10/04/2017 100 Days

America's policy on Syria is confusing.

The Monday after the bombing, there's no evidence

So, as foreign ministers from Western powers huddle

at the G7 talks in Italy, it's not clear the American attack

The US Supreme Court has a new justice.

Neil Gorsuch is sworn in at the White House and now

could help shape American law for decades to come.

To those much is given, much will be expected.

The balance of power between the populists

and the realists appears to be shifting.

The funeral service for Keith Palmer, the police

constable stabbed to death in the Westminster terror attack.

Thousands of officers lined the route of the funeral cortege

And, it is one of the natural wonders of the world,

Scientists now say two thirds of Australia's Great Barrier Reef

has been destroyed by rising sea temperatures.

This is 100 Days, with me, Katty Kay, in Washington

Four days after Donald Trump launched cruise missiles

against Syria, it's not clear what else he wants to do

America today certainly doesn't feel as if it's on war footing.

And different members of the Trump team are saying different things

about America's Syria policy and the future of President Assad.

Here is the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Sunday.

There is not any sort of option where a political solution

will happen with Assad at the head of the regime.

If you look at his actions, at the situation, it will be hard

to see a government that is peaceful and stable with Assad.

But not everyone in the administration seems

Here's US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with another.

What we are hopeful is through this Syrian process, working

with coalition members, UN and through the Geneva process,

we can navigate a political outcome, and we wish the Syrian people

will determine Bashar al-Assad's fate and his legitimacy.

It is also not clear how this leaves relations

Mr Trump himself hasn't mentioned Russia once since

The US bombing of an airfield near Homs does demonstrate that this

new American President is prepared to draw a line and abide by it, at

For the past six years, Western powers have achieved

Today, their foreign ministers meet in Italy.

America's Secretary of State is in Italy to turn up

the international heat on Syria's President Assad

Rex Tillerson very deliberately joined an international wreath

laying at the memorial to a Nazi atrocity here in 1944,

We remember the events of August 12th 1944, that occurred.

Then he drew a direct parallel to last week's gas attack

We rededicate ourselves to holding to account any and all who commit

crimes against the innocents, anywhere in the world.

Then, President Trump's Foreign Minister, the man who will go

to Moscow later this week, met Boris Johnson,

the Foreign Secretary who cancelled his visit

They are working together to get the widest possible

internationally-agreed challenge to the Russians.

Immediately afterwards, Boris Johnson told me he is pressing

for new sanctions against Russia as well as Syria.

And we will be discussing the possibility of further

sanctions, certainly on some of the Syrian military figures and,

indeed, on some of the Russian military figures who have been

involved in coordinating the Syrian military efforts,

and who of course are thereby contaminated by the appalling

What we're trying to do is to give Tillerson the clearest possible

mandate from us as the West, the UK, and all of our allies

here to say to the Russians, "This is your choice.

Stick with that guy, stick with that tyrant,

or work with us to find a better solution."

President Assad's major backers, Iran and Russia, have now warned

of military retaliation if President Trump repeats last

Friday's cruise-missile strikes, although Iran's President Rouhani,

seen as a moderate, seemed to contradict his own hardliners

today, saying change within the Assad regime

should go hand-in-hand with fighting his opponents.

TRANSLATION: Terrorism in Syria should be eradicated and, of course,

some reform should be permitted in Syria within the Syrian regime.

