index us foreign relations
[Link] Congress Suddenly Wants to Know If US Taxpayers Were Helping El Chapo
Read: 4/3/2023 www.vice.com
The DEA and FBI face questions about whether they tolerated high-level Mexican corruption as US tax dollars flowed to fight the drug war.
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[Link] Can Reaganism Rise Again?
Read: 15/11/2021 www.nytimes.com
For a long time, longer than I’ve held this job, my advice to Republican politicians and policymakers has been consistent: It isn’t the 1970s or 1980s anymore.
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[Link] US Department of State stresses support of SDF
Read: 4/11/2021 npasyria.com
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the US Department of State stressed that they will continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against ISIS and support stability in the region.
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[Link] ‘Nine Eyes’? Bill Would Look at Adding Four Countries to Intel-Sharing Pact
Read: 4/11/2021 www.defenseone.com
The United States’ “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing pact is a World War II relic that needs updating to better keep tabs on China, the chairman of a key house subcommittee on intelligence told Defense One. Arizona Democrat Rep.
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[Link] ‘The court of God will be waiting for him’: Iraqis react to Colin Powell’s death
Read: 19/10/2021 www.theguardian.com
For many Iraqis, Colin Powell was the face of the US invasion which caused an estimated 200,000 deaths, unleashing nearly two decades of domestic chaos and precipitating chaos throughout the region.
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[Link] Colin Powell’s UN speech: a decisive moment in undermining US credibility
Read: 19/10/2021 www.theguardian.com
Colin Powell will be most remembered for the act he most regretted, his 2003 presentation to the UN security council laying out US evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which turned out not to exist.
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[Link] The Taliban says US will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Read: 11/10/2021 www.abc.net.au
The US has agreed to provide humanitarian aid but refused to give political recognition to Afghanistan's new rulers, the Taliban says. The statement came at the end of the first direct talks between the former foes since the chaotic withdrawal of Coalition troops at the end of August.
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[Link] ‘Save Australia’ protest erupts in New York
Read: 5/10/2021 www.news.com.au
Australia became the surprising focal point of an American anti vaccine mandate protest march for teachers in New York City overnight, with hundreds of demonstrators chanting “Save Australia” and some waving Aussie flags.
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[Link] China Is a Declining Power—and That’s the Problem
Read: 26/9/2021 foreignpolicy.com
Why do great powers fight great wars? The conventional answer is a story of rising challengers and declining hegemons. An ascendant power, which chafes at the rules of the existing order, gains ground on an established power—the country that made those rules.
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[Link] Australia tries to calm diplomatic bust-up with France over submarine deal
Read: 19/9/2021 www.9news.com.au
The Federal Government has responded to France's decision to recall its ambassadors to Australia and the US.
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[Link] France recalls ambassadors to US and Australia after Aukus pact
Read: 19/9/2021 www.theguardian.com
France has recalled its ambassadors to the the US and Australia for consultations sparked by the “exceptional seriousness” of Canberra’s surprise decision to cancel an order for French-built submarines and its security pact with Washington and London.
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[Link] US Marines officer relieved of duties after video seeking ‘accountability’ over Afghanistan
Read: 28/8/2021 www.theguardian.com
A US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who posted a video demanding accountability from military leaders over the evacuation of Afghanistan has been relieved of his duties and will leave US service, the Marines and the officer involved said on Friday.
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[Link] YouTube says it bans accounts believed to be owned by the Taliban
Read: 26/8/2021 www.reuters.com
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube said on Tuesday it bans accounts believed to be owned and operated by the Taliban, as U.S. social media companies scrambled to publicly clarify their rules on the group that is in control of Afghanistan. After U.S.
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[Link] Twitter Refuses to Ban Taliban Accounts, Vows to Remain ‘Vigilant’ Moderating Content
Read: 26/8/2021 www.yahoo.com
Twitter will allow Taliban-affiliated accounts to continue using its platform despite its policies against glorification of violence and threats.
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[Link] Taliban have captured more than 100 military helicopters, Russia says
Read: 26/8/2021 www.theguardian.com
The Taliban have captured more than 100 Russian-made helicopters in various states of operability, the head of a Russian state arms exporter has said, but will be largely unable to use them with little access to maintenance crews and spare parts.
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[Link] Nosedive in UK-US relations is another casualty of Afghanistan’s fall
Read: 23/8/2021 www.theguardian.com
So much for the special relationship. As the Afghanistan crisis has unfolded, it has precipitated a high-speed deterioration in Anglo-American relations.
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[Link] U.S. Government Politely Asks for Volunteers To Help Process Afghan Refugees
Read: 18/8/2021 www.vice.com
As shocking images of Afghans desperately clinging to airplanes destined for the U.S. and other allied countries played out on cable news, the Biden administration was scrambling to figure out what to do with the thousands of refugees expecting to come stateside.
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[Link] Joe Biden says he stands by US withdrawal from Afghanistan
Read: 17/8/2021 www.abc.net.au
US President Joe Biden says he stands squarely behind his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, after the Taliban seized power in just over a week. Mr Biden said the collapse of the Afghan armed forces was quicker than anticipated, but insisted contingency plans were in place.
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[Link] US-Trained Cops in Mexico Killed Migrants, Set Them on Fire, Say Prosecutors
Read: 7/8/2021 www.vice.com
New evidence obtained by VICE World News paints a chilling picture of the killing of 19 migrants by pnear the U.S border in January. MEXICO CITY — Two trucks carrying migrants sped through dusty roads a few miles south of the U.S. border as four armored police cars gave chase.
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[Link] Jared Kushner’s hidden genius? To make terrible decisions – yet keep failing upwards
Read: 5/8/2021 www.theguardian.com
Having selflessly served the public for four long years, Jared Kushner has decided it’s time to step away from politics and apply his unique talents elsewhere.
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[Link] Why the internet in Cuba has become a US political hot potato
Read: 4/8/2021 www.theguardian.com
Cubans used to joke about Napoleon Bonaparte chatting to Mikhail Gorbachev, George W Bush and Fidel Castro in the afterlife. “If I’d have had your prudence, I’d never have fought Waterloo,” the French emperor tells the last Soviet leader.
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[Link] Biden administration transfers its first detainee out of Guantánamo
Read: 20/7/2021 www.theguardian.com
The Biden administration has transferred a detainee out of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility for the first time, sending a Moroccan man home years after he was recommended for discharge.
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[Link] The faux anti-imperialism of denying anti-Uighur atrocities
Read: 17/5/2021 www.aljazeera.com
Why are some Western ‘anti-imperialists’ determined to whitewash China’s well-documented crimes against the Uighurs?
[Link] The fallacy of the colonial ‘right to defence’
Read: 17/5/2021 www.aljazeera.com
The violence convulsing the Middle East has produced heart-rending images and statistics.
[Link] Joe Biden feels political ground shift as Israel-Gaza conflict rages on
Read: 17/5/2021 www.theguardian.com
In his staunch defence of Israel, Joe Biden is sticking to a course set decades ago as a young senator, and so far he has not given ground on the issue to the progressive wing of his party or many Jewish Democrats urging a tougher line towards Benjamin Netanyahu.