Trump's First Week in Office

Recap of Trump's First Week 

Erin Worley 

January 28, 2017 

On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. His first week has caused quite a lot of attention, and here are some of the key things that took place: 

1. In the first ever press conference by the new administration, press secretary Sean Spicer managed to spout out five lies, according to the Associated Press and PolitiFact. Unfortunately, instead of the Trump administration coming out and apologizing for the blatant lies, campaign manager Kellyann Conway infamously defended the lies by calling them, "alternative facts." When presented with the facts and questioned, Sean Spicer began insisting that the administration did not intend to lie, even though the admin, "disagrees with the facts." Aside from the fact that the new administration is so comfortable with lying to the public, it is upsetting to see that the new POTUS was so concerned with his image in the first place. 

2. Hours after taking office, President Trump signed an executive health care order to begin the process of repealing Obamacare. This order was signed before the proposal of a new plan, according to NPR. Obamacare may not have been the most effective healthcare system, but removing it before a replacement is offered seems a little careless. 

3. In the first hour of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order to cut mortgage premiums. This executive order benefits banks and directly hits middle class Americans. According to national mortgage reports, this cut in FHA premiums could keep up to 40,000 would-be-homebuyers out of the market in 2017. 

4. Trump called NATO, "obsolete" throughout his campaign, but recently confirmed to British Prime Minister Theresa May that he is, "100 percent behind NATO," according to Politico. I'm not sure what Trump's stance on NATO really is, and I'm also not sure if Trump even knows. 

5. Ever obsessed with his image instead of presidential dealings, Trump called for a major investigation into voter fraud, because he couldn't handle the fact that he lost the popular vote by such a large number. According to AP and many Republican leaders, there is no evidence whatsoever that any voter fraud took place during the election, even though Trump has claimed that anywhere from three to five million people voted illegally. In his tweet, he called for a, "major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states." This presents a clear example that President Trump is unaware of the laws of the country in which he runs. It not illegal to be registered to vote in two different states, it is only illegal to cast two ballots. However, if Mr. Trump wants to call this voter fraud, then so be it, as several of the people on his administration were found to be registered in two states. 

6. Despite the fact that the CIA has proven that Russia hacked the U.S. election, Trump vehemently denies it. It's interesting that he trusts Russia over the Central Intelligence Agency of his own country. 

7. Trump, who has been so insistent on building an unnecessary wall on the Mexican border, has repeatedly promised the American people that Mexico will pay for it, despite their constant rebuttal that they would never contribute toward it. As expected, Mexico is not paying for the wall. Lucky for us, American's tax dollars will be funding it through Trump's plan to put a 20 percent tax on Mexican imports. 

Iraq Regains Territory in Mosul

Iraqi special forces liberate Mosul University

Erin Worley
January 16, 2017

The brutal fight between Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the Islamic State isn't over. The Washington Post reports that Iraqi special forces regained Mosul University from IS control, along with three of the five bridges along the Tigris River.

According to a CNN report, spokesman for Iraqi counterterrorism, Sabah all Numan reported that the Islamic State was using campus laboratories to make chemical weapons and bombs.
   
This means that regaining the university was crucial to weakening IS control of the city. The New York Daily News claims that regaining the university was a huge step for Iraqi forces in their attempt to liberate all of Mosul from IS rule.

This is yet another major loss in the Islamic State's downward-spiral. Since 2013, ISIS has lost more than half of the land it once controlled and has remained too weak to regain any of its lost territory.

In addition to losing territory, the Islamic state is losing its fighters and its vision. It's no longer calling fighters to the caliphate, but instead urging them to stay where they are and carry out terrorist attacks from home.

According to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, the Islamic State has been responsible for more than 33,000 deaths since its inception in 2002.

While I believe the downward slope of this terrorist organization is crucial for a policy to create peace in the Middle East, I do not think we should celebrate too much too soon. For one, the group started to gain power and vision after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Extremist factions come out of the rubble of chaos, and IS is sure to leave some rubble on their way out.

Furthermore, as history has taught us, underestimated leaders or groups are not a force to be reckoned with. For example, purely as a result of being underestimated by combatants, Israeli forces were able to capture the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights (from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria, respectively) in the Six-Day War of 1967.

Additionally, Harry S. Truman, 33rd president to the United States, was greatly underestimated by the American people. Due to President Roosevelt's sudden death, Truman unexpectedly took office after only 82 days of serving as vice president. The American public thought he was too weak and unprepared to be a successful leader of this great nation, yet he went on to make great strides in office. During his presidency, this underestimated man went on to drop the atomic bomb that forced Japanese surrender in WWII, help found the United Nations, formed the National Security Council, passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WWII, and created the Truman Doctrine to combat the spread of communism.

As the saying goes, history repeats itself. I therefore believe that the Islamic State should continue to be treated as a real, viable threat and that it is not yet time to celebrate any real defeat.