Foreign Relations

Washington’s Pre-War Demonization Formula Is Targeting Iran, Again

December 27, 2017 By Darius Shahtahmasebi, Mintpressnews.com Educate! Foreign Relations, Iran, United Nations, US Imperialism

WASHINGTON (Analysis) — The United States has had Iran in its crosshairs for decades and current media coverage indicates that US-Iranian relations are only getting worse. In 1953, the CIA overthrew Iran’s democratically elected leader, Mohammed Mossadegh, and replaced him with a brutal U.S.- and U.K.-backed dictator, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. As is typically the case with covert CIA operations, the U.S. had other concerns when it made the decision to lead a coup against Iran’s democratically elected government and opted for a dictatorship instead.

Honduran Authorities Detain U.S. Human Rights Observer 11 Hours

November 29, 2017 Staff, ggjalliance.org Resist! Electoral Politics, Foreign Relations, Honduras, US Imperialism

By Staff of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance - WASHINGTON - With just hours to go before the Honduran elections, an international human rights observer from the United States was detained for 11hours at the airport in San Pedro Sula. Irene Rodriguez is part of the delegation of observers organized by La Voz de los de Abajoin partership with CODEPINK. La Voz is a Chicago-based all-volunteer international solidarity organization that has been accompanying social movements in Honduras for two decades. Both organizations are members of the Honduras Solidarity Network of North America. “I came to observe any possible human rights violations and I was detained in the airport in San Pedro Sula for 11 hours, mostly being asked the same five questions by different people over and over again. They were denying that there are human rights violations happening in the country by doing that, they are concerned about their image. I think it is important for people in the U.S. and throughout the world to realize that we are not getting information outside of the country about what is really happening here… very serious human rights violations, assassinations, disappearances and it is up to us to relay that information,” explains Irene.

How U.S. Aristocracy Made A Foreign-Policy Chump Out Of Trump

November 28, 2017 Eric Zuesse, thesaker.is Educate! Donald Trump, Foreign Relations, US Imperialism

By Eric Zuesse for The Saker Blog - In order to understand Donald Trump’s foreign policies, a person must be totally open-minded to at least the possibility that the U.S. is the world’s most aggressive, war-mongering nation, so that when an international poll was taken of the publics in 65 nations in 2013 as to which country is “the greatest threat to peace in the world today”, the 67,806 respondents were correct to place the United States as being overwhelmingly in that position, “the greatest threat to peace in the world today” — far ahead of any other nation. In other words: to understand Trump’s foreign policies, one must first recognize the reality of the broader background. There is, indeed, a very dark reality about the United States that is covered-up in virtually all ‘histories’ about this country except for the Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick masterpiece, Untold History of the United States. (See Chapter One here, and Chapter Two here.) One must be willing to get beyond the myths about America’s benevolence and ‘support of democracy around the world’, in order to understand this President’s foreign policy. After all, any American President is part of a tradition — and it goes beyond partisanship: there are some important things (especially in foreign policy) that both the Democratic Party (“liberal”) Establishment and the Republican Party (“conservative”) Establishment share.

ACT OUT! [136] – Cuba: What You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know

November 16, 2017 Eleanor Goldfield, occupy.com Resistance Report Cuba, Foreign Relations

By Eleanor Goldfield for Occupy - This week on Act Out!, Cuba – the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. From my experiences there two weeks ago, to new updates on U.S.-Cuba relations, I'll introduce you to some people and facts you never knew. We'll lift the veil on a vilified island that has suffered greatly from U.S. empire, and show how education and interaction can cure us of the red scare disease.

