US Kids Trapped in Afghanistan

For John, BLUF:  Immigrant parents in Sacromento, California, thought things were calm enough in Afghanistan to allow them to send their kids back to visit relatives still in Afghanistan.  They were misinformed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Almost 30 Students From Sacramento Remain Trapped in Afghanistan

Here is the sub-headline:

“FOX40 reached out to the Department of Defense, which did not want to do an interview”

From Legal Insurrection, by Mr Mike LaChance, 3 September 2021, 07:00 pm.

Here is the lede:

As many as 29 students from Sacramento, California, remain trapped in Afghanistan.  This has been known since at least the date of the August 31 deadline, but hasn’t gotten much notice in national media for reasons which should be obvious.

For me these children from Sacrmento are, by definition, American school kids.  Their parents may be immigrants, but they are American school kids.  Their parents may exercise poor judgement (or depend on the Government for valid information), but they are still American school kids.

It appers that the US Department of State did not, and still does not, have a handle on Americans in Afghanistan, be they natural born American citizens, naturalized American citizens or Green Card holding people of various ages.  The long term Foreign Service Officers (FS0s) at Foggy Bottom and stations across the globe should be doing a better job.

And the snarky comments at Legal Insurrection don't reflect well on our Citizenry.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

A Work In Progress

For John, BLUF:  Even in hidebound bureaucracies it is possible to foster innovation and creative thinking.  We should encourage such aberrant behavior.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Inside the Secretive Government Unit Saving American Lives Around the World

Here is the sub-headline:

A little-known team of medics and miracle workers—hidden deep within the U.S. Department of State—opens its doors to Vanity Fair.

From Vanity Fair, by Reporter Adam Ciralsky, 6 MAY 2021.

Here is the lede plus two:

In a concrete hangar in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Katrina Mayes is working with precision and purpose.  Wisps of smoke surround her, wafting off the dry ice she is using to jerry-rig a cardboard vaccine carrier.  Her task:  to create a vapor phase vent to moderate the temperature of the cooling container from around minus 80 degrees Celsius (for storing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vials) to minus 15 degrees Celsius (to accommodate supplies of the Moderna vaccine).

At 29, the biochemist and virologist has spent much of her professional life indoors, where the U.S. government has entrusted her to handle some of the world’s most lethal pathogens—including Ebola, Lassa fever, and Nipah viruses—at top-secret Biosafety Level Four facilities.  “I shower six times a day,” she tells me.  “I’m the cleanest person you’ll ever meet.”  Her winning smile and gallows humor mask the gravity of her work, which has involved diffusing poison-laced letters that have been mailed to federal buildings.

On a Tuesday in March, her mission was just as urgent but more life-affirming. Dubbed “Operation Icebox,” Mayes was helping deliver nearly 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to American embassies, consulates, and other overseas posts scattered across six continents.  It is a complex affair involving two dozen jets that are big enough to fly long distances—carrying ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers—yet nimble enough to land on a variety of runways.  Mayes’s colleague Taundria Cappel, a Guyanese émigré who began her government career as a secretary, oversees the entire operation—at age 30.  “We are the MacGyvers of the State Department,” she explains.  “People come to us with crises and we develop solutions.”

That our Department of State has a specialized unit, ready to go anywhere to medically treat and evacuate American Citizens is an encouraging sign.  It shows innovation alive and well within the bureaucracy.  It gives me a good feeling.

After a few paragraphs on the lack of diversity of race and ethnicity within the Department of State—there is no diversity—we come to this set of sentences:

“Diversity of opinion and diversity of options,” Walters responded when I asked about the net effect of his hiring practices.  “There’s no groupthink.  There’s not enough people that are similar to create groupthink.”

This is how diverity pays off for America.  "Diversity of opinion and diversity of options" is greatly to be desired.  It generates its own rewards for those who would encourage innovation.

