LAST GENERATION NETWORK NEWS / Headline News Edition / Tuesday / AM READ.

BY ISHAAN THAROOR   THE TAKEAWAY So far, the most meaningful role played by President Trump in the miserable conflict in Syria has been his relentless demonization of Syrian refugees. But the war still smolders, and the White House will, sooner or later, have to reckon with its complexity. It may also need to confront the mounting evidence of atrocities committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On Monday, Human Rights Watch issued a report on the regime's alleged use of chlorine bombs during its successful campaign last year to reclaim the last rebel-held territory in the city of Aleppo. The rights group documented at least eight separate chlorine gas attacks before a cease-fire was signed on Dec. 13. "The attacks resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, including four children, and wounded roughly 200," reported my colleague Thomas Gibbons-Neff. "If confirmed, the attacks would be a significant breach of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention that Syria signed in 2013." That year, the Obama administration almost went to war against the Assad regime for its alleged role in a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians. The U.S. ultimately chose not to launch punitive air strikes, in part because of a deal brokered by Moscow that saw Syria sign on to the convention and pledge to give up its chemical weapons stockpiles. Nevertheless, chemical attacks seem to have continued, and even insurgent groups like the Islamic State have deployed munitions from their own illicit stores. A separate report released on Monday by the Atlantic Council, entitled "Breaking Aleppo," also confirmed the use of chemical weapons, as well as the regime's widespread and deliberate targeting of civilian areas in the city, including hospitals, schools and bakeries. Its analysis was based on an exhaustive study of satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage. The report rebuked both the Russian government, which assisted the regime's aerial bombing campaign, and Iran, whose proxy militias fought on the ground alongside Assad's forces. "The biggest revelation of this report is not necessarily that these attacks were happening, but the scale at which they were happening," said Eliot Higgins, a senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council, to CNN. Perhaps the most grisly revelations came last week in an Amnesty International report, which alleged the regime carried out a campaign of mass executions between 2011 and 2015, hanging as many as 13,000 suspected dissidents in that time. Assad, though, laughed off these claims in an interview with Yahoo News on Friday. He also darkly warned that some people among the roughly 5 million Syrian refugees now languishing outside their homeland were actually "terrorists." Assad frames the war as a battle pitting his government against those "terrorists," sinister jihadist forces propped up by shadowy foreign powers. He and his supporters extol the success of small-scale ceasefires and "reconciliation" measures in various towns and neighborhoods once controlled by rebels. The irony is that the Assad narrative seems welcome in the Trump White House, which has made clear it's not interested in fomenting regime change in Syria and simply wants to tackle the threat of the Islamic State. The White House's main solution for Syria's humanitarian calamity — beyond shutting the door to refugees — would be the creation of safe zones in the north of the country, something politicians as disparate as Hillary Clinton and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have suggested before. But Trump officials have been largely silent on how they would achieve this goal. Experts point out that such an intervention would itself be provocative and likely opposed by the Syrian regime and its ally, Russia, in the U.N. Security Council. Even then, the safe zones may not be that safe. "The objective of this kind of project may be described as fundamentally humanitarian, but the reality is that any number of parties, starting with the Assad regime and the Islamic State, are going to see it as a threat, and that’s going to make it a target instead of a safe place,” said Daniel Byman, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University, to the Christian Science Monitor. Officials from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, and the UN shake hands following Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Jan. 24. (Sergei Grits/AP) Russia, Iran and Turkey are now steering the slow-moving Syrian peace process forward. A new round of talks is expected to take place later this week in the Kazakh capital of Astana, with the U.S. taking a back seat. That Ankara and Moscow — once on opposite sides of the conflict — are now tightening cooperation underscores the increasing irrelevance of the United States to the Syrian endgame. "In the aftermath of Aleppo’s destruction, the Trump Administration inherits a U.S. position that is weaker than ever, in an even more shattered Syria," concludes the Atlantic Council report. But it's not clear yet whether the Trump administration has much desire to improve that position.

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first visit to the Trump White House went about as well as it could. At a joint press conference on Monday, the unlikely duo — Trump, a right-wing populist keen on slamming the door to immigrants, and Trudeau, a liberal who celebrates multiculturalism and welcomes refugees — stood side-by-side and delivered safe talking points on their nations’ shared common values and deep trade ties. Trump seemed to shy away from his earlier threats to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, at least when it comes to existing arrangements with the U.S.’ northern neighbor, and Trudeau said he had no right to come to Washington and "lecture another country on how they choose to govern themselves.” • American reporters, though, weren’t particularly interested in the bonhomie. The entire news cycle on Monday was dominated by intrigue over the future of Trump’s national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, who resigned late on Monday because of his apparent dealings with Russia. On Monday evening, my colleagues continued their stellar reporting of the Flynn story by revealing that Justice Department officials had warned the White House last month that Flynn had misled senior administration officials and could potentially be vulnerable to Russian blackmail. More below on Flynn’s uncertain future. • The U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea for its recent ballistic missile test, which diplomats deemed a “grave violation” of Pyongyang’s obligations under existing resolutions. We’ll see what further punitive measures the international community musters. As my colleague Simon Denyer reports, the launch proved awkward for China, one of North Korea’s few friends, and signs point to Beijing’s increasing annoyance with the isolated totalitarian state. The missile launch took place over the weekend while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was dining with Trump amid the marble porticoes of the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Accounts now made public of the moment the two leaders heard about the launch paint a surreal picture of aides turning the club’s terrace into an open-air situation room. It also raised serious questions about the manner in which Trump and his staff were dealing with classified information — particularly after an election campaign where they made political hay with Hillary Clinton’s private email servers. • In a somewhat surprise move, the White House chose to retain the Obama administration’s top advocate for gay rights at the State Department, according to Foreign Policy’s John Hudson. Randy Berry, an openly gay foreign service officer, had been appointed Special Envoy for Human Rights of LGBTI Persons in 2015, but his position was assumed to be under threat amid a Republican administration courted by right-wing evangelical Christians. "The move marks the latest surprise decision by Trump on gay rights as he juggles the agenda of his staunchly conservative cabinet and top aides, and his cosmopolitan, New York-bred daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner,” wrote Hudson.

