Wanted: Authentic leaders to restore humanity

 Monday, 12 March 2018

Overview

Much has been said about the sad incidences in the Hill Capital. No sensible human being will endorse such acts of shameful violence, irrespective of provocation or justification. Much has also been said about the actions taken to restore law and order. My attempt is to highlight the role of leadership in the face of a crisis. Authentic leaders are in high demand in ensuring prompt action towards restoring humanity.



Authentic leaders in dire need 

Leadership literature is full of fancy jargon and multitude of packaging as well as re-packaging. One significant trend in recent past in the east and west alike is the focus on authentic leaders. As we are aware, leadership is all about inspiring, influencing and instructing. It is more than positions and titles as it involves decisions and actions. What is the specialty of authentic leadership? Let’s discover.

Authentic leaders had always been there in the world. All great religious leaders are obviously authentic. From Jathaka stories to the Bible, many such examples could be found. Yet, as in most of the cases, the real packaging was done in the west. The concept of authentic leadership was made popular by Bill George in 2003.

According to his website, www.billgeorge.org, George makes the case that we do need new leaders, not just new laws, to bring us out of the corporate crisis. He persuasively demonstrates that authentic leaders of mission-driven companies will create far greater shareholder value than financially oriented companies. He describes his approach as a tested guide for character-based leaders and all those who have a stake in the integrity and success of our corporations.

How would an authentic leader differ from the rest? Forbes magazine gives the following four reasons:

• Authentic leaders are self-aware and genuine. Authentic leaders are aware of their strengths, their limitations, and their emotions. They also show their real selves to their teams. They do not act one way in private and another in public; they don’t hide their mistakes or weaknesses out of fear of looking weak. They also realise that knowing themselves better is an endless journey, never complete.
• Authentic leaders are mission driven and focused on results. They are able to put the mission and the goals of the organisation ahead of their own self-interest. They do the job in pursuit of results, not for their own power, money or ego.
• Authentic leaders lead with their heart, not just their minds. They are not afraid to show their emotions, their vulnerability and to connect with their employees. This does not mean authentic leaders are ‘soft’. In fact communicating in a direct manner is critical to successful outcomes, but it’s done with empathy; directness without empathy is cruel.
• Authentic leaders focus on the long-term. A key tenet in Bill George’s model is the company leaders are focused on long-term shareholder value, not in just beating quarterly estimates. Just as George did as a CEO of several leading business organisations, leaders realise that to nurture individuals and to nurture a company requires hard work and patience, but the approach pays large dividends over time.

I was contemplating on what Bill George attempts to say. For me the key is authenticity. It comes from being ethical and effective. What could be an appropriate way to connect Bill George’s authentic leadership with what we need to do? I propose triple spheres for leaders to depict their authenticity.


Triple spheres

This is my way of depicting how authentic leaders can play three key roles which are intertwined. Figure 1 contains the details.

Figure 1. Triple Spheres of Leaders

I propose for a leader to be authentic, he/she should strive on three spheres, in simultaneously being a servant, synergist and a strategist. It is very much linked to Aristotle’s model of leadership where he spoke of ethos, logos and pathos.


Authentic leader as a servant

We have often discussed the need for a leader to be a servant. It goes with the maxim that those who serve deserve leadership. It was Robert Greenleaf Robert who ‘branded’ the concept of servant leadership. “The servant-leader is servant first. Becoming a servant-leader begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” That’s how Greanleaf described the servant leadership.

This fits to the Ethos dimension of Aristotle. It means good character, proper sense and right will. Authentic leaders should be willing to serve in a genuine manner. We find many such examples from multiple fronts. From the religious front, Mother Theresa devotedly demonstrated the dedication towards deserted children. From the business front, Jan Carlzon of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is a fitting example where he upheld service at all levels. “We have 50,000 moments of truth every day,” said he at the beginning of the successful SAS turnaround, referring to every time an employee of the company came into contact with a customer.


Authentic leader as a synergist 

Leader needs a team in order to move towards a shared dream. It is not being autocratic but democratic, not being coercive but collaborative. World of sports have many such examples where leader harnesses a winning team.

Authentic leaders have to awaken the team spirit in fostering synergy. Leveraging on strengths of each team member, the leader can collectively do more. What Mahathma Gandhi demonstrated in rallying a nation with non-violence against a forceful empire is this reality. He was a true synergist and the community, even while he was in jail practiced what he preached.