We forget that the clash of ideas has been important since the Europeans came to these shores.  We may think of our Founding Fathers as all cut from the same mold, but a hundred years before they gathered in Philadelphia they would have been running their conferees out of town for holding different and diverse views on issues such as religion  Yet, gathered in Philly in 1776 they were able to come up with some innovative ideas of governance.  Not perfect, but trail breaking.  They hadn't grown alike, but they had learned to get along.  President George Washington, yes, a slave holder, managed to break through some barriers, to give room for Catholics and Jews in the new nation.  A work in progress, which we should further.

Regards  —  Cliff

Government Spying on Citizens

For John, BLUF:  The deeper question is if there is some deep government that works to control our elected officials.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Judicial Watch: State Dept Records Show US Embassy in Ukraine Monitored Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Journalists and other U.S. Citizens in Potential Violation of Federal Law

Here is the sub-headline:

From Judicial Watch, 1 September 2020.  A Press Release.

Here is the lede plus one:

Judicial Watch announced today that it received 372 pages of records from the U.S. Department of State that confirm prior Judicial Watch reporting that the Ukraine Embassy under then-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch monitored, in potential violation of law, Donald Trump, Jr. Rudy Giuliani, and major journalists on Twitter on their commentary on Ukraine, “Biden-Burisma 2020”, and George Soros.

The documents list the targeted persons as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Rudy Giuliani, Dan Bongino, Sebastian Gorka, John Solomon, Jack Posobiec, Ryan Saavedra, Sara A Carter, Donald Trump Jr., Michael McFaul, Lou Dobbs and Pamela Gellar. The search terms that were flagged to be monitored by State Department officials on social media included Yovanovitch, Ukraine Ambassador, Ukrainian Ambassador, Ukraine Soros, Clinton campaign, and Biden-Burisma.

This kind of thing can't help but cause some of us to be cynical about the operation of Government.  If we can't count on them to follow the rules, why should we trust them to make the rule?

The deeper issue is whether we can trust our legislators when they seem to ignore these violations of our civil rights.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Political Warfare—Coronavirus Version

For John, BLUF:  The US has not been doing well in the area of political warfare for some time, and needs to reverse course.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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China is winning the coronavirus propaganda war

Here is the sub-headline:

Beijing deploys soft power as Europe and US fall short on solidarity.

From Politico, by Reporter Matthew Karnitschnig, 18 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus six:

Judging by the propaganda, this really is war.

And China is winning.

As Europe struggles to slow the spread of coronavirus and China begins to show signs that it has put the worst of the outbreak behind it, Beijing is engaging in a not-so-subtle PR campaign.

China’s main strategy is to show that the country that gave birth to the virus (and then covered it up for weeks, allowing it to spread across the globe unhindered) is on the front lines trying to save humanity, while the EU can’t get its act together and the world’s other superpower is busy pointing fingers.

Over the past few days, China has sent planeloads of masks, teams of doctors and even ventilators around the world to help battle the crisis.  Chinese billionaire Jack Ma donated one million masks and hundreds of thousands of testing kits to the U.S., with the first load arriving in Seattle on Monday.

"We are doing instead of talking.  We are the friends not enemy.  Could the American do the same to Chinese?" China's ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, tweeted on Monday.

A shipment of 300,000 masks, sent by Chinese charities founded by Ma and his Alibaba empire, arrived in Belgium this week.  Chinese state news agency Xinhua published a photograph of one of the containers draped with the slogan “Unity makes strength” in French, Flemish and Chinese.

Retired Army Colonel David Maxwell talked about this sort of thing in a 27 February Washington Examiner Article, "China's political warfare strategy takes hit from coronavirus".  Here is an extract:

The priority must be on stopping this pandemic.  However, after it is contained and the international economy is returned to normalcy, responsible governments must take a hard look at Chinese authoritarian political warfare and realize the danger it poses.  China will push back with claims that it will not tolerate a smear campaign.  But China must be held accountable.  We can, on that front, take a page from Sun Tzu's Art of War.  As he wrote, "What is of supreme importance is to attack the enemy's strategy."  It is time the U.S. and like-minded countries attack and neutralize the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian political warfare strategy.

