Category: Foreign Policy

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Donald Trump Foreign Policy The Trump Adminstration War and Peace

Turns Out Jared’s Middle East ‘Peace Plan’ Was All About Greed – Now The Region Is On Fire

Back in September of last year, just a couple of months before the 2020 election, then-President Donald Trump bragged that he’d done the impossible: He’d created peace in the Middle East by facilitating a deal between Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. He patted himself on the back and even gave some of the credit to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who had reportedly been a major factor in the deal.

Of course, the peace deal was little more than words on paper because it didn’t include the Palestinians, who were (and still are) demanding statehood, which truly would be a deal to celebrate.

Eight months after the so-called Abraham Accords, the Middle East is in flames yet again as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians flares up yet again and threatens to expand into a wider conflict.

What happened? Well, the simple way of putting it is that Jared made a deal premised on greed, wishful thinking, and the belief that his father-in-law would get a second term in office.

David A. Andelman notes in an op-ed he wrote for CNN, that the fragile idea of peace in the region is more threatened now than it has been in decades:

“The plan, in what has become known as Jared Kushner’s Vision for Peace — a tribute to the efforts by the former President’s son-in-law — spelled out in a detailed map for Israel to halt expansion of any new settlement activity on a large swath of the West Bank without American consent, which Kushner affirmed would not be given ‘for some time.'”

Translation: They kicked the can down the road. Israel agreed to stop building settlements, but not for “some time.” It was a deal, but not really.

Instead of actual peace, Bahrain, and the UAE inked deals to buy more military hardware from U.S. defense contractors and in exchange the White House would look the other way as Israel did whatever it damn well wanted.

Also, it should be noted that Israel, Bahrain, and the UAE weren’t at war when the “peace” pact was signed, so what exactly was the point? It was little more than political theater, meant to bolster Trump as polls showed Americans thought he had badly mishandled the COVID pandemic.

Where does the fake Trump-Kushner “peace” leave us? Quite simply, screwed. And if Israeli forces launch a ground invasion of Gaza in order to destroy Hamas, there’s a very real chance there can never be peace among Israel and its Arab neighbors.

With social media being such an essential part of the modern world (including in the Middle East), it’s only fitting that Twitter is alight with mockery and anger aimed directly at Jared, a man who has never accomplished a damn thing in his life, just like his father-in-law:

The Middle East is in complete chaos, and Jared Kushner is partially to blame. Is this asshole good at anything other than kissing ass and marrying a woman whose father became president?

 

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Foreign Policy Fox News U.S. Senate War and Peace WTF?!

Tough Guy Lindsey Graham Is Now Threatening China With War

Now that he’s no longer on the White House’s speed dial and has become largely irrelevant, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is desperate to pretend he still has some modicum of power.

Proof of that was on display when Graham appeared on Fox News Monday, rattling the proverbial saber as he threatened China, even though he doesn’t make foreign policy.

Graham was asked this question by host Ben Domenech of The Federalist:

“What do you think we need to be doing in terms of sending China a clear message, given their increased military activity and all the different ways that they’re challenging us on the world stage?”

Graham responded:

“Stand up for the Uighurs. Your father-in-law is rolling over in his grave now, the America John McCain fought for and was willing to die for is changing in front of us. I like what Trump did, he stood up to the Chinese. You steal our stuff, you’re going to pay a price. Human rights still matters. Let the Chinese know that if you try to take Taiwan, we’ll have a war and you’ll lose it.”

Human rights still matter? Is that supposed to be a joke? Donald Trump never talked about human rights in China. He was far too busy starting a trade war that he lost and that may have also played a part in costing him a second term in office He even told Chinese President Xi Jinping that he completely approved of putting the Uighurs into concentration camps.

Now, however, we’re is supposed to listen to Graham the hypocrite and believe he’s earnest in his concern for minority groups in China? When will Lindsey do the same for minorities in his own country?

Sen. Graham needs to sit down and let the experts shape U.S. foreign policy, because it’s clear he’s auditioning for the 2024 GOP cattle call. As if he has a chance in hell of winning.

 

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Donald Trump Espionage Foreign Policy Russia Trump-Russia

Trump Allowed Russia To Steal The ‘Crown Jewels’ Of U.S. Intelligence: Report

As if it wasn’t bad enough that failed, one-term former President Donald Trump repeatedly kowtowed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it turns out that Russian hackers also managed to steal what is being called the “crown jewels” from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The Associated Press (AP) reports that hackers from Russia managed to steal emails from top officials in the DHS, which could have serious implications for U.S. national security:

“Suspected Russian hackers gained access to email accounts belonging to the Trump administration’s head of the Department of Homeland Security and members of the department’s cybersecurity staff whose jobs included hunting threats from foreign countries, The Associated Press has learned.

