CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.: A US Marine whose adoption of an Afghan war orphan has spurred a yearslong legal battle and raised alarms at the highest levels of government will remain on active duty.
A three-member panel of Marines found Tuesday that while Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming of an officer in his zealous quest to bring home the baby girl, it did not warrant his separation from the military.
Lawyers for the Marine Corps argued Mast abused his position, disregarded orders of his superiors, mishandled classified information and improperly used a government computer in his fight over the child who was found orphaned on the battlefield in rural Afghanistan in 2019.
Mast and his wife, Stephanie, then lived in rural Fluvanna County, Virginia. They persuaded a judge there to grant them an adoption of the child, even though she remained in Afghanistan as the government there tracked down her extended family and reunited her with them. Mast helped the family flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021. Once in the US, Mast used the adoption papers to get the federal government to take the child from her Afghan relatives and give her to him. She has remained with his family ever since.
A five-day board of inquiry hearing held partially behind closed doors at the Marine Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Lejeune was administrative, not criminal, and intended to determine whether Mast was fit to remain in the military. The worst outcome Mast might have faced was an other-than-honorable discharge.
Mast, 41, who now lives in Hampstead, North Carolina, denied the allegations against him, insisting he never disobeyed orders but was encouraged by his supervisors, and was simply upholding the code of the Marine Corps by working tirelessly to ensure the girl was safe. At the front of the room, he set up poster-sized photos of the child as a baby at Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield and as a smiling toddler in North Carolina.
But because the board substantiated misconduct, a report will be entered into Mast’s file, which could affect promotions and assignments, the Marines said Tuesday. The board’s report will be sent up the ladder to the Secretary of the Navy, who will close the case against Mast.
The child’s fate, however, remains in limbo. The Afghan couple who raised the child for 18 months in Afghanistan is seeking to have Mast’s adoption of her undone. The US Department of Justice has intervened and contended that Mast lied to the Virginia court and federal officials to justify taking the girl, and his actions threaten America’s standing around the world.
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year that the adoption should have never been granted but the case is stalled at the Virginia Supreme Court.
Lawyers for the Afghan couple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Much of the government’s case in the hearing was held in secret because lawyers were presenting classified information. Everyone present in the nondescript conference room was dressed identically in camouflage. And Mast chose to make an unsworn statement in a closed session, which meant he was not subject to cross-examination.
But his wife, Stephanie, testified publicly, offering rare insight into the couple’s motivation for working so vigorously to bring the child into their home. The Masts have long declined to talk to The Associated Press about their actions and the Virginia court file remains sealed. The Masts, as well as the Afghan couple, are now barred from speaking to the media about the state court case.
Stephanie Mast wept as she described her husband’s decision to work to bring the girl back to the United States as exemplary of his commitment to Marine Corps values.
“It was very much an American response,” she said. “We value human life. As Marines, you serve and protect.”
The deciding panel of two lieutenant colonels and a colonel was allowed to ask questions, and one asked Stephanie Mast why she and her husband continued to try to adopt the girl even after she had been reunited with relatives in Afghanistan. They noted that multiple high-ranking officials, including then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and a federal judge, told them to stop.
When she responded that getting the child to the United States was their highest priority, the board asked whether the assumption that a child would be better off in the US rather than Afghanistan was a product of Western bias.
“They have a survival mentality,” she said of Afghans. “We believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we wanted her to have that.”
Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan
https://arab.news/pnvz9
Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan
- The Afghan couple who raised the child for 18 months in Afghanistan is seeking to have Mast’s adoption of her undone
Musk backing for European far right ‘endangers democracy’: Scholz
- The world’s richest man has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders
- Musk used his influence and vast wealth to help propel Donald Trump to victory in the White House race
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday said US tech billionaire Elon Musk is threatening European democracy with his attacks on political leaders and support for the far right.