Students Will Sail For Cuba, Despite U.S. Travel Warnings

October 26, 2017 Staff, www.progresoweekly.us Resist! Cuba, Foreign Relations, US Foreign Policy

By Staff of Progresso Weekly - Despite U.S. warnings against travel to Cuba, a 130-foot American school schooner operated by Ocean Passages of Portland, ME, will sail this week from Washington, D.C. for an educational voyage in southern Cuba. On board the ship are U.S. crew and Gap Year students ages 18 – 24. The ship will spend a total of four months in Cuba engaged in ecological site visits assessing long-term sustainability. The owners, crew, and students of the Harvey Gamage have carefully reviewed the U.S. administration’s recent travel warnings and are committed to continuing their mission in Cuba. The ship, currently moored at the Capital Yacht Club on the D.C. waterfront, will set sail for Cuba this Wednesday, October 25. At an 11 a.m. press conference Wednesday morning aboard the schooner, representatives of Ocean Passages and the students will discuss the value of legally authorized “people-to-people” travel in Cuba begun under the Obama administration. They will describe their determination to “stay the course” despite the Trump administration’s changes in U.S. policies towards Cuba. This marks Ocean Passages’ third consecutive year of student voyages to Cuba. In addition, U.S. tour operators and Cuban experts will discuss the negative impacts of the recent State Department travel warning and other measures on educational and cultural exchanges with the island and on Cuba’s burgeoning small-scale, household-based tourism businesses.

Japan’s Election Worsening Prospects For Peace With N. Korea, China

October 24, 2017 Nicole L Freiner, www.theconversation.com Educate! China, Foreign Relations, Inter-Imperialist Rivalry, Japan, North Korea

By Nicole L Freiner for The Conversation - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gambled by calling a snap election – and he has won big. Voters handed Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party a sweeping victory in the Oct. 22 balloting for Japan’s House of Representatives. The call for the election came in late September after North Korea had just fired another test missile, with its longest delivery system yet. Over the past months, North Korea has tested six missiles, with each test either falling into the Japan Sea or passing over Japan to land in the Pacific. This latest missile flew over Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido before falling into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jung Un, used strong threats after this missile test, saying that he hoped to see Japan sink into the sea. Abe and his hawkish, conservative coalition have been attempting to rebuild Japan’s military capabilities and to scrap its WWII-era constitution that prohibits aggression. Based on my research in Japanese politics, I believe the party’s electoral victory spells trouble for peace in Asia.

N. Korea Foreign Minister On What’s Needed For Negotiations With US

October 13, 2017 Adam Garrie, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Foreign Relations, North Korea, United States, US Imperialism

By Adam Garrie for Mint Press News - North Korea’s Foreign Minister, Ri Yong-ho, has spoken exclusively to TASS on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Moscow. Before taking questions, Ri Yong-ho, who recently delivered the DPRK’s speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations, addressed the current state of relations between his country and Russia: Tomorrow, October 12, will mark the 69th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Russia and in this connection I would like to express the hope that friendship and cooperation between our peoples will be growing stronger and that the strategic importance of interaction will grow with the passage of time. My country today is attaining a victory and acting as a worthy counterbalance to the United States, which refers to itself as the “only superpower.” I believe that having such a strong neighbor by its side quite agrees with Russia’s interests. Lately, Korean-Russian relations have been not at the desirable level due to internal and external factors and a number of difficulties and obstacles, but we are optimistic about their potential and their prospects, because there is a solid groundwork for the development of bilateral relations, resting upon a long history of friendship and cooperation.

Declaration Of The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Of Cuba

October 5, 2017 Staff, www.minrex.gob.cu Educate! Cuba, Foreign Relations

By Staff of Cuba Minrex - On September 29, 2017, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the decision to significantly downscale the diplomatic staff of the US embassy in Havana and withdraw all their relatives, claiming that there had been “attacks” perpetrated against US Government officials in Cuba which have harmed their health. Once again, on October 3, the US Government, in an unwarranted act, decided that 15 officials of the Cuban Embassy in Washington should depart from the United States, claiming that the US had reduced their diplomatic staffing levels in Havana and that the Cuban Government had failed to take all appropriate steps to prevent “attacks” against them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protests and condemns this unfounded and unacceptable decision as well as the pretext used to justify it, for it has been asserted that the Cuban Government did not take the appropriate measures to prevent the occurrence of the alleged incidents. In the meeting that, at the proposal of the Cuban side, was held with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, warned him against the adoption of hasty decisions that were not supported by evidence; urged him not to politicize a matter of this nature and once again required the effective cooperation from the US authorities to clarify facts and conclude the investigation.

