Home · News · News Oct 2019 · Oct 02 2019
Wednesday October 02, 2019

What if the World Treated the U.S. Like a Rogue State?
magazine | author | date

... ... Under Trump, America is in the business of actively creating or deepening threats to the world: capsizing the climate; pardoning U.S. soldiers and military contractors convicted of war crimes; supplying arms to Saudi Arabia, so that the kingdom can bombard Yemen. For a while, it looked as if Trump might attack North Korea; it's still possible that he will start a war with Iran. In recently leaked memos, Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the U.S., worried that Trump would wreck world trade. Along the way, his administration has trashed so many diplomatic rules and norms that the entire edifice of postwar multilateralism is at risk. A low point was Mike Pompeo's speech last December in Brussels, when he attacked the European Union, the UN, and every other kind of multilateralism that the U.S. once championed. "There was a stunned silence after the speech," said Anthony Gardner, a former American ambassador to the EU, "and then he left right away without taking questions." Two years ago, Mary Robinson, a former UN special envoy on climate change, called the U.S. "a rogue state" for quitting the Paris accord. It's common now for foreign policy professionals from America's traditional allies to murmur brokenly about the "rules-based order," as if they were standing at the bedside of a dear, dying friend.

Everyone on the front lines of foreign policy has stories to tell of chaos and breakdown. In one minor but telling exemplar of the genre, UN officials were shocked last summer when the U.S. abruptly decided to stop contributing $300 million--less than 0.6 percent of its foreign aid spend--to the Relief and Works Agency's budget for Palestinian refugees. The agency began its work in 1949, to assist Palestinians who'd newly been rendered homeless; with successive generations, its beneficiaries have swelled to around 5.4 million, many of whom still live in or near refugee camps. "The U.S never had a problem with that number, until last year," one UN official told me. "Then they made the argument that the funding should be pegged to the original number of some 800,000 refugees." The U.S. refused to budge, despite multiple meetings, including one in mid-August that lasted 15 hours--so long that, after the building's cafes shut at 5:30 p.m., delegates had to leave the premises altogether to find food. These gatherings rarely conclude without some sort of consensus, or at least some ambiguous language to project unanimity, the official said. But in this case, even that wasn't an option; America's dissent had to be recorded in a footnote before the meeting could move on.

There are so many "egregious examples" of this kind, Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs during the Obama administration, told me. "To the point that our allies, European leaders, are looking elsewhere for solidarity." A Canadian political scientist who advised her country during last year's NAFTA renegotiations was sickened when Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum using a provision for national security considerations. "What that meant to Canadians was: We are a threat to the national security of the U.S." She described Trump's actions as "brutal" and "an enormous betrayal" and added: "There was a growing sense that we were foolish to believe in the trust between the two countries." ... Read more

More and more, the world fears that Trump is only a symptom of a much deeper problem, said James Davis, an American political scientist at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. European politicians in particular, he said, worry that deep social trends in America--towards chauvinism, insularity and coercion--will keep blooming even after Trump leaves the White House.
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (full film) | PBS Frontline | 09/30/19 | 1:54:56

Trump's foreign policy is for sale. That threatens our national security
TheGuardian | Michael H | 10/02/19

The Ukraine scandal is not only undermining American democracy -- it's damaging national security. US foreign policy increasingly looks like that of a mafia state, wielded at the behest of, and for the benefit of, one man's personal interests, and for sale to the highest bidders. This is devastating America's role in the world.

Trump led an effort -- along with other government officials and the president's personal lawyer -- to use the power of the United States to pressure the government of Ukraine to fabricate smears about one of Trump's domestic political opponents. As the White House admitted in a transcript of Trump's 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump asked Zelenskiy for a "favor" -- to look into the former vice-president Joe Biden and his son -- and said that the US attorney general, Bill Barr, and Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, would help. ...

... We're through the looking glass now. America's friends are perplexed, and the damage could be incalculable. Some countries may try to placate Trump because the United States is indeed powerful and they are scared that the US mob-boss-in-chief might break their legs. But they will hate us, look for other options, and ditch us at the first opportunity.

Our closest allies will reject us. No matter how important the US alliance is for these countries, the current scandal will force them to distance themselves even further from the United States. Intelligence cooperation could slow because allies know Trump is abusing those channels. No one will have faith in US commitments because they fear that Trump will sell them out for personal gain. The United States under Trump could be treated like a powerful autocracy -- a country that must be dealt with, but not trusted, and always hedged against. ... Read more

Peter Navarro Claims Impeachment Inquiry Is 'An Attempted Coup D'Etat'
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, October 02 [11:55]
Democracy Now! U.S. and World News Headlines for Wednesday, October 02 (FULL) | 59:02
Note: on the full 59:02 video look for small white (or black) circles on the Progressbar they denote the different news stories. You can move the pointer on the Progressbar to jump to each story, and around the video.
  1. Headlines
  2. Botham Jean Family's Lawyer Hails White Cop's Murder Conviction as "Precedent-Setting Case"
  3. Hong Kong Youth Face Military Crackdown While Fighting "One of the Most Unequal Societies Anywhere"
  4. "Impunity & Corruption": Haiti Protesters Demand President Moïse's Resignation Amid Failing Economy
Trump: I want a MOAT with Snakes and Alligators on U.S. Border | TYT | 10/01/19 | 19:18
Trump Clowns Himself With Tweet | TYT | 10/01/19 | 4:17
The1a.org
Guns And America: Cable Locks and Suicide | 1a.org | 10/02/19 | 1hr
If you buy a gun in the U.S., you're going to be given a free gun lock. It's been a federal law since 2005. However, many experts don't believe the most popular of these locks are effective at restricting access.

And gun access can be a matter of life and death, particularly for children. The average household gun ownership in the 10 states with the highest rates of youth suicide was 52.5 percent. Conversely, in the 10 states with the lowest youth suicide rates, the average household gun ownership rate was 20 percent.

We talk to Guns & America's Adhiti Bandlamudi about new findings from APM Research Lab/Guns & America/Call To Mind survey, on gun storage and suicides.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Trump Lapdogs McCarthy, Graham, And Miller Struggle On The Sunday Shows | Stephen Colbert | 10/01/19 | 3:14
Colbert Explains The Ukraine Scandal To Ainsley Earhardt Of Fox & Friends | Stephen Colbert | 10/01/19 | 4:17
More GOP Bluster And Lying To Protect Trump | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 10/02/19 |16:56
Mike Pompeo Is Shaming Himself And America | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 10/02/19 | 6:40
'Cover-up Has Continued': Questions A Year After Khashoggi Murder | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 10/02/19 | 8:49
Trump Recycling Old Ukraine Script In Smear Against Joe Biden | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC | 10/01/19 | 11:32
Rachel Maddow: We Just Don't Know How Impeachment Will Play Out | Stephan Colbert | 10/02/19 | 8:36
Rachel Maddow: Russia Uses Oil And Gas As A Weapon | Stephan Colbert | 10/02/19 | 4:38
Rachel Maddow: There's A Second Trump Whistleblower | Stephan Colbert | 10/02/19 | 5:54

10.02.2019. 17:02



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