A photo released by North Korea's official news agency shows the launch of a Pukguksong-2 ballistic missile on Feb. 12. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) Strategic silence? On Saturday evening, as President Trump dined with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the terrace of his private Palm Beach club, he got word that North Korea had test-fired a ballistic missile. Much has been made of the highly public nature of Trump's post-launch deliberations and the seeming lack of security protocols that went with them. Just as notable, however, is the unusually muted tone President Trump has taken since the incident. At a press conference shortly after the launch on Saturday, the Trump said that the United States stood behind Japan, "its great ally, 100 percent." He touched upon the subject again at another press conference on Monday, saying "North Korea is a big, big problem and we will deal with that very strongly” — but not elaborating on what that would actually entail. Trump has repeatedly made it clear that he views North Korea as a serious threat, often speaking bombastically about the country before he entered the White House. His administration is undertaking a review of U.S. policy on North Korea, and many expect him to take a more proactive approach at odds with Obama's "strategic patience" — a position some Pyongyang-watchers may well embrace. But even now, three days after a provocative North Korean gesture, the details of Trump's policy on the peninsula remain unclear. Part of this is understandable, given staffing issues. "You don’t devise a North Korea policy sitting around a table one day in response to a [missile] test," said Jeffrey Bader, who was the top adviser on US policy in Asia to former president Barack Obama, to Public Radio International on Monday. On the plus side, Trump's slow response to North Korea may represent an opportunity. John Delury of Yonsei University argues in Foreign Affairs that it is likely Pyongyang will develop the capability to hit the continental United States with a nuclear missile within the next four years. Delury advises Trump to stay away from hawkish actions such as increased sanctions, saying instead that it is time to cautiously reach out to Kim Jong Un. "The United States needs a new strategy for dealing with Kim," Delury writes. Right now, "Trump is well placed to deliver it." — Adam Taylor

Ever since the Post revealed last week that President Trump's national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, discussed sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. before taking office, Trump's fractious circle of aides has been in a glaring spotlight. That's obviously not great for the presidency itself, but the aides themselves may want to remember that seeking spotlight isn't their job, says Politico — especially when they look as weak as the New Republic says they do. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera points out that for all the talk of a "Muslim ban" on TV lately, Muslims themselves have been largely absent from the conversation. A White House where no one is in charge Trump may thrive amid interpersonal chaos, but the presidency cannot. By Michael Gerson | The Washington Post  •  Read more »   What happens when White House aides get too famous? Team Trump might want to remember the dangers of flying too close to the spotlight. By Jeff Greenfield | Politico  •  Read more »   Trump’s team of weaklings He promised that his administration would be tough. Instead, it is weak, rudderless, incompetent, and plagued by backbiting. By Brian Beutler | The New Republic  •  Read more »   Why can't Muslims talk about the Muslim ban on US TV? US cable news media's coverage of Trump's 'Muslim ban' featured predominantly white men instead of Muslims. By Khaled A. Beydoun | Al Jazeera  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT

President Trump has wasted no time in enacting his anti-immigration agenda since taking office. The first large-scale raids under his administration have resulted in the arrest of hundreds of immigrants, worrying advocates about the future. In Milwaukee, protesters took to the streets to denounce the raids. At the same time, a rising number of refugees who no longer feel safe in the states are risking it all to cross the northern border. Trump just getting started with immigration raids The president granted himself sweeping authority to step up deportations, and he's poised to use it. By Seung Min Kim and Ted Hesson | Politco  •  Read more »   'Day Without Latinos' protesters march to Milwaukee County Courthouse, denounce Sheriff Clarke Several thousand protesters marched from the south side to the Milwaukee County courthouse as part of a "Day Without Latinos, Immigrants and Refugees" protest. By Jim Nelson | The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  •  Read more »   Desperate immigrants risk perilous winter trek to Canada In Manitoba, which borders Minnesota and North Dakota, groups that specialize in helping refugees say the pace of arrivals has quickened since Donald Trump became president and banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. By Rob Gillies and Amy Forliti | AP  •  Read more »

"Politicians say we’ve withdrawn. But things are different in the east," says a member of Right Sector, a far-right Ukrainian militia that's fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Unlike other volunteer groups, Right Sector has refused to integrate with the Ukrainian army, and should be barred from the battlefield as a result. But the militia is still attracting recruits, including neo-Nazis from around Europe, and sending them to the front lines — all with the apparent support of the military. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

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We’ve never seen anything like Trump’s rough treatment of his White House staff Government as “The Apprentice." By Chris Cillizza  •  Read more »   Upheaval is now standard operating procedure inside the White House The chaos that was a Trump trademark in business and campaigning now threatens to plague his presidency. By Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker  •  Read more »   Four key Republicans could vote against Puzder for labor secretary Fast-food executive could be Democrats’ best hope of defeating a Trump Cabinet choice. By Jonnelle Marte and Ed O'Keefe  •  Read more »

First person drone racing footage is exactly as cool as it sounds.