SECRETARY POMPEO IS TRAVELLING TO ASIA FOR TALKS WITH LEADERS October 6-8

Secretary of State Pompeo will travel to Tokyo, Japan to meet with Prime Minister Abe; Pyongyang, DPRK to meet with President Moon; Seoul, Republic of Korea with President Moon and Foreign Minister Kang; and, finally in Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterparts to discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues. The purpose of the trip is continue to focus on the final, fully verifiable, denuclearization of the DPRK, and longstanding commitment to American alliances and partnerships in the region.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COUNTERTERRORISM

This week President Trump announced a new National Strategy for Counterterrorism that the State Department says: “…brings to bear all facets of American power to protect our people and interests. The President’s strategy emphasizes the importance of diplomacy and the role of international partnerships in combating the terrorist threats we face.”

The strategy, Secretary Pompeo says, recognizes the need for all nations to equitably share the burden of confronting terrorism, to expand the counterterrorism capabilities of Washington’s partners, and to work collaboratively to defeat the terrorists of today and tomorrow.

Terrorist groups are evolving into more complex, fluid, and fast-moving groups that adapt quickly to efforts to thwart their expansion and violence. Networks such as al-Qa`ida, ISIS, and Iranian-supported terrorists continue to target the United States, America’s allies, and partners.

SECRETARY POMPEO SAYS LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT FINANCE LEGISLATION IMPROVES U.S. COMPETITIVENESS OVERSEAS

The recent Congressional Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018 passed with strong bipartisan support. Known as The BUILD Act, it implements President Trump’s vision for our development finance institutions. It also strengthens the government’s development finance capacity, offering a better alternative to state-directed investments and advancing our foreign policy goals. Secretary Pompeo pointed out: “We are enabling them to mobilize private sector investment to accelerate development and move societies forward. The Act provides opportunities for American companies to compete overseas and create jobs here at home, a critical component of the President’s national economic strategy.”

SECRETARY OF STATE’S PRESS CONFERENCE ON IRAQ, THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE AND PUTTING AMERICA’S DIPLOMATIC CORPS BACK IN THE FIELD
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On October 3, prior to his Asian trip Secretary Pompeo held a press conference in which he discussed three issues: Iraq, the International Court of Justice and putting America’s diplomatic corps back in the field.

Regarding the situation in Iraq, the Secretary said Iran is the origin of the current threat to Americans in that country. “It is to blame for the attacks against our mission in Basra and our embassy in Baghdad. Our intelligence in this regard is solid. We can see the hand of the ayatollah and his henchmen supporting these attacks on the United States.,” he said.

Last week the Secretary ordered the temporary relocation of U.S. Government personnel from the American consulate general in Basra. He also warned the leadership in Tehran that the United States will hold Iran “directly responsible for any harm to Americans or our diplomatic facilities, whether perpetrated by Iranian forces or by associated proxies or elements of those militias.”

These acts appear to be attempts by Iran to counter American successes in the region and are expected to increase after full sanctions are in place beginning on the 4^th of November.

The Secretary also announced that Washington is terminating the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran. Last July, he said, “Iran brought a meritless case in the International Court of Justice alleging violations of the Treaty of Amity. Iran seeks to challenge the United States decision to cease participation in the Iran nuclear deal and to re-impose the sanctions that were lifted as a part of that deal. Iran is attempting to interfere with the sovereign rights of the United States to take lawful actions necessary to protect our national security. And Iran is abusing the ICJ for political and propaganda purposes and their case, as you can see from the decision, lacked merit.”

The Secretary also discussed “putting the diplomatic team from the United States Department of State back on the field.” Currently, there are 65 nominees waiting for confirmation in the United States Senate. This number equates to over 25% of all senior-level confirmable positions.

Secretary Pompeo stated that he wants “…every single American to know that what Senator Menendez and members of the Senate are doing to hold back American diplomacy rests squarely on their shoulders.” While there is bipartisan agreement that a fully staffed State Department is critical to American national security, Senator Menendez and others, he pointed out, have held up highly-qualified appointees some for as long as 207 days.

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, 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