Section: Foreign Policy (USA)
FP’s Situation Report: The Islamic State fight goes global; Nigeria talks tough on Boko Haram; Ukraine gets help, but is it enough?; Iraqi forces take Tikrit; and much more from around the world.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat The Islamic State fight could go global. The U.S. campaign to destroy the group started with airstrikes limited to Iraq and Syria. As President Barack Obama seeks a new authorization in the fight against the Islamic State, the campaign could spread to Libya, Nigeria, or other countries where those claiming...
Are U.S. Sanctions a Gift to Venezuela?
Sanctions issued against Venezuelan leaders this week were meant to punish Caracas’s harsh crackdown on the country’s political opposition. Instead, they may have played right into the hands of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his quest to stoke anti-U.S. sentiment. It’s not the first time targets have turned...
Will New U.S. Aid and an IMF Bailout Be Enough to Save Ukraine?
Ukraine got a desperate $17.5 billion shot in the arm Wednesday from the International Monetary Fund. But the biggest threat to the country’s economy — fighting with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine — still looms large, and a new U.S. aid package falls short of what Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he needs to defeat...
FP’s Situation Report: Clinton says no to private email probe; The Islamic State executes an Israeli Arab; Corker says Obama is playing “footsie” with Putin; and much more from around the world.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat Hillary Clinton pushes back against a probe of her private email. The Democrats’ 2016 presidential frontrunner said emails deleted from her private account when she was secretary of state are “personal and private” and that her home Internet server would remain off-limits to investigators. FP’s...
Ukraine’s ‘Courageous’ Energy Reforms Meant to Erode Russia’s Leverage
Thanks to relentless prodding from the IMF, Ukraine seems poised to finally carry out the reforms of its energy sector that it has spent years chasing. Those changes, passed last week by Ukraine’s parliament, promise to do as much as anything else to help salvage Ukraine’s battered economy and help break Russia’s stranglehold...
Can Anyone Stop the World Cup in Qatar?
Let no one accuse FIFA of being afraid to take risks. Soccer’s global governing body was well aware of the potential problems of hosting a World Cup in Qatar: the summer heat, the lack of infrastructure, the reluctance of fans to travel to the Middle East — indeed, all of these were noted in FIFA’s risk assessments. But even though...
Obama Officials: Non-Lethal Assistance Not Getting to Ukraine
Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are already angry at the White House for its failure to deliver arms to Ukraine. The administration’s admission that it has also failed to send about half of the $118 million in non-lethal assistance it promised Kiev isn’t helping matters. “We have provided some...
FP’s Situation Report: GOP lawmakers threaten Iran nuke deal; Is Bergdahl a POW or a deserter?; Iraqi forces are close to retaking Tikrit; and much more from around the world.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat The Republicans threaten to torpedo a nuclear deal with Iran. Forty seven members of the GOP sent a letter to Iran’s political leadership, telling them a deal would last only as long as Obama’s presidency. FP’s Elias Groll on the unprecedented letter, which “represents the second time this...
The Kremlin Pulls on Georgia
As Russian forces consolidate their gains in Ukraine over the flat protests of Western leaders, the specter of Russian revanchism is keeping much of Eastern Europe on edge. But lumbering tanks and legions of insta-separatists aren’t the only concern. Ukraine isn’t Russia’s only target. Perhaps most alarming are the warning signs...
Democracy Lab Weekly Brief, March 9, 2015
To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Jason Pack and Mattia Toaldo call for the West to stop picking sides in the Libyan conflict. Peter Salisbury warns that Saudi and Iranian meddling in Yemen risks sparking a sectarian civil war. Juan Nagel questions Venezuelan President Maduro’s ability to sustain...
