FOREIGN AFFAIRS - page 6

The Trump administration on Monday was on the verge of naming the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), but held off in the face of concerns from within the US government. President Trump and the White House strongly back the proposal, according to The New York Times, but “career officials at the State Department and the National Security Council” are delaying the designation. “Former officials said that they had been told the order would be signed on Monday, but that it had now been… Keep Reading

Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn condemned Iran on Wednesday, in a drastic escalation of rhetoric. “As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice,” Flynn told reporters at the top of a daily White House press briefing, prying up diplomatic tracks to Tehran laid by the Obama administration. Flynn claimed that an Iranian missile test earlier this week breached a 2015 UN Security Council resolution and represented “destabilizing behavior.” He also referenced recent attacks in Yemen by Houthi rebels, alleged to be supported… Keep Reading

The stage is being set for a global trade war after the inauguration of Donald Trump; one centered around–but not limited to–China and the United States. Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci said Tuesday that Washington would best Beijing, in any kind of battle. Scaramucci made the remarks, in a bid to assuage elite investors’ concerns about the President-elect, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “What are they going to do, [are] they going to move against our move for fairness?” he asked rhetorically, according… Keep Reading

Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of State hit out at the Muslim Brotherhood in the opening statement that he delivered on Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At the onset of his confirmation hearing, Rex Tillerson called the group “an agent for radical Islam like al-Qaeda…and certain elements within Iran.” The assessment raises the possibility that the Trump administration will not eschew the sort of Islamophobia and authoritarianism that Trump himself promoted during the presidential campaign. Republican advisers and lawmakers have, in recent years,… Keep Reading

President-elect Donald Trump looks determined to put the United States on a collision course with China, after deepening criticism of a long-standing principle underpinning Sino-US relations. Trump said Sunday, in a Fox News interview, that he understood the “One China” policy, after breaking decades of protocol by accepting a post-election congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen. He then went on to question the utility of the policy, telling Fox News anchor Chris Wallace that it could be used as leverage. “I don’t know why we… Keep Reading

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson will reportedly be President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State, but tea leaves in the Senate suggest it could be an uphill battle to get the oil baron confirmed. During a briefing with reporters on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was upbeat about the prospect of Trump’s nominees thus far being approved, but dodged a question on the likelihood of a Tillerson confirmation. “I don’t want to comment on a phantom nominee today,” he stated. Tillerson’s ties… Keep Reading

Those who followed the life and death of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) are well aware that the State Department’s annual assessment of human trafficking can be highly politicized. In 2015, the department upgraded Malaysia to “Tier 2” from “Tier 3,” shortly after Congress forbade the President from negotiating the TPP with countries given the latter designation, in the Trafficking in Persons report (TIP). Not long after, Reuters revealed that officials appointed by President Obama had fought with career TIP bureaucrats on tier rankings–with an… Keep Reading

Donald Trump’s transition team carefully prepared for his recent controversial phone call with Taiwan’s President, according to a report published Sunday evening in The Washington Post. The President-elect had brushed off the Friday conversation as routine, rather than a breach of decades-long protocol. “The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency,” Trump tweeted immediately afterward. “Thank you!” The Post, however, called the flippancy of that assertion into disrepute, reporting that the chat had been “planned weeks ahead by… Keep Reading

Four members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are calling on Donald Trump to “reject” Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton, when considering who to choose as Secretary of State. The lawmakers on Monday urged Trump to reconsider the qualifications of the pair, describing them as “discredited voices on foreign policy that have caused irreparable harm to this country and many others.” Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) sent the letter to the President-elect, noting that the rumored deliberation… Keep Reading

Oversight of two failed government-funded projects in Afghanistan may have led investigators to uncovering large scale fraud. A luxury hotel in Kabul near the US Embassy and an adjacent apartment complex—both half-finished; both now abandoned—appear to be at the center of the scheme, according to a report released on Thursday by the Special Inspector General of Afghanistan (SIGAR). The projects were backed by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to the tune of $85 million. Both projects were spearheaded by Fathi Taher, a Jordanian businessman. The hotel—slated… Keep Reading

The US could find itself mired in a trade war, an organ of the Chinese Communist Party warned, if the Trump administration attempts to put steep tariffs on Chinese imports. Trade between the US and China would be “paralyzed” if President-elect Donald Trump hikes taxes on Chinese goods, a commentary published by The Global Times stated on Sunday. “A batch of Boeing orders will be replaced by Airbus,” the paper stated. “US auto and iPhone sales in China will suffer a setback, and US soybean… Keep Reading