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FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 15

China Devalues Currency, Treasury Does Nothing, Senators Cry Foul

State Department officials and financial regulators shrugged their shoulders in response to the Tuesday devaluation of China’s currency, as top lawmakers urged the administration to sanction Beijing. State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said Tuesday afternoon that “we have seen progress” in China’s orientation toward letting foreign exchange markets determine the value of the yuan, while an unnamed Treasury Department spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it was “too early to judge” the move. “China has indicated that the changes announced today are another step… Keep Reading

Senate to Investigate T.P.P. Influence on “Heartless” State Human Trafficking Report

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is investigating the State Department to probe the impact of political influence on this year’s annual human trafficking report. Senior Republican and Democratic members of the committee made plans for the inquiry publicly at a hearing on Thursday. They called the department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons report into disrepute, and stressed concerns that Malaysia benefited from a questionably favorable grade specifically to smooth the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Citing a Reuters article published Monday which chronicled unprecedented amounts of meddling by… Keep Reading

Obama: G.O.P. Iran Policy Would Bring Global Economic, Military Catastrophe

President Obama claimed that worldwide economic disruptions could occur if Congress rejects the Iran deal and the US unilaterally imposes penalties on Tehran for maintaining a nuclear program. Laying out his case for the agreement while giving a speech at American University in Washington, Obama described the accord as being backed by a global sanctions regime that will start “unraveling” if the US goes it alone. A solo attempt to snuff out widely-accepted energy programs only in Iran, the President said, could force the US government “to cut off countries… Keep Reading

Obama Approves New Combat Rules In Syria, Mission Creeps Further Into Confrontation With Assad

The administration’s fledgling train and equip program in Syria took on a new dimension this week when the White House said it would provide defensive air support to US-backed rebels attacked by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The guidelines, which layout parameters for both offensive and defensive support operations, drastically increase the odds of a US military confrontation with the Syrian government, and were revealed after the first batch of Pentagon-backed Syrian recruits were deployed to fight the Islamic State (ISIL). A senior military official described the new policy to… Keep Reading

China Dodges Worst Human Trafficking Grade Amid State Dept. Meddling “Not Previously Known”

China was spared the worst rating in the State Department’s annual report on human trafficking thanks to the efforts of political appointees. Career experts working on the paper recommended that the largest exporter of commodities to the US be downgraded to “Tier 3,” but they were ignored by “senior American diplomats,” according to a report published Monday night by Reuters. The analysis was one of fourteen on “strategically important countries” influenced by administration officials, the wire service noted. While disputes are common between the nominally independent… Keep Reading

Cecil The Lion Act? House Committee Passed Global Anti-Poaching Bill in June

The killing of a lion in Zimbabwe by a Minnesota dentist that sparked worldwide outrage this week is something Congress could use to pass legislation with 65 cosponsors that has already been advanced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The panel last month approved of the Global Anti-Poaching Act, a bill introduced in May by Committee Chair Ed Royce (R-Calif.). The Congressional Budget Office scored the legislation on Tuesday–the same day that news of Cecil the Lion’s slaying went viral. The proposal, the CBO predicted,… Keep Reading

Kerry: Dropping Bombs “The Easiest Decision in the World” if Iran Violates Nuke Deal

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday flogged the Obama administration’s militarist credentials, stressing that the President is prepared to use force if Iran flagrantly violates the nuclear deal it signed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Kerry made the remarks before the House Judiciary Committee, while stressing his belief that the agreement, if implemented, will prevent the longtime US adversary from secretly acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities. “President Obama is the only president who has actually commissioned the development of… Keep Reading

Obama Admin Boosts T.P.P. Membership for Slave Labor Hotbed

The State Department has greased the wheels for Malaysia to join the Trans Pacific Partnership after it upgraded the country’s status in the agency’s annual report on human trafficking. The tier two designation–which, along with the report, was revealed on Monday—was made despite the fact that the State Department itself concluded that Malaysia does not meet “the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.” “The government increased investigations and prosecutions, but obtained only three trafficking convictions—a disproportionate number of convictions compared to the large scale… Keep Reading

“Our Negotiators Got An Awful Lot” — Crucial Undecided Senator Praises Iran Deal

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday lavished praised upon the results of the Iran nuclear deal, despite being unsure if he will support it. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is being intensely lobbied by both opponents and supporters of the agreement, lauded the efforts of US envoys during the first major oversight hearing examining the final deal. “Our negotiators got an awful lot,” he said in his opening statement, also remarking that critics made claims about the draft agreement that were… Keep Reading

Relinquishing Control Of Gitmo Still A Non-Starter In US-Cuba Talks

President Obama might be running out of time to fulfill a 2008 campaign promise to close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay. One thing he’s not in any rush to do, however, is give control of the land that Gitmo sits on back to Cuba. “We’ve been clear that we’re not at this stage at all interested in changing the nature of our understanding and our arrangements on Guantanamo,” US National Security Advisor Susan Rice told reporters Wednesday. She was responding to comments made by… Keep Reading

China Island Dispute Agreement “Not Attainable In The Current Atmosphere,” Top U.S. Diplomat Warns

The State Department’s top official on East Asian affairs this week said that there is a high possibility of land disputes boiling over in the South China Sea. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel remarked that competing claims on islands—mostly between the Philippines and China–and the rhetoric being used to make them don’t bode well for the chances of a peaceful resolution occurring. “Regrettably, I don’t know anyone in the region who believes that a negotiated settlement between China and other claimants is attainable in… Keep Reading

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