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The Weekly GAB Friday, June 23, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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USGLC in the News

GOOD 4 UTAH
Utah Leaders Lobby Congress at Summit |

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Glen Mills

What happens around the world can have direct impact on us here in
Utah. That's why local leaders were in Washington DC this week
to lobby Congress. They joined others from across the country for a
summit hosted by the United States Global Leadership Coalition. The
group is concerned about proposed budget cuts to the State Department
and foreign aid. They say if the cuts are approved, it would have a
devastating effect on the economy and National Security. "We are
really harming ourselves. That means that it's that much more likely
we are going to face problems with terrorism, with disease and
economic disruption in our own economy," said Steve Urquhart,
former state senator.

Who's in the News

NEWSWEEK
We All Want to Help Refugees, so Why Aren't We Doing So?

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=u0SgNFtF-F2Lra0c3YpVWg

Carolyn Miles, President & CEO, Save the Children

Save the Children just conducted a survey asking Americans what they
know and think about refugees. A full 80 percent of people agree that
all refugee children deserve an education. Nearly three in four people
believe it is important to help refugee children abroad as well as
refugee families who have settled in the United States, even though
only 22 percent of people say they definitely know a refugee. We need
to harness this compassion and enthusiasm and take it to Capitol Hill
and the White House. The cost to help is small. Until we are able to
end the conflicts that cause people to become refugees in the first
place, reminding your elected officials that refugees are people, they
matter, and you support them is critical to helping refugee children
and families be safe and know that they have a future.

THE HUFFINGTON POST
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=n626its8rBbNBxiHi4e_vA

Michelle Nunn, CEO, CARE

The India and Nepal I visited last month are stronger, more resilient
and hopeful countries. The desperate poverty and pervasive gender
inequities I witnessed years ago are still present, but everywhere I
went, I saw clear signs that, woman-by-woman, family-by-family, India
and Nepal have traveled an enormous distance. And the United States
has walked alongside these two countries each step of the way. While
India and Nepal both have made impressive strides, both countries
still struggle with high rates of poverty. A small investment here has
enormous dividends not only in human lives but in the stability of
communities and ultimately, in the stability of nations.

TIME
Why Are Only Poor Countries Taking Refugees?
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=o8JPoqoFUEGdQXiqzpfXJQ

Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

It has now been almost two years since the world was confronted with
the harrowing image of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi washed up on
a Turkish beach. At that moment, there was an overwhelming sense of
"Enough is enough" - a cry of anguish over the
misery endured and lives snuffed out as refugees seek safety. In the
time since then, thousands more have lost their lives while trying to
traverse the Mediterranean, with 2016 becoming the deadliest year on
record. Globally, refugees now number more than 22 million. Yet the
sad truth is that for many, especially in the prosperous Global North,
refugees have slipped from the minds of citizens.

Development & Diplomacy

FORBES
By Ignoring Africa, US Cedes Jobs To China

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=HwmvZezQekw9aCO6J6Cuzg

Grant Harris, CEO of Harris Africa Partners LLC, Senior Director for
Africa at the White House (2011-2015)

It is old news that China has aggressive commercial ambitions in
Africa, but fresh numbers reveal the depth of China's
success-and raise the stakes for U.S. dithering. A recent Ernst
& Young report shows that China more than doubled its foreign direct
investment (FDI) projects in Africa in 2016, and that the value of
these projects outweighs U.S. investments by a factor of 10.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has been slow to stake out a serious
commercial strategy toward Africa...Building on a strong legacy of
bipartisanship regarding U.S.-Africa policy, the Obama Administration
deepened commercial ties on the continent, including through
initiatives like Power Africa...Worryingly, the Trump Administration
is so far heading in exactly the wrong direction.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

U.S. Sends Civilian Team to Syria to Help the Displaced Return Home |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=iybkuCZ2SGmGXbzQnPue1Q

Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt

The Trump administration is sending a civilian team into Syria to try
to bring stability to areas that American-backed forces have retaken
from the Islamic State and to avert a humanitarian crisis, according
to United States officials. The team consists of only seven members,
State Department officials and security personnel, several of whom
have already arrived in Syria. Their mission, which has not been made
public, is not to rebuild damaged cities and towns but to help Syrians
return home by organizing efforts to clear roadside bombs left behind
by the Islamic State and to restore electricity and access to clean
water, in part to prevent the areas from becoming breeding grounds for
militants.

NPR
Humanitarian Aid Is 'Broken,' Says Former U.N. Official |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=OKrqGObV9yMbDr3KfTGZ1g

Malaka Gharib

The humanitarian aid system is broken. That's the message of a new
paper by Paul Spiegel, a former senior official at the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The piece was part of a special
series on health and humanitarian crises published by the British
medical journal The Lancet in early June. Today, more than 65 million
people around the world have been forced from home due to violence,
war or conflict. "The humanitarian system was not designed to address
the types of complex conflicts that are happening at present," wrote
Spiegel. "It is not simply overstretched; it is no longer fit for
purpose."

