A NEWS CO-OP IN DC SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE

Category archive

FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 11

Chronic Pentagon Wasters Tied to Afghanistan’s Troubled Mining Industry

Nearly half a billion dollars spent by the US government to develop Afghanistan’s mining industry is at risk of being wasted, according to a Department of Defense inspector general investigation published Thursday. The majority of the projects that raised concerns internally originated from a now-shuttered Pentagon agency that has already been accused by the comptroller several times of profligate spending in the impoverished, war-ravaged nation: the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko reported that after… Keep Reading

Pentagon Spox: “Too Soon” To Assess Impact Of ISIL Oil Strikes, Compares Effort To Boxing Match

After intensifying its bombing of Islamic State (ISIL) oil infrastructure, a Pentagon official talked up the strategy on Thursday, despite conceding that it’s too early to tell if the targeting is having a desired effect. Operation Inherent Resolve Spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that the strikes against ISIL’s petrol assets in Syria likely won’t yield an immediate impact, but used a boxing metaphor to claim they will eventually. “I look at it as in boxing as body shots, right?” Col. Warren said via satellite from Iraq. “You… Keep Reading

Sessions: “Strange and Dangerous Cults” Justify Religious Immigration Bans

Four Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against a resolution calling on the United States to not bar individuals from entering based on their religion. The measure in particular drew the ire of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala) who launched into a 25 minute-long speech that described “many” religions as “strange and dangerous cults and criminal organizations.” “Many religions go broader than personal relationships with God. They include a belief in the ordering of government, of what the law should be and what public policy should be,” Sessions said.… Keep Reading

Pentagon Proposes Expanding Global U.S. Footprint in ISIL Fight

Defense Department officials are lobbying the White House to build or expand a series of military bases in the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia in order to create an “enduring” counter-Islamic State (ISIL) presence. The proposal is aimed at specifically boosting intelligence and attack capabilities against ISIL, according to a report by the New York Times. Although the White House refused to comment on the scheme, Pentagon officials described it to The Times as including central “hubs,” housing each between 500 and 5,000 US… Keep Reading

“Safe Zone” Intervention Could See Syrian Refugees “Expelled” from Turkey, Europe, and Elsewhere, Carter Cautions

A leading Obama administration official warned that a popular proposal for humanitarian intervention in Syria could lead to refugees being forced back into the war-torn country. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that the creation of “safe zones” inside of Syria could result in people being “expelled, so to speak, into this zone.” He noted the possibility of forced repatriation among a number of reasons why the Pentagon isn’t cavalier about the idea. “I think it would be undesirable if it became a place into which people… Keep Reading

Pentagon Spent $150 Million on Afghanistan “Villas,” Security for Lavish Compounds

The Pentagon spent $150 million in Afghanistan renting “villas” and private security contractors for Department of Defense employees there—officials from a now-defunct economic development arm called the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said “it is unclear what benefit the US received” from the outlays, and that the expenditures appear to have been made without a prior cost-benefit analysis. SIGAR John Sopko said that TFBSO could have saved taxpayers “tens of millions of dollars” if… Keep Reading

Amid Peace Talks, Hillary Clinton Urges Syria Rethink, No-Fly Zone

During a major policy speech in New York on Thursday former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on the White House to broaden its intervention in the Syrian Civil War and change tack on ceasefire negotiations that have recently yielded some breakthroughs. Addressing national security issues in the wake of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, Clinton aligned herself with the Obama administration on most counterterrorism policies, except in regard to current military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL). She called on… Keep Reading

White House Promises To Kill Syrian Refugee Roadblock Bill

The White House said it would veto a bill the House is expected to approve on Thursday that would effectively sink President Obama’s goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees next year. A reaction to the Nov. 13 Paris terrorists attacks, the bill would subject those fleeing the Syrian Civil War to additional layers of screening–a move that could grind the refugee program to screeching halt. “This legislation would introduce unnecessary and impractical requirements that would unacceptably hamper our efforts to assist some of the most vulnerable people… Keep Reading

Congress Could Tighten Travel Restrictions In Wake of Paris Attacks

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters Wednesday morning that the Senate will know more in the afternoon, after a classified briefing, about how it wants to proceed in the wake of the Nov. 13 Islamic State (ISIL) attacks in Paris. Corker said beyond concerns over refugee admissions, the Senate might want to take a look at the visa waiver program, noting “some of the people who conducted this heinous activity in Paris were French citizens.” “Do we have systems in place to ensure that people… Keep Reading

Senators Denounce E.U. Israeli-Settlement Labels In Letter Treating Parts of West Bank as Annexed

Thirty six US senators suggested Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations with the European Union could be complicated if the EU moves forward with a product-labeling policy to highlight goods made in Jewish-only settlements in Occupied Palestine. The bipartisan group on Monday, led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to EU head envoy Federica Mogherini in a message that effectively treated wide swaths of the West Bank as Israeli territory. “Differentiating between products made by Israeli companies creates a… Keep Reading

TPP Malaysia Trafficking Report Inquiry Pivots to Kerry

Secretary of State John Kerry might soon be summoned to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the Trans-Pacific Partnership corrupting key elements of a consequential annual department paper. Lawmakers in a foreign affairs subcommittee hearing on Wednesday blasted this year’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report before department officials who claimed to be unable to divulge institutional thinking on country rankings. The information was sought widely by members of the panel and other lawmakers who were invited to the proceedings. “As you yourself indicated, we don’t… Keep Reading

1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 26
Go to Top