US President Obama has signed a decree ordering the population to prepare for a strike from space. Almost everything that is acquired by honest labor For internal use

Donald Trump's associate, former speaker of the US Congress, Newt Gingrich, noted that after the inauguration, the president-elect could overturn 60% or even 70% of the decrees adopted by Barack Obama. Gingrich called the current leader's latest edicts "desperate madness" and likened them to "a doll that has been blown out of air, and it is all blown and deflated." He also noted that through "political flexibility" and " smart lawyers"From his team, Trump will be able to cancel even those orders of Obama, which, according to the law, are not subject to revision. According to experts, after taking office, Trump will first of all liquidate the completely fiascoed ObamaCare healthcare law, cut government spending on color revolutions abroad, squeeze Clinton and Obama supporters out of Congress and lift personal sanctions previously imposed on Russian citizens.

“It seems to me that he will try to establish contact with some representatives of the Democratic Party, which may surprise the Republicans, but these actions will help Trump to increase the number of his supporters in the White House and the Senate,” the ex-speaker suggested.

One of the latest decrees on December 20, Obama indefinitely banned the sale of new permits for drilling oil and gas wells on the shelves of the Arctic and Antlantic oceans. It follows from the decree that the decisions of the head of state can be reviewed no more often than once every five years. It turns out that Trump, who had previously promised to loosen regulation in the industry, will now be able to implement this idea only if he is re-elected for a second term. Trump will officially take office on January 20, 2017.

According to the American political scientist Sergei Sudakov, first of all, after Trump officially becomes the president of the United States, he will be engaged in eliminating the ObamaCare health care law. “This is a whole series of laws passed by Obama in order, on the one hand, to reduce the cost of health insurance for citizens, and on the other, to make insurance companies enriched, because insurance payments in the United States have become extremely difficult to receive. That is why the Americans began to joke that the ObamaCare law remained only on paper, and everything that the president did in this area, all his decisions and legislative proposals were valid only on paper, "the political scientist explained to Profile.

The expert suggests that the next step in Trump's activities will be countering sanctions. If the future head of the United States can lift personal bans personally, then he no longer has the right to lift sectoral sanctions. “The fact is that only Congress has such a right, but that's why there are lawyers in Trump's team, to find a way to negotiate with members of Congress. I believe that Gingrich is just saying that Trump will use a non-classical tool in the fight against Congress and the Senate called "we give you money, and you vote for us", but on the contrary, he will give a good message, as if hinting that he will find first-class lawyers who will come up with what you can catch the congressmen. Trump as if asks them to read between the lines, not excluding elements of blackmail on certain members of Congress, because lobbyism can only be defeated with threats, and not with the help of legislation. Without a doubt, there is a law that only Congress can repeal, and no lawyers can challenge this, but in court they can do a lot. For example, to provide the judicial authority with evidence and facts confirming the connection of specific congressmen with the arms lobbies, which through personal interaction have earned billions of dollars. And then the congressmen will be asked the question: "Whose side are you on? Either you are in jail after the publication of this data, or you vote as Trump needs?"

Sudakov believes that, having dealt with Congress, Trump will definitely be engaged in cutting government spending on the "color revolutions", because all these payments, as the expert emphasized, will not be canceled with Obama's departure. “Closed budgets and payments that will go to bribe other countries, organize a huge number of all kinds of provocations, finance public organizations and funds to restore democracy and maintain a liberal society - hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on all this. In order to stop this, Trump will again need good lawyers who will tell him how to properly reshape the budget so that America stops spending huge money that goes into the void and does not bring any profit to the country. " Since the "peace process" of the transfer of power from the incumbent head of state to his successor did not take place, Sudakov believes that in the future Trump will fight everything that affects Obama's personal interests. “Now he is trying to do Trump as many nasty things as possible - he actively signs the laws that he promised not to sign and uses all his strength to make the first time of his rule as bad as possible. Trump understands this perfectly, and, being at the same time very a vengeful man The first thing he does after taking office is likely to kick out of Congress all the lobbyists Clinton and Obama brought to the helm. Moreover, as president, Trump will not have any problems to do this, ”the expert said.