In the business world, we meet Steve Jobs of apple fame who spoke a lot on passion. He ignited the spirit of innovation among his team members in being a strategist. So was Narayana Murthy when he created Infosys in India where every member was proudly called as an Infosyan.

This fits the Pathos dimension of Aristotle. It represents being emotionally involved and showing kindness to the followers.


Authentic leader as a strategist 

This is where the head comes before heart and hand. Crafting and executing “the game plan” of the organisation is what an authentic leader should do. It reminds me of a brilliant book I read so many years ago, titled, “Mind of the Strategist”. Kenichi Omae vividly depicts the triangle consisting of company, customer and competitor. Siting many Japanese business successes, he highlights the need to be sharp and specific. “Rowing harder does not help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction,” said he.

This fits the Logos dimension of Aristotle. It represents deep thinking, logical reasoning, and rationally arguing. Its connection to strategy making is very clear.


Relevance to Sri Lankans 

Having observed the nature and features of authentic leaders, let’s see the relevance to us. Are Sri Lankan managers in the private sector and the administrators in the public sector think and act like authentic leaders? I leave it for the intelligent readers to decide. One thing is quite clear. We all can improve on this front. How to be an authentic leader? I would propose five Ps to ponder.

Purposeful

Do we know the purpose of our organisations? It can be Vision, Mission or Aspiration. Clarity leads to commitment. Are we clear about the way forward in terms of living our purpose? Authentic leaders should do so.

Passionate

Do we demonstrate passion in our actions? Are we ready to commit ourselves to fulfil our purpose? It is appropriate to do a soul-searching to see whether we are passionately attending to our tasks or passively doing so.

Principled

Are we clear about our corporate values? Do we really demonstrate them in our actions? Are we willing to forgo monetary gains if it is conflicting with our principles? Are we really ready to sacrifice being “popular” for being “purposeful”? Then only authenticity is possible.

Pragmatic

Are we practical in our suggestions and recommendations? Do we clearly see the ground reality or still see the clutter above? Are we willing to be participatory in decision making? Do we invite ideas from our team members? This is how authentic leaders act.

Persuasive

Do we sufficiently influence our teams towards targets? Are we really convincing others the need to achieve challenging objectives? Do we invite our teams to believe in themselves in reaching difficult goals? Such a path is required to be an authentic leader.


Way forward 

The best way to take the discussion on authentic leaders forward is to be one of them. Authentic leaders are in high demand, locally and globally. Instead of being unethical, unfair and untruthful, what is acutely required is the authenticity. Operating in triple spheres as a servant, synergist and a strategist is what one should do. Perhaps the “human disaster” we just witnessed in the upcountry could be a wakeup call for managers, administrators and officials at all levels to think and act like authentic leaders. This is the sure fire way of restoring humanity.

(The writer can be reached through director@pim.sjp.ac.lk, president@ipmlk.org or www.ajanthadharmasiri.info.)

Policing security, or ‘securing’ Police?

By N Sathiya Moorthy
Chennai, 11 March 2018

It is sad that the nation should be burning in the flame of communal hatred and racist violence all over again, a decade after it was slowly but surely learning to leave it all behind. Sri Lanka was possibly ready (?) to open a new chapter in the short, post-Independence history, which is less than a page-long in the longer and larger Sri Lanka story, when this blot has appeared. Credit should go to the government leadership for acting decisively, even if belatedly, to curb the violence, even if it could not prevent it in the first place.

Yet, it is anybody’s guess why the twin leadership of President Maithiripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe thought it wise to have taken the crucial Law and Order portfolio from the hands of then Minister Sagala Rathnayaka, for the latter to handle it even if in the interim. There is again no justifiable reason for them to find a full-time minister in the midst of the Kandy violence, which in their own wisdom has necessitated the proclamation of a short period of national Emergency.

This has nothing to say about the suitability and ability, or otherwise, of the hurriedly-sworn in new Minister, Ranjith Madduma Bandara. If Cabinet colleague, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka’s reported observations that Bandara did not even know about the impending change of charge until he arrived in the President’s Office for being sworn-in, is even half-true, then something is again rotten in the state of affairs in Sri Lanka, even if not necessarily in the State of Sri Lanka.

