Trump Defends Assessment on North Korea, Daesh
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed back against threat assessments offered to Congress by the nation’s top intelligence officials a day earlier and defended his more optimistic assertions on North Korea and the Daesh.
In a series of early-morning posts on Twitter, Trump said the Daesh "will soon be destroyed,” and that there was a "decent chance of denuclearization” with Pyongyang. On Tuesday, the intelligence officials broke with Trump in their assessments of the threats posed by North Korea and other nations.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats joined the heads of the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies on Tuesday to deliver their annual assessments of the most critical threats facing the United States in a public briefing with U.S. senators.
Coats said North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons, while Trump has said the country no longer poses a threat. Trump plans a second meeting next month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
On the Daesh, Coats said the militant group would continue to pursue attacks from Syria and Iraq against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.
U.S. intelligence officials also said China and Russia posed the biggest risks to the United States, and were more aligned than they had been in decades.
While China and Russia strengthen their alliance, Coats said some American allies are pulling away from Washington in reaction to changing U.S. policies on security and trade.
They described an array of economic, military and intelligence threats, from highly organized efforts by China to scattered disruptions by terrorists, hacktivists and transnational criminals.
"Moscow’s relationship with Beijing is closer than it’s been in many decades,” Coats told the panel.
The intelligence officials said they had protected the 2018 U.S. congressional elections from outside interference, but expected renewed and likely more sophisticated attacks on the 2020 presidential contest.
Coats said North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons. Trump has said the country no longer poses a threat.
The intelligence officials also said Iran was not developing nuclear weapons in violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, even though Tehran has threatened to reverse some commitments after Trump pulled out of the deal.
Senators expressed deep concern about current threats.
"Increased cooperation between Russia and China - for a generation that hasn’t been the case - that could be a very big deal on the horizon in terms of the United States,” said Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
In a series of early-morning posts on Twitter, Trump said the Daesh "will soon be destroyed,” and that there was a "decent chance of denuclearization” with Pyongyang. On Tuesday, the intelligence officials broke with Trump in their assessments of the threats posed by North Korea and other nations.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats joined the heads of the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies on Tuesday to deliver their annual assessments of the most critical threats facing the United States in a public briefing with U.S. senators.
Coats said North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons, while Trump has said the country no longer poses a threat. Trump plans a second meeting next month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
On the Daesh, Coats said the militant group would continue to pursue attacks from Syria and Iraq against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.
U.S. intelligence officials also said China and Russia posed the biggest risks to the United States, and were more aligned than they had been in decades.
While China and Russia strengthen their alliance, Coats said some American allies are pulling away from Washington in reaction to changing U.S. policies on security and trade.
They described an array of economic, military and intelligence threats, from highly organized efforts by China to scattered disruptions by terrorists, hacktivists and transnational criminals.
"Moscow’s relationship with Beijing is closer than it’s been in many decades,” Coats told the panel.
The intelligence officials said they had protected the 2018 U.S. congressional elections from outside interference, but expected renewed and likely more sophisticated attacks on the 2020 presidential contest.
Coats said North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons. Trump has said the country no longer poses a threat.
The intelligence officials also said Iran was not developing nuclear weapons in violation of the 2015 nuclear agreement, even though Tehran has threatened to reverse some commitments after Trump pulled out of the deal.
Senators expressed deep concern about current threats.
"Increased cooperation between Russia and China - for a generation that hasn’t been the case - that could be a very big deal on the horizon in terms of the United States,” said Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.