Tag: Human Rights
Stevenson’s army, September 15
– AEI’s Norm Ornstein suggests new rules to get around the Tuberville holds:
Two simple rule changes could break the impasse. First, by majority, the Senate could require an up-or-down floor vote on a confirmation within 30 days after the nominee has been reported out by the relevant committee. An alternative would be for the Senate to create by rule its own variation of the House’s discharge petition: If a majority of senators sign such a petition, it would force a floor vote under a privileged resolution.
– David Rothkopf praises SecState Blinken’s speech at SAIS.
– NYT says both Koreas are now involved in supplying Ukraine war.
– Yesterday the story was shifting aid from Egypt to Taiwan. Today, NYT notes US is still sending a lot to Egypt despite human rights complaints.
– WSJ says Chinese defense minister has been fired.
– CNN says China stopped spy balloon program.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, December 9
– Arizona Senator Sinema announced she is switching from Democrat to Independent. She says she won’t attend weekly caucus lunches but expects to keep her committee assignments. This sounds like the arrangement Bernie Sanders and Angus King have, which means there will still be a 51-49 vote for Democrats to organize the Senate.
– Punchbowl has best account of discussions over an omnibus appropriations instead of a year-long CR.
– Some in House GOP foresee multiple ballots for Speaker, first since 1923.
– WSJ says US plans new Magnitsky sanctions on Russia & China.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here, with occasional videos of my choice. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Stevenson’s army, April 14
The Pulitzer Prizes for 2021 will be announced May 9. Already I’m seeing excellent reporting that might win a year from now.
– WSJ today has two big stories — how NATO training has helped Ukraine and increased intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
– A Politico newsletter says Jake Sullivan has recruited a “nest of China hawks” at NSC.
– Wired tells how hackers have disclosed details about Russians.
– Tom Friedman has a good interview with John Arquilla.
– Russia’s Black Sea flagship has been damaged and evacuated.
– Politico reports complaints about yesterday’s Human Rights report.
– Marine Le Pen wants to reduce French role in NATO, questions aid to Ukraine.
– Russia warns against Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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The angel sings, but the devils are in the details
President Biden today gave his first speech to the United Nations outlining his foreign policy priorities and approach more clearly than he has so far. He aimed to restore trust in American leadership, not only in the aftermath of the Trump Administration but also in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and controversy surrounding the deal to sell nuclear submarines to Australia that shocked and annoyed France.
The priorities were strikingly different from Trump’s:
- Ending the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Slowing climate change
- Encouraging respect for human rights
- Rebalancing geopolitcs
- A level playing field for trade
- Ensuring benefits, and limiting harm, from technology
- Countering terrorism
The first three items would not have appeared on any Trump Administration list. Numbers 4-7 would have, but with a distinctly America First (i.e. alone) spin.
Biden’s means are at least as different from Trump’s as his priorities. He favors diplomacy over war, multilateralism over unilateralism, and the power of America’s example at home over American intervention abroad.
In my book, this is all well and good, but then come the difficulties in applying these methods to actual issues. Encouraging booster shots to Americans is likely not the best way to end the COVID-19 epidemic, but exporting vaccines to poor countries exposes the Administration to criticism, so Biden is trying to split the difference by doing both. Slowing climate change is a grand idea, but can Biden get the legislation through Congress to meet his own goals for limits on American production of greenhouse gases. Encouraging respect for human rights is fine, but what do you do about Saudi Arabia, whose Crown Prince is thought culpable for the murder of a US-based journalist? Rebalancing geopolitics is fine, but what if selling nuclear submarines to Australia requires you to blind-side and offend your longest-standing ally?
And so on: a level playing field for trade is hard to achieve when a major competitor is using prison (or slave) labor to produce manufactured good. Responding to state-sponsored cyber attacks is proving a particularly difficult challenge. Facial-recognition technology, with all its defects, is spreading rapidly around the world even though it is prone to misidentification and other abuses. You may prefer a less military approach to counter-terrorism, but if there is a successful mass casualty attack in the US the military response will be dramatic. Never mind that 20 years of military responses have not been effective and have killed a lot of innocent non-combatants.
