U.S. Pins Blame On ISIS For Attack On Turkey, Trump Pushes For Waterboarding

At least 41 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the attack at the Ataturk International Airport by three suicide bombers.

ISIS still hasn’t taken responsibility, and Turkey has been attacked by both Islamic State militants and Kurdish separatists in recent months. But officials said Tuesday’s attack bears the hallmarks of ISIS.

Speaking from Canada, President Obama indicated ISIS was behind the deadly terrorist attack.

Obama called Tuesday’s bombings “an indication of how little these vicious organizations have to offer beyond killing innocents.”

“We stand with the people of Turkey and we intend to do what’s necessary to make sure these kinds of terrible events are not happening,” he said.

CIA Director John Brennan said it is not surprising that ISIS has not claimed credit or responsibility for the attacks yet, adding that the group can send a signal while not alienating those inside of Turkey it might be trying to attract.

Brennan, who was speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the attackers were able to carry out the attack for a variety of reasons.

They “really don’t have to worry about an escape route [which] makes carrying out those attacks much easier,” he said, adding that there is no defense perimeter in a lot of civilian areas.

Read more of Obama’s comments here and Brennan’s comments here.

“We can’t do waterboarding, but they can do chopping off heads, drowning people in steel cages, they can do whatever they want to do,” Trump said during a Tuesday night rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio.

“You know, you have to fight fire with fire. I like it a lot. I don’t think it’s tough enough.”

For more on Trump’s remarks click here.

The Hill’s Kristina Wong has the story:

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a State Department spending bill on Wednesday that would create 4,000 additional U.S. special immigration visas for Afghans who helped U.S. troops and officials as interpreters.

The inclusion of language to create the visas came after Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee blocked its inclusion in a 2017 defense policy bill that passed last month.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), an advocate of allowing Afghans who helped U.S. troops and officials during the Afghanistan War to come to the U.S., praised the move, spearheaded by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on state, foreign operations, and related programs.

“I’m encouraged that this bill has an extension of this vital program, and I want to thank Chairman Graham for including this important provision,” said Shaheen. “If Congress fails to extend this program, this could be a death sentence for many Afghans who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our military and diplomats.”

Read more here.

The Hill’s Kristina Wong has the skinny:

Marines won’t be the only ones strutting around this summer with their sleeves rolled up.

The Army has just approved a sweeping new uniform change: Soldiers wearing their camouflage uniforms can now roll their sleeves up.

However, there is one big difference. Whereas Marines roll their sleeves inwards, soldiers will roll their sleeves with the camouflage facing out.

Read the rest here.

The VA argues that the plan could unintentionally expand coverage to all WWII veterans.

“We fully support delivering benefits to veterans and survivors as quickly as possible,” David McLenachen, deputy undersecretary for disability assistance, told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

But he said the bill at issue “would create [a] presumption of full-bodied mustard gas exposure and resulting service connection for every World War II veteran who files a claim for related disability benefits.”

Read more here.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson will brief the media at 9:45 a.m. on the results of the investigation into the detention of 10 U.S. sailors by Iranian forces. Watch live at defense.gov.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on “Corruption: Violent Extremism, Kleptocracy, and the Dangers of Failing Governance” at 10:30 a.m. at the Senate Dirksen Office Building, room 419. https://1.usa.gov/29ql8Kk

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