According to the political scientist, now Obama is actively using the fact that the cards regarding Trump's planned future policies were partially revealed during his election campaign. “It was quite expected that in his convulsions Obama will start doing nasty things as much as possible. As soon as Trump announces his intentions, Obama will soon begin to pass laws with the situation exactly the opposite. After Obama is removed from office, he, like former president, will remain immunity, but his entourage (lobbyists and advisers) will not have such a bonus, and everyone who is now opposed to Trump will later regret it very much, ”the expert emphasized.

The United States is gradually losing leverage on Russia through Europe, Sudakov believes. But now, according to the expert, Trump is primarily concerned with relations with China, and not with Europe. "The general attitude towards Russia in European countries is very changing. In order for the United States to continue to exert strong pressure on Russia, it is necessary that in each country there should be at least ten people like Angela Merkel, but the fact is that Angela Merkel is no longer the same. Although Trump won't care much about Europe right now. America's main interest today is Asia. Trump will have to resolve a problematic relationship with China, which is taking away a colossal US labor market. All American production in the States is gradually dying, because the cheaper production is in China, but there is no production in the States. The main threat to the United States is that if America falls out with China, 80% of Chinese products will disappear from American shelves, leaving them half empty, ”he added.

The history of the United States is replete with scandals involving the actions of intelligence agencies and special forces abroad.

The invasion of Iraq was based on a lie about the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. The bombing of Vietnam was carried out with completely barbaric methods, chemicals were poured into the jungle, which poisoned the land and water for decades and caused terrible diseases of the Vietnamese and American soldiers.

In secret CIA prisons around the world, torture was practiced, "modestly" called "enhanced interrogation techniques." After ten years of using them, it turned out that 70% of the information obtained during the "intensified interrogations" was false, which the leadership of the American intelligence agency tried to hide.

Politically motivated killings in other countries, including attacks from combat drones, which sometimes covered civilians at weddings, in hospitals and schools, are not even considered scandals.

As soon as an official representative of the Ministry of Defense expresses regret at a press briefing in connection with the "collateral losses", the press immediately forgets about the bloody massacre, which, generally speaking, falls under the definition of a war crime. And if the Pentagon conceals something like this, but some Assange brings the American generals out into the open, the noise in the media will not last longer than a couple of days.

But some scandals will forever remain in history. They have been investigated for years, the press talks about them every day, and sometimes someone is even sentenced to real terms under criminal charges.

Such scandals differ in that they have (or may have) not external, but internal political significance and, accordingly, may entail internal political consequences.

I will remind readers of two such stories. Very different. With very different long-term consequences. It is these consequences that are interesting in them. And that's why.

One story is the Iran-Contra scam 1985-1987. Another is the destruction of the American consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi in 2012.

In the first case, a lot of laws were violated, three of which were passed by Congress specifically in order to prevent the actions of the White House, which it still carried out and tried to hide. Several of the highest-ranking officials of the administration were sentenced to real terms.

But President Ronald Reagan quickly regained his approval rating by the end of his second term. And replaced him at the highest public office the successor he pointed to is Vice President Bush Sr.

Moreover, almost all of the officials involved in the scandal are still considered talented and conscientious servants of their country. Good guys, in a word.

Well, Reagan himself, whose involvement in the scam has not been proven by investigators, but is 100% established by historians, remains an example of one of the most successful presidents of the United States, whose image is unifying for the nation.

In another case, there was an attack on the US diplomatic mission in a distant Middle Eastern country. Four Americans were killed, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. The building was taken by storm by Islamist radicals. The Americans fought and most of them managed to evacuate. The dead were brought home with honors. The "outrageous barbaric attack" was condemned. It was stated that this would not stop the United States in its fight against terrorism.

It would seem that a good reason for national cohesion, the growth of the ratings of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, especially since the deceased ambassador was considered her friend. The head of state and the head of the diplomatic service together met the funeral flight from Libya. Both of them, addressing the nation from the steps of the White House, said all the necessary words about unity, common grief, that “free people cannot be intimidated,” etc., but then everything went awry.

As a result of the investigation into the Benghazi massacre, Hillary Clinton was gradually embroiled in an ongoing series of scandals.

which eventually led to her failure to become President of the United States four years later. And this despite the fact that in 2016 the very popular President Barack Obama said that he would take it as a "personal insult" if her opponent was elected!

It so happened that neither the public nor Congress believed the White House and the State Department. They began to delve into the Bengazi affair. And quite by accident they "hooked" two facts from Clinton's biography - that she used a personal mail server for secret official e-mails and that in Libya at the time of the attack on the consulate, the foundation in her name had certain interests.