I believe Colonel Maxwell is correct regarding the needed action, but I would say, even now, someone in the Department of State should be ticked off as the person to start organizing this effort.  And not a junior functionary, but a new George F Kennan.

Regards  —  Cliff

Romney's Position

For John, BLUF:  Senator Mitt Romney used to be the Massachusetts Governor.  Now he is a Utah Senator.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Senator Mitt Romney votes to convict President Trump on abuse of power charge

From The Boston Globe, by Martin Finucane, 5 February 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Citing his religious faith and the judgment of history, Utah Senator Mitt Romney broke Wednesday with other Republican senators who have defended President Trump and voted to convict the impeached president Article 1, which deals with abuse of power.

In a speech on the Senate floor announcing his decision, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, called Trump’s actions “perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of oath of office that I can imagine.”

The full text of Senator Romney's speech can be found here. Senator Mitt Romney spoke on the floor of the Senate as to his views on the two Impeachment Articles.  I listened to much of it on the way home from downtown Lowell.  While I don't agree with Senator Romney, I see his point of view.  The President was going after crimes where none existed.  In accepting his appointment to the board of Burisma Holdings, Mr Hunter Biden did not violate any laws.  In not excusing himself Vice President Biden did not violate any laws.  It looked bad, but wasn't illegal.  The President, on the other hand, surely acted in a corrupt manner, attempting to entangle a potential 2020 rival, in Senator Romney's mind.

My view is that President Trump was trying to deal with corruption in Ukraine, which had flowed to America's shores.  Putting Mr Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma Holdings, for what appears to be the value of having the US Vice President's Son on the board, was wrong and gave the appearance of corruption and might, at some point, led to corrupt decisions, giving the flow of aid from the United States to Ukraine.  I can see the President's concerns.  Money flowing from the United States to Ukraine and Ukraine perhaps perverting the use of that money, diverting it from its intended purposes.  Or in the case of the JAVELIN Missiles, from their intended purposes.  The President was concerned about American Foreign Policy, and, I suspect, not confident that the Foreign Policy professionals over at Foggy Bottom would do the right thing for the American Tax Payers.

As to the assertion that President Trump was using the Ukraine corruption as a cover for his political actions against a potential political opponent, to wit, former Vice President Joe Biden, I find this unlikely.  As the Iowa Caucus shows, Candidate Biden is not a major threat to President Trump.  I suspect the President intuited that long before.  If there is any political action taken to dirty up a political opponent, it is the House Impeachment action, perpetrated by the House Democrats.  Shame!  Shame!  Shame!

I suspect that with regard to not just handing over information to House demands, absent court orders, the President dodged total condemnation from Presidential Scholars two decades forward.  If he had turned over the information demanded, sent forward the witnesses, he would have destroyed Executive Privilege as predecessors understood it.

I respect Senator Romney for thinking this through.  He just came up with a different understanding than I did.

Regards  —  Cliff

Withholding Aid For Political Reasons

For John, BLUF:  Tell me if you have heard this one before—withholding foreign Aid for political reasons.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Career Officials Thwart Aid to Christian, Yazidi Genocide Victims

From Real Clear Politics, by Staff Reporter Susan Crabtree, 11 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

In the summer of 2014, the vicious Islamic State campaign against Yazidis and Christians in Iraq convinced President Obama to order airstrikes to try to save them from extermination.  The Obama administration would officially declare the ISIS slaughter of those same religious minorities a “genocide,” a State Department designation that conveyed the urgency of protecting these groups and maintaining religious freedom and pluralism in Iraq and Northern Syria.

Five years after those ISIS massacres, however, bureaucratic factions within the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development are acting as though the genocide declaration never occurred – even though it made the survival of these religious minorities in the homeland they’ve occupied for more than a thousand years a clear U.S. foreign policy priority.

During the Obama administration career and political appointees shared an aversion to awarding government assistance to local faith-based groups.  They largely channeled U.S. funds for rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Syria through the United Nations Development Program, or UNDP, which maintains a “religious-blind” policy that bars funds going to faith-based organizations.