As for methods, there too there are problems. The State Department is a notoriously weak diplomatic instrument. Can it carry the weight of additional responsibilities? Diplomacy may be preferable to prevent Iran and North Korea from getting a nuclear weapons, but will Tehran agree? A two-state solution would be best, but how can we get there from here? Multilateralism is often preferable, but not always possible. One of my mentors used to quote President Carter (I think) saying multilaterally where we can, unilaterally when we must. But that judgment is not a simple one. America should be a shining “city on the hill,” as President Reagan hoped, but what then about the January 6 insurrection and the anti-voting legislation in more than two dozen states?
Biden’s angel sang well this morning at the UN. But the devils are in the details. It isn’t going to be easy to get those right in a divided country and a competitive, if not downright chaotic, global environment.
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Stevenson’s army, August 5
– The administration announced a $750 million arms sale to Taiwan, its first.
– Reuters says a new arms transfer policy will be coming soon, with added human rights criteria.
– CRS has an updated report on the congressional process in arms sales.
– China may have converted ferries for amphibious operations.
– Politico explains how HAC Chair Delauro gets her bills approved. [This reinforces my point that appropriations and armed services are the rare committees that know how to pass controversial legislation.]
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
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Peace Picks | June 14-20, 2021
Notice: Due to public health concerns, upcoming events are only available via live stream.
- Carnegie Connects: What Will the New Israeli Change Coalition Actually Change? | June 14, 2021 | 2:00 PM EST | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Register Here
If the inauguration of a new Israeli government—the first in over a decade without Benjamin Netanyahu—takes place this Sunday, it raises a series of questions that bear consequentially on the politics of Israel, the conflict with Palestinians, relations with key Arab states, and the Iran nuclear accord. What will the new coalition government, comprised of eight parties across the political spectrum but led by a new, right-wing prime minister, mean for the future of Israel? How will this new government address heightened tension with Palestinians following the most recent Israeli-Palestinian confrontation in Jerusalem and Gaza? And what does the new coalition portend for relations with the Biden administration, U.S. Congress, and the American Jewish community?
Speakers:
Anshel Pfeffer
Senior writer for Haaretz, Israel correspondent for the Economist, author of Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu
Natan Sachs
Director, Brookings Institution Center for Middle East Policy
Tal Schneider
Political Correspondent, the Times of Israel
Aaron David Miller
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Iran’s 2021 Presidential Elections: The Final End of the Reform Movement? | June 15, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | Register Here
Iran holds presidential elections on 18 June. The entire process is carefully organized. From seven carefully vetted men who were allowed in the race to presidential debates that are entirely devoid of any serious policy discussion, this is an election that has by all accounts failed to excite the Iranian voters. Key policy challenges, including the role of Iran’s foreign policy in resulting in sanctions and dire economic conditions, are largely left unaddressed.
To many observers, this election is also the final nail in the coffin of the reform movement and the idea that gradual political change in the Islamic Republic is possible. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is delighted to host three prominent Iranian observers to discuss this election process and its implications.
Speakers:
Ali Afshari
Iranian Political Analyst and Activist
Nazenin Ansari
Managing Editor, Kayhan London
Negar Mortazavi
Journalist and political analyst
Alex Vatanka
Director, Iran Program, MEI
- Covid-19 in the Middle East: Regional Impact and Future Recovery | June 15, 2021 | 10:30 AM EST | Middle East Institute | Register Here
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to hold the second event in a four-part series in cooperation with Arab Barometer, on the occasion of the publication of Arab Barometer’s findings from the sixth wave of its surveys. This most recent poll was conducted in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19, and assessed regional perspectives on the impact of the pandemic on public health, domestic conditions, vulnerable populations, and the way the region sees the outside world.
The second panel will bring together experts from the US and Middle East alongside Salma Al-Shami, senior research specialist with the Arab Barometer, to discuss the findings as they relate to the impact of Covid-19 and the prospects for long term recovery. How has Covid-19 impacted the region and what vulnerabilities remain? What are the respondent’s perceptions of how their governments addressed the crisis? What does localized and regional recovery look like in conjunction with other ongoing crises?
