Category Archives: US foreign policy

‘Unacceptable’: Biden denounced for bypassing Congress over Yemen strikes

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Critics on left and right furious that president failed to seek congressional approval for strikes against Houthi militants

A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers assailed Joe Biden for failing to seek congressional approval before authorizing military strikes against targets in Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, reigniting a long-simmering debate over who has the power to declare war in America.

The US president announced on Thursday night that the US and the UK, with support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain, had launched a series of air and naval strikes on more than a dozen sites in Yemen. The retaliatory action was in response to relentless Houthi attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.

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Hezbollah and Iran condemn US and UK strikes against Houthis

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Tehran-backed Lebanese group says ‘aggression confirms that US is a full partner’ in Israel’s actions in Gaza

The Iran-backed Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah has condemned the US and UK’s overnight strikes against Yemen’s Houthis, as countries across the Middle East express fears over the latest escalation of the conflict in the region.

Although anxiety was widespread, most vocal were countries and militant groups backed by Tehran, which accused the US and the UK of destabilising the region.

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Strikes on Houthis could bring Biden closer to the regional war he sought to avoid

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The strikes by the US, UK and their allies came after continued Houthis attacks on Red Sea shipping

When Joe Biden gave the order for airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, he was taking a step that now imperils one of the primary aims of his own Middle East policy – to prevent a regional war.

US and allied officials argue he had little choice. Diplomacy, back-door channels, signalling and threats had failed to halt relentless Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which the Iranian-backed group has claimed are being carried out in solidarity with Gaza.

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Human rights in decline globally as leaders fail to uphold laws, report warns

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Human Rights Watch’s annual report highlights politicians’ double standards and ‘transactional diplomacy’ amid escalating crises

Human rights across the world are in a parlous state as leaders shun their obligations to uphold international law, according to the annual report of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In its 2024 world report, HRW warns grimly of escalating human rights crises around the globe, with wartime atrocities increasing, suppression of human rights defenders on the rise, and universal human rights principles and laws being attacked and undermined by governments.

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Red Sea crisis: UN security council demands immediate end to Houthi attacks

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Resolution calling for cessation of attacks on shipping vessels by Yemen’s Houthis adopted despite abstentions from Russia and China

The UN security council has called for an immediate end to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, adopting a resolution despite abstentions from Russia and China.

The resolution also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on 19 November, along with its 25 crew.

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Blinken restates commitment to Palestinian state on West Bank visit

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US secretary of state met Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, on visit dismissed as ‘theatre’ by residents

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, restated Washington’s commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state during a brief trip to the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, a visit dismissed by many residents as “theatre”.

Blinken told Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), that the US position was that a Palestinian state must stand alongside Israel, “with both living in peace and security”, a spokesperson said.

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Antony Blinken tells Israel: Palestinian rights are key to peace

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US secretary of state rejects calls for immediate ceasefire but urges ally to make ‘hard decisions’ as fighting continues

Anthony Blinken has reaffirmed the United States’ “unique bond” with Israel, and rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza but told his hosts in Tel Aviv that other regional powers have made clear that a pathway to the realisation of Palestinian political rights is essential for peace in the region.

Hinting at having held difficult talks with Israeli officials on Tuesday, the US secretary of state said the exceptional friendship between the two countries demanded that the US be “as forthright as possible when the choices matter most” and called for Israel to make “hard decisions”.

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US joins Bosnia in show of support on eve of planned celebration by Serb nationalists

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Two US fighter jets flew over Bosnia as parts of the country prepared to mark the anniversary of the proclamation of Republika Srpska as a breakaway state

Two US fighter jets flew over Bosnia on Monday in a gesture of support for the country on the eve of a military-style nationalist parade planned by Serb separatists at a time of high tensions.

The American embassy in Sarajevo said that the flight by the F16 planes was a joint training exercise with Bosnian forces, as well as a “demonstration of US commitment” to ensuring Bosnia’s territorial integrity in the face of “secessionist activity”.

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Israel says Gaza fighting could last a year, amplifying fears of regional war

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Comments from senior defence officials come during tour by US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, intended to defuse tensions

Israeli defence officials and former senior intelligence officers have said they expect fighting in Gaza to continue for at least a year, raising the prospect of thousands more civilian casualties, a deepening humanitarian crisis and a continuing grave threat to regional stability.

In a briefing, R Adm Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said the centre and south of Gaza, where military efforts are now focused, was “dense and saturated with terrorists” with “an underground city of branching tunnels”.

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Blinken returns to Middle East and warns of risk war could spread

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US secretary of state begins visit to region as fears grow Israel could expand Gaza conflict to Lebanon

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has returned to the Middle East for the fourth time in three months as he warned Israel’s war against Hamas risked spreading throughout the region.

Recent intensifying violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, increasing attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and strikes by Tehran-linked groups on US bases in Iraq, have created an increasingly febrile atmosphere across the Middle East.

