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The Weekly GAB Friday, April 14, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-yGqvdvX4S39eXJ9Dx4B4g

USGLC in the News

MINNPOST
U.S. Should Maintain the Strength of Its Diplomatic and Aid Efforts

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=vUYWNxNz5Y-mYqE5jngi3w

Patrick Plonski and Tom Gitaa, Books for Africa

As members of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Minnesota Advisory
Board, we join the growing chorus of diplomats (both American and
international), generals and others who are asking the Trump
administration and Congress not to slash the budgets for the State
Department and the Agency for International Development (USAID).
"It became clear that our message is getting through and that
support is strong - from the Senate Majority Leader to the House
Minority Leader, along with a new bipartisan Congressional
letter," wrote Liz Schrayer, President and CEO of the coalition.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS
Foreign Aid Makes America Stronger by Securing Interests Abroad

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=0N5Rhr80w_UG3NCnm1Bx_A

Richard Kessler is the former Staff Director for the Senate Homeland
Security Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a board
member of Internews. Jeanne Bourgault is the President and CEO of
Internews

Why should Maine care if - as some in Washington propose -
foreign aid is cut by 30 percent? The answer is simple: Maine's
economy and our nation's security have become more dependent on
the rest of the world than ever before. Foreign aid accounts for only
1 percent of the federal budget. Yet these funds help us combat
terrorism, halt the spread of disease and create markets for our
world-class exports. Here in Maine, the U.S. Global Leadership
Coalition reports that global engagement has meant that our
trade-related jobs grew a stunning 26 percent between 2004 and 2014,
compared to a paltry 0.4 percent growth in Maine's overall
economy.

Transition 2017

BLOOMBERG
McFarland to Exit White House as McMaster Consolidates Power |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=f181UEs1AHKZpyvqwF_uEA

Jennifer Jacobs

K. T. McFarland has been asked to step down as deputy National
Security Advisor to President Donald Trump after less than three
months and is expected to be nominated as ambassador to Singapore,
according to a person familiar with White House personnel moves. The
departure of the 65-year-old former Fox News commentator comes as
Trump's second National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, puts
his own stamp on the National Security Council after taking over in
February from retired General Michael Flynn.

Who's in the News

THE WASHINGTON POST
PEPFAR Saves Millions of Lives in Africa. Keep It Fully Funded

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=O6a9XUcl-kdF98je8UAmkA

President George W. Bush

My administration launched PEPFAR in 2003 to address the HIV/AIDS
pandemic that threatened to wipe out an entire generation on the
continent of Africa. Today...nearly 12 million lives have been saved.
And nearly 2 million babies have been born HIV-free to infected
mothers. This lifesaving work also has a practical purpose for
Americans. Societies mired in disease breed hopelessness and despair,
leaving people ripe for recruitment by extremists. When we confront
suffering - when we save lives - we breathe hope into
devastated populations, strengthen and stabilize society, and make our
country and the world safer.

THE HUFFINGTON POST
Rethinking the Battlefield
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=dnwhDMSmtxM51Kp5e-UxbA

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)

A strong American military is still vital to guard against
conventional security threats, but the emerging threats to global
stability exert influence that cannot be checked with military power
alone. That's why, today, I unveiled Rethinking the Battlefield,
a new plan for rebuilding America's foreign policy and national
security toolkit by increasing our foreign affairs budget by $50
billion...We cannot protect America if we don't realize that an
under-resourced, constrained, inflexible State Department and USAID
make us less safe every day.

CNN
President Trump's Proposed Food Aid Cuts Are a Mistake

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=vwo24smYyUHxl2JvjwhpKg

Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Senate Appropriations Committee.

When governments cannot feed their own people, chaos and violence are
sure to follow. Food assistance provided by the United States...leads
to greater stability in regions of the world important to America's
strategic interests. The President's proposed budget cuts to food aid
programs would only undermine those interests. While our country's
collective moral convictions make fighting hunger the right thing to
do, the benefits we receive as a nation from reducing global food
insecurity also make it the smart thing to do.

NJ.COM
U.S. Weakened if Trump Slashes State Dept. Funds

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=7jDye-5tITNnT7s0z5pZjA

Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ)

Just one penny of every tax dollar goes toward protecting the world's
most vulnerable populations. This foreign aid isn't charity; it's a
critical investment in America's national security. Senior military
and intelligence officials strongly believe funding smart and
innovative programs through the State Department prevents exposing
American soldiers to the theaters of war. President Trump's own
Secretary of Defense, Gen. James Mattis declared, "If you don't fund
the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition."

FORBES
Now Is Not the Time to Shirk American Leadership in the World

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=oauaP4MNhrHHN5k4DwBg7A

Former Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-ID) and former Representative Jim
Kolbe (R-AZ)

Since the end of World War II, U.S. foreign policy has relied on the
three distinct policy tools: defense, diplomacy and development. These
three Ds have worked together to develop mutually reinforcing
strategies that have enjoyed strong bipartisan support for over 70
years. Continued U.S. leadership across the globe is not only a moral
imperative that supports our nation's long established values;
it is the right policy for promoting our national security and
creating a safe, stable and prosperous world.