Thus, two more scandals began to unfold - the so-called e-mail gate and the corruption scandal.

Official correspondence (including secret) ended up not only on a private server, which was later thoroughly cleaned out (more than 30 thousand messages were completely missing), but also on a variety of smartphones (which, as it turned out later, were smashed with hammers, and SIM cards were dissolved in acid ), as well as on the laptop of the husband of Clinton's closest assistant, who, from the same laptop, conducted sexual correspondence with a minor.

Questions to the ex-secretary of state were piling up and piling up. The volume of accusations on the part of Congress grew like a snowball.

At some point, Barack Obama, who for a long time kept away from all these scandals and looked like almost the only "clean" person in the administration, apparently wavered. And then the FBI and the Justice Department began to actively ruin the case against Hillary right during the 2016 election campaign.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch met without witnesses with Bill Clinton on board a business plane, and a couple of days later, FBI Director James Comey made his infamous speech about the impossibility of bringing charges against the former head of the diplomatic service.

Hillary lost the election. And then the usual human anger came into play. Clinton herself, her entourage, her party and supporters within the special services were so enraged that the "inevitable" victory slipped out of her hands that they continued to plot against Trump and blame "Russian interference" for everything.

The fact that the "Russian case" was completely fabricated was finally revealed in January 2018.

Then it became known that a group of employees of the special services and the Ministry of Justice not only exceeded their official powers, but, in fact,.

The question immediately arose: did Obama know anything about this? And his national security adviser? What about senior CIA and State Department officials? How long the investigation into Clinton's activities will take to the bottom is unknown.

Now in the United States there is talk that the legacy of Barack Obama is under threat. Perhaps in a couple of years he will remain in history not as a highly educated and intelligent first black president who sought to reform American medicine, but as a president who got into a worse scandal than Watergate. And that the name of Hillary Rodham Clinton will remain discredited forever - that's for sure.

But she could well have avoided such an unenviable fate. Obama could leave behind a Democratic president, and the United States society, even if it was split, was not in a state of cold civil war.

And if you ask when all these troubles began for Clinton and Obama with unpredictable consequences for the whole of America, then the answer is simple - Benghazi.

At first glance, this is completely illogical. Even if mistakes were made in the issue of ensuring the security of the consulate - who does not happen to! Eventually, Hillary reported the attack to the CIA and the Pentagon. It was they who were supposed to take measures to directly save the Americans ...

If you look at both cases from a formal legal point of view, Reagan, compared to Clinton, appears to be simply a state criminal.

There was an arms embargo against Iran. And the three Boland amendments, adopted in 1982-1984, were directly prohibited from providing military assistance to the Nicaraguan contras. But the Reagan administration came up with a plan that circumvented both bans. With the help of Israeli intelligence services, the United States supplied weapons to Iran, and the proceeds were used to finance anti-government paramilitary groups in Nicaragua.

Even worse, the supply of weapons to Iran was carried out in exchange for help in the release of American hostages held captive by the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah. The fundamental principle of American policy was violated - not to negotiate with terrorists ... and certainly not to supply weapons to their patrons.

There are many questions about the recognition of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. But at that time it was American law.

The scam was opened, investigations began. Several of the most dignitaries the Reagan administrations were convicted. Including Secretary of Defense Kaspar Weinberger, National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and Under Secretary of State Eliot Abrams. George W. Bush won the 1988 election as Reagan's successor and pardoned all the participants in the scam, for which he is considered by many to be an accomplice. But - surprisingly - not a "bad guy" at all.

That administration has remained exemplary, but Obama's may become a negative historical example.

What's the matter here? I think three factors are important.

First, everyone wanted to spit on the Sandinistas and, in general, on the legitimacy of any Nicaraguan government. And half of American society would prefer to overthrow the pro-Soviet regime. And by 1988 this regime, in fact, fell, having entered into negotiations with the opposition.

As for Iranian supplies, many Americans shared Reagan's logic - excessive sanctions against Tehran would push it into the arms of the USSR (this is partly what happened later). And since the main enemy of the Ayatollahs Israel agreed with this, why not agree with this voters? In general, the president did not act according to the law, but in American interests.

Secondly, it was about the release of the hostages. It looked bad only at first glance that the hostages were being ransomed. In fact, the Americans first of all reacted to the fact that they were not forgotten and saved.