Speakers:
Yasmina Abuzzuhour
Visiting fellow, Brookings-Doha
Salma Al-Shami
Senior research specialist, Arab Barometer
Shala Al-Kli
Non-resident scholar, MEI; Deputy regional director, Mercy Corps
Karen Young (moderator)
Senior fellow and director, Program on Economics and Energy, MEI
- The Art of War in an Age of Peace | June 15, 2021 | 11:15 AM EST | Brookings Institute | Register Here
As President Joe Biden and his team settle into their new jobs, how should they view the national security challenges facing the United States? And what should U.S. national security policy seek to achieve? Four months into the new administration, it is no longer enough to be the antidote to former President Donald Trump’s unilateralism; a more forward-looking and visionary foreign policy framework is needed. In his new book, “The Art of War in an Age of Peace: U.S. Grand Strategy and Resolute Restraint,” Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon argues that the United States should be resolute in its commitment to defend its core territories, populations, polities, and the economies of its allies, as well as the free and open skies and oceans on which the global economy depends. However, America also needs to show restraint, avoiding costly mistakes that could lead to escalation with great power rivals — such as expanding NATO to include new members — while relying instead on asymmetric defense and deterrence, including economic and military tools to preserve the international order.
Speakers:
Michele Flournoy
Chair, Board of Directors, Center for a New American Security; Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WestExec Advisors; Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Michael E. O’Hanlon
Director of Research, Foreign Policy; Co-Director, Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, Africa Security Initiative; Senior fellow, Foreign Policy Center for Security, Strategy and Technology
Helene Cooper (moderator)
Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times
- Viennese Waltz: How Can the U.S. Balance its Priorities with Gulf Arab Concerns as it Engages Iran? | June 16 | 10:00 AM EST | The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington | Register Here
U.S.-Iranian relations seem poised on a knife’s edge, primarily in the indirect negotiations in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement.
Where do the talks stand? What are the prospects of an agreement, and what sticking points and pitfalls remain between the parties? If the agreement is revived, how much can be accomplished in 2022, particularly considering the rapidly expiring sunset provisions and Iran’s progress on centrifuges and other critical technology? If the agreement is restored on a compliance-for-compliance basis, is there any serious prospect of additional understandings, particularly that address non-nuclear concerns such as Iran’s missile development program and regional network of violent nonstate actors? Will U.S. regional partners in the Gulf influence the negotiations? Could progress between Washington and Tehran help to promote more robust dialogue between Iran and Gulf Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates?
Speakers:
Thomas L. Friedman
Columnist, New York Times
Suzanne Maloney
Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution
Ambassador Frank G. Wisner
Chair of the Board, AGSIW
Hussein Ibish (moderator)
Senior Resident Scholar
- Secularism & Islam in France | June 16, 2021 | 10:00 AM EST | The Wilson Center | Register Here
Laïcité or secularism is a key part of the French political fabric but also causing friction and divisions – especially with Muslim communities. A new “Islamist separatism” bill, which would further expand on the separation of church and state, is currently being passed through the French parliament. It would prohibit any civil servant or contractor for the public sector from wearing religious symbols. Although the bill does not explicitly mention Islam as such, many fear that it could unfairly target and further alienate Muslims in France.
Is secularism in its current form still working in France? What can be done to guarantee the separation of church and state, but also protect religious freedoms and religious minorities? How do legitimate security concerns, and the debate about political Islam and freedom of speech heighten tensions?
Speakers:
Amel Boubekeur
Sociologist, EHESS (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales)
Steven Philip Kramer
Global Fellow ; Professor of National Security Studies, Eisenhower School, National Defense University
Hakim El Karoui
Senior Fellow, Institut Montaigne; Senior Partner & Paris Office Head, Brunswick
William Drozdiak (moderator)
Global Fellow; Author “The Last President of Europe: Emmanuel Macron’s Race to Revive France and Save the World.”
- Human Rights Violations in Black Sea Occupied Territories | June 16, 2021 | 11:00 AM EST | Middle East institute | Register Here
Human rights violations in illegally-annexed Crimea and the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have become a constant element of Russian aggression in the Black Sea region. In both cases, unlawful killings and detentions, enforced disappearances, abductions, and torture are some of the most flagrant human rights violations that Russian and de facto authorities are committing. Additionally, Russian and de facto authorities in occupied territories have also developed targeted policies against the local population, such as borderization in Georgia and militarization and passportization in Ukraine. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, rights in the occupied territories have worsened, and authorities have further restricted freedom of movement, access to education and healthcare, freedom of religion, and workers’ ability to secure a livelihood.
What are the similarities between the human rights violations of Russian and de facto authorities in occupied territories across the Black Sea region? How has the pandemic impacted the human rights situation in the occupied territories of Georgia and Ukraine? What are the next steps in improving the human rights situation in these territories and deterring Russian aggression?
