Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

ISRAEL

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda has concluded her preliminary examination into the so-called “situation in Palestine” and asked the ICC judges to confirm that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. By taking this action, he pointed out, “the Prosecutor expressly recognized that there are serious legal questions about the Court’s authority to proceed with an investigation.”

The United States firmly opposes actions seeking to target Israel unfairly. Previously, Washington noted that as was made clear when the Palestinians purported to join the Rome Statute, the US does not believe the Palestinians qualify as a sovereign state, and they therefore are not qualified to obtain full membership, or participate as a state in international organizations, entities, or conferences, including the ICC.

IRAN

Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for many years using a campaign of plausible deniability to hide behind their proxies. A senior State Department official in recognizing this point said: “Well, that’s not us; it’s Hizballah,” or, “That’s not us; it’s the militias in Bahrain that are blowing up oil pipelines.”

He stated that the united States has “stripped away the veneer of deniability with our designation and made clear that it’s not just Iran supporting terrorism, it’s Iran engaging in terrorism itself. I think that messaging is important.” There are practical consequences of the terrorist designation. The most important of those, according to the official, is the material support statute. “So, when the Secretary of State designates a group as a foreign terrorist organization, that unleashes a federal criminal prohibition on providing material support or resources to that group. That prohibition was not in place when we had previously sanctioned the IRGC under different sanctions authorities,” he said. Now that that FTO criminal liability regime is in place, that substantially increases the legal risk that second parties and third parties face when they engage with the IRGC.

VENEZUELA

In a recent special briefing at the State Department, Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams, and the charge d’affaires of the US’s Venezuelan Affairs Unit James Story presented the latest developments with regard to the situation on the ground in Venezuela. Abrams pointed out that the National Assembly is the last bastion of Democracy left in the country and it is under attack by the Maduro regime. Of the 167 deputies, 32 have been detained, forced into exile, or had their constitutional immunities from prosecution revoked, he said.

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Reports indicate these attacks have increased in the last week. Abrams pointed out that the “regime’s captive supreme court removed the immunity of four additional parliamentarians so they can be tried for alleged crimes against the state, including treason, after the regime’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, accused them of being involved in an alleged terrorist plot.” In addition, he added, “…on December 17, two of the four denounced SEBIN intelligence agents for threatening their homes and their families. Why? The two deputies said the regime’s motive was to stop the deputies from voting in favor of Juan Guaido on January 5th in favor of his reelection as National Assembly president.”

James Story noted that “The National Assembly will vote on January 5, and the regime is using a combination of threats, arrests, and bribes – up to $500,000 per vote, we have been told – to stop the reelection of Juan Guaido. Threaten, exile, detain, bribe – that is step one. Step two will be to try to grab control of the National Assembly by preventing free elections in 2020. The Venezuelan constitution calls for National Assembly elections next year, and opinion polls make it obvious the opposition will win them – if they’re free.”

“The United States, the other nearly 60 nations that have recognized Juan Guaido as interim president because the May 2018 elections were fraudulent, and every country that seeks a peaceful way out for Venezuela through free elections can see exactly what’s going on in Caracas,” according to Abrams. That is why, he said, the United States will continue the sanctions and strengthen them.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Alienating Allies

President Biden has called two key U.S. allies, India and Japan, “xenophobic.” As noted in a Hill report “Biden grouped Japan and India alongside China and Russia as ‘xenophobic countries,’ claiming being less open to immigrants has caused the countries’ economies to struggle since the COVID-19 pandemic.” The comment comes at a time when both of those nations are essential to American goals in the Indo-Pacific, including countering China’s massive arms buildup, North Korea’s growing nuclear prowess, and Russia’s increased presence in the region. China now has a larger fleet than the United States, and has powerful assistance from Russia. The U.S. State Department warns that “Across much of the Indo-Pacific region, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using military and economic coercion to bully its neighbors, advance unlawful maritime claims, threaten maritime shipping lanes, and destabilize territory along the periphery of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This predatory conduct increases the risk of miscalculation and conflict.” Alexey Muraviev, writing for the Asia Times notes that “China is not the only potentially adversarial maritime power that is flexing its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region. Russia is becoming a cause for concern, too, even though the 2023 strategic review did not mention it….Between 2022 and October 2023, for instance, it commissioned eight new warships and auxiliaries, including four nuclear-powered and conventional submarines. On December 11, two new nuclear-powered submarines formally joined the fleet, in addition to the conventional RFS Mozhaisk submarine, which entered service last month.” Biden making a comment that directly and clearly harms both U.S. interests and those of key allies is hardly surprising, as evidenced by his bizarre actions regarding Israel. The Department of Defense states that “ Japan is growing and taking leadership roles that not only benefit people in the Indo-Pacific, but the global community, said Grace Park, the director for Japan policy at the Defense Department’s Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Office said… Japan, the fourth largest economy in the world, has taken a greater security role in the past decade, Park said. Japanese leaders are reorganizing the self-defense forces in the country, fielding new military capabilities, increasing the amount spent on self-defense and more. “I believe that the United States has gained a lot from this alliance relationship,” she said. It will soon play an even more significant role. The Department of Defense reports that “The U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, members of the AUKUS partnership, are considering cooperation with Japan on advanced capabilities projects. …Japan was considered because of its strengths and its close defense partnership with all three countries, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, who held a press conference today. Japan is playing a larger role in other essential American alliances, as well. As reported in the American Military News, “The Philippines and the United States are considering the expansion of their annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) military exercises carried out under the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States, to include Japan. As this column has previously reported, India’s population, military strength, and strategic geographical location render it one of the world’s most important nations. The Pentagon notes that “Over the past decade, the U.S.-India defense relationship has become indispensable in promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region.” Since the start of his Administration, President Biden has consistently engaged in policies and actions that have emboldened America’s adversaries and alienating and worried allies. The consistency of his inexplicable course of action is now clear, and the U.S. citizenry deserves an immediate explanation. The highly partisan U.S. media has, until the current holdup of aid to Israel, turned a blind eye to Biden’s destructive foreign policies, allowing him to progress from one disaster to another. Illustration: Pixabay