As Weinberger later recalled, the president told him in the Oval Office: “ I am ready to respond to allegations of illegal activities. But I will not tolerate accusations that "the great and mighty Reagan" missed the chance to free the hostages. "

Thirdly, when the scam came out, Ronald did not lie and took full responsibility on himself. He agreed with all of the findings of the Tower Commission (an independent commission appointed to investigate the Iran-Contra case).

In a televised address to citizens on March 4, 1987, he stated: “ Several months ago, I told the American people that I did not trade arms in exchange for hostages. My heart, my very best intentions, still tell me this is true. But facts and evidence tell me otherwise».

But the Obama administration - and Hillary in particular - began to lie, mumble and wriggle as soon as it became known about the massacre in distant Libya.

For a long time they slipped the Americans the version that everything in Benghazi began with a spontaneous rally, which turned into an assault. The rally, according to Clinton, arose as a protest against the screening of the film, although it was a planned attack on the anniversary of 9/11.

They tried to hide the fact that this attack was carried out by militants of one of those groups that were allies of the United States in overthrowing Gaddafi.

In general, then many facts were hidden. And that Hillary has friends in Libya (Lundin Mining Corporation, which sponsored the Clinton Foundation and collaborated with the militants). And that there was a secret CIA outpost in Benghazi. And that the security of the consulate was provided by contractors - "mercenaries", as we would say, and not by career marines. And that the rescue squad, ready to take off from the Italian NATO base Sigonello, was not given the green light. And that as a result, other CIA contractors flew to Tripoli almost privately, with hastily selected ammunition and a bag of bribe money. It was they who eventually evacuated the survivors and ransomed Ambassador Stevens' body.

These "mercenaries" then spoke at the GOP party conference, campaigning not so much for Trump as against Clinton. And the nation listened to them.

It turns out that Reagan illegally saved “his guys”, while Obama and Hillary left “theirs” on completely legitimate grounds.

And all this in order to hide the true state of affairs in Libya for a while. That is, not to tell that there was no "liberal opposition" in this country, that the militants who fought with Gaddafi were the most inveterate radicals and that there is no "young Arab democracy" there, but only a "paradise" for terrorists and barbarians.

In addition, there was a hidden fact that in Libya, Syria and Iraq the Islamic State * is raising its head with might and main, the fight against which will be much more difficult than with Gaddafi and Hussein.

This did not hurt Barack Obama much at first. He ended his second term (like Reagan) with a fairly high approval rating. But he could not leave his successor in the White House. The successor was blown away. And now all the legacy of the most left-wing and "progressive" US president can go to dust.

And Donald Trump is now swinging the Reagan legacy like a sword.

Hillary can only wait for her fate. Although we must admit, she was not the only one to blame for that catastrophe in Benghazi. As well as in its consequences, one of which, as I have already said, is the split in American society.

* An organization in respect of which the court adopted a final decision on the liquidation or prohibition of activities on the grounds provided for by the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activities"

Three weeks before leaving the presidency of the United States, Barack Obama announced the introduction of new, unprecedentedly tough sanctions against Russia. Six people and five agencies, including the FSB and the GRU, were blacklisted for Moscow's alleged involvement in cyberattacks on American servers. In addition, 35 Russian diplomats will be expelled from the United States in response to the "unacceptable persecution" of their American colleagues by the Russian police and special services. Experts note: at the end of his stay in the White House, President Obama decided to “express true attitude to a number of their long-term interlocutors on the world stage ”, as well as to make the task as difficult as possible for President-elect Donald Trump. It will now be even more difficult for his team to improve relations with Moscow. The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted extremely harshly to the news from Washington, calling the actions of the Obama administration "an absolutely unpredictable manifestation of aggression" and promising "adequate countermeasures."

The hackers were answered

The fact that the United States is preparing new sanctions against Russia, the media reported back in mid-December. This week it was reported that the "response" package was in the final stages of agreeing on details. As a result, on Thursday The White house reported on a number of measures against the Russian Federation and its citizens.

