6 Ways Trump’s Intelligence Chiefs Contradicted Him
January 29, 2019
Trump’s top intelligence chiefs testified before Congress today about the intelligence community’s newest assessment of global threats. In their report and testimony, the nation’s top intelligence officials contradicted Trump on some major foreign policy and national security issues. See for yourself:
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North Korea is not moving toward complete denuclearization.
Washington Post: “Coats, speaking on behalf of the assembled officials, said that North Korea was ‘unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities,’ which the country’s leaders consider ‘critical to the regime’s survival.’ That assessment threw cold water on the White House’s more optimistic view that the United States and North Korea will achieve a lasting peace and that the regime will ultimately give up its nuclear weapons.”
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Iran is not in violation of the Iran deal.
Washington Post: “Conversely, the intelligence officials assessed that the government of Iran was not trying to build a nuclear weapon, despite the Trump administration’s persistent claims that the country has been violating the terms of an international agreement forged during the Obama administration. Officials told lawmakers that Iran was in compliance with the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”
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Russia interfered in our election.
Washington Post: “Officials also warned, as they did last year, about Russia’s intention to interfere with the U.S. political system via ‘information warfare’ waged largely on social media, which stokes social and political tensions to divide Americans. Other countries are likely to employ those tactics, as well, Coats said.”
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ISIS is not defeated.
CNN: “Despite repeated claims by the Trump administration that ISIS has been defeated, US intelligence assesses that the terror group ‘very likely will continue to pursue external attacks from Iraq and Syria against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.’”
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Climate change is real and a national security threat.
Worldwide Threat Assessment: “The United States will probably have to manage the impact of global human security challenges, such as threats to public health, historic levels of human displacement, assaults on religious freedom, and the negative effects of environmental degradation and climate change.”
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The border wall is not a national security necessity.
New York Times: “Perhaps the strongest rebuke of Mr. Trump’s security priorities comes in what is missing from the threat assessment: any rationale for building a wall along the southwestern border, which Mr. Trump has advertised as among the most critical security threats facing the United States. The first mention of Mexico and drug cartels comes on Page 18 of the 42-page report, well after a range of other, more pressing threats are reviewed.”