government's strict rules by handling of classified information,
33:35
and may have risked exposing operational plans to adversaries as
33:40
American pilots prepared to take off. The episode has infuriated Democrats,
33:46
who have demanded the resignations a Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
33:51
and White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. While leaving
33:56
the White House and in the uncomfortable position of having
34:00
to justify what many former officials and experts have said
34:04
is a stunning lapse in judgment by nearly all of
34:08
Trump's leading national security figures. While most Republicans have refrained
34:14
from questioning the administration over the matter, Senate Armed Services
34:19
Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, told reporters Wednesday
34:24
that he and the group's top Democrat Senator Jack Reid
34:29
of Rhode Island have agreed to seek an expedited report
34:33
from the Defense Department. Inspector General Nicka said, by his estimation,
34:41
the information as published recently appears to me to be
34:45
of such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge,
34:49
I would have wanted it classified. The Administration meanwhile intensified
34:56
its effort to discredit the Atlantics, reporting denying in a
35:00
fuselage of social media posts that anti classified material have
35:05
been shared in the Signal chat and attempting to draw
35:09
distinction between the war plans the Goldberg's initial articles cited
35:15
and the operational information that hegset disclosed to the group
35:20
several hours before the first bombs fell. The newly released
35:25
material includes a message simp at hegseet at eleven forty
35:29
four a m Eastern time on March fifth, the day
35:33
of the Yemen operation, confirming the timeline of the plan
35:38
strikes scheduled to commence roughly two hours later. Hegseeth also
35:43
disclosed the type of aircraft involved, manned AT eighteen jets
35:48
and MQ nine Reaper drones, along with commander's intent to
35:54
employ see based Timahawk missiles and the fact that one
35:58
high provo while target was at his known location. The
36:05
president's defenders have acknowledged that Goldberg was inadvertently included in
36:10
the chat, while seeking to downplay the significance of what
36:14
was shared there. Hag Seth has denied it contained classified information,
36:20
telling reporters during a trip to the Pacific region that
36:23
his role was to provide general updates in real time.
36:29
What he and others wrote had no units, no locations,
36:34
no routes, no flight paths, no sources, no methods, no
36:38
classified information, he said. But veteran national security professionals said
36:45
such advanced information, regardless of how it was described, would
36:50
almost certainly be considered classified, meaning it should not have
36:56
been communicated on a commercial platform. This information was clearly
37:01
taken from the real time order of battle sequence of
37:05
an ongoing operation. It is highly classified and protected.
37:11
Speaker 2: Oh let me read that again.
37:13
Speaker 1: This information was clearly taken from the real time order
37:18
of battle sequence of an ongoing operation. It is highly
37:22
classified and protected, said Mick mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer,
37:31
a Marine called veteran who served as a senior Pentagon
37:34
official during Trump's first term. Next to nuclear and covert operations.
37:42
This information is the most protected. Trump, in remarks in
37:48
the Oval Office, said Woltz Truck responsibility for the situation
37:53
and dismissed scrutiny of the issue as to abate Hegseth's throw,
37:58
Trump said, the secretary is doing a great job. How
38:04
do you bring it, said Seth into it? Trump asked, look, look,
38:09
it's all a witch hunt. Trump indicated he is open
38:14
to an inspected general review of the issue, like others
38:18
in the administration. He pivoted to discussing the operations, which
38:22
officials have described as part of a tougher dance against Iran,
38:27
saying the Iranian fact group is getting their.
38:30
Speaker 2: Hell knocked out of them.
38:34
Speaker 1: Astiks have continued against the Hutis, who function as the
38:37
de facto government across much of human since the March
38:41
fifteenth attacks. Heag, Seth, Vans, and other officials in their
38:46
broadsides against The Atlantic this week have focused the magazine's
38:50
description of what was shared in the chap As war plans.
38:56
Anna would characterize this message threat as a policyscussion, a
39:01
sensitive pologists discussion surely amongst high level cabinet officials and
39:06
senior staff. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters.
39:12
Current and former officials have said that a military jargon,
39:16
the term war plan typically refers to an operational or
39:21
old planned, usually a national high level blueprint developed in
39:27
advance of different scenarios, addressing a host of different dimensions
39:33
for a battlefield effort, which does not typically include information
39:37
such as strike timing or aircraft choice. The information shared
39:42
by Hegseth outlining specific strike procedures late eight details at
39:48
a more granular level, but either type of plan, officials cautioned,
39:54
would be sensitive and highly classified. Moulroy said, one we
40:00
can actually make the argument that the attack plans are
40:03
more sensitive because they are more detailed and specific on time, place,
40:08
and Mamma Goldberg, speaking to MSNBC, said Levitt appeared to
40:14
be playing at some sort of weird semantic game. This
40:21
operational details about a forthcoming attack on an enemy that
40:27
has anti aircraft capabilities. They were leegedly shot down airn
40:31
drones before. If that's not secret classified information, or is
40:37
the most sensitive kind of government information in the world,
40:40
I don't know what it is, Molroy said. According to
40:46
US Central Command, in the period from mid January until
40:50
the March fifteenth attacks, the huties fired a service to
40:54
air missile at a pilated American F sixteen fighter jet
40:58
and also shot at two REP drones, taking one down.