Leave aside other elements of political instability that has not-so-unexpectedly rocked the ‘unity government’ almost from the start. If their sympathisers and supporters inside the nation, and more so outside, did not see it, they did not want to see it. But, even they could not avoid acknowledging the obvious until the nation-wide LG polls of 10 February bared them open.

It is such/similar callousness of the political leadership that may have contributed to the current situation, though it was most definitely not the main reason. It was wrong on the part of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to have though L&O deserved only an interim minister, if only to deflect national attention from the political problems haunting the unholy alliance of the past three-plus years. It was even more wrong of him, as also President Sirisena to have so very hastily concluded that they could change the captain of the ship, all over again, not just in mid-voyage but also when it was caught in the eye of a storm.

Application of mind

If an L&O crisis demanding the instant imposition of Emergency, however short, is not the occasion for the Prime Minister of the time to be more concerned about and engaged in, on the L&O front, what else could it be? The Government itself explained, and rightly so, how the Emergency would enable the commissioning of the armed forces for internal security duties in a bigger way, and also in the conferring of ‘policing powers’ too on them, it required all-out coordination at all levels, especially at the top-most political leadership.

The Constitution provides for the President to be his own Defence Minister, in charge of the armed forces. The Prime Minister as the leader of the incumbent Government, even if not the ‘Head of the Government’, which is the President under the Constitution, already heading L&O may have done a better job of coordination, that too at a time when avoidable criticism was being aired about the very portfolio.

This is not to say that the Government was seeking to deflect the political crisis emanating from the LG poll debacle by changing the L&O Minister. It is worse still to accuse Prime Minister Wickremesinghe of not wanting to take the responsibility for the L&O failures in the Amapara-Kandy anti-Muslim racial riots, and attribute the mid-stream swearing-in of Ranjith Bandara in his place. But there can be no denying of the charge of ‘lack of application of mind’ in either case.

Bee in the bonnet

It was thus unbecoming of an armed forces chief, that too with war-time honours, to have commented negatively on the change-of-guard in the L&O Ministry when the country was going through the new communal situation. Fonseka is the only Field Marshal that the country has ever seen, and this Government conferred the honorific on him.

Anyone else in Fonseka’s place might have chosen to stay away from any politics of any kind, but he chose to enter the fray, as if to answer for the humiliation under the predecessor Rajapaksa regime. The incumbent Government elevated him army chief over the head of his seniors – no questions asked by him, or his current crop of supporters, since. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also drafted him into the UNP after Fonseka’s earlier forays into politics had feared.

Wickremesinghe and the UNP also elevated him a ‘nominated’ MP after he had lost the popular elections, and also inducted him into the Cabinet. If nothing else, the Fonseka camp should have had faith in the party and the leader that had taken him this far in national politics, after all the controversies that had surrounded him post-retirement. If they had concluded that the party and the leader knew what good to make of him, and what good to make to him, they should have known that the party and the leader also knew what not to do with him.

The post-LG poll weeks have seen the Rajapaksas, especially former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, becoming politically more relevant than around and after the previous presidential and parliamentary elections of 2015.

There are now fears in various sections of the ruling UNP-SLFP combine that his camp may bounce back onto power in the next round of presidential/parliamentary polls, due in/by2020.

It is in this context, campaigns were made for Fonseka to be put in charge of L&O, if only to fast-track pending corruption and other criminal cases against the Rajapaksas. Though a war-victor of an army chief Fonseka has had no record of enforcing law, as known to police investigators and criminal courts in the country. The implication was that given his hatred for the Rajapaksas, flowing from his post-retirement humiliation, including unpardonable cashiering, Fonseka as L&O Minister would ‘fix’ the Rajapaksas, using the L&O machinery in ways that the political leaderships had failed thus far.

It is a fallacious argument, to say the least. If there is anyone who was/is believed to have been vindictive to his political opponents and individual critics, it was said to be none other than Mahinda Rajapaksa. If the armed forces’ success story in the conclusive ‘Eelam War IV’ should be the bench-mark for deciding on the qualification of a Minister for L&O, then, according to many, Gota Rajapaksa, then Defence Secretary, would be a better candidate for the job, even now.

Such arguments, all of them negative, galore. Thus for someone in Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka’s place to make a public issue of a change of L&O Minister, that too when the nation is facing a grave crisis and when he too was a responsible member of the very same Government, leaves an avoidable taste in the mouth. If it is the proverbial bee-in-the-bonnet attitude then it should be quelled, and not sought to be quenched.

