USA and Canada

Photo: North Korea's Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol delivers a personal letter from Chairman Kim to President Trump, in the White House Oval Office on June 1, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Paving the Way to Denuclearization and Peace with North Korea

By Daryl G. Kimball

The author is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. Following is the text of an Issue Brief analyzing the prospects beyond the U.S.-North Korean Summit on June 12 in Singapore.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – The South Korean-brokered diplomatic opening between leaders from the United States and the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) that began in January 2018 is a welcome shift away from the missile and nuclear tests and “fire and fury” threats of 2017 that brought the region to the brink of a catastrophic war.

Donald Trump deserves credit for being so bold as to agree to pursue the June 12 summit meeting in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The ongoing inter-Korean dialogue and prospect for a historic U.S.-North Korean summit has lowered tensions but tensions could flare up once again – especially if Trump goes off-script, acts impulsively, or if either side has unrealistic expectations about what the meeting can accomplish.

: Arms Control Association; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 09 June 2018

A Reasonable Case To Convict US of War Crimes in Afghanistan

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – There is a clock ticking – towards July 20. That is when the International Criminal Court (ICC) for War Crimes, based in The Hague, goes into its summer recess. The question is: Will it be able, in the six weeks that remain, to start proceedings against the US for alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan?

The court originally held a preliminary investigation in 2006. It ruled that evidence of war crimes existed, but with fewer than 20 allegations it decided to proceed no further. But later that year fresh evidence came to light and it reopened the case.

Afghanistan joined the ICC in 2003. The US never did although President Bill Clinton tried hard to win approval.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 05 June 2018

Photo: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush shake hands after their press conference in the White House on 12 November 2004. From the start of the War on Terror in 2001, Blair strongly supported Bush's foreign policy, participating in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Why Tony Blair Should Be Prosecuted Over Iraq

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. His predecessor George W. Bush was. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives. Was the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the closest ally of Bush also a war criminal? And should he now be prosecuted and tried for war crimes?

Did Blair lie over the reason for going to war with Iraq – the supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction that he alleged Iraq possessed? It depends on how you define lie.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 May 2018

How About Beginning With Sport To Face Down Trump?

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Can you smell the whiff of smoke? You surely can. But the gunfire? Not yet. But it must start soon if the battle has any chance of success.

President Donald Trump has to be faced down. Not only because of his sabotage of the Iran nuclear deal but also because of his attack on Europe’s export of steel and aluminium which breaks all the rules on tariffs set by the World Trade Organisation. This man should not be allowed to get away with his gross disturbance of the world political and economic order.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 May 2018

Photo: President Buhari. Credit: Premium Times.

Trump Apparently Met His Match in Nigerian President Buhari

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Try as he might, President Trump couldn’t land a deal with Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari at their tête-à-tête in Washington end of April 2018.

Deploying his usual tough talk on trade, the U.S. president was shooting for a deal that would open the doors to U.S. farm products by “ripping down” Nigerian trade barriers that protect the fragile state of that country’s agricultural economy.

Nigeria had too many trade barriers, President Trump complained, and should lift those barriers ASAP. He pointed out that Nigeria receives significant aid from the U.S. to fight terrorism and questioned whether the U.S. was getting its money’s worth.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 15 May 2018

Photo: Saudi Arabia's foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir told CNN on May 9 that his country stands ready to build nuclear weapons if Iran restarts its nuclear program. @CNNPolitics

Thwart Saudi Threat To Acquire Nuclear Weapons

By Daryl G. Kimball and Thomas Countryman

Following is the text of Statement from Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association and its Board of Directors Chairman and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation,Thomas Countryman,– The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – We are deeply disappointed by the counterproductive response from the Trump administration to the statements from senior Saudi officials threatening to pursue nuclear weapons in violation of their nonproliferation commitments.

We call on the White House to immediately reiterate the longstanding, bipartisan policy of the United States that it will actively work against the spread of nuclear weapons to any country, friend or foe.

: UN Bureau; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 15 May 2018

Pugwash, UN and ICAN Warn of Ramifications of US Quitting Iran Nuclear Deal

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – The announcement by President Donald Trump to abandon the Iran nuclear deal is "a costly mistake that can hold wide-ranging ramifications beyond its strictly nuclear parameters," the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize winner Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs have warned.

The decision undoes many years of constructive and patient diplomacy between Iran and the P5+1, which produced a landmark agreement in non-proliferation, said Pugwash president Sergio Duarte and Secretary-General Paolo Cotta Ramusino in a statement on May 9.

: J Nastranis; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 10 May 2018

Photo: President Donald Trump meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House in February 2017. Credit: Office of the President of the United States.

Canada Slams U.S. Decision to Quit Iran Nuclear Accord

By Suresh Jaura

TORONTO (IDN) – In 2012, Canada abandoned diplomatic ties with Iran and closed its embassy in Tehran. Former Canadian minister of foreign affairs, John Baird, cited Iran’s support for the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War and non-compliance with United Nations resolutions on its nuclear program, recalls Katie Dangerfield writing in Global News.

When the Iran nuclear deal was created in July 2015, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was skeptical of the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 nations (US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany). However, after Prime Minister Trudeau was elected in October 2015, he promised to restore ties between Iran and Canada, Dangerfield adds.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 10 May 2018

Photo: Trump ending U.S. participation in Iran Nuclear Deal. Credit: White House.

Experts Denounce U.S. Withdrawal From Iran Nuclear Deal

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Experts have deplored President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran Nuclear Deal. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) called it "a dangerous move" that "will have major international consequences". Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the independent Arms Control Association said the decision was "an irresponsible act of foreign policy malpractice".

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation based in Santa Barbara warned in a statement: "The decision to withdraw from the treaty: 1. Makes it more likely Iran will pursue nuclear weapons. 2. Makes war between the U.S. and Iran more likely. 3. Separates the U.S. from its major allies. 4. Shows U.S. commitments are not reliable. 5. Further reinforces lack of U.S. leadership in the world. 6. Will likely have adverse effects on achieving nuclear deal with N. Korea."

: J Nastranis; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 08 May 2018

Iran Nuclear Deal Withdrawal 'Misguided', 'Serious Mistake'

By Barack Obama

The following is the text of former President Barack Obama's remarks on his successor Donald Trump's decision on May 8, 2018 to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. The original appeared on Obama's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10155854913976749 - The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.