“The intelligence value of the hacking of then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his staff is not publicly known, but the symbolism is stark. Their accounts were accessed as part of what’s known as the SolarWinds intrusion, and it throws into question how the U.S. government can protect individuals, companies and institutions across the country if it can’t protect itself.”

The Biden administration is trying to decide exactly what sanctions to impose on Russia for the DHS hack, but based on the AP’s reporting, it seems fair to surmise the punishment will be severe.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) says targeting the DHS allowed Russia to have access to some of the most carefully guarded secrets in the world:

“The SolarWinds hack was a victory for our foreign adversaries, and a failure for DHS. We are talking about DHS’s crown jewels.”

Since Homeland Security is tasked with overseeing several important agencies — including the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Customs Service, the Russian hack means Russian intelligence may have obtained information that could directly impact the security of the United States.

Though it remains unclear exactly how harsh the White House will choose to be with sanctions, it has already become clear to Russia that relations between the two nations will continue to be strained. When Biden was recently asked if he thought Putin was a “killer,” he quickly replied that he did.

Trump, on the other hand, tried to suggest there were many killers in the United States, trying to excuse Putin’s murderous actions.

One thing is certain: Russia and Putin will no longer be coddled by the American head of state. And based on their actions, they damn well shouldn’t be.

 

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Donald Trump Foreign Policy

Foreign Leader Predicts ‘Crazy’ Trump Will Meet The Same Fate As Saddam Hussein

Donald Trump has strained U.S. relations with every country in the world, including our closest NATO allies. He has acted like a spoiled child during high-level diplomatic meetings, insulted foreign leaders, and repeatedly coddled murderous dictators such as Kim Jong-un of North Korea and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Trump has also scrapped U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal with Iran, which took years to negotiate and gave American inspectors the right to oversee Iranian nuclear facilities to make sure they weren’t producing fissile material that could be used in nuclear weapons. After Trump pulled out of the JCPOA, he also imposed new sanctions on Iran.

So it’s only fitting that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has some harsh words for Trump, who will soon be leaving the world stage and handing over power to President-Elect Joe Biden.

According to Newsweek, Rouhani had this to say about the lame duck U.S. head of state:

“The fate of U.S. President Donald Trump will not be better than Saddam Hussein.

“We had two crazy creatures in history who imposed war on the people. One was Saddam and the other was Trump. Saddam imposed military war and Trump imposed economic war on us.”

Rouhani then added:

“We were united during the war and defeated Saddam. We also witnessed the day when that madman was executed. We did not let this economic war reach its goal.”

You probably recall that Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces in 2003, put on trail by the interim Iraqi government, and executed by hanging on December 30, 2006.

While it seems unlikely that Trump will meet a similar fate to that of Saddam, he is facing significant legal jeopardy from investigators in New York, and could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted and found guilty.

In a way, decades in prison is a more fitting punishment for Trump than what Saddam faced. After all, the humiliation of being forced to wear an orange jumpsuit and not be able to get a spray tan when he wants one is probably Trump’s own personal version of hell.

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Donald Trump Foreign Policy The Trump Adminstration

Former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch Is About To Get Some Major Payback On Donald Trump

You may recall that Donald Trump was so upset with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch that he tried on multiple occasions to have her removed from her post and some of his henchmen in Kyiv to stalk her and report back when and where she was going every day when she would leave the embassy.


All of that was mostly for naught, as Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee, and her testimony was one of the key pieces of evidence that led to the impeachment of President Trump, making him only the third president in American history to ever carry the black mark of impeachment next to his name.

Even though the GOP-controlled Senate refused to convict and remove Trump, some news from Ms. Yovanovitch late Friday makes it clear that she may well wind up having the last laugh on Donald Trump, according to CNN:

“Marie Yovanovitch, the former United States ambassador to Ukraine who was a key witness in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, will author a book.

“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the publisher that acquired the deal, said in a Friday press release that the “untitled memoir will recount her long career in U.S. foreign service” and conclude in Washington, DC, where “she found a political system beset by many of the same challenges she had spent her career combating overseas.”


But there’s one detail about Ambassador Yovanovitch’s book deal that’s certain to enrage Trump the most:

“Financial terms were not disclosed, but two people familiar with the deal told the AP that the agreement was worth seven figures.”


Yes, Ms. Yovanovitch has now officially become a millionaire by writing a book and telling what she knows about the Ukraine scandal and Trump himself. And it’s a pretty safe bet that she knows plenty, perhaps even some things that could wind up leading to criminal charges being filed against the president in Washington, D.C. and New York, beyond the meddling reach of Attorney General William Barr, who has no jurisdiction beyond federal criminal matters and cannot call off or hinder any investigations conducted by state authorities.

There’s an old saying that living well is the best revenge. Ambassador Yovanovitch is about to get wealthy and get her payback on Donald Trump at the same time.