Not now, not ever

It should be nobody’s case that criminals, be it of the corrupt political types or the likes of those that inflamed racial passions in Ampara and Kandy now, and against the nation’s other minority communities all along could go scot free. But it has been a democratic tradition the world over that a retired official of whatever background or rank is not put in charge of a ministry that he had served earlier.

Fonseka’s was a specialised job under a specialised ministry, and that by itself should be a conventional disqualification from putting him in charge of ministries that he had served, at whatever rank. In his case, it does not stop with Defence (even if as a junior minister reporting to the President, the Cabinet in charge). It also includes L&O, which over the past decades until after the end of the war, came under the direct command of the Defence Ministry.

If nothing else, these are issues that responsible Cabinet ministers with Fonseka’s kind of military discipline, should have discussed with the party leadership, and within the party and government fora. Certainly, this is not the hour of national crisis for him to have aired such dubious arguments, that too in public.

If anything, such outbursts, if they go without any denial from his side, should be disqualification enough for him to be put in charge of a more sensitive and discretion-centric ministry such as L&O. Maybe, the current national crisis should also be the right occasion for the Government and party leadership(s) to read the riot act to the likes of Fonseka – and he is not alone in this, but only the latest, though not necessarily the last.

For their part, the SLPP-JO, ever itching to have this government and Prime Minister out, or at least tied continually to the continuing political instability at all levels, acted more responsibly. With the nation caught in the midst of racial violence, the JO decided to put off the submission of no-trust motion against Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and his Government.

It was/is common knowledge that Parliament would not have taken up the no-trust vote for debate and vote on that very day. It was then a considered acknowledgement of the experienced political class that at times of national crises of the kind, nothing should be done to undermine the authority of the Sri Lankan State, as represented by the incumbent government, whoever or whatever.

It is this that again has shown up in the case of Fonseka, to his possible elevation as L&O Minister. As was reported, some sections of the police top-brass were uncomfortable with the prospects. After all, the de-linking of the police from the Defence Ministry’s overall supervision, command-and-control, had marked the near-conclusion of the earlier war-era Emergency.

But then, for Cabinet spokesman and veteran minister, Dr Rajitha Senaratne, too, to blow Fonseka’s trumpet, out of turn, just after Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had just taken charge of the same, speaks that some in the system had not learnt their lessons as yet from the LG poll results. It did/not matter how Minister Senaratne came to say it all in public, when least expected. The question also remains whom he was speaking for beyond and behind the self?

(The writer is Director, Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, the multi-disciplinary Indian public-policy think-tank, headquartered in New Delhi. email: sathiyam54@gmail.com)

STF nabs two close associates of ‘Makandure Madush’

2018-03-11

Two close supporters of notorious underworld kingpin Samarasinghe Arachchige Madush Lakshitha alias ‘Makandure Madush’ have been arrested in Weligama by Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel this morning, the police said.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the two suspects named ‘Chinathaka Malli’ and ‘Lasantha’ have been identified to be close supporters of the absconding underworld leader.

According to preliminary inquiries the second suspect ‘Lasantha’ had been identified as a candidate contested to the recently concluded local government elections from the United National Party.

The STF made the arrests following a tip off and seized a T-56 assault rifle from the possession of ‘Chinathaka Malli’ and 10grams of Heroin from the possession of ‘Lasantha’.

The police recovered more stocks of Heroin from the suspects’ houses in Beddagana and Horana following the investigation.

‘Makandure Madush’ who is said to be in the refuge of a foreign country at preset is responsible for ambushing a Black Mariah in Kalutara on February 27, 2017 that killed seven individuals including a prison officer and the leading rival underworld figure Aruna Udaya Shantha Pathirana alias ‘Samayan’.

He was also wanted by the authorities for firing at the Police Narcotic Bureau officers in Piliyandala on May 9 last year.

The STF is conducting further investigations on the instructions of its Commandant Senior DIG M. R. Latiff. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

Israel's Netanyahu accused of stoking 'fake' crisis to force election

Dispute comes as Netanyahu faces possible indictments on bribery charges

Netanyahu at American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting in Washington, DC last week (AFP)

Sunday 11 March 2018

Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition accused the embattled premier on Sunday of perpetuating a "fake crisis" over a political dispute to potentially force early elections.