“He supports the far right across Europe — in the UK, Germany and many other countries. This is something that is completely unacceptable, that endangers the democratic development of Europe,” Scholz said.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has provoked fury across Europe with a string of attacks on the continent’s leaders, including Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Musk, who used his influence and vast wealth to help propel Donald Trump to victory in the White House race, has also been vocal in his support for Germany’s far-right AfD before snap elections in Germany on February 23.
Musk earlier this month hosted Alice Weidel, the AfD’s candidate to be the German chancellor, for a wide-ranging livestream on his X social media platform.
He also boosted the livestream of an AfD congress by sharing it on his own X account, helping it gain a worldwide audience.
Dozens of EU lawmakers this week expressed “deep concern” over Musk’s interference in European politics in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Scholz on Friday said he was not criticizing the fact that “a billionaire from another country is speaking his mind in a global world.”
But “his partisanship for the extreme right, whether out of business interests or for reasons that have something to do with his own political stance, that is unacceptable,” Scholz said.
Russia says any British military role in Ukraine under new 100-year deal would be worrying
- Starmer said that the landmark century-long agreement commits the two sides to cooperate on defense
- While Starmer was meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv, debris from intercepted Russian drones fell in at least four districts of the capital
MOSCOW: Russia said on Friday that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London would be of concern to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the possibility of Britain setting up military bases in Ukraine under the agreement announced on Thursday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Given that Britain is a NATO country, the advancement of its military infrastructure toward our borders is certainly a rather worrying element. In any case, it will be necessary to further analyze what will happen,” Peskov said.
At Thursday’s talks in Kyiv, Zelensky said he had spoken to Starmer about Kyiv’s desire for Western peacekeeping troops to be deployed in Ukraine if the war with Russia ended.
Asked if Britain would contribute troops, Starmer said in an interview with Sky News that he had discussed this with Zelensky and other allies and Britain would “play our full part.”
Peskov said Moscow also took a “negative” view of the prospect of British cooperation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, which he described as Russia’s “internal sea.”
The Azov Sea is bordered by southwest Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The landmark agreement
Starmer said that the landmark century-long agreement commits the two sides to cooperate on defense — especially maritime security against Russian activity in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov — and on technology projects including drones, which have become vital weapons for both sides in the war. The treaty also includes a system to help track stolen Ukrainian grain exported by Russia from occupied parts of the country.
The announcement came days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president with skepticism of America’s military burden in Europe and what he says is a plan to end the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.
“We are with you not just today or tomorrow, for this year or the next, but for 100 years — long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again,” Starmer told Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv, promising that the UK would “play our part” in guaranteeing Ukraine’s post-war security.
While Starmer was meeting with Zelensky at the presidential palace, debris from Russian drones shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses fell in at least four districts of Kyiv, according to city administration chief Tymur Tkachenko. One was close to the Baroque presidential palace where the two men met.
Starmer said that the drones were “a reminder” of what the Ukrainian people are up against and their resolve.
Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July, though he said that it was his seventh meeting with Zelensky.
The Italian defense chief was also in Kyiv on Thursday, two days after Germany’s defense minister visited and three days after Zelensky talked by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The flurry of diplomatic activity came in the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration on Monday, which is expected to bring a departure from the outgoing US administration’s pledge to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia. Trump has also indicated that he wants Europe to shoulder more of the burden for helping Ukraine.
Flood of support
Kyiv’s allies have rushed to flood Ukraine with as much support as possible before Trump’s inauguration, with the aim of putting Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations to end the full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Ukrainians worry that Trump’s plan will demand unpalatable concessions, such as giving up territory. Zelensky has also said that he wants security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again in the future.
“We must look at how this war could end, the practical ways to get a just and lasting peace … that guarantees your security, your independence and your right to choose your own future,” Starmer said at a joint news conference.
Zelensky said that the two leaders had discussed an idea floated by Macron for Western troops to monitor a future ceasefire, but said that it’s “a bit too early to talk about details.”
Starmer left the door open to UK participation, telling Ukraine’s leader that “we will work with you and all of our allies on steps that would be robust enough to guarantee Ukraine’s security.”