Development & Diplomacy

THE WASHINGTON POST
The Amorality and Stupidity of Eviscerating Foreign-Aid Spending |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=6Hg8ASD7vZKLZf1JCbEWdA

Jennifer Rubin

In President Trump's so-called skinny budget, he eviscerated the
State Department's budget and foreign-aid spending. As to the
former, perhaps Trump's recent recognition of the need for
diplomatic efforts (with NATO, China, etc.) will teach him that
American "soft power" is a corollary to hard power. The
former without the latter can be feckless; the latter without the
former leaves us binary options (e.g. consent or war). Since this
seems to be the week in which Trump throws policy after policy
overboard, perhaps he can dispense with cuts to foreign aid. No single
action would be more counterproductive to U.S. international interests
and security than cutting foreign aid.

FOREIGN POLICY
Here's How Republicans Can Learn to Like Foreign Aid Again |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=PLOMQpYPe_dI-f76O7OpSA

Michael Miller

There's a very good case in favor of effective foreign aid to be
made to the many conservatives who support American global leadership.
A shared approach between Congress and the administration on foreign
aid reform provides both the best basis for cooperation and a way to
address foreign aid's seemingly perpetual political
vulnerabilities. For many conservatives in Congress, aid reform is a
clear pathway on which to reconcile internationalist instincts with
aid skepticism and commitment to good stewardship of taxpayer funds,
allowing for a conditional embrace of aid's legitimacy and
importance.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Starving to Death |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=gAx2gtb4SAupSnGbDFSwcA

Max Bearak and Laris Karklis

Our world produces enough food to feed all its inhabitants. When one
region is suffering severe hunger, global humanitarian institutions,
though often cash-strapped, are theoretically capable of transporting
food and averting catastrophe. But this year, South Sudan slipped into
famine, and Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen are each on the verge of their
own. Famine now threatens 20 million people - more than at any
time since World War II. As defined by the United Nations, famine
occurs when a region's daily hunger-related death rate exceeds 2
per 10,000 people.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
At Meeting, Putin and Tillerson Find Very Little to Agree On |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=I06VBBP7FSHpV8eOORMzKA

David E. Sanger

Vladimir V. Putin kept his guest, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson,
dangling all day. In a two-hour meeting, as later described in sketchy
terms by Mr. Tillerson, they did not agree on much - certainly
not on who was responsible for fatally poisoning Syrian civilians with
the nerve agent sarin, or for the interference in the American
elections last year and the European elections underway now. "We
need to attempt to put an end to this steady degradation, which is
doing nothing to restore the trust between our two countries or to
make progress on the issues of the greatest importance to both of
us," Mr. Tillerson said.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
North Korea: A Potential Train Wreck in Motion |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=DqmIM0o5JdFThIcXit8ymg

Barbara Demick

As North Korea is reported to be preparing for yet another salvo in
the form of a nuclear or missile test, diplomats foresee a chain of
events they fear could escalate into a deadly new Korean War. Threats
and bluster are part of a familiar and long-running game of
brinksmanship between Washington and Pyongyang, but this time, it has
been made more dangerous by two volatile new players - Kim Jong
Un and Donald Trump. North Korea has indicated that it will do
something to mark the 105th anniversary on Saturday of the birth of
the modern country's founder, Kim Il Sung. The Trump
administration has been signaling that this time it will respond
forcefully to another North Korean nuclear test.

CNN
Trump Says NATO No Longer 'Obsolete' |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=ijnLhHVhsQ7TS8UIuJNFNA

Kevin Liptak and Dan Merica

President Donald Trump took credit Wednesday for steering NATO's focus
toward terrorism, declaring the military alliance is no longer
outdated after castigating its focus and financing on the campaign
trail last year. "I said it was obsolete," Trump declared at the White
House. "It's no longer obsolete." The about-face came during a joint
appearance with NATO's secretary general in the East Room. Trump's
allegation that NATO just recently began combating terror isn't
accurate; the alliance has played a central role in Afghanistan for
more than a decade.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Trump Says Dollar 'Getting Too Strong,' Won't Label
China a Currency Manipulator |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=TUhXq0feakdsGe-2aUZuIg

Gerard Baker, Carol E. Lee, and Michael C. Bender

Mr. Trump, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, also said his
administration won't label China a currency manipulator in a
report due this week...the reason he has changed his mind on one of
his signature campaign promises is that China hasn't been
manipulating its currency for months and because taking the step now
could jeopardize his talks with Beijing on confronting the threat of
North Korea. Mr. Trump also made a full reversal from the campaign by
stating his support for the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The president
said he planned to fill two vacancies on the bank's board, which
has been effectively paralyzed with three open seats on its
five-member board.


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