The dispute comes as Netanyahu faces a possible indictment on bribery charges in the coming months.

Polls suggest he could remain prime minister and his Likud party could win the most seats in fresh elections, in spite of police investigations into his affairs.

Victory could bolster Netanyahu’s political standing ahead of the attorney general's decision on whether to indictment him.

Writing in the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, political commentator Yossi Verter spelled out a possible Netanyahu strategy.

"All the factors have converged to give the premier a one-time opportunity to go to an election and win, form a new government, and then, after he’s indicted, argue that the public made its choice knowing what the suspicions were, and therefore the accused can continue to manage his trial while also managing the country," Verter wrote.

Netanyahu has said he wants his coalition to last its entire term, which expires in November 2019 - something he repeated on Sunday.

Israelis rally to demand PM Netanyahu step down https://t.co/uReVwLb5Hl pic.twitter.com/ycq9ryGvzD

— Press TV (@PressTV) 11 March 2018

Press TV

✔@PressTV

Israelis rally to demand PM Netanyahu step down http://ptv.io/2YAw 

8:25 AM - Mar 11, 2018

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But others in his right-wing coalition suggested he had other motives, and speculation intensified throughout the day that Israel could soon be headed for elections.

The coalition is at loggerheads over legislation that would exempt young ultra-Orthodox men from military service, a dispute that has threatened to pull the government apart.

"Over the past week we've baked a good solution for the draft crisis. I can say that there's no draft crisis. It's a fake crisis," Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, told reporters ahead of Sunday's cabinet meeting.

He added that "it could be that there's someone who for personal reasons wants to generate a crisis and lead the state to elections... In the end it's all up to one person who has to decide whether he wants elections or not, and that's the prime minister."

Yaakov Margi of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party implied that compromises had been made to allow for a resolution, saying that "the feeling is that the prime minister has fallen in love with this fake crisis."

"Once the heads of the ultra-Orthodox parties announced they'd agree to a solution, the draft crisis was solved," he wrote on Twitter.

"All the rest is a fake crisis."

Military exemption

The ultra-Orthodox parties have refused to approve the 2019 budget unless the conscription bill passes.

The bill is bitterly opposed by Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon is meanwhile insisting that the budget be approved before the end of this week.

At a meeting on Sunday, influential rabbis reportedly decided to stick by the demand that a bill on the military exemption be approved before the budget is passed, while rejecting compromise legislation that had been proposed.

Netanyahu met with leaders of the ultra-Orthodox parties on Saturday night, after which he said they were working on a draft for the bill that would meet legal and political demands.

May face charges

Speaking with Likud ministers ahead of the Sunday cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said they were "working for a stable government that would work until the end of its term in November 2019."

"In order for that to happen, all the parties need to reach agreements and decide to continue together," he said, implying that he was not the cause of the dispute.

Netanyahu has reportedly called on members of his coalition to commit to remaining in the government until the end of the current term as part of negotiations.

The 68-year-old premier may soon face charges in at least two separate legal cases.

Last week, Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman of ultra-Orthodox alliance United Torah Judaism said that Netanyahu wanted early elections.

A spokesman for Litzman said on Sunday that there were currently discussions among all relevant parties over the wording of the conscription bill.

Syrian army splinters rebel enclave in Ghouta onslaught

MARCH 10, 2018 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army broke apart the rebel enclave in eastern Ghouta on Sunday, cutting off two major towns from the rest of the area, state media said, after a fierce battle waged under cover of an unrelenting bombardment.

State television on Sunday broadcast from the eastern Ghouta town of Mudeira, which state television and a war monitor said the army had captured to link up with units on the other side of the enclave.

A military media unit run by the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government, said the army had also entirely surrounded the town of Douma.

Footage showed several massive plumes of smoke in the distance behind a war-ravaged townscape with big holes in walls and roofs, and yet more smoke wafting across the streets. The sound of blasts could be heard.

More than 1,100 civilians have been killed in the onslaught on the biggest rebel stronghold near Damascus since it began three weeks ago with a withering bombardment, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said there was intense fighting on several fronts accompanied by a government artillery barrage, continuous air raids and attacks by helicopters.