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Blinken puts pressure on Middle East countries to contain Gaza conflict

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The US secretary of state was speaking in Turkey, on trip that will take him to Jordan, Egypt and Israel

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has urged Middle East countries to use their influence over regional actors to ensure the Gaza conflict is contained and prevent “an endless cycle of violence,” as he continued his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions.

Blinken was speaking on Saturday, after Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group said it had fired rockets at Israel, who said it had struck a “terrorist cell” in retaliation. Hezbollah called the strikes a “preliminary response” to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week in an attack widely attributed to Israel

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US and EU launch twin diplomatic mission to calm tensions in Middle East

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Escalation of violence comes as US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Europe’s Josep Borrell begin tours of the region

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The most senior diplomats from the US and the EU launched a dual diplomatic offensive in the Middle East on Saturday aimed at calming tensions that threaten chaos and wider conflict across the region.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, began a five-day tour of the region with meetings in Turkey and the EU’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell, visited the Lebanese capital Beirut.

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US soldier’s family rescued from Gaza in secret operation – report

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The mother and uncle of Ragi A Sckak were taken from Gaza in an operation coordinated by the US, Israel and Egypt, according to a US official

The mother and uncle of a US service member were rescued from the fighting in Gaza in a secret operation coordinated by the US, Israel, Egypt and others, according to a US official speaking to the Associated Press.

It is the only known operation of its kind to extract American citizens and their close family members during the months of devastating ground fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

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Bernie Sanders calls on Congress to block funding to Israel

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Israel’s response ‘has been grossly disproportionate, immoral and in violation of international law’, senator says

Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator of Vermont, issued a statement Tuesday calling on Congress to block additional funding to Israel amid the war in Gaza, where more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks after Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October.

“While we recognize that Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attack began this war, we must also recognize that Israel’s military response has been grossly disproportionate, immoral and in violation of international law,” Sanders said.

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Biden administration again bypasses Congress for weapons sale to Israel

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Antony Blinken tells Congress he made second emergency determination covering $147.5m sale for equipment

For the second time this month the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel as Israel continues to prosecute its war against Hamas in Gaza under increasing international criticism.

The state department said on Friday that the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had told Congress that he had made a second emergency determination covering a $147.5m sale for equipment, including fuses, chargers and primers, that is needed to make the 155mm shells that Israel has already purchased function.

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US to provide Ukraine with up to $250m in arms and equipment

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Package including anti-aircraft missiles is likely to be last supplied without congressional approval

The US announced a $250m (£196m) Ukraine military aid package on Wednesday, the last remaining tranche of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorisation.

The package, provided through the presidential drawdown authority, will be pulled from Pentagon stockpiles, with Congress now needing to decide whether to keep supporting Kyiv’s battle against Russian invasion.

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Gaza war puts US’s extensive weapons stockpile in Israel under scrutiny

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Israel appears to be receiving munitions from stockpile, but there has been little transparency

Their precise location is classified, but somewhere in Israel there are multiple closely guarded warehouses that contain billions of dollars’ worth of weapons owned by the US government.

Long shrouded in secrecy, the warehouses are part of an extensive but previously little-known stockpile now facing scrutiny as pressure mounts on the Biden administration over its support for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

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Russia warns US and Europe over reports Ukraine may get its seized assets

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Kremlin threatens ‘serious consequences’ if there is an unprecedented seizure of Russian assets held abroad

The Kremlin has threatened Europe and the US with “serious consequences”, including tit-for-tat financial seizures or even a break in diplomatic relations, if Russian assets held abroad are given to aid the Ukrainian budget and war effort.

A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters on Friday that if the Biden administration and European leaders planned to seize Russian central bank assets believed to be in excess of $300bn (£236bn) that were frozen after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, they should “realise that Russia will never leave those who do it alone”.

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US-Venezuela prisoner swap includes notorious key ally of Nicolás Maduro

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Ten Americans were released in the deal, but critics say release of Alex Saab shows that corrupt Venezuelan officials enjoy impunity

Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, has managed to free a key collaborator from US custody after agreeing to release 10 Americans and 20 Venezuelan citizens from jail.

The Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab – a close Maduro ally whom US prosecutors accused of pilfering hundreds of millions of dollars from Venezuelan social programs as part of a vast money-laundering scheme – was extradited to the US in 2021 after being detained while transiting through Cape Verde.

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Ukraine’s fight for funds to keep Russia at bay – podcast

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As the Ukraine war heads into a new calendar year, the country is battling not just the Russian army but also on the diplomatic front, to secure further aid from its allies. Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh report

On the face of it, support for Ukraine from its allies in Europe and the US has been unwavering: ministers and officials fly in and out of Kyiv to back Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his government’s grinding fight to keep Russian troops at bay.

But that moral support is more solid than the financial backing. As Dan Sabbagh tells Hannah Moore, funding packages worth tens of billions of pounds have been held up in the US Congress by Republican politicians, and in the EU by Hungary’s prime minister, Victor Orbán.

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