“Those conversations will continue for many months ahead,” Starmer said.
Zelensky has previously discussed a potential peacekeeping force with Baltic countries, France and Poland. But he said that it could only be part of the security solution and noted that “we do not consider security guarantees without the United States.”
Starmer agreed that Washington’s role in Ukraine is “vital.” The United States is the biggest provider of military support and advanced weaponry to the country.
“We will continue to work with the US on this,” Starmer said.
Starmer said that in 2025, the UK will give Ukraine “more military support than ever before.” He said that his country has already committed 3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) for military aid this year, including 150 more artillery barrels and a UK-designed mobile air defense system named Gravehawk. The UK has pledged 12.8 billion pounds ($15.6 billion) in military and civilian aid since the war broke out.
During the daylong visit, Starmer and Zelensky laid flowers at a wall of remembrance for those killed in the war. The wall outside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, a Kyiv landmark, is covered in photos of the slain, stretching for a city block. It has become a place of pilgrimage for families paying tribute to their lost loved ones.
Starmer also visited a Kyiv hospital specializing in burns treatment and an exhibition of drone technology.
As the grinding war nears the three-year mark, both Russia and Ukraine are pushing for battlefield gains before possible peace talks. Ukraine has started a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, where it is struggling to hang onto a chunk of territory it captured last year, and has stepped up drone and missile attacks on weapons sites and fuel depots inside Russia.
Moscow is slowly taking territory at the cost of high casualties along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line in eastern Ukraine and launching intense barrages at Ukraine’s energy system, seeking to deprive Ukrainians of heat and light in the depths of winter. A major Russian ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine on Wednesday compelled authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas.
Canada will impose ‘Trump tax’ on US in response to tariffs, says foreign minister
- Donald Trump has said he plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports
- “We will be strong and unequivocal in our defense of Canada and Canadians,” says outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
MONTREAL: Americans will be hit by a “Trump tariffs tax” if the US president-elect increases customs duties on Canadian products, the Canadian foreign minister said Friday, pledging a hard-hitting response in any trade war.
Donald Trump, who returns to the White House next week, has said he plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports as part of his economic and foreign policy plans that also target Mexico, China and other trade partners.
“This would be the biggest trade war between Canada and the US in decades,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “The Americans would be starting a trade war against us.
“We are ready to put maximum pressure,” she said at a press conference in Washington, adding that Canada has a series of measures prepared if Trump carries out his threat, which would have a major impact on Canadian consumers and jobs.
A government source told AFP that Ottawa is considering higher duties on goods from the United States including steel products, ceramics like toilets and sinks, glassware and orange juice — in a first phase of tariffs that could be extended.
“We will be strong and unequivocal in our defense of Canada and Canadians,” said outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“The proposed tariffs would put American jobs at risk, raise prices for American consumers, put our collective security at risk and raise costs all across the continent.”
One scenario from Scotiabank suggests that a trade war could cause Canadian GDP to fall by more than five percent, increase unemployment significantly and fuel inflation.
Blinken says worried Trump administration may abandon key Biden foreign policy initiatives
WASHINGTON: Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Associated Press that he hopes the incoming Trump administration will press forward with key points in President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, including on the Middle East and Ukraine.
But in an wide-ranging interview Friday on his last workday as America’s top diplomat, he expressed concern that the Trump team might abandon all or some of those policies.
Blinken said there is reason to be concerned that the new administration might not follow through on initiatives that Biden’s national security team put into place to end the war in Gaza, keep Ukraine free of Russian interference and maintain strengthened alliances with key partners.
“When we came in, we inherited partnerships and alliances that were seriously frayed,” he said. “So if past is prologue, yes, it would be a concern.”
“I don’t know, can’t know, how they approach things,” he said. “I do think that there is, there could and I believe should, be some real continuity in a couple of places.”
