NEWS-5641
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=#
00564101
Saudis Mix Politics and Oil Policy
The kingdom’s decision not to freeze production and to blame Iran underscores the regional rivalry
By
BILL SPINDLE and
SUMMER SAID
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi, center right, arrives Sunday at a meeting of oil-producing countries in
Doha, Qatar. PHOTO: JON GAMBRELL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Updated April 19, 2016 6:21 a.m. ET
27 COMMENTS
Saudi Arabia’s decision over the weekend to refuse to freeze oil output without Iran’s participation
indicates a heightened willingness in the kingdom to mix politics and oil policy amid tensions with Tehran
and Washington.
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s intervention into the talks among oil-producing countries in
Doha was seen by analysts as a surprisingly open display of influence over oil policy that risked being seen
as political jab at Iran.
Graphic: Oil’s Freeze and Thaw
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Iran refused to participate in the talks and the deputy crown prince reaffirmed during the meeting that the
kingdom wouldn’t do a deal without Iran, communicating that both via the media and directly to a Saudi
delegation headed by the country’s long-serving oil minister, Ali al-Naimi.
That was a move away from what had seemed to be a growing willingness on the part of the Saudis work
with Russia and many members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It comes just
days before President Barack Obama’s meeting Wednesday with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in Riyadh.
Riyadh is seeking new assurances that the U.S. hasn’t ditched loyal Gulf allies in favor of Iran. Mr. Obama
has made the case that Saudi Arabia and Iran should reduce longtime tensions between their two
countries to help tamp down instability in the Middle East.
ENLARGE
But the kingdom’s decision instead to go it alone on oil-production policy highlighted its increasingly fierce
rivalry with Iran.
“The signs of tensions within the kingdom and the willingness to politicize oil production, the mixed signals
and flip-flopping really have an impact,” said Antoine Halff, an oil economist and fellow at Columbia
University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
Saudi Arabia offered no explanation for the sudden hardening of its position in Doha.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Monday declined to comment on Saudi Arabia’s decision
during what he described as “efforts by oil producers to coordinate their activities to maximize the
economic standing of their individual countries.”
“We’re certainly conscious of the fact that it has an impact on the U.S. economy,” Mr. Earnest said, adding
that the White House prefers the current dynamic of low oil prices over the impact of high oil prices. By
agreeing to attend the meeting, Saudi Arabia seemed to be bending to pleas from desperate fellow OPEC
members, signaling it might agree to some collective output freeze even without Iran.
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Heard on the Street: Oil’s Anti-Freeze: The Saving Grace of a Stalemate
Officials who attended the meeting said they had received assurances a deal was possible even without
Iran participating in the meeting or the freeze.
“We flew here with almost certainty of reaching an agreement,” said Russian energy minister Alexander
Novak. Still, he said, “Russia will not suffer from this.”
Another official who was involved in preparations for the gathering said that Mr. Naimi had said before
coming to Doha that Iran didn’t necessarily have to be a part of the deal. And Saudi officials reviewed
early drafts of such an agreement in Doha the night before the meeting.
For years, Mr. Naimi’s level of autonomy helped make him one of the most powerful figures in global
crude markets. Mr. Naimi, who isn’t a member of the royal family and started working in Saudi Arabia’s
national oil company as a teenager, is an octogenarian and speculation has swirled for years that he could
soon retire.
Since King Salman came to power last year, he has shuffled the kingdom’s economic, financial and oil
management and placed all of it under the direct control of the deputy crown prince, his 30-year-old son.
Prince Mohammed has exerted more direct control over all areas of policy, and spoken out publicly
recently about privatizing Saudi Aramco, the national oil company. He is also in charge of the military, and
oversees an intervention in Yemen against a rebel group that is allied with Iran.
The oil markets, a lifeline for the economies of both Iran and Saudi Arabia, have become one stage where
their struggle is playing out.
The failure to reach a deal in Doha sent oil prices down as much as 6% in early trading Monday before
recovering. U.S. oil prices closed at $39.78 on Monday, down 1.4%. after rallying on news of a Kuwaiti oilworker strike that shut off some output there
On Monday, a top Iranian oil official said it would be an “illusion” to ask Iran to stop boosting its
production. In an interview with Iran’s oil ministry agency Shana, Iran’s OPEC envoy Hossein Kazempour
said countries that tried to derail Iran’s nuclear talks “this time around sought to stop Iran from regaining
its share in the global oil market by pressuring it to freeze its production.”
As Iran ramps up production now, aiming to eventually return to its former production level of four million
barrels a day, it is competing for some of the same buyers as Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia produces more than 10 million barrels of crude oil a day, roughly three times as much as
Iran, which until recently has also had its exports restricted by international sanctions. In recent months,
Iran and Saudi Arabia have been engaged in a fierce price war for customers in Europe and Asian,
matching each others’ discounts. A freeze that left out Iran would likely result in Saudi Arabia losing
market share to the Islamic Republic. And Saudi Arabia has said for almost two years that it wouldn’t cede
market share by cutting or restraining production alone, even if that meant lower prices and potentially
less revenue.
Mr. Naimi made that point repeatedly, including at OPEC meetings and industry conferences.
Iran’s ramp-up is expected to constitute almost all of the production growth in world markets this year,
with the only other country obviously capable of raising production being Saudi Arabia. On Saturday in
Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he saw no sign of a thaw in relations with Riyadh.
The oil glut resulting from an all-out production race pushed prices down by as much as 75%, and has
devastated OPEC members such as Venezuela and hurt the group as a whole. Declining revenues are even
causing stress in Saudi Arabia, which ran through more than 10% of its financial reserves last year alone.