Trump Adds Venezuela And North Korea To Travel Ban

September 27, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Ban, Donald Trump, Foreign Relations, North Korea, Venezuela

By Staff of Tele Sur - The addition of North Korea and Venezuela broadens the restrictions from the original, mostly Muslim-majority list. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Venezuela and North Korea will be added to the list of countries banned from traveling to the United States. The order outlines different restrictions for each country on the list. In the case of Venezuela, the new decree is aimed at "certain Venezuelan government officials and their immediate family members," according to the White House press office. The new directive prevents Venezuelan officials involved in state security, law enforcement and migration functions from entering the United States. Immediate family members' ability to enter the U.S. as nonimmigrants on business, tourist and tourist/business visas will also be suspended. The proclamation names ministries and state bodies involved in "screening and vetting procedures," including the Ministry of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace; the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration and Immigration; the Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation Service Corps; the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service; and the Ministry of the Popular Power for Foreign Relations.

Need For Diplomacy More Clear Than Ever After North Korea Claims H-Bomb Test

September 4, 2017 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Strategize! Foreign Relations, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons

By Andrea Germanos for Common Dreams - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, said that he was drafting new sanctions to place on North Korea in response to the test. "It's clear this behavior is completely unacceptable," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday." Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N. nuclear agency, said the test was "an extremely regrettable act," and called on North Korea "to fully implement all relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA," which include stopping further nuclear tests. Among those appealing for calm was Russia, declaring diplomacy "the only possible way" to resolve the conflict. The foreign ministry in Moscow said the test merited "the strongest condemnation," and warned that "the continuation of such a line is fraught with serious consequences" for Pyongyang. "In the unfolding conditions," the ministry statement added, it is imperative to remain calm and to refrain from any actions that lead to a further escalation of tension." "We call on all interested parties to immediately return to dialogue and negotiations as the only possible way for an overall settlement of the problems of the Korean peninsula," it said.

Can US And North Korea Move From Threats To Negotiations?

August 28, 2017 Gareth Porter, www.truth-out.org Educate! Foreign Relations, North Korea, US Imperialism

By Gareth Porter for Truthout - For months, the Trump administration and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have each made a series of moves that have appeared to take them ever closer to the brink of war. But a closer review of the escalation of the conflict reveals that both sides are consciously maneuvering for what they know will be extended serious negotiations on a new framework for peace on the Korean peninsula. The Trump administration is well aware that it has no real military option against the North, and the Kim Jong-un regime seems to have sought to use missile launches as signals to the Trump administration to convey not only North Korea's determination not to give in to pressure, but also its hopes to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation in US-North Korea military relations. The latest US-North Korean crisis revolves around the Trump administration's public refusal to accept North Korea's nuclear weapons and long-range missile program, and Trump's flirtation with options for removing it that would certainly result in a highly destructive and destabilizing Korean War.

Iran Threatens To Send Warships To Atlantic And Ramp Up Nuclear Activities If US Continues Sanctions

August 17, 2017 Aaron Kesel, www.activistpost.com Educate! Foreign Relations, Iran, Nuclear Weapons, US Foreign Policy

By Aaron Kesel for Activist Post - Amid Americans’ concerns that North Korea threatened to launch a missile at Guam, Iran is planning on building up a flotilla of warships in the Atlantic Ocean, while Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani has threatened to revitalize the country’s nuclear program if the U.S. continues “threats and sanctions.” If Washington continues with “threats and sanctions” against Iran, Tehran could easily ramp up its nuclear activities Rouhani said in Iranian Parliament, AP reported. In an hour and a day, Iran could return to a more advanced (nuclear) level than at the beginning of the negotiations. “The U.S. has shown that it is neither a good partner nor a trustable negotiator,” Rouhani added. “Those who are trying to go back to the language of threats and sanctions are prisoners of their past hallucinations. They deprive themselves of the advantages of peace.” Iranian lawmakers reportedly shouted “death to America” as they passed the bill to increase military spending. The legislation also imposes sanctions on U.S. military officials who are in the region. Meanwhile, after the announcement of a massive $500 million investment in war spending, Iran has planned to send flotilla of warships to the Atlantic Ocean in response to the U.S. proposed sanctions against the country.

