FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 24

While managing a military campaign against the Islamic State and its penchant for decapitating hostages that has frightened so many, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is sponsoring a writing contest to honor another notorious beheader, the late king of Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon announced Monday that it is holding an essay competition honoring King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz, who passed away last week. The competition was established by Gen. Martin Dempsey, and will be hosted by the National Defense University – a Pentagon… Keep Reading

The Obama administration reaffirmed Wednesday that it doesn’t need Congressional approval for a nuclear deal with Iran. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Congress voting down the diplomatic initiative would sap presidential authority, and that even the possibility of a vote could call into question the sincerity of US negotiators. “There’s a concern that this could set a precedent for future executive branch action,” Blinken said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “The knowledge that there would be, very early on, this kind of vote,… Keep Reading

In the summer of 2012, US Central Command awarded a contract worth more than $456,000 to an Afghan construction company to build a police training facility in the eastern province of Wardak. Four months later, that building was “disintegrating” and overseers of the project were nowhere to be seen. The story of how Qesmatullah Nasrat Construction Company (QNCC) bilked the US government out of half-million dollars is one that regularly plagues the Afghan reconstruction effort, and is documented in the latest report, released on Thursday,… Keep Reading

The State Department said Wednesday that it is still looking into ties between the Charlie Hebdo attackers in Paris and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Department spokesperson Marie Harf said that a video in which a senior AQAP leader takes responsibility for the mass killing was deemed authentic by American intelligence agents, but said that US officials are not yet ready to fully assess what role the Yemeni group might have played. “What does it mean, that ‘they did it’?” she said at a daily press briefing. “Was… Keep Reading

Despite a rash of recent negative headlines and its own travel warnings, the State Department announced Monday increased security cooperation with Honduras and praised its controversial government. After a “High Level Security Dialogue,” department spokesperson Marie Harf said that the pair of countries “discussed areas where we can continue to work together to prevent and reduce crime, hold accountable narcotraffickers and other criminals, and further strengthen judicial institutions.” Harf also said that the Honduran government had “notable successes” over the past 12 months—achievements which include “the… Keep Reading

As Congressional Republicans prepare to use their mandate to combat President Obama’s executive order on immigration, the agency at the heart of the tug-of-war extended a similar policy on Monday to little fanfare. The Department of Homeland Security agreed to extending Syrians’ temporary protected status by 18-months–a move designed to give additional reprieve to victims of a vicious civil war. Syrian nationals first granted the designation in 2012 and 2013 have two months to re-apply for their status, which is now set to expire on… Keep Reading

The Obama administration claimed that the Palestinian Authority and Israel have both taken steps in recent days that have antagonized each other, but on Monday it only publicly said that it has called on one to change tack. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ application to join the International Criminal Court and Israel’s freezing of PA tax revenue in response both undermined the chances for a lasting peace. But while she said that the administration has lobbied the Palestinian Authority to… Keep Reading

The US combat mission in Afghanistan was scaled down at the end of last year. But American taxpayers can expect new tales of misadventure about the war-torn country to emerge over the coming years. John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Monday, with harsh words for federal agencies in charge of US development projects in the nation. He warned Washington-led reconstruction was under the leadership of “horrendous” mismanagement, which has failed to ask simple questions or… Keep Reading