These U.S. officials also aggressively opposed efforts to direct some U.S. funding to help local Catholic Church groups and other religious organizations that were providing almost all of the subsistence assistance to the Christian, as well as Yazidi, communities.  The resistance has continued three years into the Trump administration – despite a presidential directive to fund faith-based groups and a year after the unanimous passage in both the House and the Senate of bipartisan legislation requiring the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to channel some existing funds directly to these religious minority communities.

That legislation, HR 390 – The Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act, co-authored by Reps. Chris Smith, a Republican, and Anna Eshoo, a Democrat -- had 47 co-sponsors in the House, including seven Democrats, attracting such political opposites as conservative GOP Reps.  Jeff Fortenberry and Mark Meadows, as well as liberal Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the House impeachment charge, and fellow California Democrat Brad Sherman.

The bill cited the Archdiocese of Erbil, in Northern Iraq, which it said has provided assistance to “internally displaced Christians, Yazidis and Muslims throughout the greater Erbil region,” as especially in need of U.S. aid.

It also underscored the dramatic extent of the crisis when it comes to the fate of Christians’ fleeing their ancestral homeland:  The number of Christians living in Iraq was decimated during and after the Iraq War and ISIS’ takeover of the country, from an estimated 800,000-to-1.4 million in 2002 to fewer than 250,000 in 2017.

Drain the Swamp.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Ignoring Human Rights

For John, BLUF:  It used to be we, as a nation, worried about the downtrodden of the world.  It now appears the bureaucrats are against such thinking.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Career Officials Thwart Aid to Christian, Yazidi Genocide Victims

From Real Clear Politics, by Ms Susan Crabtree, 11 December 2019.

Here is the lede plus four:

In the summer of 2014, the vicious Islamic State campaign against Yazidis and Christians in Iraq convinced President Obama to order airstrikes to try to save them from extermination.  The Obama administration would officially declare the ISIS slaughter of those same religious minorities a “genocide,” a State Department designation that conveyed the urgency of protecting these groups and maintaining religious freedom and pluralism in Iraq and Northern Syria.

Five years after those ISIS massacres, however, bureaucratic factions within the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development are acting as though the genocide declaration never occurred – even though it made the survival of these religious minorities in the homeland they’ve occupied for more than a thousand years a clear U.S. foreign policy priority.

During the Obama administration career and political appointees shared an aversion to awarding government assistance to local faith-based groups. They largely channeled U.S. funds for rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Syria through the United Nations Development Program, or UNDP, which maintains a “religious-blind” policy that bars funds going to faith-based organizations.

These U.S. officials also aggressively opposed efforts to direct some U.S. funding to help local Catholic Church groups and other religious organizations that were providing almost all of the subsistence assistance to the Christian, as well as Yazidi, communities.  The resistance has continued three years into the Trump administration – despite a presidential directive to fund faith-based groups and a year after the unanimous passage in both the House and the Senate of bipartisan legislation requiring the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to channel some existing funds directly to these religious minority communities.

That legislation, HR 390 – The Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act, co-authored by Reps. Chris Smith, a Republican, and Anna Eshoo, a Democrat -- had 47 co-sponsors in the House, including seven Democrats, attracting such political opposites as conservative GOP Reps. Jeff Fortenberry and Mark Meadows, as well as liberal Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the House impeachment charge, and fellow California Democrat Brad Sherman.

The story goes down hill from there.

This is the Deep State saying my way or no way, and being in your face about it.

A longish article, because the Reporter did her homework.  Are we becoming a Bureaucracy with an unruly Citizenry, a disobedient Legislature?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Stars in the Hearings

For John, BLUF:  Impeachment hearings allow new stars to emerge, in this case aided by California Democratic Representative Adam Schiff.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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After Rep. Elise Stefanik Highlights Ambassador Yovanovitch False Statement – Stefanik Becomes a Target…

From The Last Refuge (The Conservative Tree House), by "Sundance", 16 November 2019.