For oil producers around the world, the collapse of what appeared to be an opportunity to curtail
production means more pain. But it also means less oil over time as low prices make cutbacks in drilling
and investment even more urgent, say analysts. Output is already turning down in the North Sea, Latin
America and the U.S.
Bob Sullivan, head of the oil and gas practice for energy consultancy AlixPartners, said that North
American exploration and production companies are already facing a collective cash-flow shortage of $102
billion, and the shortage will grow if prices don’t recover.
“People were holding out hope that this would create momentum,” he said. “Now they realize this isn’t
going to get fixed anytime soon.”
—Benoit Faucon, James Marson and Carol E. Lee contributed to this article.
Write to Bill Spindle at [email protected] and Summer Said at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564102
Obama to Face Uneasy Allies at Gulf Summit
Relations between U.S., Saudi Arabia are at a low point over such issues as Iran, 9/11 bill
By
CAROL E. LEE,
MARGHERITA STANCATI and
COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir at the State
Department in Washington on Feb. 8.PHOTO: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
April 18, 2016 5:09 p.m. ET
22 COMMENTS
President Barack Obama travels to Saudi Arabia this week with relations between the U.S. and a once
tightly allied group of Gulf Arab nations at a low point and on track to worsen.
Differences over Iran, regional conflicts, a looming showdown over oil prices and congressional pressure
over Riyadh’s alleged role in the Sept. 11 attacks have all clouded what was once a vital strategic
partnership.
Mr. Obama’s fourth, and likely last, visit to Saudi Arabia since taking office comes as Riyadh, increasingly
assertive, seeks assurances that the U.S. hasn’t ditched loyal Gulf allies in favor of Iran.
Such concerns within the Sunni kingdom have only intensified in the nine months since the U.S. and other
world powers struck a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. Mr. Obama has attempted to soothe that anxiety
by offering deeper security ties and improved defense capabilities for the Gulf states.
“It is now more apparent than ever that there is a disconnect between the way President Obama sees the
turmoil in the Middle East—and perhaps the world—and the way it is viewed by the Saudi leadership,”
said Fahad Nazer, a senior political analyst at JTG Inc. who previously worked at the Saudi Embassy in
Washington.
The U.S.-Saudi relationship, in particular, is growing more complicated. In a new irritant, U.S. lawmakers
are lining up behind legislation that would allow courts to hold Saudi Arabia liable if the government or
Saudi officials are found to have had any role in or connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks—as some
critics have long alleged.
The Obama administration said Monday it is likely to veto the legislation. But its consideration has
provoked a backlash from Riyadh, which vehemently denies involvement of any kind with the 9/11
plotters.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is working to determine whether to declassify 28 pages
of a congressional report that could provide answers to outstanding questions about the possible Saudi
role.
Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Mr. Obama, said that while the report remains
classified, the Saudi Arabian government hadn’t paid enough attention in the years before 9/11 to those
within the kingdom that were funding al Qaeda either directly or indirectly.
“It’s not that it was Saudi government policy to support al Qaeda, but there were a number of very
wealthy individuals in Saudi Arabia who would contribute sometimes directly to extremist groups,” Mr.
Rhodes said Monday in an interview on “The Axe Files” show.
Also aggravating the diplomatic climate are dropping oil prices, coming as the U.S. is reducing its
dependence on foreign sources through increased domestic shale production. The changing dynamic was
underscored this past weekend when oil producers failed to agree on a production freeze. Those talks in
Qatar collapsed after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran also agree to cap its oil production.
Mr. Obama, who is to arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday, hopes to prod Gulf allies to put more resources into
the fight against Islamic State and to nudge Saudi Arabia toward a potential dialogue with Iran, White
House officials said. He also is seeking diplomatic cooperation from Riyadh to help resolve the conflicts in
Syria and Yemen, where Iran and Saudi Arabia are at odds.
The main purpose of the trip is a summit with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. Expectations are
low for significant announcements on new counterterrorism cooperation or defense measures.
The summit is a follow-up to one Mr. Obama hosted in May 2015 at Camp David in an attempt to gain
tacit support for the Iran nuclear deal.
While the U.S. shares Saudi Arabia’s concerns over Iran’s role in the region, Mr. Obama disagrees with
Riyadh’s preferred approach of isolating it, White House officials say.
Mr. Obama’s expressed desire for a dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia—longtime rivals—has fueled
the perception among the Gulf states that the U.S. is turning away from them and trying to fundamentally
shake up traditional alliances.
Mr. Obama has fueled those concerns by questioning Riyadh’s confrontational stance.
“The competition between the Saudis and the Iranians—which has helped to feed proxy wars and chaos in
Syria and Iraq and Yemen—requires us to say to our friends as well as to the Iranians that they need to
find an effective way to share the neighborhood and institute some sort of cold peace,” Mr. Obama said in
a recently published interview with the Atlantic magazine.
Saudi Arabia fired back, with its powerful former intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, accusing Mr.
Obama of turning his back on the kingdom’s decadeslong friendship with the U.S.
The damaged relationship between Washington and Riyadh could outlast the Obama administration.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton supports the Sept. 11 legislation that Mr. Obama has
promised to veto.
“If Saudi Arabia were complicit in terrorism and people were killed because of it, of course there should be
a right of the families of the victims to go to court,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Monday during a
joint appearance with Mrs. Clinton.
But Mr. Obama, in an interview that aired Monday on CBS, said the legislation would subject the U.S. to
the same kinds of lawsuits the bill’s advocates hope to allow against Saudi Arabia and other countries.
