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The Weekly GAB Friday, January 27, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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USGLC in the News

DEVEX
5 Development Stories to Watch In the Trump Era |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=tTWXbRDx1zagTNVUXbmhJA

Adva Saldinger

Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis, who was recommended by the
Senate Armed Services panel this week and is on his way to being
confirmed, has spoken about the importance of development in national
security in the past. The most notable occasion is likely his
statement in March 2013 in front of the same committee when he said:
"If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I need
to buy more ammunition." More recently Mattis has traveled the
country to "make the case that the military alone cannot keep
our nation safe, calling the State Department and USAID
'essential' to promoting America's interests abroad
along with 'preventing conflict and countering extremism,"
according to a press release from the U.S. Global Leadership
Coalition, where he serves on the national security advisory council.

Transition 2017

THE HILL
Senate Panel Votes to Confirm Tillerson |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=CEufplDXMwh3ir_Oa5vU7A

Timothy Cama

A Senate committee voted Monday to confirm Rex Tillerson, bringing him
a significant step closer to being the next secretary of State. In a
party-line 11-10 vote, the panel sent the former Exxon Mobil CEO's
nomination to the floor with a positive recommendation. The vote
followed a shaky confirmation hearing in which Tillerson faced
repeated tough questions on his ties to Russia, his opposition to
United States sanctions against Russia, his willingness to fight human
rights violations and other issues. Tillerson will now face a vote in
the full Senate, where he appears certain to get the majority vote
that he needs to become the top U.S. diplomat.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Trump Team Narrowing Search for State Department's No. 2
Official |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=wWUuVcP1vheO9GdOI5JE3A

Josh Rogin

Now that Rex Tillerson is set to be confirmed as secretary of state,
the Trump administration's personnel team is focusing hard on
who will be his No. 2 official, a diplomatic and management position
that will have added significance and power in a State Department led
by the former ExxonMobil chief executive. The search for deputy
secretary of state was reopened this month when the expected choice,
former deputy treasury secretary Robert Kimmitt, took himself out of
the running, three transition sources said.

THE WASHINGTON POST

The State Department's Entire Senior Management Team Just
Resigned |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=YoPALrFX7MGxXNyairF0DA

Josh Rogin

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's job running the State
Department just got considerably more difficult. The entire senior
level of management officials resigned Wednesday, part of an ongoing
mass exodus of senior foreign service officers who don't want to
stick around for the Trump era. I reported Wednesday morning that the
Trump team was narrowing its search for his No. 2, and that it was
looking to replace the State Department's long-serving
undersecretary for management, Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy, who has been
in that job for nine years, was actively involved in the transition
and was angling to keep that job under Tillerson, three State
Department officials told me. Then suddenly on Wednesday afternoon,
Kennedy and three of his top officials resigned unexpectedly, four
State Department officials confirmed.

Who's in the News

THE AMERICAN INTEREST
U.S.-Africa Policy: Recommendations for President Trump

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=74kz-TObJ4OlRvp5LyzVcw

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)

An open memorandum to President Trump on retaining the U.S. leadership
role in Africa and remaining competitive with China. Mr. President,
since taking office you have already confronted a series of demanding
domestic and international policy challenges. In a piece I published
in Democracy: A Journal of Ideas the month after your election, I
outlined five foreign policy areas on which I hope Democrats and
Republicans in Congress will be able to work constructively with your
Administration. In this memorandum, I wish to call your attention to a
region of the world that rarely receives sufficient focus from
Presidents of either party: sub-Saharan Africa.

THE HUFFINGTON POST
The Evidence that Global Development Works: Measuring Impact

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=J-nsV1zkkGxLUcSBI4su3w

David A. Weiss is the President and CEO of Global Communities

At Global Communities, we believe that accountability, transparency
and evidence-based design of projects are vital ingredients to
effective partnerships. We have to be able to demonstrate to the
communities with whom we partner that the approach we are proposing
will be effective. And we must demonstrate to our donors whether
individuals or institutions that we are using their development
dollars effectively. We want to know what approaches have the greatest
positive effect on the lives of our partner communities to help design
and propose future projects. Here are a few examples.

Development & Diplomacy

THE HENRY J. KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION
The Mexico City Policy: An Explainer

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=16K-J3vIlyTeqpqGaDik0g

On January 23, President Donald Trump reinstated the Mexico City
Policy via presidential memorandum. This explainer provides an
overview of the policy's history and how it has been applied in
the past. It will be updated as more details become available. The
policy requires foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to
certify that they will not "perform or actively promote abortion
as a method of family planning," using funds from any source
(including non-U.S. funds), as a condition for receiving U.S.
government global family planning assistance and, as of Jan. 23, 2017,
any other U.S. global health assistance. First announced in 1984 by
the Reagan administration, the policy has been rescinded and
reinstated by subsequent administrations along party lines. It has
been in effect for approximately 17 of the past 32 years.