Soft Coups Made In USA To Control Latin America: Bolivia

July 3, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Bolivia, Foreign Relations, Latin America, Regime Change, US Foreign Policy, US Imperialism

By Staff of Tele Sur - While the U.S. employs brute military force in the Muslim world to obtain foreign policy objectives, soft coups are reserved for Latin America. Cesar Navarro, Bolivia's minister of Mining and Metallurgy, emphasized Wednesday that the main objective of the United States is to implement soft coups in order to reestablish hegemony over Latin America during a speech launching a new book, according to Prensa Latina. The official was commenting on "Geopolitics and Regional Integration — Latin America in the World System," a compilation which includes a variety of prominent Latin American intellectuals. He noted that while the United States employs brute military force in parts of the Muslim world to obtain foreign policy objectives, soft coups are reserved for its southern neighbors or as top U.S. officials — including former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry — refer to the region as its “backyard.” To support his claim, Navarro cited the removal of democratically-elected Manuel Zelaya in Honduras; Fernando Lugo in Paraguay; and Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, describing how the United States supported their ouster despite the fact that it goes against all claims of supporting democracy.

Stop Trump From Making NAFTA Even Worse

July 1, 2017 Ethan Earle, www.inthesetimes.com Resist! Donald Trump, Foreign Relations, NAFTA, TPP, Trade Deal

By Ethan Earle for In These Times - Many on the Left have been deeply critical of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) since before it was fast-tracked into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1994. Now, President Donald Trump’s current plan to renegotiate NAFTA is poised to make the massive trade deal even worse. In late May, a loose coalition of civil society groups gathered in Mexico City to discuss this upcoming renegotiation. Participants included the AFL-CIO, Canadian Labour Congress and over one hundred other labor, environmental, and immigrant rights organizations from across Mexico, the United States and Canada. The meeting produced a joint declaration opposing a Trump-led NAFTA renegotiation and marked the kickoff of the latest international campaign against free-trade deals that benefit corporations and political elites at the expense of workers, communities and our shared environment. NAFTA’s legacy is marred by lost jobs, lower wages, increased inequality and a litany of environmentally destructive practices. While the people who gathered in Mexico City have long opposed NAFTA for its pro-corporate bent, a consensus emerged that President Trump and his team are cooking up something even worse. Two questions follow from this judgment: What can we do to stop Trump, and how can we use the moment to challenge the powerful interests that he represents?

Protest Friday As President Moon Meets President Trump

June 28, 2017 Staff, www.m.yna.co.kr Resist! Donald Trump, Foreign Relations, Protests, South Korea, THAAD, US Foreign Policy

By Staff of Yonhap News Agency - SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- Thousands of South Koreans staged a protest rally in central Seoul on Saturday demanding the withdrawal of the deployment of an American high-tech anti-missile defense system as President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Washington D.C. next week. "The deployment of THAAD, which is unnecessary for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, should be pulled back," the protesters said in a rally held in Seoul Plaza at the heart of Seoul. The rally's organizer put the number of participants at 3,000. The rally came ahead of the first Moon-Trump summit to be held from June 29-30, which is expected to feature the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). After taking office last month, Moon ordered the deployment to be delayed until an environmental impact assessment is carried out at its deployment site. "The South Korea-U.S. summit to come next week should be a venue where the review of the THAAD deployment should be assured," the protests said. They also demanded the U.S. stop enforcing the deployment.

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