Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

ISRAEL

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda has concluded her preliminary examination into the so-called “situation in Palestine” and asked the ICC judges to confirm that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. By taking this action, he pointed out, “the Prosecutor expressly recognized that there are serious legal questions about the Court’s authority to proceed with an investigation.”

The United States firmly opposes actions seeking to target Israel unfairly. Previously, Washington noted that as was made clear when the Palestinians purported to join the Rome Statute, the US does not believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state, and they therefore are not qualified to obtain full membership, or participate as a state in international organizations, entities, or conferences, including the ICC.

IRAN

Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for many years using a campaign of plausible deniability to hide behind their proxies. A senior State Department official in recognizing this point said: “Well, that’s not us; it’s Hizballah,” or, “That’s not us; it’s the militias in Bahrain that are blowing up oil pipelines.”

He stated that the united States has “stripped away the veneer of deniability with our designation and made clear that it’s not just Iran supporting terrorism, it’s Iran engaging in terrorism itself. I think that messaging is important.” There are practical consequences of the terrorist designation. The most important of those, according to the official, is the material support statute. “So, when the Secretary of State designates a group as a foreign terrorist organization, that unleashes a federal criminal prohibition on providing material support or resources to that group. That prohibition was not in place when we had previously sanctioned the IRGC under different sanctions authorities,” he said. Now that that FTO criminal liability regime is in place, that substantially increases the legal risk that second parties and third parties face when they engage with the IRGC.

VENEZUELA

In a recent special briefing at the State Department, Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams, and the charge d’affaires of the US’s Venezuelan Affairs Unit James Story presented the latest developments with regard to the situation on the ground in Venezuela. Abrams pointed out that the National Assembly is the last bastion of Democracy left in the country and it is under attack by the Maduro regime. Of the 167 deputies, 32 have been detained, forced into exile, or had their constitutional immunities from prosecution revoked, he said.

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Reports indicate these attacks have increased in the last week. Abrams pointed out that the “regime’s captive supreme court removed the immunity of four additional parliamentarians so they can be tried for alleged crimes against the state, including treason, after the regime’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, accused them of being involved in an alleged terrorist plot.” In addition, he added, “…on December 17, two of the four denounced SEBIN intelligence agents for threatening their homes and their families. Why? The two deputies said the regime’s motive was to stop the deputies from voting in favor of Juan Guaido on January 5th in favor of his reelection as National Assembly president.”

James Story noted that “The National Assembly will vote on January 5, and the regime is using a combination of threats, arrests, and bribes – up to $500,000 per vote, we have been told – to stop the reelection of Juan Guaido. Threaten, exile, detain, bribe – that is step one. Step two will be to try to grab control of the National Assembly by preventing free elections in 2020. The Venezuelan constitution calls for National Assembly elections next year, and opinion polls make it obvious the opposition will win them – if they’re free.”

“The United States, the other nearly 60 nations that have recognized Juan Guaido as interim president because the May 2018 elections were fraudulent, and every country that seeks a peaceful way out for Venezuela through free elections can see exactly what’s going on in Caracas,” according to Abrams. That is why, he said, the United States will continue the sanctions and strengthen them.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Election Day is Only the Beginning, Part 2

There is a stark contrast in foreign affairs between the Biden-Harris record of a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Putin invasion of Ukraine, China’s assault on the Philippine exclusive economic zone, and the widening Middle East catastrophe. The Trump White House archives provides a lengthy list of foreign policy results. “President Trump restored American sovereignty at home and American leadership abroad, partnering with strong and responsible nations to promote security, prosperity, and peace. Instead of sending American troops to fight in endless wars or giving cash to terrorists in countries like Iran, the United States under President Trump used bold, creative diplomacy to secure peace deals with our allies across the world. With the same “peace through strength” foreign policy that President Reagan once used to win the Cold War, President Trump rebuilt American deterrence power to hold our adversaries accountable. Perhaps most important, the Trump Administration reversed Washington’s decades-long, bipartisan refusal to confront China over its unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and more. Specifically, the Trump Administration: “Secured a $400 billion increase in defense spending from NATO allies by 2024, as the number of members meeting their minimum financial obligations more than doubled Credited by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for strengthening NATO Worked to reform and streamline the United Nations and reduced spending by $1.3 billion Allies, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, committed to increase burden-sharing Protected our Second Amendment rights by announcing that the United States will never ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty Returned 56 hostages and detainees from more than 24 countries Worked to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region, promoting new investments and expanding American partnerships Advanced peace through strength Withdrew from the one-sided Iran Nuclear Deal and imposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian regime Conducted vigorous enforcement on all sanctions to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero and deny the regime its principal source of revenue First president to meet with a leader of North Korea and the first sitting president to cross the demilitarized zone into North Korea Maintained a maximum pressure campaign and enforced tough sanctions on North Korea while negotiating denuclearization, the release of American hostages, and the return of the remains of American heroes Brokered economic normalization between Serbia and Kosovo, bolstering peace in the Balkans Signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act and ended the United States’ preferential treatment with Hong Kong to hold China accountable for its infringement on the autonomy of Hong Kong Led allied efforts to defeat the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to control the international telecommunications system Recognized Jerusalem as the true capital of Israel and quickly moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem Acknowledged Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and declared that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are not inconsistent with international law Removed the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council due to the group’s blatant anti-Israel bias Brokered historic peace agreements between Israel and Arab-Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Sudan Brokered a deal for Kosovo to normalize ties and establish diplomatic relations with Israel Announced that Serbia would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem First American president to address an assembly of leaders from more than 50 Muslim nations, reaching an agreement to fight terrorism in all its forms Established the Etidal Center to combat terrorism in the Middle East in conjunction with the Saudi Arabian government Announced the Vision for Peace Political Plan—a two-state solution that resolves the risks of Palestinian statehood to Israel’s security, marking the first time Israel has agreed to a map and a Palestinian state Released an economic plan to empower the Palestinian people and enhance Palestinian governance through historic private investment Reversed the previous administration’s Cuba policy, canceling the sellout deal with the Communist Castro dictatorship Pledged not to lift sanctions until all political prisoners are freed, freedoms of assembly and expression are respected, all political parties are legalized, and free elections are scheduled Enacted a new policy aimed at preventing American dollars from funding the Cuban regime, including stricter travel restrictions and restrictions on the importation of Cuban alcohol and tobacco Implemented a cap on remittances to Cuba Enabled Americans to file lawsuits against persons and entities that traffic in property confiscated by the Cuban regime First world leader to recognize Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela and led a diplomatic coalition against the Socialist Dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro Blocked all property of the Venezuelan government in the jurisdiction of the United States Cut off the financial resources of the Maduro regime and sanctioned key sectors of the Venezuelan economy exploited by the regime Brought criminal charges against Nicolas Maduro for his narco-terrorism Imposed stiff sanctions on the Ortega regime in Nicaragua Photo: Trump site