Here is the lede plus three:

On March 20th, 2017, New York Representative Elise Stefanik first made a name for herself when she questioned FBI Director James Comey about why he purposefully did not inform congressional oversight, Gang-of-Eight, about the FBI investigation of candidate Donald Trump in 2016.  Ms. Stefanik caught Comey off-guard and his only response, albeit stuttered, was:  “because of the sensitivity of the matter?”  {LINK}

Fast forward to November 15th, 2019, yesterday, and Rep. Stefanik again showed her acumen when she asked Ambassador Yovanovitch to reconcile her opening statement about not ever discussing Hunter Biden or Burisma against evidence Ms. Yovanovitch previously admitting to an extensive briefing session specifically about Hunter Biden and Burisma.  Once again, Stefanik caught a political operative in their network of lies.  {LINK}

Having watched events closely it is obvious Elise Stefanik is a smart young representative with serious skills to see through the chaff, countermeasures and false narratives advanced by political left.

Hence, as if on cue, the entire apparatus of the political left began attacking their #1 new enemy.  Today the unholy alliance of corrupt political operatives and the allied media went on the attack.

My buddy Juan gives Representative Stefanik a thumbs up.  Good enough for me.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Change of Course

For John, BLUF:  President Trump was elected by Voters who want the swamp drained or just didn't want Ms Clinton elected.  I think it was a shock to Congress as well.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"Have we ever had a president before this one who so disdains the advice and policies of those who have spent their lives working for the government he leads?"

From The Althouse Blog, by Professor Ann Althouse, 30 October 2019.

Here is the lede plus one:

"Have we ever had a chief executive who is so skeptical of the judgments of career diplomats and military leaders, who rejects the advice of top intelligence leaders, who trusts his family more than those with a lifetime of experience?  Yes we have.  And his name was John Fitzgerald Kennedy....  Throughout Kennedy’s presidency, he came more and more to distrust the received wisdom of the 'permanent government' or 'deep state' or 'military-industrial complex' or whatever term seems apt today. In his case, that skepticism may have saved the planet from nuclear annihilation....  [I]n the reflexive rush to criticize Trump, we risk forgetting the lesson of the Kennedy years:  There is danger in relying too heavily on the 'wisdom' of the elders.  A president with a well-honed resistance to the certainties of experts and a strong sense of history can be a crucial protection against disaster..."

From "When JFK Was Trump/In the rush to criticize the current president, we risk forgetting the lesson of the Kennedy years: There is danger in relying too heavily on the 'wisdom' of the elders" by Jeff Greenfield (in Politico).

I think the Professor, and Mr Greenfield are on to something.  The Bureaucracy is like a 550,000 DWT Super Tanker.  Gets a lot done, but does not change course very quickly.  President’s are elected to maintain course, or to change course.  President’s Kennedy and Trump were elected by Voters who wanted a new course.

Hat tip to Ann Althouse.

Regards  —  Cliff

Foggy Bottom and Mr Trump

For John, BLUF:  If you treat someone like a fool, why would they work with you?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Why the ‘Resistance’ in the State Department is a Gift to Trump

From PJ Media, Mr Ishmael Jones,♠  16 July 2018.

Here is a key paragraph:

And so their opposition to the President is a gift.  They do not wish to support him, and he can simply ignore them.

This is an unfortunate turn of events, but the underlying malady didn't happen overnight.

The current era of State Department dysfunction began in 1990 when we sent senior diplomat April Glaspie to talk to Saddam Hussein.  She spoke softly and respectfully to him.  Saddam smelled weakness and was emboldened.  It led to decades of tragedy that might have been avoided.

April should have instead spoken the blunt truth: “Saddam, you will do as we order.  If you disobey us, the deadliest army in the history of the world will arrive.  We will destroy your air force on the ground and neutralize your communications.  Then we will destroy your static armies at will.  We will take your power and your wealth.  We will kill your sons.  You will flee and hide in a hole in the ground, but we will find you and we will kill you.”

As extreme as that sounds, that is of course what happened.  Unfortunately, no State Department diplomat would have spoken these words.  Their protocols and sensitivities forbid it.  Even after all that has happened, my diplomat friends continue to defend April’s statements to Saddam.

