After a sobering trip to #Kyiv, Secy of State Antony J. #Blinken is urging #POTUS#Biden to lift some restrictions on how Ukraine can use American arms.
The #UnitedStates should slap sanctions on ICC ofcls who seek an #arrest#warrant for PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a top foreign policy adviser to #Republican presidential #candidate Donald Trump said on Tues after meeting the Israeli leader.
3 fmr #UnitedStates foreign policy ofcls in Trump's admin met w/ Benjamin Netanyahu & other public figures in #Israel on Mon….
The delegation was comprised of Robert O'Brien, who served as Trump's 4th & final #NationalSecurity adviser, as well as fmr Ambassador to the #UAE John Rakolta & fmr Ambassador to #Switzerland Ed McMullen….
After 75 years of failure, one would imagine that a people would learn what works and what doesn’t, both from their own experience, as well as the experience of others.
2 years ago, #Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz outlined bold, long-term goals: Strengthen the country’s depleted military with extraordinary investments and adopt an assertive foreign policy defending global norms.
And he has mostly delivered on that promise, explains an expert on international security, who says the ‘legacy of his strategic pivot is likely to endure’
When you elect magats to congress, whether or not they decide to do anything at all depends on whether or not they think it will further their plans for dominion and armageddon. Literally. Johnson only capitulated on Ukraine because he thinks it will lead to more people converting to his cult and pushing his cult's unpopular policies.
Not because the safety of the free world depends on it. Right wing christians couldn't care less about that.
These whackadoodles have no business being in Congress or any government position. They're insane. They are letting bronze age fairy tales decide 21st century issues. It's deranged.
An army of Jesus”: Inside Mike Johnson’s come-to-Jesus moment ahead of Ukraine reversal - Johnson met evangelical leader of Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast before last week's press conference
By Jonathan Larsen, Published April 22, 2024
#House Speaker #MikeJohnson is plowing ahead on a #ForeignAid plan that has roiled his conference & prompted 2 #Republicans to push an effort to oust him….
But instead of the complex 4-part plan he floated this week, Johnson now intends to try to pass 5 bills — 1 each for #aid to #Ukraine, #Israel, & #IndoPacific allies, …a #GOP wish list of #ForeignPolicy priorities & a 5th…to address widespread Republican… [#border ] demands….
#Russia’s Foreign Ministry has been drawing up plans to try to weaken its Western adversaries, including the #UnitedStates, & leverage the #Ukraine#war to forge a global order free from what it sees as American dominance, acc/to a secret Foreign Ministry document.
“We need to continue adjusting our approach to relations w/unfriendly states,” states the 2023 document, which was provided to The WaPo by a #European#intelligence service. “It’s important to create a mechanism for finding the vulnerable points of their external & internal policies w/the aim of developing practical steps to weaken #Russia’s opponents.”
…tougher & blunter…than the public #ForeignPolicy doc, the secret addendum, dated April 11,2023, claims the #US is leading a coalition of “unfriendly countries” aimed at weakening #Russia bc Moscow is “a threat to Western global hegemony.” It says the outcome of Russia’s #war in #Ukraine will “to a great degree determine the outlines of future #WorldOrder,” a clear indication Moscow sees the result of its invasion as bound w/its ability—& other #authoritarian nations—to impose its will globally.
…The creation of the #ForeignPolicy Concept & the classified addendum followed a call to Russian academics for policy suggestions. One proposal submitted in Feb 2023 to the Foreign Ministry by the deputy head of Moscow’s Institute for the Commonwealth of Independent States, which maintains close ties to #Russia’s #security apparatus, laid out Russia’s options more bluntly still.
The academic, Vladimir Zharikhin, called for #Russia to “continue to facilitate the coming to power of #isolationist#RightWing forces in #America,” “enable the #destabilization of Latin American countries & the rise to power of #extremist forces on the far left & far right there,” as well as facilitate “the restoration of European countries’ sovereignty by supporting parties dissatisfied w/ economic pressure from the #US.”
