Tag: Foreign Policy Update

U.S. Working in Concert with Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Secure Their Border

The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border has a long-turbulent history. From the 19^th century Great Game to more recent conflicts, the border’s porous state continues to be a source of concern for both governments as well as the international community.

Tajikistan and Afghanistan are landlocked, and their shared 1,344 kilometer border is a hub for controlled and dual-use military and industrial materials, as well as a major drug smuggling route. Threats in the region include violent extremism, as well as narcotics and weapons trafficking.

Because this border is susceptible to trafficking in WMD, the United States has a stake in facilitating closer cross-border ties between Tajikistan and its Afghan counterparts. In 2018, the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation announced a change in foreign assistance programming to focus on areas that present the most critical threats and challenges to U.S. national security. As a result of that decision, earlier this year, ISN’s Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program initiated talks with border security and customs agencies in Tajikistan and Afghanistan to develop a program and process for training officials in both nations that would help them better secure the border and work as partners.

The EXBS program works to enhance U.S. national security by building partner country capacity to comply with international strategic trade control norms to prevent the proliferation of WMD and illicit trade in conventional weapons. Specifically, EXBS helps partner countries build strategic trade controls that are consistent with international best practices, working to strengthen legal and regulatory structures, licensing procedures, and enforcement capabilities.

The EXBS-Tajikistan-Afghanistan partnership kicked off with the establishment of a new facility in Dushanbe called the Regional Training Center on WMD Nonproliferation and Export Control. This training center now works to train Tajik and other Central Asian regional officers in a wide variety of techniques including nuclear and radiological smuggling detection, interdiction, containment, and response. An added benefit: Afghan and Tajik customs and border officials are also receiving assistance with compliance on strategic trade controls, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1540, a binding resolution that requires all countries to establish laws prohibiting the transfer of WMD.

French and U.S. Communities Work Together to Counter Terrorist Radicalization and Recruitment

France and the United States know the threat and impact of terrorism all too well. Despite our global efforts to defeat and degrade terrorist organizations, groups like ISIS and al-Qa’ida will continue to attempt to carry out attacks and inspire others to violence.

To bolster the United States’ partnership with France to counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment, the State Department has encouraged policy makers, researchers, and practitioners from both countries to exchange good practices and lessons learned. Included in these efforts are traditional speaker programs and the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and also new innovative initiatives such as the Strong Cities Network, and the City Pair CVE Partnership Program, which is a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Beginning in 2015, our key engagements have led U.S. and French participants to develop new programs or update existing ones to counter the terrorist threat:

• The State Department helped establish the Strong Cities Network, which includes Bordeaux, Montreuil, Paris, and Sarcelles. Through this global network of local governments, French members have been able to share best practices with other members around the world. Bordeaux, for example, has presented on its Center for Prevention of Radicalization (CAPRI) at Strong Cities Network events in Australia, Lebanon, and Turkey.
• The U.S. Embassy Paris facilitated the first visit of homeland security expert Dr. Erroll Southers of the University of Southern California (USC) to France several years ago to share his knowledge on terrorist radicalization and recruitment and soft targets protection. Subsequent visits to France by Southers led to USC’s Price School of Public Policy signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas for their Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Studies degree program. In November 2017, USC’s Price School and its Safe Communities Institute hosted a Global Summit on Homegrown Violent Extremism featuring French experts that Southers met through previous engagements.
• Marseille participated in a City Pair with Orlando and Tampa in December 2016, six months after the Orlando Pulse nightclub attack in which an ISIS-inspired terrorist killed 49 people. The Marseille delegation met Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, the Orlando Police Department, and community leaders to hear firsthand accounts of their response to that incident. Marseille had its own encounter with terrorism in October 2017 when an ISIS-inspired man murdered two women at the central train station.
• Toulouse participated in a City Pair with Atlanta in November 2017. One of their stops included Clarkston, Georgia, which serves as a model on how to build the resilience of new communities. The exchange provided Toulouse delegates with new approaches on how local governments can work with civil society organizations on countering terrorist radicalization and recruitment.
• During a City Pair in December 2017, a delegation from Lyon learned about New Orleans’ efforts to promote resilience in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, after-school programs, and the protection of soft targets in the French District. Based on the exchanges, delegates are developing programs to engage vulnerable youth in Lyon.
• Strasbourg visited Boston in May 2018 through the City Pair and learned about local government and community responses to the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, including the One World Strong organization formed by survivors, as well as programs to address gang violence and youth delinquency. One World Strong has subsequently worked with survivors of terrorist attacks in Nice and Paris. Based on their exchange, Strasbourg delegates are organizing an international conference this fall to discuss ways to promote community resilience and counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment.
• Local government and community leaders from Paris visited Chicago and Los Angeles through the City Pair in March 2019. In Chicago, the delegation learned about the Illinois Targeted Violence Prevention Program, which educates communities on how to identify and address the warning signs of radicalization. In Los Angeles, the delegation met with Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program staff as well as Homeboy Industries, which helps former prisoners reintegrate.
• The U.S. Embassy Paris in April 2019 partnered with the European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS) to organize a workshop for City Pair alumni and other State Department exchanges from Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants shared lessons learned from their exchanges, including how Vilvoorde, a Belgian municipality just north of Brussels, reduced foreign terrorist fighter departures by developing programs to engage vulnerable youth. A member of Manchester’s City Council talked about how they took lessons from their exchange with Boston into account for the planning of the one-year remembrance of the June 2017 terrorist attack by an ISIS affiliate that killed 22 people.