I would like to suggest that this is a long time in coming.  The Department of State used to play a strong hand, and there have been Diplomats even today who play a strong hand.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  "Ishmael Jones is the pen name of a former CIA case officer, and the author of The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture."

Palestine Instransigence

For John, BLUF:  Maybe it is a last effort to built support before he folds to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This is from 1 May, and thus is a week old, but the mindset has a long history.

Abbas says Jews’ behavior, not anti-Semitism, caused the Holocaust

Here is the sub-headline:

In rambling speech, PA president gives a 'history lesson' in which he tries to negate Jewish connection to Israel, accuses Zionists of cooperating with Hitler

From The Times of Israel, by TOI staff, on 1 May 2018.

Here are the first two paragraphs:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday said that the Holocaust was not caused by anti-Semitism, but by the “social behavior” of the Jews, including money-lending.

In a long and rambling at speech in Ramallah in front of hundreds at a rare session of the Palestinian National Council, Abbas touched on a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories during what he called a “history lesson,” as he sought to prove the 3,000 year-old Jewish connection to the Land of Israel is false.

I must say, President Mahmoud Abbas doesn't sound much like he is interested in cutting a deal.

I am hoping that things are in play behind the scenes, and that actions such as Swamp People messing with Mr Jared Kushner don't derail things.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

KSA (MBS) Pushes For Holy Land Peace

For John, BLUF:  I wonder where we would be if Mrs Clinton has been elected?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Saudi Crown Prince:  Palestinians should take what the U.S. offers

So, it is from Axios, but by Mr Barak Ravid of Israel's Channel 10 news.  The date was 29 April 2018.

Here is how Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds covered it:

DIPLOMACY:  Saudi Crown Prince:  Palestinians should take what the U.S. offers.  “In a closed-door meeting with heads of Jewish organizations in New York on March 27th, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) gave harsh criticism of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), according to an Israeli foreign ministry cable sent by a diplomat from the Israeli consulate in New York, as well three sources — Israeli and American — who were briefed about the meeting.  The bottom line of the crown prince’s criticism:  Palestinian leadership needs to finally take the proposals it gets from the U.S. or stop complaining.”

Plus: “He made clear the Palestinian issue was not a top priority for the Saudi government or Saudi public opinion. MBS said Saudi Arabia ‘has much more urgent and important issues to deal with’ like confronting Iran’s influence in the region. . . .  A source who was briefed on the meeting told me the attendees were stunned when they heard the Saudi Crown Prince comments on the Palestinian issue.  ‘People literally fell off their chairs,’ the source said.”

Amazing that this took a month to leak, but it says volumes about how America’s mideast diplomacy has changed things.  And reportedly it was Jared Kushner who got the Crown Prince on board.

I realize that President Trump just doesn't understand how the Diplomatic Game is played, but one wonders if the Diplomatic Game is all about keeping things frozen in place.  With President Trump we get movement.  As my Oldest Son suggested, maybe Mr Trump won because God saw that he was the only candidate prepared to actually move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.  Not saying that happened, but it could be an explanation.  I wonder where Special Counsel Robert Mueller would come down on Mr Trump colluding with God.  In days past we actively colluded with God, asking for his Blessing.  Today?  Who knows where the courts would come down.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Changes at High Levels

For John, BLUF:  Are we shocked by this?  I hope not.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Rex Tillerson out as secretary of state

Here is the sub-headline:

This Boston Globe Article, by Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker, from The Washington Post, 13 March 2018.

Here is the lede plus two:

President Trump has ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, orchestrating a major change to his national security team amid delicate negotiations with North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday.

Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled top diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington.

Pompeo will replace him at the State Department, and Gina Hapsel — the deputy director at the CIA — will succeed him at the CIA, becoming the first woman to run the spy agency, if confirmed.

Congratulations to Ms Gina Hapsel, who may be the only winner in this most recent shift of offices.