REUTERS
U.S. Senate Confirms Haley as Trump's U.N. Ambassador |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=_R8qXDd__p6qrv2g6lIw0A

Patricia Zengerle

The U.S. Senate voted almost unanimously on Tuesday to confirm South
Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations,
sending a rising Republican star to represent President Donald Trump
at an institution he has criticized. Haley was backed by 96 senators,
with only four opposed. She impressed lawmakers during her
confirmation hearing this month. Haley, 45, promised to press for U.N.
reforms but also fight for human rights and support international
institutions, often breaking from Trump's positions. "American values
that we all hold dear and want to promote around the world are things
that she has the ability to communicate and cares deeply about," said
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Trump Prepares Orders Aiming at Global Funding and Treaties |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=llVFdqcsgN74l0q3QGEJWA

Max Fisher

The Trump administration is preparing executive orders that would
clear the way to drastically reduce the United States' role in
the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as
begin a process to review and potentially abrogate certain forms of
multilateral treaties. The first of the two draft orders, titled
"Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International
Organizations" and obtained by The New York Times, calls for
terminating funding for any United Nations agency or other
international body that meets any one of several criteria. The second
executive order, "Moratorium on New Multilateral
Treaties," calls for a review of all current and pending
treaties with more than one other nation. It asks for recommendations
on which negotiations or treaties the United States should leave.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Trump Administration Reviews Foreign Aid in Obama's Final Months
in Office |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=W-pX9iJGWg8yPG-P9Zj18Q

Carol Morello

The State Department is conducting a review of all foreign aid
parceled out in the final two months of the Obama administration,
including the controversial last-minute release of $220 million to
Palestinians announced just hours before Donald Trump was sworn in as
president. The review involves dozens, if not hundreds, of foreign aid
allocations made after Trump was elected. According to State
Department officials, most if not all of the money has already been
transferred. Unless the review turns up any instances where protocol
was not strictly followed, it is unlikely that any adjustments can be
made, even if the aid does not mesh with the emerging policies of the
Trump administration.

Politics & Foreign Policy

CNN
Trump Trade Deal Moves Could Hurt US Security Posture |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=o2oP7fbMtq8Jg_5MB7eQiA

Nicole Gaouette

President Donald Trump has moved quickly against free-trade deals that
he says are hurting American workers -- but in the process he risks
dismantling a key pillar of US national security. In his first week on
the job, Trump has withdrawn the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
trade pact and called for the North American Free Trade Agreement to
be renegotiated and perhaps abandoned. But beyond the economic
consequences -- which many TPP proponents argue will be negative for
the US -- the moves shake the foundations of the US global security
architecture.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Trump's 'America First' Policy Will Cost Some
Countries Much More Than Others |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=1-64dUDpy-NQ4tanDiP-BA

Amanda Erickson

Just minutes after Donald Trump took over as president, WhiteHouse.gov
was updated with his new priorities. Among them? An "America
first" foreign policy. That would involve a fundamental
rethinking of the department's mission, one that would come with a
fairly radical re-allotment of funds. Obama proposed a $50.1 billion
budget for the State Department and USAID in 2017. Some of that money
is spent on security assistance but significantly more goes to
economic and development aid. I bet it'll look mighty different next
year. Trump will probably cut that $18.1 billion spending dramatically
if he doesn't eliminate it entirely. Of course, not all countries will
be effected equally. Much of that spending is focused on a handful of
African countries, directed toward health initiatives such as treating
HIV and AIDS. Afghanistan, too, is a major recipient.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Emboldened by Trump, Israel Approves a Wave of West Bank Settlement
Expansion |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=RlKy6mxJk-sPJ2fFXrGkcA

Isabel Kershner

In a pointed act of defiance against international pressure, Israel on
Tuesday approved a huge new wave of settlement construction in the
occupied West Bank. The announcement made clear that just a few days
into the Trump presidency, the Israeli government feels emboldened to
shake off the constraints imposed by the Obama administration and more
willing to disregard international condemnation. Leaders from 70
countries met in Paris more than a week ago and issued a warning that
the two-state peace solution was imperiled by Israel's expanding
of settlements in Palestinian-claimed territory in the West Bank and
East Jerusalem, as well as violence against Israelis. But even though
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the principle of
side-by-side states, in the past few days Israel's campaign of
settlement building has only accelerated.

THE BORGEN PROJECT
US House of Reps Passes READ Act |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=2-ALV22bmrq4V9e50vSVjw

Kristin Westad

On Jan. 24, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Reinforcing
Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act (H.R. 601). The
bill, which has essentially the same language as the Education for All
Act of 2016, provides accountability for existing U.S. efforts to
improve quality basic education in developing and war-torn countries.
The READ Act, therefore, is an important step in helping to maintain
progress in our foreign assistance strategy, as well as contributing
to the achievement of SDG 4. It aims to accelerate the impact of
assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,
"an act to promote the foreign policy, security, and general
welfare of the United States by assisting peoples of the world in
their efforts toward economic development and internal and external
security, and for other purposes." There is strong bipartisan
support for the READ Act, and the bill will now go to the Senate for
consideration.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A U.S.-China Role Switch: Who's the Globalist Now? |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=dwmoM4lc863D-EDqpKmASA

Andrew Brown

The irony of a U.S. president seeking to stir the public, and define
America's place in the world with stridently nationalist and
populist language-the staple of the Communist Party's
propaganda machine-is not lost on China's vast army of
internet users. Nor on Mr. Xi, who's making the most of it.
China's authoritarian head of state sees a historic opportunity
to brand his nation as the standard-bearer of globalization, and
remake his own image as an enlightened internationalist, in stark
contrast to Mr. Trump. We're in a topsy-turvy world. The leaders
of the U.S. and China, rhetorically at least, appear to have switched
roles.


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