Thus, the Barack Obama administration has implemented its threats to respond to Russia's alleged interference in the electoral process during the presidential election campaign. The new black list includes five departments - including the FSB of the Russian Federation and the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, as well as six people. Among them are the head of the GRU, Igor Korobov, and other high-ranking officials of this special service: Igor Kostyukov, Vladimir Alekseev, Sergei Gizunov. In addition, the list included two Russian hackers- Evgeny Bogachev (his pseudonyms Lastik, lucky12345, Monstr, Pollingsoon and Slavik are mentioned), as well as Alexey Belan (Abyr Valgov, Abyrvaig, Abyrvalg, Anthony Anthony, Fedyunya, M4G, Mag, Mage, Magg, Moy.Yawik, Mrmagister). The latter, in particular, has long been wanted by the FBI for infiltrating the servers of three large American e-commerce companies between January 2012 and April 2013 and stealing customer data. For information about him, the FBI promises $ 100 thousand.

Recall that the first accusations against Russia were made after the server of the National Committee of the Democratic Party was hacked in the spring. The White House accused Russian hackers who allegedly worked for the leadership of the Russian Federation of involvement in this. At the same time, as Kommersant wrote earlier, no irrefutable evidence of this thesis was presented.

In the midst of a scandal, American officials also reported that hackers from the Russian Federation are suspected of attacks on the servers of the National Committee of the Republican Party and even the Pentagon. The attack on the military department was announced by the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) of the US Armed Forces, Martin Dempsey. In an interview with CBS News, he said that in August 2015, hackers infiltrated the KNS unclassified email system, gaining access to passwords and electronic signatures Mr. Dempsey and other military leaders.

In Moscow, such accusations have been called speculation more than once. “We need to either stop talking about it, or finally bring some evidence. Otherwise, it looks already very obscene, "- said in particular, on December 16, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov. And on wednesday official representative The Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted: “The outgoing US administration leaves no hope of finally having time to do something else bad for relations with Russia, which it has already brought down. With the help of clearly inspired leaks in the American media, they are again trying to frighten us with the expansion of anti-Russian sanctions, measures of a "diplomatic nature" and even sabotage against our computer systems. Moreover, this last New Year's greetings from Barack Obama's team, which are already preparing for eviction from the White House, they want to cynically present as a reaction to some "cyberattacks from Moscow."

PIR Center Consultant Oleg Demidov explained: “Today's decision by Obama set a precedent for the use of a new sanctions mechanism for the United States to protect national interests in the field of cybersecurity. We are talking about the decree "On the arrest of the property of persons involved in serious illegal actions in cyberspace" dated April 1, 2015. The decree gives the US authorities the power to impose sanctions (including freezing of assets) on companies and individuals involved in cyberattacks that disrupt the functioning of critical US infrastructure and key computer networks and systems. Sanctions can also be applied to individuals and companies that, through cyberattacks, misappropriated funds or economic resources, trade secrets, personal data and financial information of American companies and organizations - or used these assets stolen during a cyberattack by a third party, knowing about the method of their appropriation ... The last point is especially important as it represents a potential deterrent to systematic cyberattacks and theft of intellectual property from American companies. "

According to Oleg Demidov, “initially the decree was written“ for the PRC, ”but the case has not yet reached its use - in September 2015, Washington and Beijing were able to agree on working together on the problem of state cyber attacks and cyber espionage, after which the activity of "Chinese state hackers" declined for some time. " No such agreements were reached with Russia.

“In the current situation of the imminent change of the presidential administration in Washington, there is a possibility that the new owner of the White House will suspend or cancel the decree. However, in the broader and long term, the consequences of today's decision are irreversible - the mechanism of "sanctions for cyberattacks" has moved from a latent to an active toolkit foreign policy USA. And the same Trump, even if this mechanism is blocked in relation to the Russian Federation, can easily use it against the PRC already in next year“The mechanism itself is convenient and can be easily redirected against any other state,” notes Oleg Demidov.

Not too diplomatic behavior

The US authorities did not limit themselves to expanding the black list. They also declared 35 Russian diplomats persona non grata - those whose activities, as the State Department noted, "do not correspond to their diplomatic or consular status." The names of the people were not disclosed. They were given 72 hours to get ready.

In addition, the State Department also informed Moscow that employees of Russian diplomatic missions will be denied access to two Russian-owned facilities - in Maryland and New York. We are talking about the embassy dachas.