This evening, G7 ministers, all but one of them Nato members

too, are starting to explore new pressures they could apply,

knowing full well that Russia has so far stuck firmly

For more from the G7 summit, we spoke with

There has been a lot of sound and fury. Very powerfully, Rex Tillerson

has drawn a comparison between Nazi atrocities in Italy at the end of

the Second World War and what has been happening inside Syria. Will

that make any difference? Who knows. Vladimir Putin has resisted all

pressure. There is at least a discussion of additional sanctions

being applied to Russia if it does not moderate its support for Assad,

but that may have been undermined by something that Rex Tillerson

repeated over the weekend in a series of interviews on American

network TV. He made clear that it is not the number one United States

priority, to remove him from power. That remains the elimination of

so-called ices within Syria. So you can see that flood Amir Putin may

feel he can go on resisting whatever pressure may be agreed in Italy, in

talks which will go on deep into the evening and resume again in the

morning. The view in Washington after the strikes what that there

was broad international support for this, and that American credibility

and military credibility had been restored around the world. Is that

your takeaway from the G-7 meeting? To some extent it is. This is a

reversal of Barack Obama's policy of non-aggression in Syria. It is

clearly sending a strong signal that the new administration is conducting

things in a different way. But that is tempered by the clear statements

from the administration that this was a limited, targeted strike,

which was only a response to the use of banned chemical weapons. And that

no such strike would be repeated, unless there is another use of

chemical weapons within Syria. There is no question of a general American

engagement in Syria, with significant military might, nothing

much in what the Russians are using to bolster resident Assad. America's

allies are grateful for what the United States has done, particularly

to enforce the global century-old ban on chemical weapons, but whether

it is a game changer in Syria remains to be seen.

The White House press secretary has been speaking about the American

military action in Syria last week and about trying to create the

conditions to bring about new leadership.

The action that we took last week has been widely praised,

domestically and internationally, is a great step to ensure the

deterrence and preparation of chemical weapons and action against

innocent people. When you watch babies and children being gassed and

suffering under barrel bombs, you are instantaneously moved to action.

The president has made it clear that if those actions were to continue,

further action will be considered by the United States. We continue to

urge the world community to join us in this, in both stopping the

deterrence and preparation of the use of those weapons, but in further

trying to create the political environment that will result in new

leadership. Those are very important, they go hand-in-hand.

So what are the military options now?

I'm joined by Andrew Exum, who was President Obama's Deputy

Assistant Secretary of Defence for Middle East policy.

The White House seems to be making the argument that defeating Islamic

State can lead to the conditions for the removal of President Assad. Has

this action that the US has taken in Syria complicated the fight against

Islamic State? Yes. That was what the risks, it is worth keeping in

mind that the US-led coalition over Syria has been flying in and around

in a Syrian air defences over the past two years, and so Syria and

Russia can come to get the fight against Islamic State. What you are

seeing, and Sean Spicer was all over the map... I did not come out of

that any clearer. That is not the first time that has been the case.

What Rex Tillerson and the ambassador said yesterday was

signalling that political transition remains a priority, the fight

against the Islamic State has to come first, because they are in a

bit of tension. You will see the White House tried to prioritise the

fight against the Islamic State while seeing whether or not this

strike against Syria gives Rex Tillerson anymore leveraged in the

Geneva process. In terms of the options America could have, they

were options that were on the table when you were in the administration

Tom what are they and which do you think are the likely once America

might take next? Friendly, they not going to want to telegraph their

options might be, our focus remains on the Islamic State, they will go

to rack and the Euphrates River Valley. There will not want to

telegraph any intent with respect to the Syrian regime. That is -- that

ambiguity makes sense, because when you have Assad going to Geneva, he

will want to do that with the sense that maybe the president would do

something, without getting into the specific details. I want to see if I

can use some of your expertise, because you were a former Ranger and

captain in the army, and Rex Tillerson has been confident in the

American intelligence, they said the Russians must have known, because

there were people at these bases. When you put conventional weapons on

an aircraft, is it very different from putting chemical weapons on an

aircraft? Would you be that spot it easily? I had a bit of difficulty

with the earpiece. Overall,... Could they have moved chemical weapons

without the Russians at the airbase knowing's that was what they were

getting out yesterday when they made the statement. This serves the

administration politically, to be able to call the Russians out to

say, look, you were the international guarantors for this

deal in 2013, you were present at the airbase, we are not buying the

idea that you were not at least witting of some of the movements

that the Syrian regime were doing. It is canny and wise to put that

pressure on the Russians. In all likelihood, it is possible that

there may be a disconnect between the Russians on the ground in Syria

and the Russians in Moscow. Polls have been done here over the

weekend, Donald Trump has seen a bit of a bump in his approval ratings,

but the things that came out most clearly, there is not political

support via for taking this action further. They will live with this

attack, they do not want further attacks.

You said you do not know if there is a strategy. They said last week that

there was a suite of options that was put to be president, so if there

is a suite of options, there must be some sort of strategy, you would

think? But maybe it is not palatable.