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The attacks in Marseille, New York, Nice, Orlando, Paris, San Bernardino, and Strasbourg over the past four years are examples of how lethal even one or a few determined individuals can be. Exchanges between France and the United States on countering radicalization and terrorist recruitment remain timely and important – for all of our national security.

Reining in Iran’s Scientists

In March, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury announced new sanctions on Iran, in what amounts to a cautionary message to scientists in Iran who may consider working for the regime. In the announcement, the United States warned that any scientists lending a hand to the regime’s proliferation activities could find themselves on the losing end of a gamble they are making with their professional careers.

Specifically, the sanctions designated 31 individuals and entities under Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, WMD delivery systems, and their supporters. The 14 individuals and 17 entities designated are all linked to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research – also known by its Farsi acronym, SPND.

SPND, founded in 2011, has employed up to 1,500 individuals, many of whom continue to carry out dual-use research and development activities. These activities can be useful for developing weapons delivery systems. Further, SPND’s subordinate organizations spend millions of dollars each year on a broad spectrum of defense projects. SPND scientists perform proliferation- sensitive research and experiments, and SPND continues to use subsidiary organizations, front companies, and procurement agents to acquire dual-use items from third-country suppliers. Ominously, moreover, SPND’s is run by the former head of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Sanctioned individuals and entities, in addition to having any U.S. assets blocked, will be denied access to the U.S. financial system. Further, non-Americans who provide support to these individuals could also be subject to sanctions.

These designations are part of our ongoing campaign of unprecedented economic pressure to change the Iranian regime’s behavior.

Individuals working for Iran’s proliferation-related programs – including scientists, procurement agents, and technical experts – should be aware of the risks to which they expose themselves. 

They may be subject to sanctions that would prevent them from doing things such as sending money to relatives in the United States. What’s more, their names will be linked to Iran’s WMD program, making them international pariahs. Iran’s next generation of scientists has two paths: they can use their skills pursuing noble work outside of the WMD realm, or they can work for Iranian proliferation organizations and risk being sanctioned.

While these sanctions continue the U.S. efforts to exert maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, the United States will continue to work in partnership with allied countries to prevent the global proliferation of WMD. We know from the recently revealed Iranian nuclear archive that the regime cannot be trusted with nuclear capabilities. And as long as Iran continues its proliferation activities, the United States will continue to address Iran’s proliferation and other malign behavior that threatens international peace and security.

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

IRAN

In recent days there has been an escalation in the security situation with Iran. In a written statement on May 9 Secretary of State Pompeo accused Iran of an escalating series of threatening actions and statements toward the United States over the past month. The Secretary said that Washington is not seeking to go to war with Iran but after that country’s “40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities, and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves.”

Should Iran use a proxy against US interests or citizens the Secretary said the answer will be “swift and decisive.”  He added that America’s patience should not be mistaken for a lack of resolve.

This week is the one year anniversary of Washington’s new Iran strategy. Special Representative Hook said: “By nearly every measure, the regime is weaker today than when we took office two years ago. Its proxies are underfunded and demoralized. Unless the regime demonstrates a change in behavior, the pressure on Tehran will mount.”

Referencing the anniversary Secretary Pompeo said Iran chose this date to announce that “it intends to expand its nuclear program is in defiance of international norms and a blatant attempt to hold the world hostage. Its threat to renew nuclear work that could shorten the time to develop a nuclear weapon underscores the continuing challenge the Iranian regime poses to peace and security worldwide.”

Pompeo added that the United States is committed to denying the Iranian regime all paths to a nuclear weapon and Washington will continue to impose maximum pressure on the regime until it abandons its destabilizing ambitions.

