FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 3

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee received information behind closed doors on an incident in Cuba that left US and Canadian diplomatic staff injured. But answers remain elusive. “No,” committee chairman Sen. Bob Coker (R-Tenn.) told reporters bluntly after the Wednesday briefing, when asked if investigators were any closer to learning what exactly happened. Corker clarified that the US isn’t accusing the Cuban government of being responsible for the incident, which allegedly left 21 diplomats suffering hearing loss and other ailments. He stated, however,… Keep Reading

The US Supreme Court cancelled an upcoming hearing on the legality of the Trump administration’s Muslim travel ban, one day after the White House introduced a more sweeping, and punitive, measure. Arguments set for next month were removed from the high court’s calendar on the concerns that the President’s new executive order renders the case “moot.” Issued on Sunday evening, an updated travel ban—now in its third iteration—adds more countries to the restricted list, and proposes keeping the prohibitions in place indefinitely. Trump’s prior orders… Keep Reading

A signing session at the United Nations inched the world closer to a first-of-its-kind nuclear weapons ban. Besieging the effort, however, is the nuclear-armed world. As General Assembly proceedings continued in New York on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened more than fifty nations to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Absent from the ceremony were nations already in possession of nukes: the US, Russia, China, the UK, France, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea. Nuclear-armed countries also declined to participate in… Keep Reading

President Donald Trump raised the possibility of launching high-stakes US military operations in three corners of the world on Tuesday, at his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. The president targeted North Korea, Iran and Venezuela–which he termed as “rogue regimes,” from the UN podium, in a speech reminiscent of George W. Bush’s pre-Iraq War “Axis of Evil” State of the Union. Trump’s harshest rhetoric was reserved for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “The United States has great strength and patience, but if it… Keep Reading

A shipment of guns and ammunition from the US to Turkish security forces was formally cancelled, after Congressional review. The abrupt end of the weapons deal resulted from the fallout after a May incident in which bodyguards of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan severely beat a group of peaceful protesters in Washington, DC outside the Turkish embassy. Erdogan’s security force was the intended recipient of the $1.2 million arms cache from New Hampshire gunmaker Sig Sauer. According to the Associated Press, the company itself requested cancellation of… Keep Reading

An effort by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to sunset the broad legislation authorizing post-9/11 military operations failed on Wednesday. Paul’s bid, an amendment to the annual defense policy bill, was killed 61-36, in a motion brought to the Senate floor by Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Thirty-three Democrats and two Republicans–Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Dean Heller (R-Nevada)–joined with Paul, in a bid to keep his amendment alive. Thirteen Democrats voted for the Corker motion at the urging of Jack Reed (D-R.I.),… Keep Reading

The highest-ranking US military officer again warned that the Trump administration stands ready to attack North Korea, despite pleas for peace from South Korea. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Joseph Dunford on Monday said that the Pentagon is prepared “to use the full range of military capabilities to defend our allies and the US homeland.” Dunford made the comments in Seoul while meeting with South Korean civilian and military officials. South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged the sabre-rattling to stop, declaring “there must… Keep Reading

Hours after certifying Iran’s compliance with the multilateral nuclear deal, the Trump administration ratcheted up tensions with Tehran by imposing more restrictions on Iranian non-nuclear activities. The State Department announced Tuesday morning that the US would penalize individuals and organizations associated with the country’s ballistic missile program and its elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Eighteen“entities and individuals” involved with the missile program would face sanctions, the Department said. The Treasury Department also slapped penalties on “seven entities and five individuals” who do… Keep Reading

An investigation by a non-profit group monitoring the war against the Islamic State reported that coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are killing civilians at an alarming rate under President Trump, nearly surpassing casualty numbers accumulated during the entirety of the prior Obama administration. As of mid-July, more than 2,200 civilians have died in coalition military actions since the Trump administration began, according to an investigation by Airwars, published in The Daily Beast. The report noted that at least 2,300 civilians were likely killed during… Keep Reading

Drafters of the State Department’s Trafficking in Person’s (TIP) report are once again under fire from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accused of being too lenient on some of the most abusive nations. Senators focused on the department’s decision to upgrade Malaysia’s status. This year’s TIP report awarded the country with a tier upgrade, citing increased numbers of investigations into and prosecutions of traffickers. It marks the second time in three years that Malaysia has been upgraded in the TIP report—with Senators lodging their objection… Keep Reading

A Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Trump Administration to engage in “direct diplomacy” with North Korea, following its Monday test of an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM). Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that President Trump should pair sanctions with dialogue, warning “there is no military solution to this threat.” “Unilateral action will only escalate tension, increase the paranoia of [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un, and bring us closer to what everyone agrees would be a catastrophic war,” Markey said. The… Keep Reading