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US onAir – 1/31/22

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Associated Press, Edith M. Lederer,

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-russia-united-states-europe-linda-thomas-greenfield-fc3d700af4518e643ce520ba066a4885

MIDDLE EAST … Israel supports UAE security needs, president says on first visit
ReutersJanuary 30, 2022

Israel’s president, making his first visit on Sunday to the United Arab Emirates, said his country supports the Gulf state’s security needs and wants more countries in the region to join its new detente with the Arab world.

The UAE, along with Bahrain, signed U.S.-brokered normalisation agreements with Israel, dubbed the “Abraham Accords”, in 2020. The two Gulf states and Israel share concerns about Iran and its regional allies.

Isaac Herzog discussed security and bilateral relations with the UAE’s de facto ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Other GOP members have also spoken out against Trump’s comments, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

“I do not think the president should have made — President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons,” Collins told ABC News. “We should let the judicial process proceed. January 6 was a dark day in our history.”

GOP MEMBERS … speak out against Trump’s comments to pardon Jan. 6 rioters
Audacy, Joe HitiJanuary 31, 2022

On Sunday, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said that he disagrees with the former president on possibly letting those who stormed the Capitol off the hook.

The Republican governor shared his comments on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that those being charged need to see justice just like those responsible for damaging cities following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

“The folks that were part of the riots and, frankly, the assault on the US Capitol, have to be held accountable. There is a rule of law,” Sununu said to CNN.

RUSSIA … US exchange harsh words over Ukraine at UN
Associated Press, Edith M. LedererJanuary 31, 2022

Russia accused the West on Monday of “whipping up tensions” over Ukraine and said the U.S. had brought “pure Nazis” to power in Kyiv as the U.N. Security Council held a stormy and bellicose debate on Moscow’s troop buildup near its southern neighbor.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield shot back that Russia’s growing military force of more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders was “the largest mobilization” in Europe in decades, adding there has been a spike in cyberattacks and Russian disinformation.

“And they are attempting, without any factual basis, to paint Ukraine and Western countries as the aggressors to fabricate a pretext for attack,” she said.

PUTIN … is rewriting history to justify his threats to Ukraine
Vox, Ellen Ioanes January 30, 2022

As Russian troops mass on the Ukrainian border and worries of an invasion grow, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to push a familiar Russian line about the conflict: that Ukraine belongs to Russia and that the two are “one people — a single whole.”

Specifically, much of Russia’s political positioning to launch an incursion into Ukrainian territory is based on Putin’s claim that Ukraine — like Russia, a former Soviet state — is an extension of Russia, the “little brother” that has been led astray by the West and must be reincorporated into the family. Thus, he sees Ukraine’s increasing westward turn as a provocation, by both Ukraine and NATO.

In reality, however, Ukraine has long been distinct from Russia, experts told Vox, and Putin’s current mythologizing of the Russia-Ukraine relationship fits a pattern of falsehoods designed to reconstitute imperial glory, and more importantly, to shield Putin from the threat of democracy in former Soviet republics — and possibly in Russia itself.

PRESIDENT BIDEN … is not failing or flailing
CNN, Kirstin PowersJanuary 23, 2022

Here’s an apparently unpopular opinion: Joe Biden is not failing or flailing. His presidency is not in peril.

It’s hard to see this through the blizzard of over-the-top headlines such as, “Biden Can Still Rescue His Presidency,” “How the Biden Administration Lost Its Way” and “Biden’s Epic Failures.”

Everyone needs to take a breath: It’s been one year. These headlines could just as easily read, “Joe Biden Fails to Fix Every Problem in the World in 365 days.”

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