In The News

Timeline of Ukraine Scandal: Kyiv Post

Oleksiy Sorokin. October 19, 2019
Government officials withholding military aid to Ukraine for a political favor is at the heart of an impeachment inquiry underway since September 24. A telephone call and testimony to three committees of the House of Representatives indicate that Donald Trump directed his private attorney and government staff to re-investigate and disqualify numerous US investigations that have found Russia was...

Trump Sends Troops to Saudi Arabia: Foreign Policy

Bilal Y. Saab October 17, 2019
Donald Trump is sending 1,800 more troops to Saudi Arabia. During a meeting with congressional leaders, Trump suggested that Saudi Arabia will cover the costs. Abrupt US withdrawal from Syria left Kurds, key allies in the fight against the Islamic State, to fend for themselves against a Turkish invasion. A hasty ceasefire has since been announced by the US and Turkey, both NATO members. Nations...

Turkey Seeks World Support on Syria Moves: Hürriyet

October 9, 2019
Kurdish forces were key to defeating Islamic State extremists in northern Syria. The ethnic group is a sizable minority in Iran, Iraq and Turkey. But Turkish leaders regard Kurdish hopes for autonomy and their own country as a terrorist endeavor. The US president announced a withdrawal of US forces from the border region, despite questions about the welfare of Kurdish allies known as the Syrian...

The US Withdraws from Syria: New York Times

Peter Baker and Lara Jakes October 8, 2019
Civil war in Syria began soon after the Arab Spring in 2011. Islamic State terrorists took advantage of chaos, gaining territory and control, and the United States supported Kurdish fighters in containing ISIS. But Turkey resents the Kurds – a large and marginalized minority in that country as well as Syria, Iraq and Iran – and labels them terrorists. President Donald Trump announced withdrawal...

Beijing and Revenge on Hong Kong: Financial Times

Jamil Anderlini October 7, 2019
Hong Kong’s status as a vibrant financial center, a base for companies of all types, flourished under democracy. Democracy and fears about erosion of freedoms also fuels protests. Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, operates with a separate set of political processes, since 1997 through 2047. Increasing Chinese influence over Hong Kong, including expulsion of specific elected...

US Ends Two Science Advisory Boards: Hill

Miranda Green October 6, 2019
Donald Trump issued an executive order in June, urging departments to consider eliminating a third of the country’s advisory panels. Steps have been taken to disband two: the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Invasive Species Advisory Committee run by the Interior Department. Such panels are typically staffed by...

US Whistleblower’s Complaint on Trump

September 27, 2019
A declassified and redacted version of a whistleblower’s complaint on US President Donald Trump has been released. “In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,” the complaint begins. “This...