41:02
Anna Bross, the Atlantic Senior Vice president from Communications, said
41:07
the White House continues to attempt to mislead and confuse
41:13
the public. The fact is that there was a massive
41:17
national security breach, she said in a statement.
41:23
Speaker 2: And there is a.
41:24
Speaker 1: Picture of an people standing in front of fighter jets
41:30
on an aircraft carry out. And this is an image
41:33
taken from a hand video provided by the US Navy
41:37
showing an aircraft launching from the USS Harry Truman in
41:42
the Red Sea before s strikes on March fifteenth. The
41:48
transcript published by the Atlantic on Wednesday includes the message
41:52
SIPA Hegseth confirming the precise timeline of planned strikes. Hegseeth wrote,
42:00
and I'm quoting this team update time now eleven forty
42:06
four ET whether it's favorable, just confirmed with consent scentcom
42:14
or set come. We are a go for Mission launch
42:20
twelve fifteen ET F fifteen's launch First Strike Package thirteen
42:29
forty five trigger based F eight teen first Strike windows
42:34
starts target terrorist is at his known location, so should
42:39
be on time. That should be on time in caps. Also,
42:44
strike drones launch in Q nine's fourteen ten more F
42:50
eighteen's launch and Strike second strike passage fourteen fifteen Strike
42:57
dnes on target in caps. This is when the first
43:01
drums were definitely dropped in the caps, pending earlier trigger
43:06
based targets fifteen thirty six F eighteen second strike starts.
43:14
Also first sea based tomahawks launched in caps. More to
43:19
follow per timeline. We are currently clean on O p SEC.
43:27
Godspeed to our warriors.
43:30
Speaker 2: End of quote.
43:32
Speaker 1: Waltz later provided the chat group with information on the
43:35
strike's impact, saying a building had collapsed and that multiple
43:40
targets were believed killed, including a top missile guy who
43:45
was allegedly struck while walking to his girlfriend's building. Waltz wrote,
43:52
referring to Hegseth, US Central Command Chief General Michael eric
43:56
Kiua and the intelligence community Pete Corolla, I see amazing job.
44:07
Of the participants in the group chat included Secretary of
44:11
State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA
44:17
director John Ratcliffe, and several other senior Trump aides. In
44:23
testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Gabbard and
44:28
Ratcliffe echoed Hegseth in asserting that the messages did not
44:31
include classified material. FBI Director Cash Btel has declined to
44:37
say whether his agency would launch an examination of the incident.
44:44
Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters in Jamaica, referred to the
44:48
impact of the March fifteenth operation on Hoodie targets and
44:51
follow up US strikes which have continued since then. I
44:57
have been insured by the Pentagon and everyone involved that
45:01
none of the information that was on there, though not
45:04
intended to be divulged, Obviously that was a mistake and
45:07
that shouldn't have happened, and the White House is looking
45:10
at it, but that none of the information on there
45:13
at any point threatened the operation of the lives of
45:15
as servicemen, and in fact, it was a very successful operation.
45:20
Speaker 2: He said.
45:23
Speaker 1: There are vulnerabilities within signal, including use of link devices,
45:28
and information shared on the app is a high value
45:31
target of Russian hackers. According to a February internal bulletin
45:36
circulated by National Security Agency and obtained by The Washington Post,
45:42
the Hutis, who receive intelligence support from Iran, also have
45:46
a burgeoning defense relationship with Moscow, officials have said. Wes Bryant,
45:52
a former Air Force Special operations targeter who oversaw strikes
45:56
against the Islamic State, said heck saith specificicivity in the
46:03
single chat raises the question of whether he was copying
46:06
or relaying information straight from classified document systems. There could
46:12
have been serious consequences had an adversary and accepted communications
46:16
and disclosed it to the Hiti huti's Bryant said, at
46:20
a minimum, HUTI leaders, if warned, could have sought to
46:24
invade US strikes, forcing a delay on the US military's part,
46:29
or requiring different calculus about civilian deaths. In the worst
46:33
case scenario, he said, the militant group, which generally has
46:38
outdated air defense systems, could target US a partner aircraft
46:42
with enough lead time. He said, there could be a
46:48
highly capable air defense asset that we don't know about.