“This is not just a bilateral U.S.-Saudi issue,” Mr. Obama said. “If we open up the possibility that
individuals and the United States can routinely start suing other governments, then we are also opening
up the United States to being continually sued by individuals in other countries.”
Riyadh has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it helped to fund the Sept. 11 attacks, and cited the
findings of a separate commission that investigated the 2001 attacks. “The 9-11 Commission confirmed
that there is no evidence that the government of Saudi Arabia supported or funded al Qaeda,” the Saudi
Embassy in Washington said this month. It also noted U.S. judges have dismissed attempts to file lawsuits
against Saudi Arabia.
Some Saudi officials play down strained ties. “There is no single issue that is more important than the
relationship as a whole,” said Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki,Saudi Arabia’s recently appointed
ambassador to the U.S. “Nothing will destroy that.”
White House press secretary Josh Earnest dismissed a report of Saudi threats to sell Treasury securities or
other U.S. assets if the Sept. 11 legislation passes.
“The Saudi government recognizes that both our countries and our economies benefit from the smooth
functioning of our global financial system,” he said Monday.
In a sign of continuing cooperation, the Saudis took in nine detainees from GuantanamoBay, Cuba, on
Saturday. The move helps Mr. Obama advance one of his last major policy initiatives—closing the U.S.
detention facility there before he leaves office.
“The region itself has gone through the most tumultuous period probably in decades,” said Rob Malley, the
president’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. As a result, the views of the U.S. and some of
its regional partners “haven't always been perfectly aligned” as new challenges were confronted.
The Middle East has changed so much during Mr. Obama’s time in office—from the rise of Islamic State,
the drop in oil prices and the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, to the Arab Spring and the U.S. approach to
Iran—that the next U.S. president will face different challenges anyway.
“It’s not about personal tiffs between leaders,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for
American Progress, a liberal Washington-based think tank.
Write to Carol E. Lee at [email protected], Margherita Stancati [email protected] and
Colleen McCain Nelson at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564103
Israel Discovers First Tunnel Built By Hamas Since 2014
Soldiers destroy it to make sure that militant group can’t use it to launch an attack, army spokesman says
By
ORR HIRSCHAUGE and
RORY JONES
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement,
gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in this August 18, 2014 file photo. PHOTO: REUTERS
April 18, 2016 8:28 a.m. ET
54 COMMENTS
TEL AVIV—Israel’s military said Monday it had discovered the first tunnel built by Hamas from the Gaza
Strip into Israel since 2014, when Israel launched an operation to destroy the Islamist movement’s
underground network.
Soldiers discovered the tunnel this week and destroyed it to ensure Hamas operatives couldn’t use it to
launch an attack, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
The tunnel was between 100 and 130 feet below ground, he said, built with reinforced concrete with
sophisticated communication and electricity lines running its length.
“The working assumption is that Hamas is building more tunnels,” he said.
The discovery comes after months of statements from Hamas that it had resumed digging to mount
assaults on Israeli towns bordering Gaza, which the group has controlled since Israel ended its occupation
in 2005. The group has announced a string of their operatives’ deaths in collapsed tunnels.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed that Israel had found one of its tunnels
and warned of future attacks.
“This is nothing compared with what [we have] been preparing for the enemy,” it posted on its website.
A proposal to fund, develop and construct a system to detect and destroy cross-border tunnels was
presented to an Israeli parliamentary committee in February after public criticism that the government
hadn’t taken the renewed threat seriously.
The system is known as “The Obstacle” and its development is being funded in part by the U.S.
government, which agreed to offer $40 million this year, Israeli and U.S. officials have said.
The discovery comes as Israel’s military faces public pressure over the case of a soldier who fatally shot a
Palestinian in the head as he lay wounded on the ground last month in the occupied West Bank. The
Palestinian allegedly attacked Israeli soldiers before being shot.
The soldier was indicted on a charge of manslaughter in an Israeli military court on Monday, according to
an Israeli army spokeswoman. The soldier wasn't identified in court proceedings.
A rally is expected to be held in Tel Aviv in support of the soldier. The case has pitted Israel’s military,
which has condemned the soldier’s actions, against some conservative members of the government and
Israeli public who hail him as heroic.
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564104
Bomb on Jerusalem Bus Injures 21
Israeli police say most of those hurt were riding a bus that was driving alongside
By
ORR HIRSCHAUGE
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=A bomb exploded on a Jerusalem bus Monday, injuring 21 people and setting fire to nearby vehicles.
Photo: Reuters
Updated April 19, 2016 1:32 a.m. ET
55 COMMENTS
TEL AVIV—A bomb exploded at the back of a bus and injured 21 people as it traveled through southeast
Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli police said.
“We confirm that a bomb went off. We are still examining all possibilities,” said police spokesman Micky
Rosenfeld. Police are investigating how the bomb was planted on the bus.
Few passengers were on the bus when it exploded before 6 p.m. local time, with two seriously wounded,
he said. An initial police statement said the bus was empty.
Most of the injured were riding in a bus that was driving alongside.
“It looked like a terror attack scene,” Mr. Rosenfeld said. “Two buses in flames, many people lying on the
road and heavy presence of emergency services.”
Many of those wounded suffered from burns, said Elad Pas, a paramedic at the scene. Emergency medical
staff reported that others had suffered from smoke inhalation and cuts from shards of glass. “They were
hurting, but were very much aware of the situation,” he said.
Police teams including a bomb disposal specialist combed the surrounding area.
At the time of the blast the buses were driving between an industrial area and a mostly Jewish residential
neighborhood.
