FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 17

The State Department on Tuesday said that it would oppose any multilateral efforts to act on the findings of a UN report detailing possible war crimes during the conflict in the Gaza Strip last year, in an apparent contradiction of an earlier stance it had taken when it publicly claimed to have concerns over Israel’s military operations. “We challenge the very foundation upon which this report was written, and we don’t believe that there’s a call or a need for any further Security Council work… Keep Reading

The US has doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild Afghanistan’s education sector, but a federal overseer is now raising concerns that a lot of that money was wasted on schools, teachers, and students that did not exist. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is demanding answers from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) over reports that the Afghan government falsified education data in order to collect more funding from the development agency. “Does USAID have an estimate of how… Keep Reading

Lawmakers on Wednesday voted down a measure directing the president to withdraw American troops from Iraq and Syria absent a new authorization for use of military force (AUMF) from Congress. The vote was 288-139. The measure, brought to the floor by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) with Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), relied on a provision of the Nixon-era War Powers Resolution to force a consideration by the House of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Syria, which the lawmakers argue were never… Keep Reading

President Obama’s war plan against the Islamic State (ISIL) was openly mocked by a member of his own party during a congressional hearing focused on Middle East policy Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) took Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to task over testimony the Pentagon chief had provided to the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, outlining a nine-point plan to defeat ISIL in the Middle East. “In the nine lines of effort that comprise our strategy, the first one you cited was political,” O’Rourke noted, referring… Keep Reading

Administration lawyers are considering whether or not a 2001 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) can be applied nearly a decade-and-a-half later to a foreign government that had nothing to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks: Syria. “Let me take that question just to make sure that we get you the precise legal answer,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday, responding to a reporter’s inquiry about the 2001 AUMF, and whether or not it justifies airstrikes against government forces loyal to Syrian… Keep Reading

Debate over a new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State (ISIL) stalled this week in the House, despite the Obama administration’s announcement Wednesday that it will be sending 450 more troops to Iraq. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged to reporters on Thursday that drafting a new AUMF has been pushed to the back burner—or rather, shoved off the stovetop—just as US involvement in the conflict is set to ramp up yet again. “We don’t discuss it on the… Keep Reading

While the White House’s threat to veto this year’s annual defense policy legislation has focused on disputes over sequestration cuts and how to fund the Pentagon, a little-discussed point in the warning takes issue with language in the bill that would force the US to send arms to Ukraine. The Office of Management and Budget said that the move by the legislative branch to attach the measure to the National Defense Authorization Act would force the President to give “lethal assistance to the government of… Keep Reading

An industrial park in Haiti with extensive ties to the Clinton Foundation continues to be granted federal aid without oversight mandated by law, according to a report published last week. The Government Accountability Office investigation found that projects associated with the Caracol Industrial Park in north Haiti were green-lighted by the United States Agency for International Development in spite of the fact that the legally-required sustainability reviews of those projects were not completed. “USAID/Haiti officials have not completed a 611(e) certification for every activity that… Keep Reading

Senators voiced frustrations with the US government’s activities in Africa, and asked State Department and Pentagon officials if the fight against terrorism on the continent is undermining support for good governance. During a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) used part of his question time to highlight what he called “a dramatic imbalance between State and DOD” in providing assistance to friendly African governments. “I’m growing more concerned about the potential for militarization of US foreign policy in Africa,” he… Keep Reading