They were drawing up the options, but the administration has to

decide, does it want regime change or not, is it a priority?

And today, President Trump fulfilled one of his key election pledges.

The swearing in of a new conservative, Supreme Court

This was the smaller, private ceremony earlier on Monday.

And then, there was this, the more-public swearing-in

49-year-old Justice Gorsuch was finally confirmed on Friday

after a bitter struggle between Republicans

And whatever this President does over his first 100

days, this will be seen as his most-significant achievement.

The past two months, the American people have gotten

to know and respect and truly admire our newest member

In Justice Gorsuch, they see a man of great and unquestioned integrity.

They see a man of unmatched qualifications and, most of all,

and most importantly, they see a man who is deeply

faithful to the constitution of the United States.

He will decide cases based not on his personal preferences,

but based on a fair and objective reading of law.

We have talked a lot about the problems the administration has had,

this is a huge successful Donald Trump, this man will shape American

legal opinion and American life for decades to come. He is young, by the

standards of the Supreme Court. Many of them are elderly.

Donald Trump could easily get one more PIC. The Justice at the end,

only 49, he has a long time left on that bench.

Two of the three oldest art Liberal Democrat justices. Appointed by Bill

Clinton. So it shows how long they can stay on the bench.

And the kind of impact, if some of the Liberals, if either of the old

ones were to be replaced during Trump's term, that could change the

outcome. A piece I read today, from one of

the justices, the last youngest, she spoke to the Washington Post about

this in a sanctum, the conference room where they meet to discuss

their judgments, and there is a defined pecking order. If you go in

as a junior, you are in charge of cafeteria duties, you are in charge

of answering the door, you have to take notes at the meetings. You

think you are hot stuff when you go in, but they pull you down to earth

as soon as you walk through the door.

Just like on this programme! I was just going to say!

The funeral of the British police officer Keith Palmer,

killed in last month's Westminster attack, has been held in London

Thousands of police officers from all over the country lined

the route of the funeral cortege, which set off from the Palace

of Westminster, where his coffin had laid in rest overnight.

PC Palmer, who was married with a five-year-old daughter,

was guarding the Houses of Parliament when he was

A floral tribute on top of the hearse read "No 1 daddy".

At the gates of the Palace of Westminster, Police Constable

Keith Palmer's coffin paused, at the very spot where

The place where, unarmed, he moved towards a man

brandishing two knifes, where he put himself in harm's way,

where he protected Parliament to protect our democracy.

Police officers from every force in the country lined the route.

Thousands of men and women who did not know Keith Palmer,

but know what it means to wear the badge.

You never really know what you're going to face when you go out there.

So it is with incredible bravery that he did that.

I think it brings home what the job is about,

It shows what a family we are, really, that we all look out for one

another and we all do the same thing at the end of the day.

The global police family came together in London today, including

officers from New York's Police Department.

We have had so much support from officers around the country,

around the United States, as well as from other places

in the world when we have had officers die in the line of duty,

so we have felt a need to be supportive back.

As the cortege headed across the river, police officers

paid tribute in the air, on the water and along the route.

Two of PC Palmer's colleagues spoke of the friend they so admired.

If you could paint a picture of a perfect policeman,

you would be painting a picture of Keith Palmer.

He sounds like a pretty extraordinary man.

He was, he was so down-to-earth and normal.

He came to work because he had a family to support.

He was a fantastic dad and a fantastic husband.

As the coffin passed through the capital,

London stopped what it was doing to remember all those

who lost their lives on that appalling day,

PC Palmer and the four men and women killed on Westminster Bridge.

PC Palmer symbolises the public service and sacrifice that

underpins our society, a debt we owe to all those

who put their lives on the line defending our freedoms.

But he was also a husband, a father, a family man,

and so today is about both national reflection and private grief.

PC Palmer's wife asked that the family's privacy be

respected inside Southwark Cathedral.

But the sound of the service was relayed to the streets outside.

Keith laid down his life for each one of us here.

Each one of you who have lined the streets and filled

In her first public engagement in her new role, Metropolitan Police

Commissioner Cressida Dick honoured a fallen colleague.

He was clearly very kind, very good-hearted, very

hard-working, a very, very talented police officer.

