Page 12A
NATION
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Pipeline protest camp cleared, DHS report disputes threat
from banned nations
but area far from normal
CANNON BALL, N.D.
(AP) — Authorities this week
cleared the last holdouts from
a large Dakota Access pipe-
line protest camp on federal
land in North Dakota, but
it will be a while before the
region returns to normal.
There’s tons of debris to
be cleared. A main highway
bridge remains closed.
Hundreds of protesters are
still in the area. The pipe-
line operator is rushing to
complete construction and
says oil could flow within 10
days. Looming over it all is a
still-unresolved court battle.
“This was beautiful North
Dakota prairie in a sensitive
watershed area,” Gov. Doug
Burgum said of the square-
mile protest camp at the
confluence of the Missouri
and Cannonball rivers. “It’s
only use prior to this was for
cattle grazing.”
But since August, it was
home to hundreds and at
times thousands of people
who support the claims of
Sioux nations that the $3.8
billion pipeline to move
North Dakota oil through
South Dakota and Iowa to
Illinois threatens drinking
water, sacred sites and tribal
Department says citizenship ‘unlikely
indicator’ of terrorism threats
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP, Pool
A backhoe rips through a wood structure to begin the
cleaning up process at the Oceti Sakowin camp as law
enforcement swept through the camp arresting the
final Dakota Access protesters near Cannon Ball, N.D.
religious practices. Texas-
based pipeline developer
Energy Transfer Partners
disputes that.
The Army Corps of
Engineers
ordered
the
Oceti Sakowin camp closed
Wednesday in advance of
spring flooding. About 200
protesters left peacefully,
with another 56 being
arrested over two days for
defying the order to leave.
Federal Bureau of Indian
Affairs officers at the same
time cleared the much
smaller Rosebud camp just
to the south, on the Standing
Rock Indian Reservation.
Many who left those
camps planned to go to one
of three nearby camps, all of
which are on the reservation.
“They can get us out of
Oceti, but they can’t stop
what we started here,”
protester Kate Silvertooth,
of Loveland, Colorado, said
Friday while shopping at a
convenience store near the
reservation town of Cannon
Ball.
Dems invite immigrants to attend
Trump’s first address to Congress
WASHINGTON
(AP)
— Democrats have invited
immigrants and foreigners
to President Donald Trump’s
first address to Congress
in an effort to put a face on
those who could be hurt by
the Republican’s policies.
Lawmakers typically get
one guest ticket apiece for
presidential addresses, as
they will for Tuesday’s prime-
time speech, and the invites
often go to family, friends or
someone from back home.
To send a message to Trump,
Democrats have invited the
Iraqi-American doctor who
discovered elevated levels
of lead in the blood of many
children living in Flint, Mich-
igan; a Pakistani-born doctor
who delivers critical care to
patients in Rhode Island and
an American-born daughter
of Palestinian refugees who
aids people like her family
in their quest to come to the
United States.
“I want Trump to see the
face of a woman, the face
of a Muslim, and the face of
someone whose family has
enriched and contributed to
this country despite starting
out as refugees,” said Rep.
Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., whose
guest Tuesday will be Fidaa
Rashid, a Chicago immigra-
tion attorney.
Soon after taking office,
Trump issued an executive
order temporarily banning all
entry to the U.S. from seven
Muslim-majority
nations
and pausing the entire U.S.
refugee program. The order
sparked worldwide confu-
sion about who was covered
by the edict, with thousands
gathering at airports and in
other settings to protest. An
appeals court blocked the
order.
Trump has said he will
issue another order along
similar lines. Trump has also
expanded the range of immi-
grants living in the country
illegally who have become
a priority for removal. The
president has argued that the
steps are necessary to protect
the nation.
One of the people caught
up in Trump’s executive
order was Sara Yarjani, a
35-year-old Iranian graduate
student studying in Cali-
fornia. She was held at Los
Angeles International Airport
for nearly 23 hours before
being sent back to Vienna,
Austria, where she had been
visiting family. She was
able to resume her studies
at the California Institute for
Human Sciences after a judge
halted implementation of
Trump’s order. She’ll attend
Trump’s speech as a guest of
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
“Mr. Trump needs to see
the people he has hurt,” Chu
said.
The focus on welcoming
immigrants
will
also
extend to the response that
Democratic leaders plan
for Trump’s speech. Astrid
Silva, who was brought
into the United States as a
young child, will provide the
Spanish-language rebuttal;
former Kentucky Gov.