#Trump has frequently boasted that he could negotiate peace between #Russia & #Ukraine within 24 hrs if elected, even before taking office. But he has repeatedly declined to specify publicly how….
Trump-aligned #ForeignPolicy thinkers have emphasized addressing threats to #US interests from #China & seeking ways to reverse Russia’s increasing dependence on China for #military, #industrial & #economic assistance. They have also embraced limiting #NATO expansion.
#Trump has said that he thinks both #Russia & #Ukraine “want to save face, they want a way out,” [everything’s about ego to Trump] & that people in parts of Ukraine would be okay w/being part of Russia….
Accepting Russian control over parts of Ukraine would expand #Putin’s #dictatorship after what has been the biggest #LandWar in #Europe since #WWII. Some of Trump’s supporters have been trying to persuade him against such an outcome.
" 'I think Trump and Grenell would upend American leadership of the free world, from Truman on the left to Reagan on the right, and replace it with something much darker,' said Daniel Fried, who spent four decades in top State Department posts, including as an assistant secretary of state and a director of the National Security Council. 'It’s transactional. Democratic values are irrelevant, and it’s isolationist.' ”
The announcement came hours after #POTUS had a tense phone call w/PM #Netanyahu during which Biden threatened to condition future support for Israel depending on how it addresses his concerns about #CivilianCasualties & the #HumanitarianCrisis in Gaza.
In a stmnt, the #NSC said that #Israel had agreed to open the #ErezCrossing to allow #aid into northern #Gaza & to also open the #PortOfAshdod. The measures were being taken “at the president’s request,” the stmnt added.
“These steps,” the stmnt said, “must now be fully & rapidly implemented.”
There was no immediate confirmation from the #Israeli government.
Nearly all of #aid that has reached Gaza has entered through 2 border crossings in the south, & conditions are especially bad in northern #Gaza, where most of the population lived before being #displaced by #Israel’s invasion.
While in #Lebanon, Dimitri Lascaris caught up with Laith Marouf, a #Canadian of #Palestinian#Syrian origin. Marouf has long been an outspoken #defender of the Palestinian cause & a prime target of #Canada's #ZionistLobby#CIJA. During their visit to the Beqaa Valley, Lascaris & Marouf talked about #Zionists' extraordinary efforts to silence Marouf.
We've got a #Czech-focused podcast for you this week. We're discussing what happened when the Wall Street Journal rather patronisingly described Czechia as 'a small ex-Soviet satellite state'. Plus, why the Czech government is so much less scared of China than others in Europe.
#JosephLieberman, the doggedly independent 4-term #US#senator from #Connecticut who was the Democratic nominee for VP in 2000, becoming the first Jewish candidate on the national ticket of a major party, died March 27 in NYC. He was 82.
The cause was complications from a fall, his family said in a statement.
[Foreign Policy Live Podcast]: Is the World Prepared for More Terrorism?
Counterterrorism analyst and regular FP contributor Colin P. Clarke shares his insights with Ravi Agrawal. Clarke also serves as a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center.
During #Biden’s speech on #healthcare yesterday he was interrupted by protesters advocating for #Palestinians in #Gaza. Instead of ignoring them & moving on, #POTUS responded, “They have a point; we need to get more care into Gaza.” He added, “Everybody deserves healthcare.”
Remarks by #Gallant & #LloydAustin before the meeting underscored the divide. While both noted their countries’ commitment to #Israel’s #security, Gallant emphasized what he said was the urgent need to destroy #Hamas, secure the release of Israeli #hostages & “ensure Israel’s military edge & capabilities.”
#LloydAustin focused on the dire consequences the #war has had for #Palestinian#civilians. “The number of civilian casualties is far too high, & the amount of #HumanitarianAid is far too low,” he said. The safety of #Palestinians in #Rafah, where >1 million people are holed up, was a “top priority,” he added.