Category Archives: US foreign policy

John Bolton suggests US will leave Nato if ‘erratic’ Trump wins in 2024

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Ex-national security adviser calls former boss ‘irrational’ and criticizes Republicans who support him on foreign policy

Ex-national security adviser John Bolton issued harsh remarks against his former boss and the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, saying that the US will likely withdraw from Nato if Donald Trump wins the election.

In an interview with the Hill on Thursday, Bolton criticized the former president’s foreign policy after an op-ed he wrote earlier this week called Trump’s behavior “erratic, irrational and unconstrained”.

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Armed US troops may guard oil tankers against Iranian hijackings

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Commercial vessels would be invited to carry sailors and marines in Strait of Hormuz, part of Persian Gulf where Pentagon is beefing up presence

The US could soon offer to put armed sailors and marines on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, two US officials have said, amid alleged attempts by Iran to hijack ships in international waters.

The Pentagon in July sent additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets along with a warship to the Middle East after Iran’s seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels.

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US navy sailors arrested on charges of passing sensitive material to China

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Jinchao Wei, 22, and Wenheng Zhao, 26, accused in separate cases of ‘violating commitments they made to protect the United States’

Two US navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, US officials said on Thursday.

Jinchao Wei, a 22-year-old sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested on Wednesday on a charge related to espionage involving conspiracy to sending national defense information to Chinese officials. In a separate case, the justice department charged Wenheng Zhao, 26, for allegedly collecting bribes in exchange for giving sensitive US military photos and videos to a Chinese intelligence officer.

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Niger junta cancels France military ties as Biden calls for Bazoum’s release

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US statement comes as ousted president says he is being held hostage and calls on international community to restore order

Joe Biden has called for the immediate release of Niger’s elected president and for the country’s democracy to be restored, in the highest profile statement by the US since the coup that removed Mohamed Bazoum from power, as Senegal also ramped up the pressure by saying its troops would join a a military intervention if necessary.

“I call for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy,” the US president said in a statement on Thursday, the 63rd anniversary of Niger’s independence. “In this critical moment, the United States stands with the people of Niger to honour our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support for civilian-led governance.”

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Niger: US and UK evacuate embassy staff as coup leaders double down

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Staffing levels reduced as US says White House is committed to restoring president after last week’s coup

The US and UK have ordered the evacuation of some staff from their embassies in Niger after last week’s coup, as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the White House was committed to restoring the stricken country’s government.

Niger is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region. Foreign powers have condemned the takeover, fearing it could allow the militants to gain ground.

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Top US adviser to attend Saudi talks in bid to attract support for Ukraine plan

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Ukraine and allies seek to draw countries such as Brazil and India off the fence and back Kyiv’s proposals for ‘just and durable peace’

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, is expected to attend a meeting in Saudi Arabia this weekend at which Ukraine and its allies will try to persuade countries from the global south to back Kyiv’s proposals for ending the war.

According to officials involved in planning for the meeting, it is primarily aimed at drawing neutral countries such as Brazil and India off the fence in their approach to the Russian invasion.

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Niger coup: US offers ‘unflagging’ support to ousted leader as sanctions threatened

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UN, US and France all call for a return to order after Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani declares himself the new head of state

The United States will work to ensure full restoration of constitutional order in Niger after the military takeover, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, in a phone call late on Friday, offering him his “unflagging support”.

The US is communicating with “a broad array” military leader in Niger, the state department said, after coup leaders declared Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani – the Nigerien military leader behind the detention of the country’s democratically elected president – the new head of state.

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US begins sharing Russian war-crimes evidence with Hague court

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Quiet decision ends dispute within Biden administration over ICC cooperation after Pentagon had been accused of obstruction

The Biden administration has said it has begun sharing evidence with the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague on war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The announcement ends a months-long dispute within the administration over the issue, in which the national security council (NSC) and the state department backed cooperation with the ICC, with the Pentagon resisting on the grounds it would imply endorsement of an international court that could one day seek to prosecute US soldiers.

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Guam fears becoming ‘target’ over planned $1.5bn US defence system

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Proposed air and missile defences raise ire of residents who are also concerned about environmental impacts

A planned missile defence system on the island of Guam could turn the US Pacific territory into a “target,” local residents have said, as opposition to the plans grow.

The Pentagon plans to invest $1.5bn in a 360-degree, air and missile defence architecture on Guam. It aims to complete the system by 2027.

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Still no sign of Qin Gang as China says foreign minister has been replaced

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Beijing announces former US ambassador has been removed from office after speculation about his whereabouts

China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public for almost a month amid a mysterious absence, has been removed from office and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, China’s top legislative body has announced.

The sudden calling of a special meeting Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) with one day’s notice, had fuelled speculation there may be answers about the disappearance of Qin, who was last seen in public almost a month ago.