CHINA

As talks with China ended Beijing said there are three remaining areas of disagreement with the US on trade. Washington’s response was to impose further sanctions on China until it allows “trade to be open, fair, free, [and] transparent.”

Pompeo, in response to a question from a reporter, said that “We want trade deals not to be national security deals under a patina of commerce. China is a different nation. When it goes to Africa and offers infrastructure, it is almost always the case that it has a national security element to it. We don’t compete that way. The United Kingdom doesn’t compete that way. And we want to make sure those nations, when they choose China, know that there may be some cheap deal or something that appears cheap, but we want to make sure they know that that threat is real and that if China loans you money, they may well foreclose.”

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GREAT BRITAIN

While in London Secretary Pompeo participated in talks with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, concerning London’s consideration of allowing Huawei 5G to operate in Great Britain.

Pompeo said that he had “great confidence” that the United Kingdom will never take an action that will break the special relationship it has with the United States. “With respect to 5G,” he added, “we’re continuing to have technical discussions. We’re making our views very well known. From America’s perspective, each country has a sovereign right to make its own decision about how to deal with the challenge.”

The United States, Pompeo pointed out, has an obligation to ensure that “places where we will operate, places where American information is, places where we have our national security at risk, that they operate inside trusted networks, and we will – that’s what we’ll do.”

ARCTICIn a May 6 speech in Finland Secretary of State Pompeo has strong for China and Russia concerning their Arctic policies. The Secretary stated that Washington had a deep understanding of what Russia was doing in the region. ”It’s visible; you can see it.” He added that the US “national security team makes sure that we do the work to track their actions here as well. We want every nation to have the opportunity to participate in the great things that can be here in the Arctic region. We want fair and open markets, we want free transit, we want the rule of law… What we don’t want is countries like Russia using military power to deny passage for ships that have a right to pass, and to ban things that are inconsistent with international law. If there are good neighbors here in the Arctic region and if Russia becomes one of them, we would welcome that.”

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

VENEZUELA

The Venezuelan military, according to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, “didn’t fracture in the way that we would hope, but it’s just a matter of time. It’s the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he’s not going to govern.” He added that structurally, there is no pathway for Maduro to stay in power. It’s time, he said, for him to leave and the United States also wants to see the Cubans and the Russians out of the country.

Washington is working to secure the southern border at the same time as trying to support democracy in South America. Pompeo said today there are 3 million migrants leaving Venezuela and heading into neighboring countries such as Colombia, Chile and Peru. They need humanitarian support including food. Helping is something, Pompeo added, that is in our nature.

CHINA

Chinese students in the United States are sending information on critical American technologies back to China and it a growing concern in Washington. The Chinese are attempting to put their systems in networks around the world and to steal Western intellectual property using advanced methods that only a few years ago were beyond the reach of the Chinese IT technologists. Washington also is concerned about large, high tech American companies going to China and inadvertently helping the communist regime in every major industry including space and weaponry and artificial intelligence.

ISIS POST-CALIPHATE

ISIS has capabilities post-caliphate and the United States needs to act, according to Pompeo. “…even apart from the Sri Lanka incident, it’s absolutely the case that the capacity for ISIS and other radical Islamic terror groups, Sunni terror groups, remains. Their ability to network – we have al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula that still has real capacity to put the United States at risk through its expertise… But this challenge, this challenge of taking down these networks, is something the United States is going to have to continue to stay right on top of.”

The mission set is very clear according to the Secretary. The US will not allow ISIS to get the caliphate back in either western Iraq or eastern Syria. Washington is applying pressure to the networks whether they are in Southeast Asia, in Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan.

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NORTH KOREA

The United States made a major mistake in earlier Administrations, according to Pompeo. He pointed out that Washington handed North Korea “a bunch of money in exchange for too little, and we’re [Trump Administration] determined not to make that mistake.” Pompeo said Washington is focused on put the right set of incentives in places to achieve its objectives. The end goal is not to overthrow the regime but to achieve denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.  He added that it “solely turns on whether Chairman Kim makes the fundamental strategic decision, the one that he has told me half a dozen times he has made, the one he’s told the President a handful of times that he has made.”

The President and Pompeo has repeatedly said that the United States will be patient to ensure good faith negotiations and real conversations. Pompeo said “…our mission set is very clear: State Department’s in the lead trying to negotiate a solution here. We have great partners in South Korea, Japan, who have been great allies and having these conversations, too. We appreciate all of the work that they’ve done. It’s in their backyard.”

IRAN

In a statement released by the State Department on Friday, May 3, he Trump administration stated that it continues to “hold the Iranian regime accountable for activities that threaten the region’s stability and harm the Iranian people.” This includes denying Iran any pathway to a nuclear weapon and continues the maximum pressure campaign.