Steve Beshear will give the
standard
opposition-party
response.
All will be on high alert for
any Joe Wilson moments in
Trump’s first speech to a joint
session of Congress since his
inaugural address. Wilson,
a longtime Republican
congressman from South
Carolina, shouted, “You
lie!” as Obama addressed
Congress in 2009.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Analysts at the Homeland
Security Department’s intel-
ligence arm found insuffi-
cient evidence that citizens
of seven Muslim-majority
countries included in Presi-
dent Donald Trump’s travel
ban pose a terror threat to
the United States.
A
draft
document
obtained by The Associ-
ated Press concludes that
citizenship is an “unlikely
indicator” of terrorism
threats to the United States
and that few people from the
countries Trump listed in his
travel ban have carried out
attacks or been involved in
terrorism-related activities
in the U.S. since Syria’s
civil war started in 2011.
Trump cited terrorism
concerns as the primary
reason he signed the
sweeping
temporary
travel ban in late January,
which also halted the U.S.
refugee program. A federal
judge in Washington state
blocked the government
from carrying out the order
earlier this month. Trump
said Friday a new edict
would be announced soon.
The administration has been
working on a new version
that could withstand legal
challenges.
Homeland
Security
spokeswoman
Gillian
Christensen on Friday did
not dispute the report’s
authenticity, but said it was
not a final comprehensive
review of the government’s
intelligence.
“While DHS was asked
to draft a comprehensive
report on this issue, the
document you’re refer-
encing was commentary
from a single intelligence
source versus an official,
robust document with thor-
ough interagency sourcing,”
Christensen said. “The ...
report does not include
data from other intelligence
community sources. It is
incomplete.”
The Homeland Security
report is based on unclas-
sified information from
Justice Department press
releases on terrorism-related
convictions and attackers
killed in the act, State
Department visa statistics,
the 2016 Worldwide Threat
Assessment from the U.S.
intelligence
community
and the State Department
Country
Reports
on
Terrorism 2015.
The three-page report
challenges Trump’s core
claims. It said that of 82
people the government
determined were inspired
by a foreign terrorist group
to carry out or try to carry
out an attack in the United
States, just over half were
U.S. citizens born in the
United States. The others
were from 26 countries,
led by Pakistan, Somalia,
Bangladesh, Cuba, Ethi-
opia, Iraq and Uzbekistan.
Of these, only Somalia and
Iraq were among the seven
nations included in the ban.
Of the other five nations,
one person each from Iran,
Sudan and Yemen was also
involved in those terrorism
cases, but none from Syria.
It did not say if any were
Libyan.
The report also found
that terrorist organizations
in Iran, Libya, Somalia
and Sudan are regionally
focused, while groups in
Iraq, Syria and Yemen do
pose a threat to the U.S.
The seven countries were
included in a law President
Barack Obama signed in
2015 that updated visa
requirements for foreigners
who had traveled to those
countries.
Christensen said the
countries were also selected
in part because they lacked
the ability to properly vet
their citizens and don’t
cooperate with U.S. efforts
to screen people hoping to
come to the U.S.
The report was prepared
as part of an internal review
Trump requested after
his executive order was
blocked by the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
It was drafted by staff of
the Homeland Security
Department’s Intelligence
and Analysis branch at the
direction of its acting leader,
David Glawe.
White House spokesman
Michael Short said this
was not the full report that
Trump had requested. He
said he believes “the intel
community is combining
resources to put together
a comprehensive report
using all available sources,
not just open sources, and
which is driven by data, not
politics.”
The intelligence docu-
ment was circulated beyond
Homeland Security.
The draft document
reflects
the
tensions
between the president’s
political appointees and
the civil servants tasked
with carrying out Trump’s
ambitious and aggressive
agenda. Trump has repeat-
edly complained about leaks
meant to undercut his poli-
cies and suggested he does
not trust holdovers from the
Obama administration.
Trump originally said the
ban was necessary to over-
haul the vetting system for
both refugees and would-be
foreign visitors, saying that
terrorists may try to exploit
weaknesses to gain access to
the United States. The order
sparked chaos, outrage and
widespread protests, with
travelers detained at airports
and panicked families
searching for relatives.
But
several
courts
quickly intervened and
the 9th Circuit ultimately
upheld a ruling blocking
the ban and challenged
the administration’s claim
that it was motivated by
terrorism fears.
NOW THROUGH FEBRUARY 20!
