"Authoritarians have long practiced the cynical art of manipulating information to stifle dissent and shape international perceptions of their regimes. But in the digital age, they are armed as never before, reaching into other countries to influence political discourse and spread conspiracy theories..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"Biden spokesman Ned Price declined to comment on the resolutions. But Dennis Ross, a former U.S. Mideast peace negotiator now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the incoming president would likely be in favor of the deal going through..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"When Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, he will bring to the White House a deeper knowledge of Latin America and the Caribbean than any of his recent predecessors. Biden traveled to the region a record 16 times while serving as Barack Obama’s vice president, and many more times before and since. In Biden, Latin Americans will have a partner in Washington who views our shared hemisphere not as the United States’ backyard but [...]
"Morrison's response was clumsy and ill-advised. It was 'not textbook', as Danny Russel, a former Asia-Pacific adviser to Joe Biden and Barack Obama, put it to me. The Chinese spokesman who tweeted the mocked-up picture of a digger holding a knife to the throat of a child, Zhao Lijian, is the leading practitioner of China's hypernationalist 'wolf warrior' diplomacy. Russel describes him as 'a troll in wolf's clothing'..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"Over the past three years, a local Islamist insurgency in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado has grown in strength and viciousness, developing ties with international terrorist groups and threatening one of the world’s largest natural gas projects. The insurgency is turning Cabo Delgado into a killing field. While many Americans are increasingly wary of overseas counterterrorism commitments, there is increasing consensus among experts that the conventional, militarized counterterrorism responses that have dominated in the post 9-11 era are failing, [...]
"If Saudi Arabia allows Qatari flights through its airspace, that 'would clearly be a win for Doha,' said Barbara A. Leaf, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to create a new cabinet-level position for climate-related issues — and to choose so prominent a figure as former Secretary of State John Kerry to fill it — demonstrates Biden’s sincerity over putting climate at the very center of U.S. foreign policy. It is easy to understate the importance of this appointment, given the flurry of czars created by most new administrations..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"However, that issue 'has receded in importance' more recently, said Barbara Leaf, the US ambassador to the UAE from 2014 to 2018. The main reason is that in October, Israel’s government dropped its objection to the F-35 transfers in particular, soon after the Pentagon promised Jerusalem its edge would remain intact. "'It’s now more about the foreign policy dimensions of the proposed sale,' Leaf told me..." Read the full article here: Full Article
"Asked if former Obama officials should be critiquing moves made during the transition given the Obama administration’s 2016 decision not to veto a resolution at the U.N. criticizing Israel during the transition period, former U.S. Mideast envoy Dennis Ross told JI: 'No one gets an absolute pass to do whatever they want during the transition. So criticism is fair — just as criticism of the Obama administration’s abstention on the UNSC resolution was warranted...'" Read the full article here: Full Article
"'This is a time of uncertainty and anxiety, but as a strategic matter, the democratic model ultimately sits on the right side of history,' said Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., a former top State Department official. 'Much work lies ahead to fulfill its superior potential...'" Read the full article here: Full Article