Starting May 4, assistance to expand Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable, according to the Department Spokesperson. In addition, activities to transfer enriched uranium out of Iran in exchange for natural uranium could be sanctionable. The United States is demanding Iran stop all proliferation-sensitive activities, including uranium enrichment, and the storage for Iran of heavy water it has produced in excess of current limits.

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

SYRIA

Once again Syria is in the news for refusing a UN request to deliver a convoy of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Rubkan encampment. The US State Department called the action appalling and said that Washington remains “deeply concerned” about the deteriorating situation. The Holy Month of Ramadan is to begin with the majority of the Rubkan encampment composed of suffering women and children. Reports indicate many have not eaten for days due to the lack of UN access and basic food supplies.

UN Security Resolution 2449 calls for the organization to have unfettered and consistent access not only to the encampment but to all vulnerable populations throughout the country. The United States does not impede any person from leaving the encampment. To date, the US is the largest single donor, providing more that $9.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to those affected inside Syria since the start of the crisis.

IRAN

Referring to US attempts over the past year to get countries to reduce their importation of Iranian oil to zero, Brian Hook, the Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State said that balancing our national security and economic interests puts “…us in the position to not issue any new exceptions, to [further] our campaign of maximum economic pressure on the Iranian regime.”

The current set of Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) are due to expire May 2, 2019. By continuing the SRE’s Washington is attempting to force Iran to change its destructive behavior, respect its citizens rights, and return to the negotiating table.

Historically, oil composes about 40% of the Iranian regime’s annual revenue stream and is the number one source of cash, according to Hook. Prior to the imposition of sanctions oil sales accounted for $50 billion in revenue. This the start of sanctions last May that number has been reduced by more than $10 billion. The United States has sanctions nearly 70 Iranian banks and over 100 corporations. Recent reports indicate that some Hezbollah fighter are receiving only 50% of the regular pay from Iran as sanctions start impacting the regime’s ability to fund terrorism.

LEBANESE HEZBOLLAH

For the first time the State Department, under its Rewards for Justice Program, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the global terrorist organization Lebanese Hezballah.  

The organization receives funding from Iran and generates about $1 billion annually from a combination of direct financial support from Iran, international businesses and investments, donor networks and money laundering activities.

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JAPAN

During meetings in Washington last week the US and Japan reaffirmed their bilateral security and defense relationship through their continuing efforts to build and strengthen a free and open Indo-Pacific. The talks also emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation on space capabilities and reaffirmed joint defense priorities. The bilateral discussions included calls for “full respect for freedoms of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas, and reiterated the important of activities that support those principles.

RUSSIA

The State Department Spokesman, Morgan Ortagus, in prepared remarks condemned the decision by President Putin to provide expedited Russian citizenship to Ukrainians living in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine. He stated that “Russia, through this highly provocative action, is intensifying its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

He added that President Putin’s decision creates a “serious obstacle to the implementation of the Minsk agreements” and the reintegration of the Donbas region.

The Minsk agreements were signed by Russia and called for the full restoration of Ukrainian government control over eastern Ukraine.

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

TURKEY

President Erdogan of Turkey was recently in Moscow to discuss the potential acceleration of delivery of the S-400. Due to this acquisition the United States suspended deliveries and activities associated with the stand-up of the F-35’s operational capabilities.  Vice President Pence said, while traveling in Germany, that the United States “will not stand idly by while NATO allies purchase weapons from our adversaries.” According to the State Department, if Turkey acquires the S-400 it runs the risk of losing the Patriot air and missile defense systems.

SUDAN

Recent demonstrations strongly indicate the Sudanese people desire to end Omar al Bashir’s rule. In support of the demonstrations the State Department commended the Sudanese people for “maintaining peaceful demonstrations since December 2018.” The Deputy Spokesperson added that “Sudan has the opportunity to set itself on a new path – one that must include legitimate democratic elections, respect for human rights, and a civilian-led government. The United States strongly supports a peaceful and democratic Sudan. We call on the transitional government to follow the will of the people, work in an inclusive way with all representative parties, and commit to a speedy handover to civilian rule.” Recently, Sudanese security services used excessive force on Sudanese civilians resulting in more than 20 casualties.

Due to these recent deaths the United States has “suspended further Joint Review Committee discussions on Phase II, a process designed to expand bilateral ties with Sudan in six key areas: severing ties with North Korea, expanding counterterrorism cooperation, resolving internal conflicts, expanding humanitarian access, protecting human rights, and addressing outstanding legal claims related to victims of terrorism.” The talks had been scheduled for late April.