Speakers:
Maria Tomak
Coordinator, Media Initiative for Human Rights, Ukraine
Ann Tsurtsumia-Zurabashvili
Project manager, East-West Management Institute (EWMI), Advancing CSO Capacities and Engaging Society for Sustainability (ACCESS), Georgia
Iulia Joja (moderator)
Senior fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, MEI
- Preventing Catastrophe in Afghanistan | June 16, 2021 | 3:00 PM EST | Center for Strategic and International Studies | Register Here
On April 14th, President Biden announced a complete U.S. troop withdrawal by September 11, 2021, with a peace conference between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban initially set for April 24th in Istanbul, Turkey. However, the peace conference has been postponed indefinitely due to the Taliban reneging. As of April 2021, civilian casualties in Afghanistan have increased by 29 percent as compared to April 2020, with significant increases in woman and child casualties.
As the U.S. withdrawal develops, the economic, political, and human rights future of Afghanistan remains uncertain. These issues in Afghanistan also play into United States interests in the surrounding region, including in human rights, development, and political and economic stability. One school of thought argues that ending U.S. military presence accelerates a real dialogue amongst the parties in Afghanistan. Another posits that a U.S. withdrawal will result in the collapse of development, human rights, and economic progress, specifically gains in social, political and women’s rights issues made in the last 20 years. A current and future challenge will be in determining what role the United States can and should play in Afghanistan following a military withdrawal and what pathways remain for a resolution of the regional conflict.
Speakers:
Earl Anthony Wayne
Senior Advisor, Project on Prosperity and Development
Annie Pforzheimer
Senior Associate, Project on Prosperity and Development
Richard Olson
Senior Associate, Project on Prosperity and Development
Daniel F. Runde
Senior Vice President; William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development
- Digital Occupation: The Implications of Media Moderation in Palestine | June 17, 2021 | 1:00 PM EST | Middle East Institute | Register Here
As the international community has further opened its eyes to the dangerous patterns of censorship and discrimination against Palestinians and Palestinian narratives online, particularly on social media platforms, many have called for legislative reform, policy changes at the company level, and more attention to the needs and concerns of Palestinians on the part of stakeholders in the technology industry. While some limited partnerships and reforms have made progress on this issue, there is still an enormous gulf in the area of policy responses to the problem of online discrimination against Palestinians.
What are some of the implications of this phenomenon? How might it impact movements for Palestinian rights, and broader international attention to the Israel-Palestine question? What are some potential policy steps – both for social media and technology companies, governments and states, and other civil society groups and stakeholders – that might start to address this challenge in a more systematic way? This panel will explore the policy responses to this complex issue and hope to draw attention to some concrete policy reforms for the future.
Speakers:
Radhika Sainath
Senior staff attorney, Palestine Legal
Mona Shtaya
Local advocacy manager, 7amleh
Ashraf Zeitoon
Advisor and investor; former director of public policy, Middle East, Turkey & Africa, Netflix; former head of policy, Middle East and North Africa, Facebook
Eliza Campell (moderator)
Associate director, Impact and Innovation, MEI
- President Jimmy Carter and the Middle East: Reexamining his legacy forty years later | June 17, 11:00 AM EST | The Brookings Institute | Register Here
Beginning in 1977, Former president Jimmy Carter’s administration was one of the most consequential for American foreign policy in the Middle East. His determination to secure an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty transformed the Arab-Israeli confrontation in many ways. During his presidency, the shah of Iran was replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini and the ensuing hostage crisis doomed Carter’s re-election. The Iran-Iraq war also began on his watch. In Afghanistan, Carter devised the strategy and alliances that defeated the Soviet Union and won the Cold War. However, Carter has been an outcast in American politics for four decades.
On June 17, the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host award winning author Kai Bird for a discussion of the Carter administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East and Bird’s new book, “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter,” which considers the triumphs and failures of the Carter presidency. Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Riedel, whose career in the CIA began during the Carter administration, will join Bird for a discussion of the legacy of the Carter administration forty years later.
Speakers:
Bruce Riedel
Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy, Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology; Director, The Intelligence Project
Kai Bird
Contributing Editor, The Nation; Executive Director and Distinguished lecturer, Leon Levy Center for Biography, City University of New York
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