Explaining the measures taken, American diplomats note: it comes about the response to "Russian interference in the US elections, as well as the systematic persecution of American diplomats abroad, the incidence of which has increased over the past four years and increased significantly over the past 12 months." In particular, the State Department notes, it means “deliberate detention by the police, physical violence, disclosure in live state television of personal information about our (American - Ed.) employees, which puts them at risk. "

Earlier, the media wrote about one of the incidents, in the center of which was an unnamed employee of the US Embassy. According to the American side, a certain "FSB officer" was the first to attack the diplomat, breaking his shoulder. At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that an employee of the American diplomatic mission worked for the CIA and was the first to hit the Russian policeman who asked him to show his identity card.

In addition, the State Department continues, “ Russian government hinders diplomatic activity, which is expressed, among other things, in the following actions: forced closure of 28 American Corners, where cultural events and English classes were conducted; blocking efforts to start construction of a new, safer building for the American consulate general in St. Petersburg; rejection of requests to strengthen the perimeter security of the current outdated building in St. Petersburg. "

“Today's actions send a clear message that such behavior is unacceptable and will have consequences,” says a document released by the State Department. At the same time, President Barack Obama noted that the announced initiatives are "not yet the whole response to Russian aggressive actions." “We will continue to take a series of actions in the places and at the time we see fit. Some of the measures will not be announced publicly, ”said Mr Obama, quoted in a White House statement.

"It is clear that the same number of diplomats will be expelled from Russia."

“Towards the end of his presidency, Barack Obama was finally able to express his true attitude towards a number of his longtime interlocutors on the world stage,” said Head of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy of the Russian Federation Fedor Lukyanov.- At first there was an unprecedented decision not to block the anti-Israel resolution in the UN Security Council. It is the fruit of Obama's long-standing dislike of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now a diplomatic war with Russia in the style of the 70s. He was clearly sore, but earlier the US President did not want, could not, or did not dare to express all this. " According to the interlocutor, one of the goals of such a drastic step is “to complicate the next administration's establishment of relations with Moscow”: “Trump and his Secretary of State will have to start from an even lower point than it was the day before. After all, it is clear that the same number of diplomats will be expelled from Russia and mirror sanctions will be announced against someone. ”

Representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova noted yesterday: “If Washington really takes new hostile steps, they will receive an answer. This also applies to any actions against Russian diplomatic missions in the United States, which will immediately ricochet at American diplomats in Russia. " After the sanctions were imposed, she spoke on her Facebook page very emotionally: “We have been talking about this for several years in a row: the people who lived for eight years in the White House are not the Administration, they are a group of foreign policy losers, embittered and narrow-minded. Obama has officially admitted this today. The most amazing thing is that, having failed to write any achievements in the international arena into the history of the presidency, nobel laureate managed to put a greasy blot instead of an elegant dot. " Mrs. Zakharova wrote that "today America, the American people have been humiliated by their own president." And that "the whole world, from the stalls to the gallery, is witnessing a crushing blow to the prestige of America and its leadership, inflicted by Barack Obama and his illiterate foreign policy team." And that "no enemy of the United States could have done worse." “On Friday there will be official statements, countermeasures and much more,” added Maria Zakharova.

The first reaction from the Kremlin was also harsh. “Such actions, of such a destructive, destructive nature for bilateral relations, are taken by the administration, which will leave in three weeks. It looks like an absolutely unpredictable manifestation of aggression, ”Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He recalled the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin about potential aggressors, said at a large press conference: "True, he did not rank the United States among such potential aggressors, but now we are seeing concrete manifestations." Mr. Peskov also promised that the introduction of new sanctions would not go unanswered.

Pavel Tarasenko, Elena Chernenko

First Lady Michelle Obama on Air Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. "Silver Fox" is a popular American slang term for intelligent and attractive man over 50, and "lame duck" in the United States is traditionally called the president, whose term as head of state is nearing completion, but he can no longer be re-elected or does not want to. Judging by the latest orders from Barack Obama as president of the United States, he tried to do everything to remain in history as a "silver fox" and not a "lame duck." TASS has selected the key decrees of the outgoing head of the White House, which will have to deal with, including the administration of the 45th US President Donald Trump.

Extension of sanctions

Just a week before leaving the presidency, Barack Obama extended the sanctions against Russia for a year. "Actions and policies of the government Russian Federation"according to Obama," continue to pose an unusual and extreme threat to national security and US foreign policy. "" Therefore, I decided that it is necessary to continue the (sanctions) state of emergency in accordance with the decree 13660 in relation to Ukraine. " earlier than 2018. The further fate of anti-Russian sanctions depends on the actions of Donald Trump, who this week did not rule out the lifting of sanctions in exchange for a reduction in Russian nuclear weapons.