46:52
It all run by one of our peer adversaries, or
46:56
at least facilitated by one. How Trump's policies have helped
47:03
Russia and Furthered Putin's goals. Months into the new administration,
47:09
a slew of policy changes have helped Russia, including defunding
47:14
US soft power, standing down cyber efforts, and splitting with
47:19
NATO allies Robin Dixon. And there's a picture of President
47:28
Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin walking together at
47:33
the Group of twenty summit in Osaka, Japan, in June
47:38
of twenty nineteen. They are almost in a silhouette form
47:42
against a white background, both in very dark suits. President
47:48
Donald Trump's pivot towards Russia, through a series of concessions
47:53
and policy changes, coupled with threats against Washington's traditional allies,
47:59
is ushering in a world order more amenable to Moscow.
48:02
According to Russian analyst, Trump's talk of taking over the
48:07
Panama Canal, making Canada the fifty first state, and getting
48:12
Greenland one way or another appears to be rupturing the
48:16
post World War two favor order in favor of a
48:19
world without constraints on territorial expansion by force, and one
48:24
closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin's view. Trump is ideologically
48:35
closer to Putin than, say to French President Emmanuel macrom
48:42
Vellislav Serkov, a former deputy premier who helped neuter Russian's
48:48
democracy and engineer the invasions of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine
48:53
in twenty fourteen, told French magazine Lexpress. Peace negotiations, he said,
49:01
will deliver Russia's gold, Ukraine's defeat through either war or diplomacy,
49:07
and its partition in two natural parts. The Russian world,
49:14
he continued, has no borders, and we will expand in
49:18
all directions as God wills and as far as air
49:23
ressources allow. Trump's policy is beneficial to Russia, analyst Mikhailamklyanov
49:33
wrote in the newspaper Zaviznimaya Gazeita, Trump is ready to
49:41
make serious concessions to Russia without demanding reciprocal steps. The
49:46
multipolar world has already arrived, and Trump is already living
49:52
in it.
49:52
Speaker 2: He added.
49:54
Speaker 1: There are major ships by the Trump administration that benefit
49:58
Russia first concessions on Ukraine peace talks. Even before peace
50:07
talks began, the Trump administration publicly rejected key demands from Kiev,
50:12
including NATO membership and keeping conquered Ukrainian territory on the
50:17
negotiating table, in contentious comments that suggested tacit US acceptance
50:23
that Russia has legitimate claims on Ukrainian territory, Trump's Special envoy,
50:29
Steve Wittkoff, said five regions annexed by Moscow were part
50:33
of Russia, and this has always been the issue. Russia,
50:38
he said, has reclaimed them. Witkkoff claimed that annexation referendums
50:45
were proof that and overwhelming majority in the regions want
50:50
to be under Russia and rule. Although you in General
50:54
Assembly in twenty twenty two deployed Russia's attempted annexation of
50:59
US Ukrainian Land as blatant disregard for the Bedrock principles
51:04
on which the organization was founded. Trump's negotiators have also
51:10
promised economic deals with Russia. Once a peace sign is
51:14
peace deals signed a major goal for Prutin that would
51:18
help restore Russia's economy. As peace talks continue, several US
51:24
national security agencies have stopped work countering Russian sabotage, disinformation,
51:33
and cyber attacks. The US Cyber Command was ordered to
51:37
halt planning of offensive cyber operations against Russia. It is
51:42
not clear whether these measures were temporary confidence building measures
51:47
during peace talks or a permanent change. Recent partial ceasefire
51:53
talks for Russia for the Black Sea may grant Russia
51:57
re entry into the swift system for global money transfers
52:01
under the guise of selling grain, a long desire of
52:05
Putin's government. Two, Putin a trustworthy friend. Under Trump, Putin
52:14
is no longer seen as an unpredictable adversary bent on
52:17
ending US global Hedgemei, but a smart, gracious and likable
52:22
friend who, according to Witkof, won't take any more Ukrainian
52:26
territory or attacked Europe in the future. First of all,
52:31
why would they want to absorb Ukraine for what purpose?
52:34
Speaker 2: Exactly?
52:35
Speaker 1: They don't need to absorb Ukraine, he said, despite the
52:39
fact that Russia has used political interference in military aggression
52:44
to subject subjugate Ukraine through it Putin's twenty five year rule,
52:50
I liked him. I thought he was straight up with me.