Police Constable Keith Palmer's name has been added to

The grief will lessen, his bravery will endure

Some of the other stories we're following today.

Swedish police are confident they hold the man responsible

for the truck attack last Friday which killed four and injured 15.

The main suspect in custody is 39-year-old Uzbek

He applied for political asylum in 2014 but was refused in 2016.

He was given four weeks to leave the country but then disappeared.

The rumours swirling around the White House at the moment

suggest two of the main men in the Trump administration

On the left is Steve Bannon, the right-wing nationalist

and neophyte who serves as the President's chief strategist.

The much-younger man on his right is the President's son-in-law,

Jared Kushner, who has an expanding portfolio.

He seems to serve as the secretary of everything.

Last week Bannon was removed from the National Security Council

and was later overruled on the military action in Syria.

I was thinking about this, the action in Syria was 180 degrees away

from where Steve Bannon would be. Yes, Steve Bannon was the chairman

of a campaign which talked resolutely about America first, he

was the author of the inaugural address that did not even mention

America -- American engagement in humanitarian activities around the

world, and he was the head of the news network that has been furious

about those strikes against Syria. On that, he seems to have been

losing out. What he needs to learn three words, blood is thicker.

Nobody is going to bet against the husband of the daughter of Donald

Trump. If there is going to be a power struggle between them, they

will win it, I am pretty sure. We're going a bit further

afield now, to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef,

one of the seven natural It is so big, you can

see it from space. But scientists say rising water

temperatures have stripped the colour from two thirds

of the reef, and it's now in danger Mass bleaching happens

when the coral get stressed. It becomes fragile and can

eventually kill it, It's home to more than

130 species of shark A world of brilliant

colour, teeming with life. This is the Great Barrier

Reef at its best. The largest single biological

structure on earth. But vulnerable to

the slightest change. This is how part of reefs

look, a ghostly white. A new survey has found long

stretches of reef have turned pale for the second year running,

giving the corals no chance to recover, and the scientist

in charge says he is worried. It seems likely between this event

and last event roughly 50% of coral will have died in a period of less

than 18 months. That binding measure

is a huge blow to the reef. What is happening to

the Great Barrier Reef This gives you an idea

of what is at stake. This is healthy coral,

on the right coral that's turned Healthy coral provides energy

from algae, but if the water is too Last year, scientists

found the northern third That is where the waters

are usually warmest. This time, the central

section has suffered, and usually the waters

there are cooler. Being bleached two years

running makes it harder Some corals are weaker,

and scientists are trying to find It can bleach but it does

not necessarily die. If a coral bleaches year after year,

that is going to reduce The reef faces a lot

of threats, from pollution But on top of that,

there is climate change. Bringing higher temperatures,

that makes bleaching more likely. I have never been, have you?

I do not spend all my time on holiday! Some of us are working!

Nor does David, I have just seen him outside!

That would have been a good assignment!

You're watching 100 Days from BBC News.

Still to come for viewers on the BBC News Channel and BBC World News.

What is America's next move when it comes to North Korea? We will put

that to a former CIA analyst. The Masters champion who joins an

exclusive club of Spanish golfers. Why this victory was especially

sweet for Sergio Garcia. He kept me up until the early hours!

That's still to come on 100 Days, from BBC News.

After the warmth some of you experienced yesterday, the weather

has been reset. We will not see 25 degrees again for the rest of this

week. Instead, it will be West or north-westerly wind, and

north-westerly as we head into next weekend. These are the temperatures

we are expecting to see, much closer to where it should be for the time

of year. It will not be a horrendous weekend by any stretch, fairly

typical for this stage in April. A few showers, but a lot of dry

weather as well, so there will be some sunny spells. The sun is

gaining strength. In the sun, it will negate some of the chill. It is

turning Chile tonight. Clear skies, lighter wind across southern areas.

A touch of Frost in Shetland as well, but elsewhere across northern

Scotland, lots of cloud. Rain will be setting in. It will be raining on

and off through the day. One or two spots of rain for the Northwest.

Cloud will build elsewhere after a sunny start, much like it did today.

