The Streetfighter Starts a Republican Civil War

It has been 16 years since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. All of us likely remember where we were when we found out about the news of that day. It’s incredible how much American life has changed since then: politics, our seemingly never ending conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, technology, and society. As a nation we are still clearly dealing with the aftershocks of that day.

Bull Bannon Storms Through The China Shop: Steve Bannon, a self described streetfighter, slammed the left, the right, the in, the out, and even the Catholic Church in his first extended interview with 60 Minutes since he left his White House position as chief strategist. He also said Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey as FBI director was the biggest mistake in “modern political history.” If that hadn’t happened, he said, there would be no Special Counsel (Robert Mueller) investigating whether Trump obstructed justice in firing Comey.

Bannon, now back as head of Breitbart News, accused congressional leadership of “trying to nullify the 2016 election.” He predicted Trump’s recent move to end DACA, the program that provided temporary relief from deportation for nearly 800,000 young people in the US illegally, coupled with his challenge to Congress to come up with a solution before next March, was a perfect storm that could split Republicans and cost them their House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. When Rose asked whether Bannon’s opposition to the immigration program was true to his Catholic faith, Bannon claimed church leaders relied on illegal immigration to fill pews. Additional Reading: Donald Trump’s rise and the possibility of a new political party.

Look Out, Ukrainian President, This Guy Wants Your Job: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It sure worked Sunday for former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili and a crowd of supporters, who barged past guards at a checkpoint in Shehyni to enter Ukraine from the Polish border. Saakashvili took power in Georgia after a peaceful pro-Western uprising in 2003.  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko invited Saakashvili to be a regional governor to help drive reforms in 2014, after Moscow had annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region and  protests ousted the pro-Russian president in Kiev. Saakashvili was a natural ally for Poroshenko, but he quit in November, accusing Poroshenko of supporting corruption, after which Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship.

Saakashvili has since become one of the Poroshenko’s most vocal critics, and vowed to return to Kiev. When the Polish stationmaster wouldn’t let him travel by train, he took a bus to the border. When guards stopped the bus, causing a big traffic jam, supporters pushed their way through and escorted Saakashvili across. Now Saakashvili has launched a campaign to unseat Poroshenko.

Norwegian Greens Look to “Sp-oil” the Party: When Norwegians go to the polls today, the future of their country’s giant oil and gas industry might prove to be an explosive issue. Recent polls suggest a very close race between a right-wing bloc headed by outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg and a left-wing coalition led by Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre. The Labour Party has slumped in the polls recently, leaving an opening for the Green Party and the Socialist Left party, both pushing for significant curtailing of the oil industry. The Green Party’s platform includes an immediate halt to further oil and gas exploration and the end of the entire industry within 15 years. Polls indicate that the two parties could win 18 seats in the 169-seat Parliament–seats that Labour, a traditional backer of the oil industry, will need if the left finishes with a narrow lead and has to form a government. Further Reading: Both Climate Leader and Oil Giant? A Norwegian Paradox (NYT)

Iraqi Kurds to Vote on Independence from Iraq: Often described as the world’s largest ethnic group without their own homeland, 30 million Kurdish people live in Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Iraqi Kurds will vote on independence from Iraq in a historic referendum scheduled for September 25. However, every major player in the region opposes the vote, which they believe could break up Iraq and further destabilize the region. Baghdad has already stated it will not recognize the vote, Turkey opposes the referendum, and Iran–the largest foreign influence in Iraq–emphasized that its priority is maintaining the unity of Iraq. American officials are concerned that the vote could end the cooperation between Iraqi and Kurdish forces seen as vital to the campaign to defeat the ISIS. Without the support of neighboring countries, “the vote could backfire, failing to achieve independence, and becoming another in a long history of lost opportunities for a long-suffering people.”

Iraq Detains 1,400 Wives and Children of Suspected ISIS Fighters: Iraq is detaining 1,400 foreign wives and children of suspected ISIS fighters in a camp after government forces expelled the militants from Tal Afar in Iraq. The women and children, along with their husbands, surrendered to the Kurdish Peshmerga, who placed the women and children with Iraqi authorities, but kept the men (all presumed to be fighters) in their custody. Many of the women say they are from Russia, Turkey, and Central Asia, and there are also some from European countries. Some of the women, talking to aid workers, described being tricked by their husbands into coming to Iraq. Western officials are concerned about radicalized fighters and/or their relatives returning to their home countries. French officials stated they have requested that those adults found to have been fighters should go on trial in Iraq, while children would benefit from judicial and social services in France.

These Egyptians Aren’t Walking, They’re Struttin’: Egypt’s Chamber of Commerce is thrilled that archaeologists have uncovered another chamber at a necropolis for noblemen and rulers near the Valley of the Kings, on the left bank of the Nile River, near the city of Luxor. Antiquity workers found three ancient mummies in the tomb of Amenemhat, a royal goldsmith who lived about 3,500 years ago. Egypt’s tourism industry was decimated by political strife and terrorist attacks in 2011, and they’ve been working hard to revive it. So while this find was relatively modest, officials announced it with a flourish. It’s the latest find in a series of discoveries this year.  Archaeologists discovered a Pharaonic colossus in March, another tomb in Luxor in April, and 17 Minya mummies in May (try saying that fast three times).

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