The advance on Mudeira, after the capture of the neighbouring town of Mesraba on Saturday, has driven a wedge deep inside the insurgent territory, leaving the major towns of Douma and Harasta cut off.

Rebel groups in eastern Ghouta have vowed they will fight on. A statement issued by Free Syrian Army factions there late on Saturday said they had taken a decision not to accept a surrender and negotiated withdrawal.

After the army advances split up the enclave, Jaish al-Islam emerged as the strongest group in the town of Douma, Ahrar al-Sham in the town of Harasta and Failaq al-Rahman in the new southern pocket of eastern Ghouta.

Syrian state media also reported army advances near Jisreen and Aftaris in the southeastern part of the rebel-held territory.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his ally Russia see the rebels as terrorist groups, and say their offensive is needed to end the rebels’ rule over eastern Ghouta’s large population.

But the violence of their assault has prompted condemnation from Western countries and repeated calls by United Nations aid agencies for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Activists and fighters in eastern Ghouta in recent days have said the bombardment has included incendiary material that causes fires and burn injuries. Local doctors have also reported several incidents of bomb attacks followed by the smell of chlorine and choking symptoms.

Smoke rises from eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2018. Sana/Handout via REUTERS

The government denies using either incendiary weapons or chlorine gas bombs, and said on Saturday it had information that the rebels were planning to stage a fake chemical attack to discredit the army.

GUNFIRE

In Muscat, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said it would be “very unwise” for Syrian government forces to use weaponized gas, citing unconfirmed reports of chlorine attacks in eastern Ghouta.

Visiting Oman, Mattis stopped short of threatening to retaliate against Syrian forces if a chlorine attack were confirmed. But he noted America’s cruise missile strike on April 6, 2017, on a Syrian air base over a sarin gas attack and said President Donald Trump had “full political manoeuvre room” to take whatever decision he believed was appropriate.

A boy is seen in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

While the government and Russia say they have set up safe routes into government-held territory, no civilians are known to have crossed through them yet.

Damascus and Moscow accuse rebels of firing on anybody who tries to leave, something the insurgents deny though a Reuters witness said there was shelling and gunfire near one exit route on Friday.

Rebels and some eastern Ghouta residents contacted by Reuters have said people there do not want to come back under Assad’s rule for fear of persecution, an idea the government says is groundless.

On Saturday, the army found 60 civilians cowering in a basement in Mesraba. Activists in eastern Ghouta said thousands of people from Mesraba had already fled into Douma, further into the rebel territory, before the army took it.

Syrian state television reported on Sunday that rebel mortar fire had killed four people after hitting a taxi. Assad has sworn to end insurgent shelling of the capital.

Defeat in eastern Ghouta would deliver the rebels their biggest blow since December 2016, when a government offensive drove them from Aleppo, their largest urban stronghold.

Backed by Russian war planes and other military assistance since 2015, Assad has gained momentum on several fronts across the country, driving rebels from numerous pockets and recapturing swathes of the east from Islamic State.

But he is still far from regaining control over the entire country. Rebel groups hold large areas of the northwest and southwest, while northeastern Syria is in the hands of Kurdish fighters and allied militias.

Meanwhile, the increasingly global nature of the war means that military attempts to regain several of those areas could pit Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers against forces that are also directly supported by powerful foreign countries.

At Pennsylvania rally, Trump again calls for the death penalty for drug dealers

President Trump unveiled his 2020 campaign slogan, criticized the media, and only mentioned Rick Saccone a handful of times during a rally for Saccone. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)

By Seung Min Kim, Jenna Johnson and Philip Rucker March 10 at 9:35 PM

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — President Trump on Saturday again called for enacting the death penalty for drug dealers during a rally meant to bolster a struggling GOP candidate for a U.S. House seat here.

During the campaign event in this conservative western Pennsylvania district, the president also veered off into a list of other topics, including North Korea, his distaste for the news media and his own election victory 16 months ago.

Trump said that allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for drug dealers — an idea he said he got from Chinese President Xi Jinping — is “a discussion we have to start thinking about. I don’t know if this country’s ready for it.”

“Do you think the drug dealers who kill thousands of people during their lifetime, do you think they care who’s on a blue-ribbon committee?” Trump asked. “The only way to solve the drug problem is through toughness. When you catch a drug dealer, you’ve got to put him away for a long time.”