ALL NEW 2017 CAMRY MODELS IN STOCK
$
4 , 000 OFF
MSRP
Oregon Department of Transportation
STIP PUBLIC MEETING
FEBRUARY 27
LEARN ABOUT FUTURE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
PLANNED FOR EASTERN OREGON
188
1-2-3
$
IT’S AS
EASY AS
The Oregon Department of Transportation invites you to attend a Public Video Conference Meeting
regarding the Draft 2018-2021 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The 2018-2021
STIP identifies major Oregon transportation projects proposed for construction between 2018 and
2021. Meeting participants will hear information on how projects are selected for funding and review
projects identified for the eastern Oregon region. Interested parties are encouraged to attend this
meeting at a site in your area, or connect on-line with your computer, tablet or smart phone (see
below for web connection details).
NEW 2017 COROLLA LE
$
MO *
STK # 17TH314*
on approved
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0 DOWN
NEW 2017 TUNDRA DOUBLE CAB SR5 5.7L V8
399
$
STK # 17TH320*
Date/Time: Feb. 27, 2017• 6-8 p.m. Pacific Time
MO *
on approved
credit
(Ontario site: 7-9 p.m. Mountain Time)
Meeting Locations: Eight eastern Oregon sites listed below
1
2
3
Attend at one of these eight meeting sites Feb. 27, 6-8 p.m.
Burns - Harney County Courthouse
La Grande - Eastern - Oregon University
Basement Mtg. Room, 450 N. Buena Vista
Inlow Hall, Room 013, One University Blvd.
John Day – Oregon Telephone Conf. Room,
Boardman - Blue Mountain Comm. College
155 W Main Street
300 NE Front Street
Baker City - Public Library
Enterprise - Wallowa County ESD
2400 Resort Street, Baker City, OR
107 SW 1st Room #105
Pendleton - Blue Mountain Comm. College
Ontario - OR Dept. of Transportation Office
Emigrant Hall Rm. 128, 2411 NW Carden Ave.
1390 SE 1st Ave. (7:00 p.m. Mtn. Time – Ontario site)
NEW 2017 RAV4 LE
245
$
STK # 17TH323*
MO *
on approved
credit
Or, connect remotely to the Feb. 27 meeting via computer, tablet or smart phone.
If you can’t make it to one of the above meeting sites, you can connect to the meeting on-line at Zoom.com.
Type https://zoom.us/join in your internet browser, enter Meeting ID: 175-119-566 and password: odotstip
This Zoom connection information is also posted on the ODOT Region 5 web (see below)
Busy Feb. 27? View the STIP information anytime at www.tinyurl.com/odot-region5.
There you will find project listings, maps, comment forms and other information
about Oregon’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
STK# 17TH314 2017 TOYOTA COROLLA LE. 3YR/12,000 MILES/YEAR LEASE. PLUS TAX TITLE DOC FEE. 3YR LEASE, $0 DOWN = $188MO. ON APPROVED CREDIT.
STK# 17TH323 2017 TOYOTA RAV4 LE. 3YR/12,000 MILES/YEAR LEASE. PLUS TAX TITLE DOC FEE. 3YR LEASE, $999 DOWN = $245MO. ON APPROVED CREDIT.
Have questions about the meeting, Zoom connection or ODOT website,
call ODOT Public Information Officer Tom Strandberg at 541-963-1330
(email: thomas.m.strandberg@odot.state.or.us). This meeting is open to the public
and accommodations will be provided to persons with disabilities. To request an
accessibility accommodation, please call 541-963-1330 or statewide relay 711
at least 48 hours in advance. Meetings sites are accessible to persons with
disabilities per ADA requirements.
We hope to see you Feb. 27
STK# 17TH320 2017 TOYOTA TUNDRA DOUBLE CAB SR5 5.7L V8. 3YR/12,000 MILE A YEAR LEASE. PLUS TAX TITLE DOC FEE. 3YR LEASE, $1,999 DOWN= $399MO. ON APPROVED CREDIT.
FOR ALL OFFERS: NO SECURITY DEPOSIT REQUIRED. A DOCUMENTARY SERVICE FEE OF $75 MAY BE ADDED TO VEHICLE PRICE OR CAPITALIZED COST. DOES NOT INCLUDE TAXES, LICENSE, TITLE, PROCESSING FEES, INSURANCE AND DEALER CHARGES. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. OFFERS VALID THROUGH 02-20-17.