Several Republican presidential candidates on Saturday accused US President Barack Obama and his former secretary of state, Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, of failing in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants as the terrorist attacks in Paris became a focal point of the nomination race.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina criticized the administration for the “murder, the mayhem, the danger, the tragedy that we see unfolding in Paris, in the Middle East, around the world and too often in our own homeland.”
“I am angry that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton declared victory in Iraq in 2011, abandoned all of our hard-won gains for political expediency and contrary to the advice of every general that spoke with them, thus leaving vast swaths of territory and too much weaponry to be gobbled up by ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria],” Fiorina told the Sunshine Summit, a political gathering of Florida Republicans.
Mogul Donald Trump, appearing at a rally in Beaumont, Texas, said the Paris attacks would have been “a much, much different situation” had the victims been armed with guns, as he argued against stricter gun control measures in the US
The billionaire said the US should be more aggressive against IS and called the US “insane” to accept any refugees from Syria in the wake of the Paris attacks.
In an interview with Fox News, Senator Marco Rubio responded to the attacks by saying: “This is a civilizational war. This is a civilizational conflict. This is not a geopolitical grievance that these people have with us. This is, basically, they believe the entire world needs to believe in what they believe in, or you die.”
Ohio Governor John Kasich told the Sunshine Summit that IS must be destroyed with a coalition of US allies because the attacks in Paris were an attack against Western civilization, adding: “Action is required. Time is of the essence. Negotiations, ambivalence or delay are not acceptable.”
“We have seen evil visited upon innocent people once again,” he said. “Our outrage must turn into action and resolve,” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the latest terrorist attacks serve as a cautious reminder why the US border needs to be secured to keep out “radical, evil terrorists.”
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia