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February 2nd, 2021
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Questions about how US foreign policy is going to shake out between President Trump and President Biden have been the subject of a lot of speculation, and Afghanistan looks to be the first place this change will be addressed.
On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that the pullout date from Afghanistan is now uncertain, and would be entirely conditional on the Taliban meeting a series of commitments. Press Secretary John Kirby insists the Taliban failed to meet a number of commitments.
They didn't address specific grievances, but from the February 29 deal, it would be fair for either the US or Taliban to say that some of the terms were not met as expected. In general, the US and Taliban have avoided major fighting with one another, and the US pullout is at least on schedule so far.
By Jason Ditz
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Foreign policy tends to be complicated and messy. International issues create an explosive imbroglio mixing economic, political, and security controversies. Human rights upsets almost every calculation since America's friends can be even crueler than its foes.
The Trump administration cared not at all about humanitarian issues. Political prisoners were only convenient weapons, useful against adversaries but forgotten with allies. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's cynicism was exceeded only by his sanctimony when it came to the issue.
Members of the Biden administration care more about such issues but have little credibility to preach to the world. The president and most of his top officials were drawn from the Obama administration, which aided the murderous Saudis in their aggressive war against Yemen. The Obama retreads supported radical jihadist insurgents against Syria's Assad government. U.S. officials refused to call Egyptian Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's coup a coup. And they supported a gaggle of America's "usual suspects," allies which killed and jailed opponents with equal aplomb.
By Doug Bandow
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A close analysis of recent statements by members of President Joseph Biden's foreign policy team indicates his administration has already signaled its intention to treat negotiations with Iran as an exercise in diplomatic coercion aimed at forcing major new concessions extending well beyond the 2015 nuclear agreement. The policy could trigger a renewed US-Iran crisis as serious as any provocation engineered by the Trump administration.
Although the Biden team is claiming that it is ready to bring the United States back into the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if Iran comes into full compliance first, it is actually planning to demand that Iran give up its main source of political leverage. Thus, it will require Iran to cease its uranium enrichment to 20 percent and give up its accumulated stockpile of uranium already enriched to that level before the United States has withdrawn the economic sanctions that are now illegal under the JCPOA deal.
By Gareth Porter
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had harsh words for Moscow and suggested sanctions against Russia were on the horizon in an interview with NBC News that aired on Monday. While the US and Russia recently agreed to extend New START, the vital nuclear arms treaty, the Biden administration is otherwise taking a hostile stance towards Moscow.
Blinken condemned the Russian government's response to recent protests and the jailing of Alexei Navalny, the opposition figure who the US alleges was poisoned by Moscow. Blinken was asked if the Biden administration was planning sanctions on Russia in response to what happened to Navalny. "Actually, we are reviewing a series of Russian actions that are deeply, deeply, disturbing," he said.
By Dave DeCamp
During Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday, President Biden's nominee to be the UN ambassador vowed to be a staunch supporter of Israel if she is confirmed.
As part of her comments on Israel, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the actions of people that support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement are "unacceptable." BDS is an international campaign that calls on people to pressure Israel over its human rights violations and occupation of Palestinian territory through various boycotts.
"It verges on anti-Semitic, and it's important that they not be allowed to have a voice at the UN, and I intend to work against that," Thomas-Greenfield said. Her comments line up with the previous administration. During one of his last trips to Israel, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had called BDS a "cancer" and said the movement is "anti-Semitic."
By Dave DeCamp
A nasty spat has emerged between the U.S. and Mexican governments about alleged official corruption and drug trafficking. The latest incident began on October 16, 2020, when US authorities arrested Mexico's former defense secretary, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, at Los Angeles International Airport on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Cienfuegos Zepeda was a major player in Mexico's military and political affairs, leading the country's armed forces for six years under former president Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018).
By Ted Galen Carpenter
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