Pompeo Confirmation | Iran's Drought | Death Penalty Worldwide

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. April 12, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Pompeo Faces Senate Committee for Confirmation Hearing CIA Director Mike Pompeo is expected to outline a hard-line foreign policy when he faces U.S. lawmakers for a confirmation hearing today that will touch on strategy toward China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria. In a prepared statement (CBS), the nominee to succeed Rex Tillerson as secretary of state will say the Trump administration has "rightfully" identified Russia (WaPo) as a danger to the United States. Pompeo will call for increased U.S. attention to Syria but is not expected to specify possible changes to troop levels or remark on an expected U.S. strike there. ANALYSIS "Pompeo will need to decide whether to resist—rather than encourage—one of the most alarming trends in U.S. global engagement: the ongoing militarization of U.S. foreign policy. The tea leaves here are not encouraging," writes CFR's Stewart M. Patrick. "Attracting the right personnel will require Mr. Pompeo to work with Congress and take other steps to change obsolete rules that, for instance, discourage former State Department employees from returning, and require even experienced people to start at the bottom if they have not previously worked in government," Samantha Power writes for the New York Times. "Given President Trump's recent statements regarding his desire to withdraw U.S. troops [in Syria] soon, do the objectives laid out by former Secretary Tillerson in his January speech at Stanford—including countering Iran, ensuring the safe return of refugees, supporting Geneva peace talks, and ridding the country of WMD—still reflect the administration's priorities?" Amanda Sloat writes for the Brookings Institution. PACIFIC RIM NGO Details Forced Confessions in China Human rights group Safeguard Defenders detailed dozens of forced televised confessions (Guardian) over the past five years in China, where courts have a conviction rate of more than 99 percent. The report found detainees were given scripts to memorize by police. SOUTH KOREA: South Korea's national security chief will meet his new U.S. counterpart, John Bolton (Korea Times), in Washington, where they are expected to discuss opening a new communication channel ahead of talks with North Korea. Robert Jervis and Mira Rapp-Hooper discuss how misperception can lead to an unwanted war on the Korean Peninsula (Foreign Affairs). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Afghan District Governor Killed in Taliban Attack Ali Shams Dost, a district governor in the eastern Ghazni Province, was killed along with seven police officers (Tolo) in an attack by Taliban militants on his compound early Thursday. INDIA: The civil aviation minister said India will add fifty to one hundred new airports (Nikkei) to its current hundred by 2035. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA UK's May Mulls Action in Syria Prime Minister Theresa May will convene a cabinet meeting to discuss whether to order military action in Syria (FT) without seeking approval from lawmakers. The United States and France, along with the United Kingdom, have said they would respond to a suspected chemical weapons attack (BBC) by the Syrian regime last week. In Foreign Policy, CFR's Steven A. Cook writes that President Trump's turnaround in Syria will have significant costs for the United States. IRAN: Hundreds of people in the central city of Isfahan protested government management of water resources (RFE/RL) amid a prolonged drought across much of the country. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA UN Rejects Civilian Death Charges in CAR Protesters laid the bodies of seventeen people they say were civilians killed by UN peacekeepers (BBC) in front of UN offices in the Central African Republic's capital of Bangui. A UN spokesperson said the dead were members of a criminal group who had attacked peacekeepers and CAR soldiers. ETHIOPIA: New Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali visited the town of Ambo in Oromia State (Addis Standard), the center of anti-government protests in recent years, to address a crowd of some thirty thousand Ethiopians. Abiy is the country's first leader of Oromo ethnicity. EUROPE EU Court Favors Reunification for Refugees The European Court of Justice ruled that migrants who arrive to Europe as unaccompanied minors (DW) keep their rights to request family reunification even if they turn eighteen during the asylum process. AMERICAS Pope Admits 'Serious Mistakes' Over Chilean Bishop Pope Francis said he lacked "truthful and balanced information" when he appointed Bishop Juan Barros to head a Chilean diocese in 2015 despite protests over Barros's alleged role in covering up sexual abuse by another priest (NCR). The leader of the Catholic Church had earlier defended Barros. CUBA: Thirty-seven former heads of state who are part of an international forum on democracy issued a letter to leaders participating in the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Peru to reject the new Cuban government (Miami Herald) expected to take office next week. Marguerite Jimenez argues that Washington should reach out to the new Cuban leader (Foreign Affairs). UNITED STATES Syrian Refugee Admissions in U.S. Nearly Halt Eleven refugees from Syria were admitted to the United States (WSJ) in the past five months, compared to more than 12,500 during President Barack Obama's last full year in office. GLOBAL Rights Group Commends Africa in Death Penalty Report In a new report, Amnesty International hailed sub-Saharan Africa as a "beacon of hope for abolition" of the death penalty as Guinea became the twentieth country in the region to abolish capital punishment.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: April 12, 2018 at 10:06PM