The sanctions were extended not only against Russia, but also against a number of other countries. On Friday, January 13, Obama decided to maintain a series of sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran and Libya, and also upheld restrictions on officials in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. In addition, the existing economic sanctions against Cuba - these are the restrictions stemming from the American Trade with the Enemy Act of 1917. In fact, this decision means a year's extension of the Cuban embargo - the blockade that Obama has promised to weaken. In fairness, we note that it was under Obama that the United States restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and has already eased a number of restrictions concerning, in particular, such industries as tourism, transport, insurance, communications, and the financial sector.

New migration policy towards Cuba

Another important Obama decree is associated with Cuba, repealing the so-called dry and wet feet policy, which allowed Cubans, who arrived in the country without visas, to obtain residence permits. Under President Bill Clinton's law, Cuban citizens who reached the coast of the United States could remain permanently in the country after one year, while migrants intercepted at sea returned to Freedom Island. Since January 2017, individuals "attempting to infiltrate the United States and do not need humanitarian aid will be subject to expulsion. ”The same decree prohibits Cuban doctors working in third countries from entering American territory.

Earlier, the Cuban authorities themselves stressed that the rule of "dry and wet feet", as well as the program to entice Cuban doctors "are incompatible with the current bilateral context, hinder the normalization of migration relations between Havana and Washington and create problems for other countries." Therefore, Obama's decision to abolish this migration policy in Havana was assessed positively. But the Cuban migrants themselves, who are already in the United States, but still have not received a residence permit, condemned the president's actions, saying that he "killed their dream."

Middle East settlement

Obama, laureate Nobel Prize world in 2009, could not become a peacemaker for the Middle East and, moreover, fell out with his only ally in the region - Israel. His latest attempt to promote peace in the region was his refusal to veto a UN resolution prohibiting Israel from continuing settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Since 1980, the United States has consistently vetoed Israeli settlement resolutions, but this time it has abstained from voting. Security experts close to Obama said that Israel's President Benjamin Netanyahu can only blame himself for the adoption of the resolution, as he has been repeatedly warned that vigorous settlement activities could jeopardize a future peace agreement with Palestine.

The US decision to abstain from voting at the UN made Obama the target of Republican criticism and also split the Democratic camp. President-elect Donald Trump has accused Obama of destroying relations with Israel and has pledged to restore them after his inauguration. How exactly he intends to act, Trump did not specify. “Let's see what happens after January 20, okay? I think you will be impressed,” the president-elect promised.

Pardon decrees

During his eight years as presidency, Obama commuted 1385 US citizens' sentences - this is the most big number in the history of the country. However, decrees on pardon (that is, decrees that completely remove all charges and fully restore civil rights previously convicted) Obama issued a record low: only 212. Since the end of the last century, only two presidents have issued fewer pardons: George W. Bush and George W. Bush. When Obama first arrived at the White House, there were about 800 requests for clemency under consideration by the presidential administration. During the presidency, another 3.4 thousand people filed petitions for clemency. Of these, 1.6 thousand received an official refusal, another 500 cases were simply "deployed" without any consideration. Thus, after himself Obama will leave about 2 thousand petitions for clemency - this is far from an anti-record, but such an indicator cannot be called a success either.

Against this background, the decree on the mitigation of the sentence of Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning), a WikiLeaks informant who was arrested in Kuwait in 2010 on charges of espionage and theft of state property, stands out. He managed to transfer to WikiLeaks more than 700 thousand military and diplomatic documents, as well as video files revealing the secrets of the US military operation in Iraq in 2009-2010. The list of those pardoned by the president also included former high-ranking US general James Cartwright, who admitted to leaking data on the sabotage of the United States and Israel against nuclear program Iran. However, "informant number one" - former employee American intelligence services Edward Snowden - was never pardoned, although the White House does not exclude that this could happen in the time remaining with Obama.

