FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 19

Thousands of homes and businesses in Afghanistan’s second-largest city are at risk of plunging into darkness as the US struggles to create reliable sources of electricity in the war-torn country. In a letter sent earlier this month published Wednesday, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) warned Pentagon and State Department officials of the imminent blackouts, and asked them about plans to secure a power supply for Kandahar City—an industrial hub of almost 500,000 residents in southern Afghanistan, and a regular flashpoint for fighting.… Keep Reading

The State Department’s chief internal watchdog on Tuesday bemoaned an exemption to a federal law that prevents his office from digging into allegations of wrongdoing by senior agency officials. Testifying before a Senate Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing, department Inspector General Steve Linick said that his office “is not always afforded the opportunity to investigate allegations of criminal or serious administrative misconduct by Department employees.” He said that while other agencies—including the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security—are required to refer cases of likely misbehavior… Keep Reading

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously declined on Tuesday, at a critical juncture, to advance legislation that would have overtly threatened ongoing multilateral nuclear negotiations with Iran. But the panel’s decision to not advance a bill that would have made US diplomats’ work effectively impossible will be challenged by floor amendments, conservative senators warned at a hearing Tuesday. The committee had agreed to strip out measures that would have made the so-called P5+1 deal contingent on issues not directly related to Tehran’s nuclear program—proposed legislative… Keep Reading

The US continued on Wednesday to tacitly drum up support for a possible invasion of Yemen by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition. The State Department confirmed that it was stepping up military aid to the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan—Islamabad is currently considering a request from Riyadh to join the alliance—and brushed off concerns about it enabling a ground invasion of Yemen. “Every country can make their own decision about if and how they participate in the Saudi-led coalition,” acting department spokesperson Marie Harf… Keep Reading

As angry residents continued to protest the construction of a new US military base in Okinawa, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter met with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday in hopes of relieving some of the local tensions. During a press conference with Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatami, Carter talked about moves the Pentagon is making to “take some of the pressure off of certain location in Okinawa.” He said the US military is returning land and assets to the local population, which has frequently… Keep Reading

A State Department investigator found that the US Embassy in Tajikistan has suppressed reports about human rights abuses rather than include them in cables to Washington. The department’s inspector general found that “in at least one case,” the Embassy was ordered by its bosses in Washington to “issue a corrected cable.” The audit, however, turned up “no pattern of distorting information.” “Officials in three bureaus questioned whether information critical of the government and military was appropriately included in reports,” the report, which was publicly released… Keep Reading

A freshman Democratic lawmaker and former ambassador to Switzerland questioned the conventional wisdom about nuclear weapons and the balance of power in the Middle East, as Congress continues to weigh in on the framework of the Obama administration’s historic agreement with Iran. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), said that a nuclear weapons-seeking Iran, technically, wouldn’t necessarily be starting an arms race in the region, and that Tehran almost certainly would not be using nuclear weapons if it acquired them. “If Israel does have nuclear weapons, we… Keep Reading

At six in the morning on Thursday, in Lausanne, Switzerland, after all-night talks, the US and Iran reached an agreement about restricting the latter’s ability to conduct nuclear research over the next two decades. The White House revealed this bit of color on a conference call Thursday afternoon, painting a picture of the result of complex negotiations–delicate talks involving the constant relaying of messages between delegations and their capitals, it said, in remarks attributable to “Senior Administration Officials.” It is a multilateral effort with a… Keep Reading

A French judge on Thursday ordered a retired US General to appear in a Guantanamo Bay torture case brought by two French citizens and former detainees. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the commander of the notorious prison from 2002 until 2004, was summoned by an appeals court judge in litigation brought by Nizar Sassi and Mourad Benchellali. The two men have alleged that Miller systemically carried out “torture and ill-treatment on persons deprived of their freedom without any charge and without the basic rights of any detainee,” according… Keep Reading

As news of a Chinese “great wall of sand” stirred commentary about the state of security in East Asia, a top American diplomat urged Beijing to exert its power with a more deft sleight of hand. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that he has suggested to Chinese officials that they emulate an early Cold War United States in developing multilateral institutions that have “benefitted us tremendously in these 50, 60, 70 years since.” “It’s something I suggested that our Chinese friends might… Keep Reading