Sunny spells for the afternoon, a bit more clout for the Southern

counties. Once the sun is out, it should feel pleasant enough. A

breeze further north. The breeze picks up for all of us as we go into

Wednesday, ringing a weather front after a wet night. Further south, we

start with rain for Northern England and Wales, on the western side of

the health. It fizzles out and pushes southwards. Not much rain

across the South, still some sunny spells, and feeling cooler for all.

By Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the temperatures are low

enough for a touch of Frost in rural areas. It is driest and brightest

across southern and eastern areas. It is cloudier in the West.

Occasional showers, the most prolific in western Scotland. A

bright day across the northern half of the country on Friday to stop the

cloud threatening rain, but some dry weather to enjoy. It is turning

colder for all. Welcome back to One Hundred Days

with me Katty Kay in Washington Foreign ministers from the G7 group

of industrialised nations are debating what to do next

in Syria - after an apparent chemical weapons attack

by government forces. And still to come -

the Masters champion who joins an exclusive club of Spanish golfers

- why this victory was especially The British foreign secretary

Boris Johnson says the message from the G7 meeting in Italy today

should be crystal clear - President Putin must be made

to abandon his support But can Western allies

find a unified strategy, One senior European diplomat told

reporters the US was "navigating aimlessly in the dark" in the search

for a transfer of power in Syria. Fore more, let's speak

to Sir Christopher Mayer - Boris Johnson were supposed to be in

Moscow today, is it better that he is in Italy negotiating with the G7

ministers or should he be in Moscow? If I was 20 years younger and was

one of his advisers in the Foreign Office, I would have said, do both,

go to Moscow and take the temperatures and then fly to Italy,

and then joined the G7 meeting and enrich the discussions with your

personal observations that would also help Rex Tillerson when he is

also there tomorrow evening. It is not a big deal, but I would have

said there is a marginal advantage in your going to Moscow. But they

have decided they are not going to do that, and so be it. Most people

are recognising that the air strike last week was limited, we have seen

pictures of the C Arun F or is taking off from that airfield. --

pictures of the Syrian air force full stop what was the point of it?

The damage caused was not minimal, and it might be that Syrian aircraft

are flying from the airfield, but it was none of the 59 cruise missiles,

were actually aimed at the runway, they were aimed at the facilities

around the runway. I think it was the right thing to have been done by

Donald Trump and he might have done the right thing for the wrong

reason, but it was the right thing to have done. And it was a very

sharp punch on the nose for Assad and a warning to the Russians,

because if you look at the Russian role in this, Rex Tillerson said

this already, and he is right, either they were taken for falls by

the Syrians or they were complicit in the attack last week which

horrified everyone -- taken for fools. The Russians come out of this

very badly and the lasting Assad would like is to invite another Nato

retaliation if he were to use weapons like that again -- and the

last thing. I think it was a punitive strike by the Americans.

Now, the big task for the G7, for the West and for the international

community, having done that, which has given the United States far more

credibility than they had under Barack Obama, for this reason, how'd

you get to the basic objective? Ceasefire followed by peace

agreement, internationally agreed, and at the same sign the carry on

whacking Isis and the so-called caliphate. -- the same time. I want

to go back to when you were in Washington, when President Bush went

into Iraq. Rex Tillerson was talking about America dedicating themselves

to holding to account anyone who commits crimes against innocent and

it sounded like President Bush when he promised tomography and support

for the innocent around the world, is this the new America? -- when he

promised democracy and support. We haven't a clue, to be honest. Rex

Tillerson has said that but we don't what those words mean. Was it a

statement of purpose which will emerge from a new American foreign

policy? We don't know. All we can say is that there is the possibility

that out of the chrysalis of chaos that has been the Trump

administration since Inauguration Day, there might be something more

coherent and strategic than has been the case so far, but we don't know

yet. If it is the case that Trump is happy to leave the development of a

foreign policy strategy to the wise heads of the Defence Secretary and

the national security adviser, we might see something a hearing with

which we, the Allies, can work. We don't know if this will happen and

whether this is something that Trump once today. The parallel with George

W Bush might emerge but it hasn't emerged yet. Thanks for joining us.