It was not the first time Trump had suggested executing drug dealers. Earlier this month, he described it as a way to fight the opioid epidemic. And on Friday, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was considering policy changes to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Democrat Conor Lamb, right, talks with some of his campaign workers at a campaign office in Carnegie, Pa. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

But on Saturday his call for executing drug dealers got some of the most enthusiastic cheers of the night. As Trump spoke about policies on the issue in China and Singapore, dozens of people nodded their heads in agreement. “We love Trump,” one man yelled. A woman shouted: “Pass it!”

Trump was ostensibly here to inject some last-minute political capital behind Republican Rick Saccone, whose race against Democrat Conor Lamb could be a harbinger of the Republican Party’s fate in the midterms.

[The GOP’s messages don’t seem to be working in Pennsylvania. Is that a warning sign?]

But in classic Trump fashion, he quickly steered away from his main reason for being there. He touted his decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and boasted that it was something his predecessors couldn’t do.

Trump also delivered a profane attack on the news media, calling NBC News anchor Chuck Todd a “sleeping son of a bitch” and deeming CNN “fake as hell,” as the enthusiastic crowd booed at the mention of journalists and chanted “CNN sucks!”

And he rattled off several falsehoods, such as a claim that 52 percent of women voted for him in his presidential win (it was 52 percent of white women, according to exit polling).

The rally at an airport hangar in the Pittsburgh suburbs took Trump back to familiar political terrain and a base that carried him to a surprise victory in 2016.

President Trump called NBC's "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd a "sleeping son of a bitch" during a rally in Pennsylvania on March 10. (The Washington Post)

Trump talked up his decision this past week to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports — a move deeply opposed by congressional Republicans and the business wing of the GOP yet popular in this Pittsburgh suburb, the heart of steel country. Both candidates in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Tim Murphy (R) back the president’s decision on the import duties.

“A lot of steel mills are now opening up because of what I did,” the president told the crowd in this conservative district. “Steel is back, and aluminum is back.”

Trump also warned allies in the European Union to “get ready for tariffs” and threatened to impose taxes on German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Despite his allegiance to Trump, Saccone has underwhelmed national Republicans in this heavily pro-Trump district, and public polling ahead of the Tuesday election has shown Saccone neck-and-neck with Lamb, a former federal prosecutor and Marine.

For more than an hour before the rally began, Saccone stood near the entrance with his wife, chatting with people as they arrived. A number of people walked past, not seeming to notice or recognize him. Rally signs for the candidate were sparse.

Trump himself rarely mentioned Saccone during the first portion of the rally, saying he believed the candidate was “handsome” and deriding the Democrat as “Lamb the sham.” But Trump also acknowledged that Saccone was in a “tough race” and urged his supporters to come out and vote.

“We need our congressman, Saccone. We have to have him,” Trump said. Referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the president added: “The only chance she’s got to become speaker is electing Democrats.”

He finally pulled Saccone to the stage near the end of his 75-minute rally, as the candidate exclaimed: “If President Trump’s in your corner, how can you lose?”

“Go out, vote for Rick. He’ll never, never disappoint you,” Trump said. “Vote with your heart, vote with your brains. This is an extraordinary man.”

At another point in the rally, Trump also urged a crackdown on sanctuary cities and vowed to toughen enforcement at U.S. borders and to root out MS-13 gang members.

“We have to build a wall,” Trump said. “For people, for gangs, for drugs. The drugs have never been a problem like we have right now.”

He recalled his testy telephone conversation last month with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, which ended in an impasse over Trump’s promised border wall and an agreement to scrap Peña Nieto’s planned trip to Washington.

Trump said Peña Nieto asked him on the call to affirm Mexico’s position that it would not pay for the wall.

“He said, ‘Is it a dealbreaker?’ ” Trump recalled. “I said, ‘Bye, bye. We’re not making a deal.’ ”
Midway through the rally, Trump hinted that he may not run for reelection, yet he rolled out a new campaign slogan (“Keep America Great!”) and took repeated swings at potential 2020 Democratic challengers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — again pulling out his “Pocahontas” taunt. He also went after Rep. Maxine Waters, calling the California Democrat — who has called for Trump’s impeachment — a “low-IQ individual.”

And he couldn’t resist recounting his stunning electoral victory 16 months ago: “They said he cannot win, he cannot get — remember? — to 270. And we didn’t! We got to 306.”