Regards  —  Cliff

Turkey Objects to President Trump

For John, BLUF:  Going nowhere with President Trump in office.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Erdogan: Muslim nations to seek UN ‘annulment’ of Trump’s Jerusalem move

Here is the sub-headline:

Any bid to have world body counter decision to recognize holy city as Israel's capital would be blocked at Security Council, non-binding at General Assembly

The source is The Times of Israel, 15 December 2017.

Here is the lede plus one:

Turkey’s president said Friday that Muslim nations will ask the United Nations for an “annulment” of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the initiative would start at the UN Security Council and if it’s “vetoed there, we will work within the UN General Assembly for the annulment of this unjust and lawless decision.”

So President Erdogan is throwing his lot in with US Democrats?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Moving to Jerusalem

For John, BLUF:  I am with Mr Lake.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Trump's Move Frees Palestinians to Focus on Peace, Not Jerusalem

The sub-headline:

Straight talk from the U.S. shouldn't be the end of peace talks, but the beginning.

From Bloomberg, by Reporter Eli Lake, 6 December 2017.

Here is the lede plus one:

A year ago, when Donald Trump's transition team first said they intended to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, I was skeptical.  Like most of the foreign policy establishment, not to mention America's Arab and European allies, I thought such a move was too risky.

You will see that argument a lot today. Israel needs U.S. help in strengthening its blossoming relationships with Arab states that were once its foes.  Why risk straining those ties with a largely symbolic move?

I have since changed my mind.  There are a few reasons. To start, that column came out right before the outgoing administration broke precedent and abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution that said all of East Jerusalem was effectively occupied territory.  This would mean any Israeli construction within the disputed territory was a violation of international law.  Barack Obama's parting gift to the Palestinians made U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital more urgent.

But what really changed my mind was this summer's metal detector uprising.  Here's what happened: Israeli Arabs began a rampage near the mosque that sits atop the Temple Mount, an area that contains the remains of the outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple at its base and al-Aqsa Mosque on top.  The gunmen then fled into the esplanade around the mosque and began firing back at Israeli police officers from within the holy compound.

What happened next was both tragic and cynical.  While Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas condemned the terrorists, his political party, Fatah, also called for "days of rage." Was this in response to the gunmen at al-Aqsa?  No, it was because Israeli authorities sought to place metal detectors at al-Aqsa compound following a horrific shooting.  This was after Israeli police found weapons stored in the mosque compound.

An alternative view.  And given our apparent lock step approach from the establishment foreign policy crowd, we need alternative views.

Regards  —  Cliff

Working to the Rules

For John, BLUF:  Department of State doesn't want to do the work, and get into the muck of the controversy.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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State Dept. would need 75 years to compile Clinton emails

This is from The Hill, by Reporter Lisa Hagen.

Lawyers said it would take that long to compile the 450,000 pages of records from former Clinton aides Cheryl Mills, Jacob Sullivan and Patrick Kennedy, according to a court filing from last week, which was first reported by CNN.

"Given the Department's current [Freedom of Information Act] (FOIA) workload and the complexity of these documents, it can process about 500 pages a month, meaning it would take approximately 16-and-2/3 years to complete the review of the Mills documents, 33-and-1/3 years to finish the review of the Sullivan documents, and 25 years to wrap up the review of the Kennedy documents — or 75 years in total," the State Department said in the filing.

That is about 25 pages a day.  A little over 3 an hour.  I guess that is the case.  They don't call it "Foggy Bottom" without reason.

They better not make me SecState in January.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Not the Smoking Gun

For John, BLUF:  Just because one may not want Hunny Bunny for President is not a reason to abandon fairness in treatment.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"Clinton abandoned secure line to use home phone, new email shows"

From The Hill, by Reporter Julian Hattem, on Thursday, the 12th of May.

Here is the lede plus four:

New emails released by a conservative watchdog group on Thursday appear to show former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton directing a top aide to call her via an unsecured phone line when technical troubles prevented a secure phone conversation.

“I give up. Call me on my home #,” Clinton told then-chief of staff Cheryl Mills in a February 2009 email, after more than an hour of trouble trying to communicate via a secure line.