Transfer of Guantanamo prisoners

Obama had promised to close the Guantanamo prison before he came to power, but he never did. On January 3, the White House announced that before the end of the presidential term, several prisoners of the American special prison in Cuba would be taken from there to other places. It was assumed that out of 55 prisoners, at least a third would leave the prison. In total, 22 people received the right to transfer, of which 10 were temporarily placed in Oman, and four more were delivered to Saudi Arabia... Trump expressed the opinion on this matter that the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo should be stopped, as it is "extremely dangerous people who should not be allowed to return to the battlefield again. "

However, the outgoing president should be given credit for the fact that the number of prisoners was at least reduced: in 2009, when he ordered the closure of Guantanamo, there were 242 people there. Obama could have brought his case to the end, but Congress did not allow: parliamentarians blocked the possibility of moving those prisoners from Guantanamo who do not have permission to transfer. Journalists identify only three scenarios for resolving this dilemma: 1) Congress may reverse its decision (which is unlikely, since it is controlled by Republicans who support the work of the special prison); 2) Obama can exercise his constitutional right to make security exceptions and force the Secretary of Defense to authorize the transfer of prisoners; 3) Obama may leave the Guantanamo problem to future President Trump, but in that case, the prison will continue to operate and will probably start accepting new prisoners.

Ending surveillance of Muslims

In one of his statements, Donald Trump called for surveillance of mosques and people professing Islam as a means of combating terrorism. The media and social networks also widely discussed Trump's alleged plans to create a database on all Muslims in the United States (which the president-elect has already disowned). The Obama administration did not appear to have ignored Trump’s Islamophobic sentiments and responded by canceling the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program. ...

NSEERS, sometimes referred to simply as the "Special Program," consisted of registering and monitoring US visa holders - students, workers, and tourists. However, in essence, under the guise of NSEERS, there was surveillance of Muslims and Arabs who came to the United States. This program was launched by the administration of President George W. Bush a year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and operated for almost ten years. Most of NSEERS was canceled in 2011, but it was not completely canceled, raising fears that it would be revived by President Trump. Obama's order of December 22, 2016, finally buried NSEERS, blocking the new president from using this program.

Drilling ban in the Arctic

By a number of his decrees, Obama has put a spoke in the wheels of not only the future presidential administration, but also the Republican Party. One example is the ban on the development of most of the US-owned offshore areas in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. According to the current US administration, this step, taken in coordination with the Canadian authorities, will "protect the Arctic ecosystem." This decision may be changed by the next US administration led by Donald Trump, but this issue will most likely have to be resolved through the courts, which could take years. Republicans have reacted with hostility to the Arctic drilling ban, accusing Obama of "abuse of power" and undermining the "energy power" of the country.

New national monuments

Another "prick" from Obama to the Republicans - an announcement protected area about 670 hectares of land in the states of Utah and Nevada. There will now be two new National Monuments: Bears Ears and Gold Butte. The purpose of this order is not only to protect the sacred lands for the Indians from the possible extraction of oil and gas, but also to preserve wildlife, as well as archaeologically significant sites. Republicans, who were counting on the development of these lands, criticized Obama's actions and promised to reverse the decision, but, as in the case of the ban on development in the Arctic, it will be extremely difficult to do so.

Rescuing Obamacare and Planned Parenthood

Over the past several years, a number of "red" (ie, Republican-controlled) states have tried to curtail funding for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America because it provides abortion services. In mid-December last year, Obama issued a special decree that prohibits such actions by states. The law obliges to provide federal funds to all qualified medical institutions dealing with contraception, fertility, genital infections, genital cancer and so on. Thus, Planned Parenthood will not be able to remain without federal funding, which is a great success for both Obama and Democrats in general.

The same cannot be said for health care and patient protection reform in the United States, better known as Obamacare. V last months Obama and his team tried to save her by promoting special health insurance kiosks (previously, you could only join the program through the website). As a result, for past year 6.4 million people have joined Obamacare, and in total the program covers 11.54 million Americans. However, the future for Obamacare looks grim more than ever. The cancellation of this initiative was one of Trump's main campaign promises, and, apparently, he will keep this promise. Last week, the Senate of the US Congress passed a resolution to begin the procedure to end Obamacare. Republicans, the main opponents of this initiative, believe that the program has caused a general increase in health care costs and negative changes in the insurance market, including the withdrawal of some companies.

Obamacare implies compulsory insurance for all residents of the country and the introduction government subsidies for the poor citizens of the country. What will it be like new program, unknown: according to Donald Trump, she will provide all Americans health insurance for "much less money." Be that as it may, Obamacare is Obama's favorite brainchild and his main pride, so the cancellation of this initiative would be perhaps the biggest blow to the 44th President of the United States and his legacy.

Arthur Gromov