The attack comes amid one of the worst periods of violence in Israel in decades. Palestinians have carried
out more than 300 stabbings, shootings and car rammings against Israelis since September. Some 30
Israeli civilians and soldiers have been killed by Palestinians, Israel’s Foreign Ministry says.
Israeli police and security have killed more than 200 Palestinians, mostly alleged attackers, according to
Palestinian officials. They blamed the assaults on frustration with life under Israeli occupation.
But the last month has seen a marked slowdown in the rate of assaults. Israeli officials say four assaults
have occurred so far in April, compared with 20 in March and 78 in October.
Write to Orr Hirschauge at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564105
Brussels Attacks Give New Impetus for More Intelligence-Sharing in Europe
Proposals for a European-style CIA or FBI have long-stalled out of fear of exposing sources
By
JULIAN E. BARNES and
STEPHEN FIDLER
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
So-called radomes at the site of the German Federal Intelligence Service's communications intercept
station in Bad Aibling, Germany, last year. PHOTO: MATTHIAS BALK/DPA/ZUMA PRESS
Updated April 18, 2016 12:48 a.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
BRUSSELS—The failure to break up the network responsible for the Paris attacks before it struck Brussels
has raised urgent questions in European capitals about the weak coordination among their
counterterrorism authorities.
The problems are long-standing: security agencies that jealously guard their secrets and sources, even
sometimes from other agencies in their own country, and a lack of information-sharing between police and
intelligence services.
Across the Continent, smaller European nations have had struggles similar to Belgium, where intelligence
agencies have suffered budget cuts from successive governments. In Brussels, said Alain Winants, the
former head of Belgium’s State Security Service, there is “a lack of an intelligence culture,” adding,
“James Bond could never be a Belgian.”
Mr. Winants argues that bilaterally, European intelligence services are sharing critical information with
Belgium. But European Union and U.S. officials say they believe far more must be done to break down
walls between various intelligence agencies and law enforcement.
RELATED
German Police, Airport Officials Call for Security Review
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has repeatedly called for a European version of the Central
Intelligence Agency. But that proposal and another for a European-style Federal Bureau of Investigation
have been opposed by the U.K., France and Germany—the nations with the best intelligence-gathering
capabilities.
“Nothing happened even after the attacks because most of the countries are of the opinion that
intelligence and police are a national matter for national security,” saidHerman Mattijs, a professor at the
University of Ghent.
Intelligence agencies worry that their sources and methods may be exposed by oversharing, and often
seek to manage relationships bilaterally.
“Culturally intelligence services are quite conservative, for good reason,” said a former senior European
intelligence officer. “Sources are very difficult to obtain and very easy to lose.”
Authorities are also concerned that mixing intelligence and law-enforcement information could lead to
mistrials and procedural errors.
Countries like Germany and the Netherlands, said another former senior intelligence official, are worried
that mixing databases could mean intelligence information ends up being used in court.
“They are very neuralgic about the idea of intelligence having any role to play” in criminal trials, the
former official said.
Still, current and former officials said the threat has encouraged more openness to sharing—if it can be
done efficiently and with proper protections.
The push for better cooperation was reinvigorated after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris
spurred an effort to better track suspected terrorists moving in and out of Europe.
Gilles Kerchove, the EU’s counterterrorism adviser, said he is pushing for a single European database fed
with both intelligence and law-enforcement information.
“When you are confronted not with dozens but hundreds or thousands of Europeans who have gone to
Syria and Iraq,” he said, “you want to be systematic at the border. You want to have a database with all
the information available. And this is not the case” now.
Europol, the region’s law-enforcement coordinating body, includes the 28 EU members and 10 partners
including the U.S. It already holds major police databases.
In an interview in January, Europol director Rob Wainwright said the agency was working “to offer a
confidential and highly protected bridge across the very substantial police databases that we hold…to the
exclusive environment of the intelligence services.”
There were also potential technological solutions that would allow intelligence services to flag information
to law enforcement while protecting sources, he said. “Different countries are more forward-looking than
others, but we have seen a kind of mini-sea change since Paris,” he said.
U.S. and European officials also say that in many cases the same problem that bedeviled Washington
before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks is at play in European countries: “stove-piping,” or the failure of
various intelligence agencies, police forces and prosecutors to share what they know.
“How do we get them to stop stove-piping? How do we encourage more continuity and conversation,” one
U.S. official asked. “If they can’t pull themselves together now, they are never going to be able to do it.”
Prodded by Mr. Kerchove, several European countries, including the Netherlands, Finland and France have
created centers that bring together law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, European officials said.
But current and former officials said the efforts have varying degrees of effectiveness. While the U.K.’s
intelligence services have strong record of coordination and sharing with Scotland Yard, France has had to
undertake a new push in January to make its cross-agency cooperation more effective.
In recent months, U.S. officials and investigators have been meeting in Belgium, France and the
Netherlands to examine how to prod European countries to synthesize their information better and do
more to share it, in an effort to avoid future failures to connect the dots.
Write to Julian E. Barnes at [email protected] and Stephen Fidler [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564106
Securing Peace With Trade and Diplomacy
Presidential candidates on both sides seem to have forgotten the lessons of the post-Vietnam War era.
By
CHUCK HAGEL and
BOB KERREY
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
American troops in Vietnam in 1968. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
April 18, 2016 7:15 p.m. ET
14 COMMENTS
In the middle of a presidential campaign full of bombastic rhetoric, it is worth pausing to note recent
ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of America’s entry into the Vietnam War. The gradual military
buildup in Vietnam means there is no firm date for the start of America’s involvement, but the war and its
aftermath merit fresh attention. That is especially true when America will elect a new president and
commander in chief whose leadership will be crucial in a volatile world.
