USA and Canada

Photo: A Palestine refugee woman receives food assistance at the UNRWA Khan Younis Distribution Centre in Gaza. UNRWA/Tamer Hamam.

EU Slates U.S. for Slashing Aid Funding to Palestinian Refugees, UN Urges Increased Assistance

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Nearly three months after the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in its 2017 Annual Report warned about the deteriorating state of health across the agency’s five areas of operation – Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, and Syria – the United States has announced its decision to stop funding the agency, worsening the situation further.

In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until June 30, 2020.

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 01 September 2018

Photo: California State Capitol. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

California Leads the Way in Support of Nuclear Disarmament

By J C Suresh

TORONTO (IDN) – The State Senate of California, the most populous state in the United States, has adopted Assembly Joint Resolution 33 (AJR 33), which calls upon the federal government to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of national security policy, and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war.

Santa Barbara's State Assembly member Monique Limón introduced the Resolution emphasizing that since the height of the Cold War, the United States and Russia have dismantled more than 50,000 nuclear warheads, but 15,000 of these weapons still exist and pose an intolerable risk to human survival.

: J C Suresh; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 30 August 2018

Photo: A young boy runs with his tyre past buildings damaged by air strikes in Saada Old Town. Credit: Giles Clarke/OCHA

Memories of Iraq-Iran War Haunt U.S. Involvement in Yemen

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – The evidence that has come out from the UN and NGOs makes clear, without any reservation or ambiguity, that on August 9, 2018 dozens of school children on a bus in Yemen were killed by a Saudi Arabian air-strike, and that American supplied weapons had been used, and probably British too. Criticism of Saudi Arabia and its partner in crime, the United Arab Emirates, has been increasing over the last year.

The U.S. is not a partner in the actual fighting but, started by President Barack Obama and continued on a larger scale by President Donald Trump, the U.S. doesn't only provide weapons but also it has provided intelligence, warplane refueling and guidance technology for missiles and bombs.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; Middle East; 28 August 2018

Photo: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for members of the media with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his wife Margaret Kenyatta as they arrive at the White House, August 27, 2018, in Washington. Credit: U.S. Department of State.

Kenya Signs Deal with U.S. to Finance Wind Power

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) - Kenya has signed agreements with a U.S. wind energy company, providing a major boost for wind power and food security.

President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya said the 'Big Four agenda' projects – boosting manufacturing industry, promoting food security, providing affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage – present major opportunities for local and foreign investors.

The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Kipeto Wind Energy Company signed documents to close a $232 million deal in financing the construction and operation of a 100-megawatt grid-connected wind power plant south of Nairobi.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 28 August 2018

EU-U.S. Tussle Over Iran Sanctions and the Aftermath

By Kelsey Davenport

The author is Director for Non-Proliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA). This analysis is being reproduced from ACA's Special Newsletter of August 24, 2018. – The Editor.

WASHINGON. D.C. (IDN-INPS) – During an August 19-22 trip to Israel, National Security Advisor John Bolton said U.S. sanctions reimposed on Iran are having economic effects “even stronger than we anticipated” and that the United States expects that Europeans will see that the “choice between doing business with Iran or doing business with the United States is very clear.”

Iran figured prominently in discussions between Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 24 August 2018

U.S. Goes for 'Space Force All the Way'

Viewpoint by Alice Slater*, The Hill

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – […] Vice-President Mike Pence announced the Trump administration’s plan for a new military command, the U.S. Space Force, emphasizing President Donald Trump’s urging that “It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space: we must have American dominance in space.” Pence’s announcement was greeted by Trump, tweeting in response, “Space Force all the way!”

Pence’s rationale for this disturbing expansion of U.S. militarization to the heavens is that “our adversaries”, Russia and China, “have been working to bring new weapons of war into space itself” that pose a threat to American satellites.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 21 August 2018

Little Progress in Nuclear Disarmament Since Helsinki Summit

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Everything gets said, nothing gets done. When President Donald Trump met President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, we were promised all sorts of goodies – progress in reconciliation in Ukraine and Syria, and not least nuclear disarmament. If there is progress behind the scenes it's not noticeable to the naked eye.

People talk about Trump being in Putin's pocket yet when, soon after Trump became president, Putin suggested major cuts in nuclear weapons Trump turned him down. This would have been a fantastic way to start his presidency. He could have upped Barack Obama's achievement of getting the arsenal down to 1550 warheads each. In nearly everything else he wants to destroy Obama's legacy or minimize it. This would have been a way to do it.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 August 2018

Photo: Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in New York City, 29 September 2015. CC BY 4.0

Libya and Ukraine were Big American Mistakes with Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

Under Obama the spirit of cooperation had nearly all gone. But President Donald Trump wants to bring the era of goodwill back again. Unfortunately, because of his erratic leadership, no one is quite sure whether to trust him. Moreover, he says one thing about friendship with Russia while his Administration increases sanctions and does a go-slow on arms control.

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Two mistakes, committed on President Barack Obama's watch, were the triggers for the end of the long post-Cold War period of good relations with Russia. They were the attack on Libya by the U.S., France and the UK and the subsequent killing of its long-time dictator, Muammar Gadhafi. The second was the crisis in Ukraine.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 August 2018

Photo: Vladimir Putin (right) and Donald Trump (left) at a news conference after their summit meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

Trump and Putin Can Put the Brakes on a New, Potentially More Dangerous, Arms Race

Viewpoint by Thomas M. Countryman, Kingston A. Reif and Daryl G. Kimball

The following analysis is the Arms Control Association's latest Issue Brief with the caption Can Trump and Putin Head Off a Nuclear Arms Race? authored by Thomas M. Countryman, former Acting Under Secretary Of State for Arms Control and International Security and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association, Kingston A. Reif, Director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy, and Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director. It is being reproduced by arrangement with the Association. – The Editor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The much-anticipated July 16 summit meeting in Helsinki between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin did not go well for the United States.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 August 2018

Trump's Conservative Nominee For Post In Kenya Gets Grilling

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Democrats are challenging President Trump’s nominee from the Midwestern state of Illinois for the post of U.S. ambassador to Kenya. State Sen. Kyle McCarter’s conservative views run the gamut from opposition to gay rights, restrictions on immigration and locking up former Senator Hillary Clinton.

A White House media release said McCarter would be "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Kenya."

The post requires Senate confirmation. State Sen. McCarter was questioned by members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.