U.S. President Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied claims in a forthcoming book that he sought the assassination of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his top officials after a deadly chemical attack.
During a brief photo opportunity with Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Trump said the proposal was "never even discussed" after details of Bob Woodward's "Fear: Trump in the White House" were published Tuesday by The Washington Post.
"That was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated and should not have been written about in the book. It's just more fiction," said Trump.
Woodward, the longtime Post investigative journalist, reported that following an April 2017 chemical attack blamed on the Syrian regime, Trump called on Defense Secretary James Mattis to come up with plans to kill Assad and his top cadre.
"Let’s f***ing kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f***ing lot of them,” Trump said, according to Woodward.
A forthcoming book detailing the inner workings of U.S. President Donald Trump's White House alleges an “administrative coup d’etat” within the administration. It includes at least one instance of a senior aide pulling documents off the president's desk in an effort to prevent him from pulling out of a free trade deal with South Korea, according to Bob Woodward's "Fear: Trump in the White House."Woodward said Gary Cohn, Trump's former chief economic advisor, "stole a letter off Trump’s desk” that would have formally withdrawn the U.S. from the pact.Cohn carried out a similar effort when Trump sought to pull the U.S. out of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the spring of 2017, according to the Washington Post, the newspaper with whom Woodward has worked since 1971.The Post published details of the book ahead of its Sept. 11 release.Cohn, according to the newspaper's account of the book, "came to regard the president as 'a professional liar'" and threatened to resign in the wake of Trump's handling of an August 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.Trump had initially drawn widespread criticism for saying there were "very fine people" on both sides of the protest. He later condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists.Woodward said Trump came to regard his backtracking as "the biggest f***ing mistake I’ve made," and the "worst speech I’ve ever given".Following an April 2017 chemical attack blamed on the Syrian regime, Trump called on Defense Secretary James Mattis to come up with plans to kill Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his top cadre."Let’s f***ing kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f***ing lot of them,” Trump said, according to Woodward.Trump says he supports Argentina, backs IMF effortsBut after Mattis told him he would quickly draw up the plans, he told a senior aide: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."Trump would later order a strike on an airbase the U.S. assessed was used to carry out the chemical attack.Trump's oftentimes uncontrollable temper and unpredictability led top aides and officials to adopt a policy of discretion when they were around him, including an alliance among some "traditionalists," including Cohn and Mattis, to thwart what they considered to be dangerous acts.“It felt like we were walking along the edge of the cliff perpetually,” former staff secretary Rob Porter said, according to Woodward. “Other times, we would fall over the edge, and an action would be taken.”The White House strongly lashed out at the book, saying in an unusually lengthy statement it "is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad"."While it is not always pretty, and rare that the press actually covers it, President Trump has broken through the bureaucratic process to deliver unprecedented successes for the American people," spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.The statement was accompanied by a lengthy list of what the White House called "Trump Administration Accomplishments".Trump to chair UN Security Council session on Iran
New book alleges chaos in Trump White House
The Assad regime shelled Syria's northwestern Idlib province on Wednesday after Russia resumed air strikes the previous day.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sworn to recapture every inch of Syria and has made big gains against the opposition since Russia joined his war effort in 2015.Last week, a source close to Damascus said the government was preparing a phased offensive to recover Idlib province, but Turkey, whose army has a string of observation posts around the edge of the opposition area, has warned against such an assault.Russian air raids ceased in and around Idlib on August 15, but pro-Syrian government forces have maintained an aerial bombardment and shelling.Russia says in contact with Turkey regarding northern SyriaUN envoy urges Erdoğan, Putin to discuss IdlibUN aid chief fears worst humanitarian crisis in Idlib
Assad regime shells Syria's Idlib
Mattis told him he would quickly draw up the plans but then told a senior aide: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."
Mattis later issued a statement disputing the book as "a product of someone's rich imagination".
Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Woodward's book, which is set to be released next week, suggesting in a series of tweets Wednesday that the U.S. should change its laws to make it easier to sue for libel.
"Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," he said. "Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?"
The top U.S. military officer warned on Tuesday that a major Syrian military assault on the opposition-held enclave of Idlib would lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe" and instead recommended more narrowly tailored operations.The northern province and surrounding areas are the last major swathe of territory held by the opposition fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been backed by both Russian and Iranian forces in Syria's seven-year-old civil war.They are also home to some 3 million civilians.Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there was no doubt about the risks to civilians given Idlib's terrain and difficult operating environment.DefMin expresses Turkey’s discomfort at YPG presence in Syria to US representative"We don't see any way that significant military operations are going to be beneficial to the people of Syria," Dunford told reporters during a trip to Athens."If major military operations take place we can expect humanitarian catastrophe and I think we would all want to see that be avoided," Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a trip to Athens.Last week, a source close to Damascus said the government was preparing a phased offensive to recover Idlib province, but Turkey, whose army has a string of observation posts around the edge of the opposition area, has warned against such an assault.Iran has called for the opposition to be "cleaned out" of Idlib.UN sees 'moment of truth' for Syria political processDunford said it was still unclear to him how large of an operation was being planned by the Russian-backed Syrian forces to clear the opposition out of the enclave."I'm suggesting that counter-terrorism operations should take place in a manner that mitigates the risk of the loss of innocent life," he said.Kremlin dismisses Trump warning on Syria's IdlibPressed about the best course, Dunford said: "More of a discussion between the Turks, the Syrians and the Russians at more precise counterterrorism operations -- as opposed to large scale conventional operations -- would be the right approach."Dunford's remarks followed a warning on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump that hundreds of thousands of civilians could be killed by if Syrian and Russian forces "recklessly attack" Idlib.Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, wrote on Twitter late on Monday: "All eyes on the actions of Assad, Russia, and Iran in Idlib. #NoChemicalWeapons."Russia resumes Idlib air strikes: Syrian ObservatoryPossible war between Israel, Iran looms
Top US general warns against major assault on Syria's Idlib
But the book appears to be corroborated at least in part by an anonymous New York Times op-ed in which the author, who is described as a senior Trump administration official, acknowledges that he or she is part of a group "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations".
The author was referring to Trump.
"We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," the official wrote. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office."
The Times kept the official's identity anonymous but said it knows who he or she is.
The White House sharply criticized the Op-Ed, saying the author “has chosen to deceive, rather than support”.
“He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
Amid a looming offensive on the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, Trump warned during his meeting with al-Sabah that the regime, Iran and Russia "will hopefully be very, very judicious and careful. Because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter".
"If it's a slaughter, the world will get very, very angry and the United States will get very angry too," he said.