We served in the Vietnam War at the peak of American involvement, when the U.S. had more than
500,000 soldiers, most of them drafted, in Vietnam. We saw the courage, suffering and commitment of
American soldiers. More than 2.5 million served, and more than 58,000 gave their lives. Hundreds of
thousands were wounded, and hundreds were taken prisoner or missing in action. Vietnamese civilian and
military casualties were at least 20 times greater by the time the conflict ended in 1975.
The years of the Vietnam War defined a generation and influenced and changed America. It profoundly
affected the nation’s culture and politics. No corner of society was untouched. The war framed and
informed a generation and forced the questioning of institutional thinking, particularly in foreign policy.
Nations, like individuals, are products of their experiences. People are conditioned by experiences and can
either learn and adapt or keep making the same fundamental mistakes. The lessons of Vietnam and its
aftermath are especially instructive today.
Beware the simple applause line or bumper-sticker slogan or tweet from political candidates. Beware those
who seem to think that diplomacy and compromise are not essential ingredients of a lasting peace. The
statesmen who built the new economic and political order following World War II, and who sustained the
nation’s long and expensive containment of the Soviet Union, insisted that global trade and multilateral
institutions were critical parts of securing global peace and prosperity.
That approach also characterized the era that followed the American sacrifices of the Vietnam era. After
the war, the U.S. welcomed 1.5 million Vietnamese refugees—immigrants who have prospered and added
tremendous economic, social and political value to the country. Critics who warned against the policy have
been proven wrong.
Vietnamese Communist leaders who are now trying to build that nation’s economy should take note: All
that was needed for their countrymen to produce such success in the U.S. was economic and political
freedom.
After the war, America also began the hard work of making a lasting peace with Vietnam. Consider what
the U.S. has done to preserve the peace in Southeast Asia since the Vietnam War ended. In negotiations
during the administrations of Republican PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush and Democratic President Bill
Clinton, skilled American diplomats helped broker a peace between Vietnam and Cambodia in their longrunning conflict, and a road map to the normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam was
begun. Supported by congressional veterans of the war led by Sens. John McCain and John Kerry, the U.S.
legalized trade with Vietnam and signed a bilateral trade agreement, and sent a former prisoner of
war, Pete Peterson, to Vietnam as the first U.S. ambassador to that country. A Vietnamese highereducation project backed by the State Department’s Fulbright program continues to this day.
Four presidents—two Republicans and two Democrats—have sustained this effort. The bipartisan nature of
the story has lately taken an unfortunate turn with leading presidential candidates of both parties
opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which includes Vietnam among its signatories.
In Barbara Tuchman’s award-winning 1984 book, “The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam,” the
historian (who died in 1989) ends by writing: “A last folly was the absence of reflective thought about the
nature of what we were doing, about effectiveness in relation to the object sought, about balance of
possible gain as against loss and against harm both to the ally and to the United States. Absence of
intelligent thinking in rulership is another of the universals, and raises the question whether in modern
states there is something about political and bureaucratic life that subdues the functioning of intellect in
favor of ‘working the levers’ without regard to rational expectations. This would seem to be an ongoing
prospect.” Wise words at the time, and even wiser words today.
Mr. Hagel, a recipient of two Purple Hearts for service in Vietnam, is a former secretary of defense. Mr.
Kerrey is a recipient of the Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam and, like Mr. Hagel, a former U.S.
senator from Nebraska.
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564107
Bribes for Gun Permits Alleged
Three NYPD officers reassigned as Brooklyn man faces charges for suspected plot to acquire licenses
By
REBECCA DAVIS O’BRIEN and
PERVAIZ SHALLWANI
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=Updated April 18, 2016 8:55 p.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
A member of a volunteer Brooklyn security force that works closely with city police was charged Monday
for allegedly paying officers in the New York Police Department to expedite gun-permit applications, the
latest development in a burgeoning federal corruption probe.
Alex “Shaya” Lichtenstein was charged with one count each of bribery and conspiracy as part of a threeyear scheme in which he claimed to have secured more than 150 gun permits through bribes to officers,
including for people who otherwise might have been rejected because of arrest records, prosecutors said.
Mr. Lichtenstein, 44 years old, was arrested at his home Sunday in Pomona, N.Y., and appeared in
Manhattan federal court Monday afternoon, but wasn’t required to enter a plea. He was released on a
$500,000 bond and had to surrender his travel documents and firearms.
“We believe the facts disprove the government’s claims,” said Mr. Lichtenstein’s lawyer, Richard A. Finkel.
Moments before the federal complaint was unsealed, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said he had
transferred three officers assigned to the police force’s License Division, including a top commander, until
the investigation is complete.
MORE COVERAGE
Read the Government’s Complaint Against Alex Lichtenstein
Businessman Helped Steer $10 Million of Union Money to Hedge Fund (April 14)
NYPD Disciplines Manhattan Commander Amid Federal Corruption Probe (April 13)
De Blasio Defends Fundraising as Probe Widens (April 10)
Former New York Restaurant Owner Charged With Running $12 Million Ponzi Scheme (April 8)
Four NYPD Officers Disciplined as Part of Federal Corruption Probe(April 7)
Deputy Inspector Michael Endall, head of the licensing division, was reassigned to an administrative
position. Roy Richter, president of the union that represents Deputy Inspector Endall, said he is an “honest
cop who is sickened by what he reads in the federal complaint.”