SOUTH KOREA

At a recent State Department press conference Robert Palladino, Deputy Spokesperson,  responded to questions about the difference in positions on North Korea held by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and the Republic of Korea’s President Moon Jae-in.

The Secretary and National Security Advisor John Bolton previously met with Moon at Blair House to discuss the ongoing negotiations with North Korea. At that time both Pompeo and Bolton vowed to continue coordinating with the Republic of Korea and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to a final and fully verifiable denuclearization agreement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. No consensus was reached on withdrawing sanctions.

There was speculation that the US might consider Moon’s position and partially remove sanctions it had imposed on Pyongyang if there was movement by the North to shut down its nuclear development program.

President Moon has taken an active role and had hoped to push this issue in Washington. While the Trump Administration considers the US-ROK relationship strong Pompeo was not open to Moon’s viewpoint concerning the partial withdrawal of sanctions. The Secretary has stated repeatedly that he believes sanctions are working and that maximum pressure needs to be maintained to force denuclearization.

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VENEZUELA

Vice President Pence announced that the US is providing nearly $61 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support the regional response for the 3.4 million Venezuelans who have fled the man-made crisis in their country. To date the United States has provided more than $213 million in humanitarian assistance for basic social services.  The aid has been delivered to 16 countries in the region that are taking in Venezuelans fleeing from the repression and chaos. Since FY 2017 this brings the total US assistance in the region to $256 million, of which $213 million is humanitarian aid.

IRAN

In an unprecedented move the United States announced it is continuing to build its maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime by designating the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC], including its Qods Force, as a foreign terrorist organization [FTO] in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” according to Secretary of State Pompeo. The designation, which takes this week, is the first time the US has designated a part of another government at an “FTO.”

The Secretary added that “We’re doing because the Iranian regime’s use of terrorism as a tool of statecraft makes it fundamentally different from any other government. This historic step will deprive the world’s leading state sponsor of terror the financial means to spread misery and death around the world.” The Trump Administration already sanctioned 970 Iranian individuals and entities. The designation is a tool used by the US Government to counter Iranian-backed terrorism. Tehran regularly violates the laws of armed conflict around the world.

The IRGC was responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing which killed 19 American service members and has a long and active history of planning and executing terrorist attacks abroad.

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

VENEZUELA

Venezuelans are suffering. The economy is in ruins. And, now interim President Juan Guaido’s chief of staff has been taken into custody on questionable charges that he had guns in his home. In an interview Secretary of State Michael Pompeo commented on the unstable situation in Venezuela. He reiterated that the American people stand with the people of Venezuela, who are going through horrific times. Pompeo pointed out that the Trump Administration is behaving in the opposite way of Obama’s during the green effort in Iran. He added that: “Instead of shunning the people, we have supported them. Instead of denying the rights of the people of Iran, we’re supporting the rights of the people of Venezuela. We’re committed to this; we’re going to stay the course.”

Washington is approaching Venezuela on several fronts. Pompeo said “There’s the political element, there’s the economic element. We are desperately trying to get humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela. We are committed to helping Venezuela, the region, deny Maduro the opportunity to engage in this thuggish behavior that has been so harmful to ordinary Venezuelans. We’re determined to achieve this outcome, and we’re optimistic that we can get there.”

The political turmoil in Venezuela is expanding as the country is experiencing hyperinflation with the majority of its citizens suffering from malnutrition and many starving, including children. The former Maduro regime has dug in and refuses to give up power. Maduro, who is supported by the military has refused to allow humanitarian aid to cross the border into the country and had led to armed skirmishes with aid convoys.

LEBANON/IRAN

Secretary Pompeo announced that he is in talks with Lebanese government officials about how Beirut can extricate itself from the grips of local Hizballah groups, which are supported by the regime in Iran. He added that there are serious risks to Lebanon and Israel if they permit Hizballah’s missiles in southern Lebanon. There also are “… risks of having Hizballah intertwined in the government” and other “…risks that it presents to the Lebanese people.” The US Government is pushing back against Iran on a number of fronts. Washington recently added a number of names from Iran to its list of terrorist-designated groups and individuals. There also will be another round of sanctions coming up in May 2019.

According to the Secretary, the government has designated “senior leaders inside the IRGC. “You’ve seen us designate financial institutions, financial agents engaged in moving illicit money in support of the Houthis, in support of Hamas, in support of Hizballah. This administration has taken serious efforts across a broad range of threats, a broad range of efforts to Iran to extend its reach. We’ll continue to do that in evaluating whether or not to sanction a particular Iranian entity,” he noted. Estimates suggest that Hizballah may have over 100,000 rockets and may be building tunnels into the Northern Galilee, as well as setting up a military infrastructure on the Golan Heights.