Pleasure. Syria isn't the only foreign policy

problem for President Trump. In fact some would say

the North Korea's rush to develop a nuclear missile programme is a far

more dangerous development. At the weekend the US announced it

had sent a naval strike group to the Korean peninsular,

a clear sign of the It comes on the heels of Mr Trump's

meeting with the Chinese North Korea was front

and centre in those talks. Joining us now is Bruce Klingner,

former CIA deputy division chief for Korea who is now

at the Heritage Foundation. How much do you read into this

strike group heading to the region? Continuing the theme from the

previous guests, there is uncertainty we don't know. It could

be as benign as the expected missile tests during upcoming important

anniversaries for North Korea, and the United States would like to make

sure it has sufficient deterrence abilities, especially when the

missile defences down for repairs, so it's only prudent to have the

Navy there, but you could spin a story of how after the C Arun

attacks and numerous comments from other officials, that all options on

the table -- after the serious attacks. -- Syria attacks. It is far

more likely to be the former than the latter, but there is uncertainty

and unpredictability and a bit of nervousness. She ginned

North Korea and Donald Trump have said they will work together a bit

better. If you still had your job, what would you be looking forward to

see if they were able to do something more on North Korea?

Because the Trump administration did not come out with a list of Chinese

entities that it would impose secondary sanctions on, I would like

to think that China has said they would take action against Chinese

entities that are breaking US law, and maybe the US is giving them time

to take action against the Chinese by laters, and if that doesn't

occur, then I think President Trump will be willing to impose secondary

sanctions unilaterally using US law. We have spoken about leveraging how

you get this level it, but when you are dealing with the North Koreans,

they have put out a statement that they are prepared to go without

electricity and food because in their view this missile programme

guarantees their survival. It is impossible to negotiate with a

country like that. We have seen any number of times that we have tried

negotiating, we have tried aid international agreements, there have

been any number of attempts at engagement and they have all failed,

and so right now country to perceptions that North Korea is the

most heavily sanctioned on earth, that is simply not correct, the

Trump administration has a lot of room where they could more fully in

force US law including by secondary sanctions against Chinese entities.

Thanks for joining us. I spent my time recuperating in the garden this

weekend. But you went to spend your time with 400 teenage girls? It

wasn't quite, but it was extraordinary, we hosted a

conference in Baltimore for 400 local teenage girls and we did this

because there is so much evidence... You have a daughter, that girls lose

confidence. Between the ages of nine and 15, girls confidence that they

can achieve as much as boys absolutely plummets. So I spent the

weekend talking to these incredible girls and we had many great speakers

talking to them about things like girls and science and girls and

finance and sport, it was noisy but wonderful. We have an issue with

this. It is not that my daughter doesn't want to try, she just

frightened of failing. So she will only try at those things she thinks

she can succeed at. Interesting. This is a problem, girls are

perfectionists and they want to be perfect at work and about the way

they look and with their friends, and the trouble is, if you want to

be perfect all the time, it is hard to take risks and file and that is

part of the process of building confidence. -- fail. It is a tricky

issue for all parents. I will keep you updated.

Much of the talk on this side of the Atlantic today Christian

is about Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia - and that incredible

win at the US Masters in Georgia yesterday.

and this morning had this to say: "Thank you very much to all my fans,

sponsors and all the people that made my dream come true!!

You were up all night? Yes, and then it went to a play-off and I thought,

oh God. This was the moment Garcia beat

England's Justin Rose in a playoff - the Spaniard winning his first ever

major title and his reaction shows He has tried 74 times. 73 majors he

had played before this one. I honestly thought, and I don't want

to go shot by shot, but he played the 13th and he hit a Christian

Fraser shot and it went into the trees, and I thought I could go to

bed, but somehow he made par and that catapulted the rest of his

round and he completes a trio of Spaniards who have won this

tournament. Seve Ballesteros, it was supposed to be his 60th birthday

yesterday. He is a hero for all Spanish golfers, especially Sergio

Garcia and Olazabal. I remember all of those victories, action, that

shows I'm getting on a bit. -- actually. Sergio Garcia said five

years ago that he was just not good enough, to win a major, so has his

play changed? It is mind over matter, but behind every good golfer

is a good woman, and he has a new fiancee who was there last night and

she said she believed he could do that. She was walking down the last

with him. She ran onto the green to congratulate him. You are such a

romantic. My wife has never done that to me, though. LAUGHTER

That is One Hundred Days for now - if you'd like to get in touch

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