Sgt. David Villanueva and Officer Richard Ochetal were placed on modified assignment, stripped of their
badges and guns, and transferred from the licensing division, which processes gun-permit applications.
Unions for the two men didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors from the public-corruption unit of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office said NYPD
investigators on Sunday seized gun permits from the licensing unit that are associated with the sergeant
and Mr. Lichtenstein and were in the process of reviewing them.
Mr. Lichtenstein is a member of the Borough Park branch of Shomrim, an unarmed patrol unit in the city’s
Orthodox Jewish communities that works with the NYPD on cases including criminal activity and missing
people.
According to the complaint, in 2013 an unnamed commanding officer introduced Mr. Lichtenstein to the
NYPD licensing division, the unit that investigates and processes gun permits in the city. Over the next few
years, Mr. Lichtenstein developed “substantial connections” to Sgt. Villanueva, who had been assigned to
the unit for more than a decade.
Prosecutors said that early 2016, Mr. Lichtenstein was “banished” from the licensing division, where
officers reported seeing him frequently sitting with Sgt. Villanueva, after Deputy Inspector Endall learned
Mr. Lichtenstein charged customers $18,000 to push the NYPD for their gun-license applications.
In an interview with a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent on Sunday, according to the complaint,
Officer Ochetal said Mr. Lichtenstein made payments to him in the form of “lunch money,” about $100 per
license application he processed.
According to the complaint, the investigation into Mr. Lichtenstein began earlier this month after he
approached an officer in the division and offered cash for help in obtaining licenses for his clients.
Mr. Lichtenstein told the officer that he charged customers thousands of dollars in exchange for
applications that he was able to get approved using connections at the licensing division, but that those
connections recently had cut him out, prosecutors said.
The officer reported the request to internal investigators at the NYPD, prosecutors said.
The NYPD along with the FBI set up and recorded a meeting between the officer and Mr. Lichtenstein last
week in which he offered the officer $6,000 for each license application he could help push through the
License Division, prosecutors said.
During the meeting he told the officer he had obtained about 150 licenses for clients who used his
services, and that his clients needed help because the License Division would otherwise reject applications
“for the biggest stupidity,” including moving violations, prosecutors said.
Mr. Lichtenstein boasted that he was able to use his connections to forgo the full investigation, which can
take up to a year and involves an exhaustive background check before a gun permit is approved,
according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, Mr. Lichtenstein said to the officer, “I want to repeat myself, I’m not bribing
you.” The officer said: “Shaya I’m not an a--hole, of course you’re bribing me.”
Mr. Lichtenstein patted the officer down to see if he was wearing a wire before the recorded meeting, the
complaint stated.
According to the complaint, in 2013 Mr. Lichtenstein paid the gun-license application fee for an unnamed
person with a lengthy arrest record. The person had been in four car accidents, had been arrested for
forgery and been the subject of four domestic-violence complaints.
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When Mr. Lichtenstein was arrested Sunday, investigators found photos of him with the NYPD
commanding officer who was known to be friends with Sgt. Villanueva and found an NYPD detective shield
with the “liaison” imprinted on it in his wallet, even though he had no official role as a liaison with the
department.
The reassignments mean that nine members of the NYPD, including six top commanders, have been
disciplined in connection to the long-running probe into the department that involves the exchange of gifts
for police perks including protection and escorts.
The wide-ranging federal probe of the NYPD is also considering, among other things, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
campaign fundraising and the financial dealings of the city correctional officers’ union.
Mr. de Blasio has defended his fundraising activities, saying everything his campaign has done is
“appropriate.” Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, has denied
wrongdoing.
Write to Pervaiz Shallwani at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564108
Taliban Starts Spring Offensive With Kabul Truck Bomb
At least 28 killed and more than 300 injured in explosion outside government building
By
JESSICA DONATI and
EHSANULLAH AMIRI
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=Dozens were killed and more than 300 wounded after a bomb exploded outside a Kabul government
building on Tuesday.
Updated April 19, 2016 8:18 a.m. ET
3 COMMENTS
KABUL—The Taliban claimed responsibility for a bombing outside a Kabul government building that Afghan
officials said killed at least 28 people and wounded more than 300 others, the deadliest attack in the
capital in months.
The Islamist militant group said it had detonated a truck laden with explosives, though the report couldn’t
be immediately confirmed by Afghan officials. It announced the start of its annual spring offensive last
week and has since intensified attacks across the country.
Tuesday’s bombing targeted a compound used by Afghanistan’s Secret Service, flattening part of its
perimeter wall. Taliban gunmen disguised in military uniform stormed it shortly after the explosion and
continued to battle Afghan security forces for a few hours. The fighting ended in the early afternoon when
Afghan government officials said two gunmen had been shot dead.
The blast shattered buildings and windows in the area, trapping people under the rubble. Hospitals around
the city were inundated.
The health ministry said that most of the wounded suffered light injuries from shrapnel and debris.
An official at a Kabul military hospital said the majority of the 65 patients it had received were employees
of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency.
Tuesday’s blast was deadliest attack in Kabul since August, when more than 50 people were killed in three
separate bombings in Kabul, including a late-night attack on a U.S. forces base that left one service
member dead.
Security has deteriorated in the city over the past year, with U.S. security officials in Afghanistan
recording more than 60 bombings in the latter half of 2015 and an increase in the use of truck bombs.
In December, one such attack targeted compounds used by U.S. government contractors, destroying
security walls and buildings and leaving a 49-foot crater. Two people were killed and close to 40 were
wounded.
—Habib Khan Totakhil contributed to this article.