In remarks to the traveling press, during the Secretary’s recent Middle East trip, Pompeo commented that “The simple goal is to get Iran to behave like a normal nation: stop blowing up things around the world; stop fomenting terrorism; stop their assassination campaign in Europe; stop underwriting the Houthis, Hamas, Hizballah.  Simple things – the same things we ask every nation in the world to do we’re asking of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”  

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CHINA

Secretary Pompeo recently stated that the trade war with China was started long before President Trump assumed office. He added that we’ve“…had decades of Chinese abuse where we couldn’t sell our wheat, couldn’t sell our cattle, we couldn’t sell our beans or our cotton into China without a massive tariff, and when we did, they would steal our intellectual property. Those were unacceptable outcomes. The trade war was started an awfully long time ago by China. President Trump’s trying to flip that. He’s trying to make it better. I’ve seen the discussions; I know we’re making progress. I’m hopeful there’ll be a deal with China before too long….”

NORTH KOREA

On Friday, March 22, President Trump unexpectedly announced via Twitter that he is cancelling the recently announced additional trade sanctions aimed at North Korea. His statement caught the Treasury Department off guard as the Treasury Department had only a day earlier announced the additions restrictions. This appears to be the President’s latest attempt to salvage the nuclear negotiations.

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

YEMEN

In a briefing for the press Secretary of State Michael Pompeo talked about the administration’s position on the conflict in Yemen and the US Senate’s vote to end support of Saudi Arabia over its involvement in the conflict. Pompeo said that the US “fundamentally disagrees that curbing our assistance to the Saudi-led coalition is the way to achieve these goals.”

In a strongly worded statement the Secretary pointed out senators who voted “aye” stating that “…we really need to think about whose human rights. If you truly care about Yemeni lives, you’d support the Saudi-led effort to prevent Yemen from turning into a puppet state of the corrupt, brutish Islamic Republic of Iran. If we truly care about Saudi lives, you’d want to stop Iran-backed Houthis from launching missiles into Riyadh. If you truly care about Arab lives in the region, you’d support allied efforts to prevent Iran from extending its authoritarian rule from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea and on down to Yemen. And if we truly care about American lives and livelihoods, and the lives and livelihoods of people all around the world, you’d understand that Iran and its proxies cannot be allowed to control the shipping lanes that abut Yemen.”

To date the United States has given over $2 billion in aid to Yemen. Last year Saudi Arabia provided over $500 million to the Yemeni people with another $500 million pledged for 2019. In contrast, Iran has not given any humanitarian aid funds to Yemen. Pompeo sees the Senate vote as tying Saudi Arabia’s hands when they are contributing significant humanitarian funds to stop the crisis.

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The United States decided in 1998 not to join the International Court of Justice due to its broad and unaccountable prosecutorial powers and to the threat it poses to its sovereignty. According to Pompeo the US is “… determined to protect the American and allied military and civilian personnel from living in fear of unjust prosecution for actions taken to defend our great nation. We feared that the court could eventually pursue politically motivated prosecutions of Americans, and our fears were warranted.”

Pompeo described a November 2017 ICC prosecutorial request to initiative an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan. He said: “That could illegitimately target American personnel for prosecutions and sentencing. In September of 2018, the Trump administration warned the ICC that if it tried to pursue an investigation of Americans there would be consequences. I understand that the prosecutor’s request for an investigation remains pending.”

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The Secretary announced that the United States is initiating a policy of “US visa restrictions on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of US personnel. This includes persons who take or have taken action to request or further such an investigation. These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, without allies’ consent. Implementation of this policy has already begun.” The US already takes steps if a service member fails to adhere to a strict code of military behavior. To forfeit jurisdiction to an international court would impugn American sovereignty.

NORTH KOREA

In response to North Korea’s statement this past week that it may end the moratorium on weapons development and proliferation, Pompeo told the press simply that he expects Chairman Kim to live up to his word. He reminded reporters that negotiators have made progress over the past year. As the start of the negotiations President Trump warned the American people that patience would be needed and to expect the process to take time. Progress had been made with the return of hostages and the cessation of testing of nuclear weapons and missiles. It remains uncertain if North Korea will give up its nuclear program.

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

NORTH  KOREA

A Senior State Department official on Thursday, March 7, stated at a briefing for the media that Washington is at the “most robust state” in negotiations with North Korea in many, many years. He added that the US Government has been working with largely the same North Korean team throughout the process which has allowed negotiators to close the gaps on many issues.

