Section: Foreign Policy (USA)
FP’s Situation Report, presented by the UAE Embassy: Obama is caught in the middle of the torture report fallout; CIA tortured even though it knew torture didn’t work; Torture report could benefit 9/11 suspects held by the U.S.; and much more.
By David Francis and Sabine Muscat President Barack Obama refuses to take sides as the fallout from the torture report continues. The CIA maintained Wednesday that its post-9/11 enhanced interrogation program yielded intelligence that saved American lives and prevented attacks. The Senate report categorically denies these claims. Obama, who has...
Change He Doesn’t Believe In
In June of this year, President Barack Obama lost his best foreign-policy talking point, a blow that — for a politician — can be worse than losing your best friend. When the Islamic State took over Mosul and threatened to march on Baghdad, Obama’s feat of having ended the Iraq War was summarily undone. Only weeks before, Obama had declared...
Does China’s Quest for Energy Security Threaten the United States?
While the United States and European Union strongly oppose Russia over its expansionist agenda in Ukraine, China has cautiously avoided having to take a side as the rhetoric became more and more heated. Russia’s increasingly fraught relationship with the West has strengthened China’s hand, allowing them to import cheaper gas from...
FP’s Situation Report, presented by the UAE Embassy: Senate torture report is a damning indictment of the CIA’s post-9/11 enhanced interrogation program; CIA lied about torture’s role in Osama bin Laden’s death; Lurid details of the torture program were withheld from former President Bush; and much more.
By David Francis and Sabine Muscat The CIA’s actions detailed in a long-awaited torture report released yesterday are “a stain on our values and our history.” Those are the words of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The report, a damning indictment of the CIA’s post-9/11...
Liberian President Discusses Ebola on Capitol Hill Wednesday
The president of Liberia, the West African nation at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, will address members of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Wednesday during a hearing titled “The Ebola Epidemic: The Keys To Success For The International Response” on Wednesday. A congressional source said that Liberian President Ellen Johnson...
FP’s Situation Report, presented by the UAE Embassy: U.S. braces for torture report release; Critics allege Obama’s Iran strategy is failing; U.S. general warns of potential disaster in Afghanistan; and much more.
By David Francis and Sabine Muscat The United States and its military brace for the release of the CIA torture report. Portions of the report expected to be released by the Senate today found post-9/11 enhanced interrogation techniques did not result in better intelligence. Obama administration officials have already warned that its release could...
U.S. Ambassador: Diplomats, not the Military, Will Solve Ukraine Crisis
The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Monday refused to rule out sending weapons to the Ukrainian army, but insisted that the crisis in Ukraine would be solved with diplomacy, not armies. Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, Ambassador Geoff Pyatt echoed recent comment made by Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken, who told...
FP’s Situation Report, presented by the UAE Embassy: U.S. accuses Iran of breaching nuclear sanctions; Drone strikes and a prisoner return help thaw U.S.-Pakistan ties; Israel conducts airstrikes in Syria; and much more.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat The United States accuses Iran of secretly breaching U.N. nuclear sanctions. As Secretary of State John Kerry hints that a nuclear deal with Iran could be done in a matter of months, Washington has evidence that Tehran is trying to buy new equipment for a key nuclear facility. But the White House isn’t...
The Two Faces of Azerbaijan’s Government
Azerbaijan’s most famous investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is the latest in a long list of Azerbaijani activists to become political prisoners. Ismayilova, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has just been sentenced to two months of administrative detention on charges of driving a fellow reporter to attempt suicide,...
Carter Nomination Sets up Senate Critique of Obama Policies
President Barack Obama Friday nominated Ash Carter to succeed Chuck Hagel as the next defense secretary, capping a week of uncertainty about who will fill one of the administration’s most powerful posts and setting the stage for a high-profile confirmation hearing that Republicans will use to criticize the White House’s foreign policy...