Write to Jessica Donati at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564109
Senate Set to Pass Bipartisan FAA Bill Without Air-Traffic Control Privatization
The bill would beef up airport security and promote widespread use of commercial drones
By
ANDY PASZTOR
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=April 19, 2016 9:02 a.m. ET
1 COMMENTS
The Senate is expected to approve a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that beefs up
airport security, promotes widespread use of commercial drones and streamlines certification of new
safety systems for private planes.
The measure, which has prompted broad bipartisan support, also increases consumer protections for
passengers and paves the way for tougher mental-health screening of commercial pilots.
But as expected, it doesn’t follow the lead of House Republicans who want to shift the agency’s air-traffic
control system and some 38,000 employees under the control of an independent, nonprofit corporation.
Passage is anticipated later Tuesday.
Many of the provisions tightening vetting of airport employees and beefing up public safety in areas before
security screenings are partly a reaction to recent terrorist attacks, particularly last month’s bombing of
Brussel’s main international airport and the suspected bombing of a Russian airliner over Egypt four
months earlier. Other parts of the final package reflect pent-up industry and consumer demand for
expanding drone flights nationwide, including an aggressive timetable to permit package deliveries by
unmanned aircraft within two years.
But overall, the final language reflects the Senate’s determination to enact a more moderate bill than
legislation pending on the other side of Capitol Hill, by rejecting House GOP ambitions for a sweeping
overhaul of the structure and financing of the air-traffic control network.The House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee previously approved a multiyear bill featuring such changes, but its prospects
are increasingly uncertain.
Even some staunch supporters of the House legislation recently acknowledged that the Senate’s strategy
of hammering out a more limited bill—calling for an 18-month extension and making incremental changes
to everything from bomb-detection equipment used overseas to greater disclosure of U.S. ticketing fees—
appears likely to prevail.
Sen. John Thune, the South Dakota Republican and chairman of the committee that drafted the measure,
has said it contains “the most passenger-friendly provisions, the most significant aviation safety reforms
and the most comprehensive aviation safety enhancements” of any FAA bill “in recent memory.”
The White House has raised objections to the relatively short 18-month time span and ambitious deadlines
to swiftly incorporate unmanned aircraft into the nation’s airspace, but industry officials and lawmakers
have said the Obama administration ultimately is likely to grudgingly accept the Senate’s policy choices.
With the FAA’s funding and program authority due to expire in July, all sides are under pressure to avoid a
repeat of numerous interim extensions in previous years.
During roughly two weeks of debate, the Senate rejected amendments for increased legroom in jetliner
cabins, as well as longer mandatory rest periods for cargo pilots and fast-track FAA rules for more crashresistant helicopter fuel tanks. But in a long-sought victory for pilot union leaders, the Senate bill does
incorporate language calling for jetliner manufacturers to install additional cockpit security
barriers, consisting of movable metal gates that can be deployed when pilots temporarily step away from
the controls.
Similar to the House bill, Senators want to ensure that passengers receive a refund for fees when checked
bags are delayed or missing, or for money paid for specific seat assignments that end up being
unavailable.
Rep. Bill Shuster, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the House transportation panel, has said he is
studying the Senate bill and looking at options. House Democrats are largely opposed to wholesale airtraffic control changes, with some powerful GOP committee chairmen in the House joining the fight
against Rep. Shuster’s measure.
The Senate bill, among other things, calls for increased funding for enforcement efforts to keep drones
away from airports; authorizes limited drone flights at night and outside the view of operators; and calls
for updated FAA guidance to commercial pilots spelling out the hazards of undue reliance on cockpit
automation.
The Senate also is expected to mandate that the FAA pay more attention to cybersecurity threats when
planning traffic-control modernization. And for the first time, the bill would require the agency to
specifically detail economic benefits derived by airliners and other users of the nation’s airspace from
mandated installation of updated equipment to reach that goal. The issue has been a point of contention
for many years between regulators and airline industry officials.
With regard to transportation of certain lithium batteries in the cargo holds of passenger planes, the bill
calls for the FAA to work with industry representatives, pilot groups and international safety experts “to
facilitate continued shipment of medical device batteries consistent with high standards of safety.”
—Kristina Peterson contributed to this article.
Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564110
Germany Arrests Five Suspected of Anti-Immigrant Attacks
Prosecutors say suspects allegedly played role in terror group
By
RUTH BENDER
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
The burnt-out former Husarenhof hotel in Bautzen, Germany, which was supposed to become a refugee
shelter before the fire in February. Police suspected arson. Prosecutors have made arrests on Tuesday
connected with a spate of arson and other attacks on immigrants and migrant
shelters. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
April 19, 2016 9:21 a.m. ET
0 COMMENTS
BERLIN—German prosecutors arrested five people suspected of attacking refugees and belonging to a
right-wing terrorist group, the latest sign of how the authorities are grappling with mounting anti-foreigner
sentiment after Germany took in more than a million migrants last year.
The five German nationals, aged 18 to 38 years, are suspected of playing a role in forming the so-called
“Freital Group,” a terror group which attacked refugee camps with explosive devices and planned further
attacks, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
A total of eight people are suspected of setting up the group in July last year. The group is named after a
suburb of Dresden that has been the scene of a series of violent attacks on migrants. Four of the members
are suspected of attempted murder, the federal prosecutor’s office said.
Fears over how Germany will cope with the more than one million asylum seekers who arrived here last
year have coincided with a surge in violent attacks against migrant shelters, indicating that Germany’s farright movement has become more active after years of decline.
In 2015, the number of arson attempts and other attacks on refugee shelters surged to 1,029 from 199 in
2014, statistics from the interior ministry show. Police determined extremist right-wing motives were
behind 920 of the attacks reported against such shelters last year, the interior ministry said.
