Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 18, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024 B4 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS I WORLD Ukraine will find battlefield solutions even if Trump wins, defence chief says ASPEN, Colorado — Ukraine will find a way to battle Russia’s invading forces even if former president Donald Trump wins a second term and imperils vital U.S. support for its defence, Ukraine’s defence minister said Wednesday. In carefully framed comments to an audience of U.S. policymakers and journalists, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov reflected the diplomatic and military difficulty facing Ukraine as Trump and running mate JD Vance gain momentum in the U.S. presidential race. Vance, an Ohio senator, has battled in Congress to block U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine as it fights Rus- sian forces and cross-border attacks, while Trump has said he will bring the war to an immediate end if he wins in November. Trump, a Republican, has not said how he would do that. Analysts say that could include withdrawal of U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to a ceasefire on Russian terms, including surren- dering Ukrainian territory to Russia. “We believe in U.S. leadership, and we believe America wants its partners and allies to be strong as well,” Umerov said, speaking remotely to an audience of government officials and others at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. “At this stage, we will focus on the battlefield,” Umerov said. “Whatever the outcome” of the U.S. elections, “we will find solutions.” Umerov, much like Ukrainian Presi- dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Washington last week, stopped short of saying whether Ukraine would attempt to keep fight- ing or would agree to a ceasefire deal that ceded territory to Russia if the U.S. were to withdraw its support. While other members of the military alliance of European and North Amer- ican countries also help provide arms, money and other aid to Ukraine, U.S. support has been the most invaluable since Russia launched its war in early 2022. For now, Umerov insisted that Ukraine — which has broadened its mobilization efforts to bring in more troops than the 4 million Umerov said were now registered — would keep fighting to regain territory already lost to the Russians. It was “within our goals” to take back the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, seized by Russians early in their offen- sive, he said. The defence minister also pushed back against President Joe Biden on one point, although not by name. While Biden has been the most im- portant single backer of Ukraine’s de- fence, he has resisted growing pressure to roll back tough restrictions placed on Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons against military targets in Russia. Biden suggested at the NATO summit that Ukraine might use the weapons to hit Moscow. Umerov said Ukraine couldn’t stop Russian strikes on its cities and infra- structure unless it could hit the air- bases and other military sites in Russia from which the strikes come. “We want to say it loudly: we are focusing on military targets, so that they are not able to hit the civilians” in Ukraine, he said. — The Associated Press ELLEN KNICKMEYER Secret Service director subpoenaed to testify on Trump assassination attempt W ASHINGTON — The Repub- lican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena Wednes- day to the Secret Service director com- pelling her to appear before the com- mittee on Monday for what is scheduled to be the first congressional hearing into the attempted assassination of for- mer president Donald Trump. And even before the first hearing Re- publican calls for Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign intensified Wednes- day with top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. The director has said she has no intention of resigning. Rep. James Comer said initially that the Secret Service committed to her attendance but that Homeland Secur- ity officials appeared to intervene and there has been no “meaningful updates or information” shared with the com- mittee. Comer said the “lack of transparen- cy and failure to co-operate” with the committee called into question Cheat- le’s ability to lead the Secret Service and necessitated the subpoena. Cheatle has said the agency under- stands the importance of a review or- dered by Democratic President Joe Biden and would fully participate in it as well as with congressional commit- tees looking into the shooting. In response to the subpoena and an earlier letter from Comer, Zephran- ie Buetow, an assistant secretary at Homeland Security, said that while the department was “disappointed that the Committee rushed to issue a sub- poena,” Cheatle welcomes the chance to testify. The official said that given Cheatle’s focus on securing the ongoing Republican National Convention, the department would appreciate if she could appear on July 25 or July 26, or the following week, instead of Monday. The Oversight panel rejected that re- quest for a change of date and commit- tee spokesperson Jessica Collins said, “Director Cheatle has agreed to comply with Chairman Comer’s subpoena and the hearing will take place as sched- uled.” “Americans demand and deserve answers from the director about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service’s egre- gious failures,” Collins said. The subpoena was just one of a series of developments that occurred Wednes- day in the wake of the Saturday assas- sination attempt. The fact that a shooter was able to get so close to the former president while he’s supposed to be closely guarded has raised questions about what security plans the agency tasked with taking a bullet for its protectees put in place and who is ultimately responsible for allowing the 20-year-old gunman to climb a roof where he had a clear line of sight to a former president. House Speaker Mike Johnson an- nounced he would be setting up a task force to investigate security failures that occurred during the assassination attempt. He also said he would be call- ing on Cheatle to resign from her post as director of the Secret Service, say- ing on Fox News Channel without elab- orating, “I think she’s shown what her priorities are.” He said the task force would be made up of Republicans and Democrats and its formation would speed up the inves- tigative process. “We must have accountability for this. It was inexcusable,” Johnson said. “Obviously, there were security lapses. You don’t have to be a special ops expert to understand that. And we’re going to get down to the bottom of it quickly.” Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Repub- lican leader in the Senate, added his name to the list of lawmakers calling for Cheatle to step down. He said on the social media platform X that the near assassination was a “grave attack on American democracy.” “The nation deserves answers and ac- countability,” McConnell tweeted. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.” The House Homeland Security Com- mittee also invited several state and local law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania to testify at a hearing in the coming days with Rep. Mark Green, the committee’s chairman, saying their accounts of events were critical to the investigation. A key issue in the unfolding after- math of the shooting is how security responsibilities were divided between Secret Service and local law enforce- ment at the rally and what breakdowns occurred that eventually allowed the gunman onto the roof. Cheatle said during an interview Monday with ABC News that the shoot- ing should never have happened, but also said she has no plans to resign. When asked who bears the most responsibility for the shooting happen- ing, she said: “What I would say is the Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president.” “The buck stops with me. I am the dir- ector of the Secret Service,” she said. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, on Wednesday said: “Director Kimberly Cheatle is proud to work alongside the dedicated men and women of the U.S. Secret Ser- vice and has no intention to resign.” So far, she has the support of the ad- ministration. “I have 100 per cent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 per cent confidence in the United States Secret Service,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejan- dro Mayorkas said Monday. But in addition to the Congressional inquiries, Cheatle and the Secret Ser- vice are also facing an inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security’s in- spector general. In a brief notice posted to the in- spector general’s website Tuesday, the agency said the objective of the probe is to “Evaluate the United States Secret Service’s (Secret Service) process for securing former president Trump’s July 13, 2024 campaign event.” The agency also said Wednesday it is launching a review of the agency’s Counter Sniper Team’s “preparedness and operations.” “Our objective is to determine the extent to which the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team is prepared for, and responds to, threats at events at- tended by designated protectees,” the inspector general’s office said. Biden on Sunday said he was ordering an independent review of the security at the rally. No one has yet been named to lead that inquiry. Since the shooting, Cheatle and the Security Service have come under intense scrutiny over how a gunman could get in position to fire at a former president. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 metres of the stage where the Repub- lican former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat on Trump’s life from Iran lead- ing to additional security for the former president in the days before the Satur- day rally. A bloodied Trump was quickly es- corted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers killed the shooter. Trump said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shoot- ing. One rallygoer was killed and two others critically wounded. Cheatle said her agency was working to understand how Saturday’s shooting happened and to make sure something like it never does again. — The Associated Press REBECCA SANTANA AND KEVIN FREKING CHARLES REX ARBOGAST / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Since the shooting, director Kimberly Cheatle and the U.S. Security Service have come under intense scrutiny over how a gunman could get in position to fire at a former president. Trump says Taiwan should pay more for U.S. protection WASHINGTON — Former president Donald Trump demanded the self-gov- erned island of Taiwan pay for U.S. pro- tection, dodged the question of whether he would defend the island from Bei- jing’s military action and accused the island of taking the computer chip in- dustry away from the United States. “Taiwan should pay us for defence,” the Republican presidential candidate said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek. “You know, we’re no dif- ferent than an insurance company.” Trump’s remarks, made public Tues- day, add uncertainty to Trump’s ap- proach to Taiwan at a time his running mate, JD Vance, has called China the “biggest threat” to the United States. President Joe Biden has said he would send troops to defend the island. In Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai re- sponded that Taiwan is “willing to take on more responsibility” and would de- fend itself. In a statement, Taiwan’s de-facto em- bassy in Washington said it is in the in- terest of the U.S. and the international community to preserve peace and sta- bility in the Taiwan Strait because it is an indispensable part of global prosper- ity. “As the threat of military coercion in- creases, Taiwan is doing its part by act- ively strengthening deterrence capabil- ities with the support of the United States under the Taiwan Relations Act,“ the Taipei Economic and Cultural Rep- resentative Office said. As the rivalry between Washington and Beijing heats up, Taiwan — an is- land that broke away from mainland China in 1949 following a civil war — has become one of the thorniest issues in U.S.-China relations. Beijing claims sovereignty over the island and vows to take it by force if necessary to achieve unification. Wash- ington insists any differences be re- solved peacefully and U.S. law obligates it to supply Taiwan with hardware and technology for self-defence. In the past several years, ties between Washington and Taipei have grown stronger, as Bei- jing ratchets up military and diplomat- ic pressure on the island. Last month, the Biden administration approved a $360 million weapons sale to Taiwan, sending the island hundreds of armed drones, missile equipment and related support material. Taiwan will pay for the military equipment. Citing the arms sale and other un- specified U.S. moves to undermine Bei- jing’s interests and trust between the two countries, China’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday it was cancel- ling talks with the U.S. on arms control and nonproliferation. “The responsibility full lies with the U.S.,” said Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. In the interview, Trump said he didn’t feel “so secure” over the Taiwan Strait, where Beijing has “been very aggressive and got ships all over the place.” He suggested that China could easily take over the island but has not done so because of Taiwan’s prized semiconductor industry, which make the computer chips that power every- thing from smartphones to cars and satellites. “That’s the apple of President Xi’s eye,” Trump said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. He suggested that Taiwan has a stran- glehold on the computer chip industry over the U.S. and because of that, it has the means to pay. “I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy,” Trump said. Rep. Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called Taiwan “a perfect example of what we want all our allies to do,” as de- manded by Trump. “They have consistently been one of the biggest buyers of U.S. weapons for its defence,” said McCaul, a Republic- an, who travelled to Taiwan last month to affirm the U.S. support for the island. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, accused the former presi- dent of betraying Taiwan. “Former President Trump’s threat to abandon our nation’s longstand- ing, bipartisan commitments to Tai- wan would mean betraying one of the world’s most vibrant democracies to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House Select Committee on China. “Failing to provide for Taiwan’s de- fence would not only be potentially il- legal under the Taiwan Relations Act, it would be a betrayal of American values and our democratic institutions,” he added. Trump “did not say the U.S. won’t de- fend Taiwan,” said Miles Yu, who previ- ously served in the Trump administra- tion and is director of the China Center at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. The former president said Taiwan should share more of the costs for such a collective defence, which is “far less of a problem” for Taiwan than for other U.S. allies in the region, he said. “The defence of Taiwan is enshrined in the Taiwan Relations Act,” Yu said. “The joint defence of Taiwan is a na- tional consensus. To change that will be extremely difficult.” But, compared to Biden, Trump would place “utmost importance” on building credible deterrence over Tai- wan, Yu said, adding Trump has said he would “bomb” Beijing if it should invade Taiwan. — The Associated Press DIDI TANG ;