Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

CHINA – COVID-19

China increased by 50% its total death count from the COVID-19 virus on Friday, April 17, 2020 – the typically news day of the week when there is a smaller audience. This provides additional evidence backing the growing concerns of other countries, including the United States, that China and its ruling Communist Party deliberately deceived the world about the disease. In a recent interview Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed China’s actions and what it cost the US and the world in terms of lives lost and the economic destruction of thriving economies.

“It’s very clear now that the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization didn’t put that information out into the international space as they’re required to do in a timely fashion, and the result of that is that we now have this global pandemic… We are still asking the Chinese Communist Party to allow experts to get into that virology lab so that we can determine precisely where this virus began. It’s not political. This is about science and epidemiology. We need to understand what has taken place so that we can reduce risk to Americans in the days and weeks and months ahead and get the global economy back on track,” Pompeo said.

CHINA – G5

When asked in an interview if America’s allies in Europe are reconsidering their position on allowing China to, in essence, control their information, Pompeo said that the Trump administration has been out telling the world about the threats that are posed from allowing the Chinese Communist Party to own the infrastructure whether it is Huawei or ZTE. The COVID-19 virus may be the single most significant point in this battle as it puts China’s behavior in the spotlight. Countries that were willing to overlook minor issues may not be doing so in the future.

“I am very confident that at this moment, this moment where the Chinese Communist Party failed to be transparent and open and handle data in an appropriate way, will cause many, many countries to rethink what they were doing with respect to their telecom architecture, and when Huawei comes knocking to sell them equipment and hardware, that they will have a different prism through which to view that decision,” he said.

IRAN

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While all eyes are focused on China Iran has felt free to act in a belligerent manner toward the US Navy in the Middle East. Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels have conducted what are labeled “dangerous and harassing approaches” to several U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, coming as close as 10 yards away. The United States has video showing what occurred which will make it difficult for Iran to deny its behavior.

“…we have seen this before where the Iranians behaved in ways that were inconsistent with international law,” said Pompeo. He pointed out that the current Administration is serious about protecting the country and the US military and its Navy and that it will be making decisions about how to respond.

NORTH KOREA

On April 15, 2020, the US Departments of State, Homeland Security, Treasury, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an advisory to raise the awareness of the cyber threat posed by North Korea. The advisory highlights North Korea’s malicious cyber activities around the world, identifies US government resources that provide technical and threat information, and includes recommended measures to counter the cyber threat. This past week North Korea launched missile off its east coast in a failed attempt to garner some of the world’s attention during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and conducted cyberwarfare against many western targets.

According to a statement issued by the US Department of States, “North Korea’s malicious cyber activities threaten the United States and countries around the world and, in particular, pose a significant threat to the integrity and stability of the international financial system. The United States works closely with like-minded countries to focus attention on and condemn disruptive, destructive, or otherwise destabilizing behavior in cyberspace.” It appears unlikely that the North Korean threat will diminish during the pandemic.

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

Why the Electoral College is Vital

Proposals for radical alterations in the way Americans vote are dangerous concepts that would have dramatic consequences for the nation and its Constitution. Some, such as ranked choice voting, are an unblushing bid to prop up fringe, leftist candidates. Others. if adopted, would essentially disunite the nation and overturn its Constitution. As they consistently have after each election loss, Democrat spokespeople have flooded the airwaves with complaints about the Electoral College. Why, they ask, can’t we have a “popular vote,” and let it be done with. Since the Electoral College process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution, it would be necessary to pass a Constitutional amendment to change this system. The National Archives notes that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject. The answer is as simple as the name of the country: The United States of America. The incredibly successful nation created almost two and a half centuries ago was a union of separate states. Fresh off of dealing with a monarch, it was intentionally set up that way to both prevent the possibility of having an all-powerful dictator, and to prevent larger states from bullying smaller ones. Abolishing the electoral college would essentially disenfranchise smaller states from having any say in the presidency. Indeed, even less populated areas of large states would lose influence. A collection of large cities, (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Jacksonville, etc.) would decide the outcome in who gets the White House. Considering how badly many of those urban centers are run, that would not bode well for the future of the country! Beyond the practical policy implications, it would alienate the populations of those not living in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, who would, for the most part, be reduced to bystanders in the race for the only nationally-elected position. A Heritage study analyzed the concept of a “National Popular Vote” (NPV) this way: “The National Popular Vote (NPV) plan is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to replace the Electoral College. Imbued with the ideals of this nation’s Founders, the Electoral College has proved itself to be both effective in providing orderly elections for President and resilient in allowing a stable transfer of power of the leadership of the world’s greatest democracy. Therefore, while it would be a mistake to replace the Electoral College, replacing this system with the NPV would be a disaster. The NPV would devalue the minority interests that the Founders sought to protect, create electoral administrative problems, encourage voter fraud, and radicalize the U.S. political system. It also would likely violate the U.S. Constitution’s Compact Clause while directly contravening the Founders’ view of federalism and a representative republic. In an age of perceived political dysfunction, effective policies already in place—especially successful policies established by this nation’s Founders, such as the Electoral College—should be preserved.” Trent England, writing for the National Conference of State Legislatures outlined key reasons for the institution: “At the Constitutional Convention, the primary concern of delegates opposed to direct election was that big states would dominate presidential politics. By using a two-step election process, the Electoral College prevents one region, or a handful of major metropolitan areas, from controlling the White House. Support must be geographically distributed around the country in order to win enough states to capture an electoral vote majority. This was particularly important after the Civil War. The nation remained divided, and Democrats became dominant in the south. A combination of intense popularity with some voters and violent suppression of others allowed Democrats to receive the most popular votes in 1876 and 1888 even though they lost the Electoral College and thus those elections.” Eliminating the Electoral College would be a disaster for the United States/