ENLARGE
A file photo of a sign for the town Freital in eastern Germany. German prosecutors arrested five people on
suspicion of links with a right-wing terror group, called the “the Freital group” after a Dresden suburb,
among other crimes. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The wave of violence has accelerated since the start of the year, even if the number of incoming migrants
dropped, with authorities counting 337 attacks alone so far in 2016.
The federal prosecutor said the “Freital Group” is suspected of being the authors of three attacks: two on
refugee shelters in Freital, and one against a housing project in the city of Dresden. The attacks took place
last fall when the influx of migrants to Germany was at its peak, with some 10,000 arriving daily.
In one attack in late October, seven members of the group are suspected of setting off powerful
firecrackers on three windows of an asylum shelter, injuring one man, the prosecutors said. So far,
attacks on migrants haven't led to any deaths.
The federal prosecutors said the group is suspected of having planned more attacks. Police found more
than 100 powerful firecrackers in searches in the eastern German state of Saxony, home to Dresden.
Highlighting the tense political climate in the state and its capital, Lutz Bachmann, co-founder of the antiIslam movement European Patriots against the Islamization of the Occident—known by its German
acronym Pegida—faced trial Tuesday for hate speech.
Mr. Bachmann is accused of calling refugees “scumbags,” “animals” and “trash” on a publicly available
Facebook page, according to the Dresden court.
Mr. Bachmann last year apologized publicly for the remarks and said he would resign from the movement
after photos of him posing as Hitler surfaced on the Internet along with the derogatory remarks he had
made regarding the refugees.
But he quickly resumed an active role in Pegida which politicians have accused of fueling xenophobia and
resentment against immigrants and asylum seekers.
Write to Ruth Bender at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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00564111
NATO to Discuss Russia’s Risky Military Maneuvers
Discussions to follow Russian interceptions of a U.S. plane and a ship in the Baltic Sea
By
JULIAN E. BARNES
The Wall Street Journal. Online Edition. Friday, July 28, 17. -=-
ENLARGE
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stresses the importance of open military lines of
communication. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
Updated April 19, 2016 6:02 a.m. ET
12 COMMENTS
The interceptions of a U.S. Air Force plane and a Navy destroyer by Russian warplanes last week were
unsafe and highlight the need for Wednesday’s discussion between Russia and the Western allies, the
head of North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Tuesday.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, said the alliance will discuss Russia’s risky military
maneuvers and related issues when allied ambassadors meet with Russian officials Wednesday.
The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels will be the first since June 2014, when the alliance cut
off practical cooperation with Moscow following the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
“The incidents we have seen in the Baltic Sea over the last week with the unprofessional and unsafe
behavior of Russian planes close to an American ship and an American plane underline the importance of
open military lines of communication, predictability and risk reduction,” Mr. Stoltenberg said ahead of a
meeting of European Union defense ministers in Luxembourg.
According to the U.S. account on Monday and Tuesday of last week, Russian warplanes and a military
helicopter repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook , as it carried out operations in the Baltic Sea. In
another incident on Thursday, a Russian fighter planeflew over the top of a U.S. reconnaissance plane.
The Russian pilot, approaching from the left side, rolled his jet over the top of the Air Force plane.
Mr. Stoltenberg said Tuesday the incidents were dangerous. U.S. military officials said they are protesting
the incidents.
The Russian military has disputed the U.S. accounts of the interceptions. Russian officials have said U.S.
forces have started operating closer to Russia’s borders.
The U.S. ship and plane were operating in international waters and airspace. But there is little doubt the
incidents were warnings by the Russian military for the U.S. to keep its forces away from Kaliningrad, the
Russian exclave that is home to critical military bases.
In a roundtable with reporters last week, Alexander Grushko, Moscow’s ambassador to NATO, accused the
alliance of building up forces in Poland and the Baltic region, an increase of forces he said was unjustified.
“In the long run, NATO has to choose what kind of relationship it wants to have with Russia,” he said. “I
don’t see any possibility for the improvement of our relationship if NATO continues to move on the path of
deterrence.”
NATO, Mr. Grushko said, was abandoning the idea that security isn’t guaranteed by increased number of
tanks. The western allies, he added, are in violation of a 1997 agreement not to permanently station
substantial numbers of combat forces in Eastern Europe.
“It was a common assumption that European security could not be based on more military assets, but, on
the contrary, on restraint,” Mr. Grushko said.
Mr. Stoltenberg disputed the idea that NATO was the aggressor or had triggered an arms race in the
Baltic. NATO’s reinforcement in Eastern Europe, he said, was a response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
“NATO does not seek a new Cold War,” Mr. Stoltenberg said. “NATO does not want a new arms race. What
NATO has done when it comes to reinforcement of our collective defense is defensive and is
proportionate.”
Both Russian and NATO officials have played down the chances of any concrete agreement or progress
from Wednesday’s meeting. But Mr. Stoltenberg has been pushing for the meeting since December and
said the dialogue was important.
“It is very important we have political dialogue especially when times are difficult, as they are now,” Mr.
Stoltenberg said. “When tensions are high, the need for open channels of dialogue, for predictability,
for transparency, is more important.”
RELATED
Russian Warplanes Buzz U.S. Navy Destroyer(April 13, 2016)
NATO Looks at Stationing More Troops Along Eastern Flank(Oct.28, 2015)
Q&A With Russian NATO Ambassador*Feb.14, 2016)
Write to Julian Barnes at [email protected]
Copyright 2016. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.