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Ukraine using cluster bombs effectively in counteroffensive, says White House

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Controversial munitions have been deployed against Russian forces on the battlefield after the US made the decision to supply them

US-supplied cluster munitions have been deployed in Ukraine and are having an impact on the counteroffensive against Russian forces, a senior White House official has said.

“We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they’re using them quite effectively,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Thursday.

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US ambassador to Beijing targeted in Chinese cyber-attack – report

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Nicholas Burns’ emails reportedly accessed in hack that exploited flaw in Microsoft system and took Washington by surprise

The US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, was reportedly one of the American officials whose emails were accessed in a recent Chinese hacking attack which took Washington by surprise with its sophistication.

Another target was Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for east Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. When the attack was first disclosed last week, the administration admitted the email account of the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, had also been compromised. US officials were quoted as saying those were the three most senior targets but that in total, hundreds of thousands of government email accounts could have been breached.

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North Korea fails to answer entreaties about US soldier who crossed border

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Travis King had finished prison term in South Korea for assault and was supposed to be returning to Texas

North Korea is not responding to US attempts to discuss the American soldier who crossed the heavily armed border and whose prospects for a quick release are unclear when military tensions are high and communication channels inactive.

Pte Travis King, who was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea for assault, ran into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday. He is the first known American to be held in North Korea in nearly five years.

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Venezuela’s ex-spy chief extradited from Spain to US to face drug charges

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Hugo Carvajal, intelligence leader under Hugo Chávez, accused of providing support to drug trafficking by rebel Farc group

Venezuela’s former intelligence chief has been extradited from Spain to the United States where he is wanted on drug trafficking charges, his lawyer and judicial sources said.

Gen Hugo Armando Carvajal, who served as intelligence chief under the former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, has long been sought by US Treasury officials who suspect him of providing support to drug trafficking by the now disarmed Farc guerrilla group in Colombia.

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Treasures lent by Israel for White House event ‘stranded at Mar-a-Lago’

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Antiquities from Israel’s national treasures collection have ended up at Trump’s Florida estate, say reports

Ancient artefacts sent from Israel to the US four years ago on a short-term basis and intended for display at a White House event have ended up at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to a report.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday that antiquities including ancient ceramic oil lamps, part of Israel’s national treasures collection, were shipped to Washington DC with the approval of the then director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel Hasson, for use in a Hanukah candle-lighting event at the White House. The event took place in December 2019, when Trump was in office.

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Henry Kissinger meets China’s defence minister in surprise visit to Beijing

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Ex-US secretary of state’s meeting with Li Shangfu comes amid hopes of improved ties between two countries

The veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger has met China’s defence minister in Beijing.

According to a readout on Tuesday from the Chinese defence ministry, Li Shangfu said “friendly communication” between China and the US had been “destroyed” because “some people in the United States did not meet China halfway”. Kissinger said he was a “friend of China”, according to the readout.

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Where is Qin Gang? China’s foreign minister has not been seen in public for three weeks

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The absence of China’s foreign minister has been commented on online, where some discussion appears to have been censored

China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, has not been seen in public for over three weeks, despite a flurry of high-profile diplomatic efforts to repair ties with the United States.

As a former ambassador to Washington DC, who is considered a protege of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Qin had been expected to play a key role in a string of high-level visits by US officials.

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White House ends months-long snub to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit US

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No date set for far-right Israel PM’s visit as arrival of President Isaac Herzog highlights over creeping annexation of West Bank

The White House has finally invited Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the US after months of snubbing the Israeli prime minister over his government’s creeping annexation of the West Bank and deepening oppression of the Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s office said President Joe Biden extended the invitation in a call between the two leaders on Monday ahead of a visit to Washington by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, this week that had thrown a spotlight on to the shunning of the prime minister.

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Marshall Islands calls for US to pay more compensation over nuclear tests

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Pacific nation plagued by environmental effects of 67 bomb tests between 1946 and 1958, including Castle Bravo detonation in 1954

The foreign minister of the Marshall Islands has called for more US compensation over the legacy of massive US nuclear testing to enable the renewal of a strategic agreement governing bilateral relations.

Marshall Islanders are still plagued by health and environmental effects of 67 nuclear bomb tests from 1946 to 1958, which included Castle Bravo at Bikini Atoll in 1954 – the largest US bomb ever detonated.

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Biden ‘serious’ on prisoner swap for US reporter Evan Gershkovich

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Biden says process ‘under way’ to free Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia and accused without evidence of spying

Joe Biden has said he is serious about pursuing a prisoner exchange for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days, and claimed the process was “under way”.

“I’m serious on a prisoner exchange,” Biden told reporters on Thursday when asked about Gershkovich’s continued detention in Russia.

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