Trump Hosts MBS, Cambridge Analytica, Israel's Syria Strike
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. March 21, 2018 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump: U.S.-Saudi Relations 'Strongest' Ever Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with U.S. President Donald J. Trump at the White House, where Trump hailed the U.S.-Saudi relationship as likely the "strongest it's ever been." Trump called on the kingdom to share its wealth (NYT) by creating jobs in the United States and purchasing U.S. military equipment. The crown prince made the trip to Washington as part of a two-and-a-half-week tour across the country to shore up political and economic support as he presents himself as a reformer focused on modernizing the conservative kingdom (WSJ). The U.S. Senate rejected yesterday a resolution that would have limited U.S. support for Saudi Arabia (AP) in its military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. ANALYSIS "The United States refuels [Saudi-led] coalition warplanes, shares intelligence with the Saudis and provides them with munitions used in the air war. The Trump administration has weighed in with diplomatic assistance, too, bolstering the Saudi case for the war," Kareem Fahim and Missy Ryan write for the Washington Post. "In addition to mutual concerns about Iranian adventurism, Saudi Arabia and the United States share an interest in protecting maritime freedom of navigation and reducing jihadist influence in Yemen," Varsha Koduvayur and Alexandra N. Gutowski write for Real Clear Defense. "[Critics of U.S. involvement in Yemen] should not discount the political impact this vote—which was timed to coincide with a visit to the United States by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is widely seen as the architect of the Yemen campaign—may yet have," Molly E. Reynolds and Scott R. Anderson write for Lawfare. PACIFIC RIM Myanmar President Resigns Myanmar President Htin Kyaw said he will step down for health reasons (Guardian). State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, a childhood friend of Kyaw, was said to have exerted much of her influence through him. VIETNAM: UN human rights envoys raised concern over reports that women workers and labor activists in two Samsung factories in Vietnam were subject to harassment (OHCHR) after expressing grievances about working conditions. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Maldives Ex-Leader, Officials Charged With Terrorism Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Maldives for three decades, and several officials, including supreme court justices and a former police commissioner, were charged with terrorism and attempting to overthrow the government (AP). Gayoom is the half brother of current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom; the two are considered political rivals. TAJIKISTAN: U.S. and Tajik officials opened a training center in the capital of Dushanbe aimed at preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (RFE/RL). MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Israel Admits to 2007 Strike in Syria Israel declassified footage of a bomb attack it carried out in Syria's Deir ez-Zor (Reuters) on what it said was a nuclear reactor built with help from North Korea. The intelligence minister said the strike showed Israel "will never allow nuclear weaponry to be in the hands of those who threaten" the country. SYRIA: At least thirty-five people were killed in a rocket blast (CNN) at a market in a Damascus suburb, according to state media. First responders in the suburb of Eastern Ghouta said at least fifty-six people were killed in Syrian and Russian air strikes (Al Jazeera) there this week. Aaron Stein discusses U.S. strategy in Syria in Foreign Affairs. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Kenyan Opposition Calls for Probe Into Data Firm A top member of the opposition accused the ruling party and the UK political data firm Cambridge Analytica of attempting to "subvert the people's will" (BBC). Officials at the firm, under fire for accessing the personal data of millions of Facebook users in the United States, were recorded saying they worked on President Uhuru Kenyatta's campaign (East African). AFRICA: The World Health Organization warned that sixteen countries could be at risk of listeria outbreaks (AP) from contaminated meat traced to a South African factory. EUROPE Cambridge Analytica Suspends Boss The UK political data firm suspended its chief executive officer (BBC), Alexander Nix, after he was filmed by an undercover reporter discussing how the company has worked on foreign election campaigns, including that of U.S. President Donald J. Trump. EUROPE: The percentage of the population that is homeless has risen in almost all European countries (DW) in recent years, according to a European NGO focused on care for the homeless. AMERICAS U.S. Offers Relief to Displaced Venezuelans The U.S. Agency for International Development announced an initial commitment of $2.5 million to help Colombia provide aid (Colombia Reports) to the half million Venezuelan refugees inside its borders. CFR's Shannon K. O'Neil discusses Venezuela's swelling refugee crisis in Bloomberg. CANADA: Ottawa moved to further tighten its gun laws (Reuters) through legislation that would force weapons vendors to maintain databases of sales (Globe and Mail). UNITED STATES Austin Bombing Suspect Dead Police identified the suspect behind several package bombs that killed two people and injured four others in the Texas city as a twenty-four-year-old man, who they said detonated a bomb in his own car (Statesman) as police closed in on him early Wednesday. 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From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: March 21, 2018 at 10:03PM