The rally in Moon Township had originally been scheduled for mid-February but was postponed after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla. The campaign statement announcing the new date did not mention Saccone; rather, it said Trump would come to Moon Township to tout the GOP’s new tax law.

This was Trump’s first campaign rally in more than three months, breaking his pattern of gathering with his strongest supporters as often as twice in a month. His last two rallies were aimed at helping Republican candidates in the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, although the president did not make those men the centerpiece of his comments.

On Sept. 22, Trump held a rally in Huntsville, Ala., to encourage his supporters to vote in the GOP primary for Luther Strange, who had been appointed to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R). While on stage, Trump acknowledged he “might have made a mistake” in endorsing Strange, who went on to lose the primary to Roy Moore, whom many of the president’s supporters had endorsed.

Trump then backed Moore, continuing to support the former Alabama Supreme Court judge even as he was accused of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls when he was in his 30s.
On Dec. 8, the president held a campaign rally in Pensacola, Fla. — not far from the Alabama state line. Although those close to Trump had said the president would not mention Moore during the event, Trump did just that, telling his supporters: “So get out and vote for Roy Moore. Do it. Do it. Do it.”

Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, went on to win the race, becoming the first Alabama Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in more than two decades.

Since those two rallies late last year, Trump has not held any official campaign rallies, although he did name his new campaign manager last month, Brad Parscale. But that doesn’t mean the president has refrained from giving addresses that sound a lot like his signature campaign speeches.

Last month, Trump showed up at the Conservative Political Action Conference and gave an unscripted 75-minute address in which he attacked Democrats, mocked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), encouraged campaign-style chants about locking up his political opponent and recited the lyrics of a song about a tenderhearted woman who cares for an ailing snake, a parable that he frequently uses to paint undocumented immigrants as violent criminals.

philip.rucker@washpost.com

Cocaine cartels gaining a stronger foothold in the Philippines, says Duterte

A woman rights activist aims a toy gun at an effigy of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a celebration of the International Women's Day outside the presidential palace in Mendiola, Metro Manila, Philippines March 8, 2018. Source: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

9th March 2018

NOTORIOUS for his deadly war on drugs, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has warned the nation’s elite of cocaine reaching the country’s shores at a fast pace as cartels gain a stronger footing in the country.

“The rich, be on guard. Cocaine is coming in very fast. The cartels of Mexico and South America have come in,” Duterte said at an event in Tarlac City on Wednesday, as quoted by the Inquirer.

The firebrand leader said cocaine and shabu, the street name for methamphetamine, is becoming an increasing problem in the country.

SEE ALSO: Philippines: ‘Old and tired’ Duterte wants to cede power by 2020 

  

Police say they have killed about 4,100 drug dealers, in shootouts, but have no ties to unidentified armed men who have killed hundreds of drug users. The government denies activists’ allegations that drug dealers and users are being systematically targeted for execution.

Duterte also denied allegations the government targeted the poor in the bloody war against narcotics while the rich narcotic kingpins were spared.

The body of a dead man with his head wrapped with masking tape, whom police said was a victim of a drug-related vigilante execution, lays on a street in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines November 15, 2016. Source: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco/File Photo

“They say, ‘Why is Duterte killing only the poor?’ They are wrong. I do not kill the poor. I am killing the poor who are criminals,” he said said in defense of the government’s approach to the war.

“’Shabu’ (crystal meth) operations were handled by an organization—not an individual—and it only happened to include people on the street who sell the drug.”

SEE ALSO: CIA, US intel agencies list Duterte, Hun Sen as ‘regional threats’

Duterte gave a speech lasting well over an hour on Wednesday, focusing heavily on justifying his anti-narcotics campaign, blasting human rights groups, according to Reuters.

“I take full legal responsibility for things that are happening, intended or not intended. I’m here to protect my country,” he said, to big applause. “I believe if I stop this crusade it would have compromised this country, and the next generation, and it would have been my failure.”

In Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, rebuked Duterte on several fronts, criticising his “vilification” of a UN special rapporteur, his instruction to police to not cooperate, and “deepening repression and increasing threats” to those with dissenting or independent views.

“This authoritarian approach to governance threatens to irreparably damage 30 years of commendable efforts by the Philippines to strengthen the rule of law and respect for the human rights,” he said.

Additional reporting by Reuters