“I just spoke to ops and called you reg line - we have to wait until we see each other b/c [the] technology is not working,” Mills said in another email sent at almost exactly the same time.

“Pls try again,” responded Clinton, a few moments later.

It’s unclear whether the two did connect, or if they moderated any discussion they may have had to avoid sensitive topics while on an unsecure landline.

There are few who stand before me in deploying Ms Clinton's lack of concern for security of our Nation's Secrets.

At the same time, this is not the smoking gun.  This is a case where an "operator" (Ms Clinton) has to make a decision in defense of the nation and she finds that solving the problem is more important than the disclosure of classified information.  This is a problem faced by military commanders from time to time.  A decision is needed now and the consequences of now decision outweigh the risk of disclosing classified information.

I think former SecState Clinton gets a pass on this one, unless much more is forthcoming.

Regards  —  Cliff

Foreign Policy Creds

For John, BLUF:  We give the benefit to the former Secretary of State, but should we?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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OK, so it is The New York Post and Opinionator Jacob Sullum, but there is some wisdom here—"The warmongers’ vote goes to Clinton over Trump".

The piece doesn't say that Mr Donald Trump is perfect on Foreign Policy, but it does point out how he is quicker to conclude we have made some mistakes.  Quicker than Ms Clinton by about a decade.

There is a lot of rubbish out there about Mr Trump and foreign policy, but there is a grave need to examine the record of Ms Clinton, from the "Reset Button" to Libya to Benghazi.♠

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  With regard to Benghazi my concern is the willingness to trample the First Amendment.  And, that no one suggested we move forward forces, in case the incident turned out to be even worse than was known in DC.
♥  For those wondering, "Foggy Bottom" is a nickname for the headquarters building of the Department of State, based upon the geographical name of the area—Foggy Bottom.  There is a Metro stop of that name.

Is Trump the Problem or the Office of President

For John, BLUF:  Right topic, wrong approach.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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In a way, the headline for this article from The Atlantic, by Conor Friedersdorf, is a joke, a parody—"Tyrant-Proof the White House—Before It's Too Late".  The sub-headline is "Bush and Obama ran roughshod over Madisonian checks and balances, but there's still time to restore them."

Here is how the article starts:

An op-ed in Tuesday’s New York Times points out that, thanks to precedents set by President Obama, “whoever prevails in November will inherit a sweeping power to use lethal force against suspected terrorists and militants, including Americans.”

Let me put things more starkly: Under current precedent, the commander in chief can give a secret order to kill an American citizen with a drone strike without charges or trial.

Should Donald Trump have that power?

That is a silly question.  The question is should any President have that power?  Should Ms Hillary Clinton have that power.  The Hillary Clinton, who as Secretary of State, led us into the Libya quagmire?  Of course not.

I can see the Left Wing media, which doesn't understand its own role in making Mr Trump the leading Republican Candidate, thinking it could make hay by using The Donald's name, but it diminishes the importance of the topic.

We need a humbler, more respectful Media.  And, we need a humbler, more respectful President.  We need greater involvement of the US Congress.  We need more transparency.♠

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Remember when President Obama promised to have the most transparent administration in history?  My advice is to not buy a used car from this man.

More Unsearched Documents

For John, BLUF:  Ms Clinton is either the world's most unlucky candidate or runs way too close to the edge.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"Release of Clinton Documents Delayed After State Department Discovers ‘Thousands’ of Unsearched Records".

The sub-headline is "Citizens United, Judicial Watch lawsuits affected by development".  Of course they are.

The source is The Washington Free Beacon and the reporter is Ms Alana Goodman.

Here is the lede:

The State Department’s recent discovery of thousands of unsearched records from Hillary Clinton’s tenure has delayed several public records lawsuits and could keep many of the documents out of the public sphere until next fall.

If there is anyone out there who is shocked by this turn of events, please post a comment and explain to us your thinking.

In the mean time, this does look like the Dep't of State protecting former Secretary of State Clinton in her run for the White House.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.♠

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Or GROSS incompetence, which doesn't bode well for our foreign policy execution.