The senior official pointed out that it is “going to be up to the North Koreans, to some extent, to decide to engage on meeting some of the expectations that are out there on denuclearization.” He acknowledged that in recent weeks there has been accelerated activity at some missile sites, including Sohae, but that analysts do not know the purpose of what they are seeing at this time. The North Koreans, according to several American intelligence sources, say that no missiles have been put in place on launchpads.

The senior official pointed out that “…the sanctions are still in place. I think they’re still having a crushing effect on the North Korean economy, and we continue to put our full efforts into policing and enforcing those sanctions because, as we all know well, there is a certain amount of leakage and evasion that has taken place with those sanctions.”

On whether a deal is reachable in the President’s first term the official said: “…what I’m talking about is the finally, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea. That means taking out all their key – parts of their nuclear fuel cycle, removing all their fissile material, removing their nuclear warheads, removing or destroying all their intercontinental ballistic missiles, permanently freezing any other weapons of mass destruction programs, and moving them on a course to reorient their economy towards civilian pursuits in order to make this a permanent direction for their country.

In exchange for that, what the North Koreans will be able to enjoy is integration into the global economy, a transformed relationship with the United States of America, a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and a closure to a 70-year relationship characterized by hostility and warfare between our two countries.”

In a press conference earlier in the day the State Department Deputy Spokesperson refused to discuss whether a missile launch from one of North Korea’s satellites would constitute a violation of the current agreements in place halting missile launches. Interestingly, the Spokesperson was aware of the issue which leads to speculation that North Korea has such capabilities.

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CHINA

Chinese telecommunication company Huawei filed a lawsuit, suing the U.S. Government for prohibiting the federal agency of using its equipment. While the Deputy Spokesperson did not have any updates, he did that that the US “advocates for secure telecom networks and supply chains that are free from suppliers subject to foreign government control or undue influence, which would pose risks of unauthorized access and malicious cyber activity.”

Washington is increasingly concerned by the risks posed by vendors subject to extrajudicial or unchecked compulsion by foreign states that do not share American values. They “need to be weighed rigorously before making procurement decisions on these technologies,” he stated, “So we are in the process of routinely engaging our allies and our partners to provide them with information to help them to evaluate the risks, to exercise vigilance, so they can secure their own systems and protect their own people.”  

ZIMBABWE

The President has extended US sanctions against Zimbabwe under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, due to its continuing, poor human rights record, including its undermining democratic processes and institutions. The Deputy Spokesperson noted that “…these sanctions target certain persons and senior… officials in the Government of Zimbabwe that have participated in human rights abuses related to political repression, or they’ve engaged in facilitating public corruption by senior officials.”

No new names were added to the sanctions list. It appears that President Emmerson Mnangagwa currently has yet to implement the political and economic overhaul required to improve the country’s reputation with the community of nations or improved the ongoing human rights abuses.

Illustration: Pixabay

NORTH KOREA

In a press interview in the Philippines Secretary of State Michael Pompeo responded to questions concerning the reasons behind President Trump’s abruptly ending talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. According to Pompeo, Kim demanded that all sanctions against the country be immediately lifted. The sanctions were voted on and imposed by every member country of the United Nations Security Council resolution, not solely by the Trump Administration. The goal of the UN resolution is denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, something which Kim committed to in previous statements.

Pompeo labeled the talks a long , intractable, and “complex process.” President Trump was praised by former Vice President Biden for ending the current set of talks due to North Korea’s unwillingness to accept reasonable terms for denuclearization. Pompeo said the discussions will continue at a future date. Already the North Korean government has stated it wants to continue working with the United States to resolve their differences. Some criticized Kim’s statement as an attempt to draw out the process. According to a senior State Department official “We didn’t get a deal because there wasn’t a deal to be had.” US Special Representative Beigun will be holding addition meetings with North Korean government officials at a future date still to be determined.

Prior to the first meeting with Kim, President Trump warned the American public to be prepared for an extended negotiating period and that stated he was committed to finding a non-nuclear resolution to the regional destabilization caused by the Kim regime.

PHILIPPINES

In talks with President Duerte of the Philippines, Secretary Pompeo promised that the United States would continue to have the country’s back when it comes to the South China Sea. In August 1951 the two nations signed the long-standing Mutual Defense Treaty which dictated that both nations would support each other if either were attacked by a third party. Support for the Treaty has increased recently due to foreign threats and fear of China’s military actions in the area. Pompeo told reporters he was reassuring Duerte that Washington continued to stand behind the agreement.