52:54
I don't reguard Putin as a bad guy. Witkoff also
52:58
said in an interview Friday with that Putin has shared
53:03
his parias status in Washington to be restored as a
53:06
global leader who can help bring stability to the Middle
53:10
East or partner with the United States to export Russian
53:14
Arctic gas to Europe. Trump meanwhile, has accused keV of
53:19
starting the war and called Ukrainian President v Loodlodomir Zelensky
53:23
a dictator, echoing Putin's own claims three end of war
53:30
crime inquiries. Putin was indicted for alleged war crimes by
53:35
the International Criminal Court in twenty twenty three over the
53:39
abduction of thousands of Ukrainian children, but the U s
53:43
State Department this month halted funding for a three year
53:46
project by the Yale University Humanitarian Research Lab to trace
53:51
the fates of thousands of abducted children. It also barred
53:55
any evidence for being sent to the court. Yale's work
53:59
had contributed to six ICC indictments against Russian officials, including Putin.
54:06
Speaker 2: At the time.
54:07
Speaker 1: Researchers lost access to a trove of information, including satellite
54:11
imagery and biometric data, tracking the identities and locations of
54:16
as many as thirty five thousand Ukrainian children, information crucial
54:21
to returning them home. The Trump administration also stopped working
54:26
with the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime
54:29
of Aggression, a multinational investigative unit under EUROS, the European
54:36
Union's Agency for Criminal Justice cooperation to prosecute those responsible
54:42
for Russian Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Four cuts to US
54:48
soft power. For years, the Krimlin has bitterly opposed the
54:53
US to Agency for International Development USAID, Radio Free Europe
54:59
slash Ratio Liberty RFE slash RL, and Voice of America.
55:05
The Trump administration is now working to eliminate all of
55:09
them or slash their funding and staff. The organizations have
55:13
been major tools of American soft power, promoting democratic values,
55:19
countering autocrats, presenting accurate reporting in regents where news is sensoned,
55:24
and helping vulnerable populations. In twenty seventeen, Moscow designated RFEORL
55:33
as a foreign agent, slapping fines on the organization, eventually
55:37
forcing its operations in Russia into bankruptcy. The organization left
55:42
the country in twenty twenty two, but continued to report
55:45
on it. In twenty twenty four, Russia designated it as
55:50
an undesirable organization, meaning anyone who worked for Radio Free
55:56
Europe slash Radio Liberty, was interviewed, donated to it, or
56:02
posted its content could face criminal charges.
56:07
Speaker 2: And e.
56:09
Speaker 1: RFL editor aloser Kermas Shiva was arrested in twenty twenty
56:14
three and jailed, convicted of spreading false news about the
56:18
raw Ukraine. She was freed last year as part of
56:22
a prisoner exchange. Despite the harassment, r RL continued to report,
56:28
but Trump's decision to eliminate it may succeed where the
56:32
Krimlin failed ORL has taken legal action against funding cuts,
56:38
as have Voice of America and USAID employees. Russian Foreign
56:44
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov attacked USAID last month, saying US
56:52
tools of soft power were.
56:54
Speaker 2: Used to keep afloat.
56:56
Speaker 1: The painful and perverted narratives of American ultra liberals used,
57:02
she said, posed more risks than AID and vow that
57:06
Russia would continue to suppress outside attempts to undermine stability
57:11
and security in our common space under the pretext of
57:15
alleged concern for democracy. Many small, independent Russian and Ukrainian
57:22
media outlets were supported by USAID funding and fifth tensions
57:28
with allies. One of Putin's key strategy goals has been
57:32
deweakened NATO and divide the US from Europe, but Trump
57:37
seems to have hit the fast forward button, and Trump
57:40
is up into decades of US foreign policy by pivoting
57:44
to closer relations with Russia while threatening NATO allies and
57:48
pausing US military aid and intelligence cooperation with Ukraine.
57:54
Speaker 2: Trump, who said.
57:56
Speaker 1: UEU was formed to screw the UNI United States, and
58:01
has also threatened to impose twenty five percent tariffs on
58:04
Europe and according to former US National Security adviasor John Bolton,
58:12
Trump almost withdrew from NATO in twenty eighteen, and Trump
58:16
has threatened not to defend NATO allies that don't meet
58:19
a target of spending two percent of their gross semetistic
58:22
product on defense, and in January he.
58:25
Speaker 2: Said the target should be raised to five percent. There
58:29
is a little bit more.
58:29
Speaker 1: Of this article, but I don't have time to read it.
58:35
Thank you for listening. Please continue listening to programming on
58:39
RADIOI throughout the day.
58:42
Speaker 2: See you on Saturday. Bye.