President-elect Donald Trump has been skeptical of US alliances, including NATO and defense partnerships in the Asia-Pacific, all of which the Biden team has worked to shore up over the past four years. Trump has also been critical of US military aid to Ukraine and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy has been deeply involved in helping the Biden administration broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas this week. Both incoming and outgoing presidents claimed credit for the breakthrough.
“The best laid plans: There’s, of course, no guarantee that our successors will look to them, rely on them,” Blinken said. “But at least there’s that option. At least they can decide whether this is a good basis for proceeding and make changes.”
Efforts to reach the Trump’s transition team for comment were not immediately successful.
Blinken and the Biden administration overall have been heavily criticized for their handling of the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and, more recently, for their support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Critics accuse them of not imposing meaningful restrictions on weapons shipments to Israel or pushing its ally hard enough to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Thursday, protests accusing Blinken of complicity in Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians interrupted his final appearance in the State Department press briefing room, and demonstrators have routinely gathered outside his home.
Blinken lamented that the Biden administration has been diverted from its central foreign policy priorities by world developments, including the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza crisis, all of which took time and energy away from pursuing core objectives, notably in the Indo-Pacific.
These are “not what we came in wanting or expecting to have to be focused on,” he said.
That said, he stressed that even as the administration dealt with those crises, it had still been determined to look at the rest of world, and had succeeded, in his estimation, at rebuilding frayed alliances and partnerships around the world.
“Rest of world: can’t lose sight of it,” he said. “Got to keep the focus on in the places where it really matters for America’s security and for America’s future.”
The interview, conducted in Blinken’s office on the seventh floor of the State Department, followed his farewell remarks to the agency’s staffers. He urged career personnel to carry on in their mission amid uncertainty about how the incoming administration will handle relationships and rivalries abroad or treat career American diplomats.
In that address to employees, Blinken paid tribute to their work over the past four years despite multiple challenges, ranging from Afghanistan and Ukraine to the Middle East.
“Without you in the picture, this world, our country would look so much different,” Blinken told a cheering crowd of several hundred staffers gathered at the department’s main Washington entrance, decorated with the flags of all countries with which the US has diplomatic relations.
“With you in the picture, both are so much better,” he said. “You’re working every day to make things just a little bit better, a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more full of hope, of opportunity. That’s your mission, and you do it so well.”
Trump has been publicly skeptical of the State Department and its traditional role in crafting administration foreign policy.
Trump once referred to the agency as the “Deep State Department,” and he and his associates have made no secret of their desire to purge career officials who do not show sufficient loyalty to the president. His choice to be Blinken’s successor, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has said he respects the foreign service, but he has not yet detailed any plans for how the department will be managed.
Blinken called for staffers to remain resilient.
“This is a time of transition, and when we talk about transition, sometimes we talk about passing the baton. That’s what I’ll be doing,” he said. “But that’s not what most of you will be doing. Most of you come Monday, you will keep running, and what gives me more confidence than anything else is to know that that’s exactly what you’ll do.”
Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives
- The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached
LONDON: Companies transporting their products around the world are not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route in the wake of a Gaza ceasefire deal because of uncertainty over whether Houthis will continue to attack shipping, industry executives said.
The EU’s naval force in the Red Sea said its “threat assessment remains unchanged.”
The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached.
Executives from shipping, insurance, and retail industries said the risks remained too high to resume voyages through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, through which exports to Western markets from the Gulf and Asia must pass before entering the Suez Canal.
“There is no way I’m putting any of my merchandise on a boat that’s going to go through the Red Sea for some time to come,” said Jay Foreman, CEO of US-based Basic Fun, which supplies toys to major US retailers like Walmart and Amazon.com. Matt Castle, vice president of global forwarding with logistics group C.H. Robinson, said: “It’s not likely the industry will see a large shift back to the Suez Canal in the short term.”
He said this was due to the challenges of securing cargo insur- ance given perceived high risks and time constraints, as imple- menting a new ocean shipping plan would take weeks or months.