Pompeo added that the Treaty “…lays out a very – set of specific requirements, and requirements on both countries – not just the United States to support the Philippines, but each country has its responsibility for its own security as a first and principle matter…. This history, the risk that’s presented by China’s continued encroachment to free and open navigation and the threat that it presents through the militarization of these island reefs, these rocks, is real, and I wanted President Duterte to understand that we value these shipping lanes, we value the Pacific, we value the capacity for countries to make sovereign decisions.

INDIA AND PAKISTAN

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In reference to increasing tensions in the Indian subcontinent Secretary of State Pompeo said “…we were and continue to be very engaged with the issue between India and Pakistan. I spent a good deal of time on the phone… talking to leaders in both countries, making sure there was good information exchanged, encouraging each country to not take any action that would escalate and create increased risk. I had good conversations, and I am hopeful that we can take down the tension there, at least for the time being, so they can begin to have conversations that don’t portend risk of escalation to either of the two countries.”

UKRAINE

In a written statement issued by Secretary of State Pompeo, he said the “United States remains gravely concerned by the worsening repression by Russia’s occupation regime in Crimea. During the past five years, Russian occupation authorities have engaged in an array of abuses in a campaign to eliminate all opposition to its control over Crimea. As part of this campaign, Russia has arbitrarily detained and wrongfully convicted individuals for peaceful opposition to the occupation, and in some cases has forcibly transferred these individuals from occupied Crimea to Russia.

“The United States calls on Russia to release all of the Ukrainians, including members of the Crimean Tatar community, it has imprisoned in retaliation for their peaceful dissent… We call on Russia to cease all its abuses immediately, to end its occupation of Crimea, and, in the meantime, to comply with its obligations under international law, including the law of occupation.

In the Crimea Declaration of July 25, 2018, Washington reaffirmed its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over Crimea and condemned Russia’s illegal actions in the region. The Secretary stated that the United States will “maintain respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully implements the Minsk agreements.” 

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

ARCTIC

In response to a press conference question on US policy in the Arctic, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo stated that the “Arctic is a space where there should be freedom of navigation; there should be low tension; there should be security; there should be rule of law; there should be transparency about what’s taking place.”

In recent years the Russian military has become heavily involved in the Arctic region, which represents a potential threat to the United States, its allies, and maritime commerce. In addition to the world’s only nuclear heavy icebreakers, the Russians have developed 10 military air bases above the Arctic Circle. Pompeo added that Washington is working with other democracies to ensure that malevolent powers do not create new or expanded problems in the region which could impact the rest of the world.

In recognition of the Arctic challenges posed by Russia, and to some extend China, the United States is updating its US Coast Guard’s (USCG) aging icebreaker. China operates two heavy icebreakers. While the USCG has two heavy, non-nuclear icebreakers; only one is operational. Both are beyond their expected 30-year service limit. There is a critical need to secure US interests in the region and maritime commerce.

For the first time in 40 years the United States is building a new heavy ice breaker. Congress recently restored $650 million in funding for the ship-building program to begin replacing the Polar Star, the United States’ only working heavy icebreaker. Congress also allotted $20 million in funds to begin purchasing materials for a 2^nd icebreaker, with a goal of building a total of six, three of which are scheduled to be heavy ice breakers. In comparison, Russia operates the world’s only 2 nuclear heavy icebreakers along with 38 non-nuclear heavy icebreakers.

Moscow has 11 additional ships in production making it the dominant force in the region. When complete Russia will be operating 51 icebreakers in the mineral- and oil-rich Arctic environment. This raises additional concerns in the West if Arctic ice continues to melt and opens a year-round passage which military ships from China and eastern Russia could traverse to quickly reach the US East coast and Western Europe.

IRAN

The greatest security challenge in the Middle East is Iran, according to Secretary of State Pompeo. In a press conference in Iceland last week he spoke about how the US and its allies have vanquished ISIS and eliminated the caliphate in Syria. He added that this will allow Washington to withdraw troops but doesn’t end the mission. “We fight ISIS on multiple continents today, but our tactics will change, and they’ll continue to change, and we will adapt just as ISIS adapts. We get the threat from radical Islamic terrorism. President Trump understands this intently. We’re determined to fight them where we find them and to reduce the risk to not only the United States but to our allies,” he said.

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SUDAN

On February 20, 2019, the governments of the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement concerning the escalating conflict in South Sudan, which is in breach of the December 2017 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the September 2018 revitalized peace agreement.

The statement notes that recently thousands of South Sudanese have been displaced and fled across the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo to escape the violence. It also calls on all parties involved, the Government of South Sudan, the SPLM-IO, and the National Salvation Front to end the violence and allow unrestricted access to Yei and the surrounding area for the UN Mission in South Sudan, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism, and other humanitarian groups.

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