In an interview with "Intelligence Matters" host and CBS News senior national security contributor Michael Morell, former deputy Secretary of State and deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama Antony Blinken weighs in on the Trump administration's foreign policy decisions in some of the world's top geopolitical hotspots. Blinken evaluates the opportunities seized, squandered and still ahead in countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, North Korea and China. A former national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, Blinken also discusses what Biden's foreign policy might look like, should he run for president.For much more from their conversation, read the interview transcript here and subscribe to Intelligence Matters here. Saudi ArabiaThe U.S.-Saudi relationship has been roiled in recent months by the murder, in Turkey, of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by a team of Saudi citizens. After leveling sanctions on 17 Saudis … [Read more...] about Former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken grades Trump’s foreign policy
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Transcript: Antony Blinken talks with Michael Morell on “Intelligence Matters”
INTELLIGENCE MATTERS - TONY BLINKEN HOST: MICHAEL MORELLPRODUCER: OLIVIA GAZIS MICHAEL MORELL:Tony, great to have you on the show. TONY BLINKEN:Thanks, Mike. Great to be with you. MICHAEL MORELL: Tony, you have a particularly interesting story about how you came to be interested in foreign policy. Can you share that with us? TONY BLINKEN:Yes. You know, I think we're all sort of products of the conversations we hear around the dining room table, the kitchen table in our families. And in my family, a lot of the stories were about the fact that so many of the people that came before me were refugees or immigrants of one kind or another. I had a grandfather who came here at the turn of the last century fleeing pilgrims in what's now Ukraine, was welcome to the United States, … [Read more...] about Transcript: Antony Blinken talks with Michael Morell on “Intelligence Matters”
Why Does Pompeo Pretend US Intelligence Hasn’t Told Trump What Happened in Khashoggi Case?
Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. On Thursday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, after meeting with President Donald Trump, said that before deciding on how to respond to the crisis, the United States will give Saudi Arabia a few more days to “conduct a complete, thorough investigation” into the disappearance—and likely murder—of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist and American resident. This was consistent with the easy-on-Riyadh line that Trump and Pompeo had been taking. On Wednesday, Pompeo told reporters that he was waiting for the Saudis—who already apparently lied about the case earlier when they insisted that Khashoggi had left their consulate in Istanbul—to do their thing: “We’re going to give them the space to complete their investigations of this incident, and when they issue their reports, we’ll form our judgment.” And … [Read more...] about Why Does Pompeo Pretend US Intelligence Hasn’t Told Trump What Happened in Khashoggi Case?
The best and worst of America seen in immigration issues
Here is America at its best: Faith-based organizations across the country are volunteering to help resettle refugee families in their communities. In the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., where we live, Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations have formed a partnership called Neighbors to welcome these forlorn foreigners to their new homes. Here is America at its worst: The Trump administration announced that it is slashing the quota of refugees the U.S. will accept in the next fiscal year to 30,000, the lowest total since the modern refugee system was established in 1980. But the actual number will probably fall well below that limit, since the administration is doing everything possible to throttle the refugee program and will admit only about 21,000 in the fiscal year ending this month. Slamming the door on refugees comes at a terrible time, since more than 68 million people worldwide have been displaced from their homes -- more than half of them children, according the … [Read more...] about The best and worst of America seen in immigration issues
US ranks near bottom on commitment to development
Panel 1 Conflict Antiquities published: 19 Oct 2015 views: 625 Full title of Symposium: Conflict Antiquities: Forging a Public/Private Response to Save Iraq and Syria\'s Endangered Cultural Heritage More info: http://eca.state.gov/cultural-heritage-center/conflict-antiquities Welcoming Statements (The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium) Thomas P. Campbell Director and CEO, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Antony J. Blinken Deputy Secretary of State Irina Bokova Director-General, UNESCO Speakers on the first panel on “Looting and Destruction of Iraqi and Syrian Cultural Heritage; What We Know, What Can Be Done” will be: Michael Danti, American Schools of Oriental Research Andrew Keller, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State Robert Hartung, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State Lev Kubiak, Assistant Director, International Operations, Homeland … [Read more...] about US ranks near bottom on commitment to development