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Foreign Policy Update

NORTH KOREA AND CHINA

The United States’ position on North Korean sanctions has not changed, according to Robert Palladino, State Department Deputy Spokesperson. The international community “will continue to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions to underscore to North Korea that the only way to achieve the security and development that it seeks is to forsake its weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery,” he added. Washington recognizes that to maintain maximum pressure on Pyongyang it must combine sanctions with other measures.

Sanctions are only partially effective as there are several mitigating factors the Trump Administration cannot control. There is a built-in domestic resilience in the North due to its burgeoning underground economy. Sanctions also appear to be solidifying the population’s willingness to absorb the economic impact. In addition, North Korea has sought and received energy, food, and other aid from its communist partner, China.

Sometimes referred to as two countries “in the same bed, but with different dreams” Beijing finds itself dealing with a belligerent ally. Chinese President Xi Jinping now views North Korea as a strategically less important ally today than just a few years ago. At the same time Xi recognizes Beijing must ensure the North doesn’t aggravate the United States enough to cause Washington to increase its military presence on the Korean Peninsula. The bottom line for China is that under no circumstances can the United States be permitted to take military control of North Korea. Some analysts in Washington are going as far as to venture that there is an actual split in the China-North Korea relationship that has virtually destroyed the once valuable alliance.

COLUMBIA

Earlier this year Secretary Pompeo traveled to several nations in South America talking with leaders about challenges facing the region. During his tour he visited Columbia and spoke with President Duque. Columbia is one of the United States’ major free trade partners and a strong ally.

This past week Kiron Skinner, Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, reaffirmed the Secretary’s message of positive change in a speech declaring that “…Colombia faced a series of challenges when the 21st century began. They stemmed from violent guerrilla insurgencies led by groups like the FARC and E-L-N that were involved in the drug trade. The weakness of institutions, and the resulting weak rule of law, exacerbated social divisions and led to violence between state actors, paramilitary groups, and drug traffickers. But remarkably the picture has changed – and largely for the better.”

Skinner attributed the turnaround in part to Washington’s “Plan Columbia,” in which the United States delivered assistance to the country by aiding military and counter-narcotics operations, provided help in bringing FARC to the negotiating table to discuss how to reduce violence and by delivering aid to rural, weakly-governed areas to strengthen rule of law. The Trump administration demands accountability in how Columbian aid is allocated and what American resources are used in rebuilding the country. Skinner added that it appears to be working. Today the once violence-ridden nation is acting as a regional leader in efforts to help stem the ongoing violence in Venezuela and to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

ISRAEL

The State Department announced this week that “…unlike previous administrations, [the Trump Administration] is willing to acknowledge the reality that there can be no comprehensive peace agreement that does not satisfactorily address Israel’s security needs in the Golan Heights.”

This is an area that is vital to Israel’s national security. The State Department Deputy Spokesperson called recent rocket attacks on Israel “outrageous” and “unacceptable.” He condemned the attacks saying that Israel has the right to defend itself.

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MEXICO CITY POLICY

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the U.S. is refining its enforcement of the Mexico City Policy of 2017. This is a Reagan-era directive that safeguards U.S. taxpayer dollars used to support foreign nongovernmental organizations. The policy prohibits organizations that perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars.

President Trump boldly expanded the Mexico City Policy in 2017, according to Pompeo. He added that it “now protects every human life impacted by the nearly $9 billion of foreign aid we spend on global health programs each year, and in turn protects more unborn babies around the world than ever before… And I’m proud to serve in an administration that protects the least amongst us.”

The vast majority of our implementing partners have agreed to comply with the policy, he said. “This administration has shown that we can continue to meet our critical global health goals, including providing healthcare for women, while refusing to subsidize the killing of unborn babies.”

The Secretary directed that his foreign policy team take all appropriate action to implement this policy to the broadest extent possible. He also announced further refinements to advance U.S. efforts to protect the unborn. The U.S. will now refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry and “will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end-runs” around U.S. policy.

The Secretary told the press that Washington will fully enforce “federal law prohibiting the use of U.S. funds, including foreign assistance, to lobby for or against abortion, otherwise known as the Siljander Amendment.”

He specifically pointed out that OAS “should be focused on addressing crises in Cuba, Nicaragua, and in Venezuela, not on advancing the pro-abortion cause.” Washington will reduce U.S. contributions to the OAS equal to the estimated U.S. share of possible OAS expenditures on these abortion-related activities.

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.

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