THE WASHINGTON POST
How War Brought Cholera and Polio Back to the Middle East |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=_FUNccQ9uSGv9_nyHEWEoA

Louisa Loveluck

As war ravages public health systems in Yemen and Syria, doctors are
treating epidemics and diseases they once thought were things of the
past. In Yemen, it is cholera, a bacterial disease spreading so fast,
about 160,000 people have been fallen sick since April. In Syria, it
is polio, almost two decades after government efforts to eradicate the
illness were hailed as a textbook example of a good practice.
"It's easy to think only of trauma cases when you think of
war, but the damage it does to infrastructure is even more
serious," said Natalie Roberts, the head of emergency operations
for Doctors Without Borders France.

REUTERS

White House Pressures State Department Over Refugee Costs -Sources |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=G8WFhYZQMsxhY_-l3Of6CQ

Warren Strobel and Arshad Mohammed

Two studies that President Donald Trump hopes will buttress his case
to cut the number of refugees are at the heart of a fight between
senior White House adviser Stephen Miller and career U.S. government
officials over immigration policy, four current and former officials
said. Trump in March ordered the U.S. State Department and other
agencies to tally only the costs of resettling refugees but not the
benefits that policy experts said refugees can also bring, including
tax revenues, professional skills and job creation.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Top White House Aide Likely the Next Ambassador to India |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=A5I0h_ycWwdGnVrmnnRHiQ

Josh Rogin

A senior official in the White House's National Economic Council
will soon be named U.S. ambassador to India, four White House
officials confirmed. The move comes as the Indian prime minister plans
to visit the Trump White House next week for the first time. Kenneth
Juster currently serves as the international deputy to NEC Director
Gary Cohn. His exit from the White House has been rumored for weeks,
amid reports that he clashed with other senior White House officials
on trade and economic issues. But now, senior administration officials
say his impending appointment to represent Washington in New Delhi is
a consensus pick that places a top notch India expert in a crucial
diplomatic post.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Desperate Venezuelans Set Sights on Colombia as Worry Mounts |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=z-wlaaRTcwKSg8fu7Aw33Q

Christine Armario

While Venezuela plunges further into political and economic ruin, the
flight of its citizens is accelerating, reaching levels unseen in its
history. Experts believe nearly one-tenth of its population of around
31 million now lives outside the country. For better-off professionals
the preferred destination is Spain or the U.S., where Venezuelans are
overstaying their visas in droves and now lead asylum requests for the
first time - 18,155 last year alone. But for many poor people
fleeing Venezuela's triple-digit inflation, hours-long food
lines and medical shortages, Colombia is the journey's end.
Estimates indicate more than 1 million have arrived in the last two
decades, reversing the previous trend of Colombians fleeing war
heading to Venezuela.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
World Leaders Wary of Trump May Have an Ally: Congress |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=GtwaR1eAAXCR9iMcziR2Cg

Jennifer Steinhauer

President Trump threatens to upend the post-World War II foreign
policy order, but Congress is working to ensure that American foreign
policy remains rooted in the trans-Atlantic alliance against
traditional rivals like Russia. Republicans have been careful not to
frame their foreign policy moves as a counterweight to the president,
who has doled out insults to foreign leaders on Twitter, bailed out of
international trade and climate accords and turned on Qatar, an
important American ally, as a sponsor of terrorism. But as the
Republican efforts pile up, they are leaving a definite impression of
advancing an anti-Trump foreign policy.

REUTERS

Arab States Issue Ultimatum to Qatar: Close Jazeera, Curb Ties With
Iran |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=UdJbZWawfoDfI_I4Bcg35w

William Maclean and Rania El Gamal

Four Arab states that imposed a boycott on Qatar have issued an
ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera television, curb ties with Iran,
shut a Turkish base and pay reparations, demands so far reaching it
would appear to be hard for Doha to comply. Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have sent a 13-point list of
demands apparently aimed at dismantling their tiny but wealthy
neighbour's two decade-old interventionist foreign policy which has
incensed them. Qatar did not immediately comment, but Foreign Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani had said on Monday Qatar
would not negotiate with the four states until economic, diplomatic
and travel ties cut this month were restored.

CNN
Warmbier Death Raises Pressure on White House |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=APHBb95Lb68IRlYrS4rcYw

Nicole Gaouette

Otto Warmbier's death as a result of his treatment in North Korea
could increase calls for the US to take a tougher line on China, as
the two nations prepare to meet in Washington on Wednesday. To date
the Trump administration's policy for dealing with North Korea's
increasingly aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons has been to push
Beijing to pressure Pyongyang, its longtime ally. It's an approach
that resembles the Obama administration strategy and, observers say,
has shown no greater success in slowing Pyongyang's steady march
towards developing nuclear weapons and the missile capability to
deliver them as far as North America.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
U.N. Chief Warns U.S. of Risks of Rejecting Leadership Role |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=WbRnyk_xdr3HTy484nmzxw

Somini Sengupta

The United Nations secretary general warned on Tuesday that an
American retreat from the world posed great risks on many issues,
including climate change, international conflicts and the refugee
crisis, as he announced a visit to Washington to urge members of
Congress to support the United Nations. "When someone leaves
space, that space is always occupied by others," the secretary
general, António Guterres, said..."And I don't think this
is good for the United States, and I don't think this is good
for the world," he added. Mr. Guterres told reporters on Tuesday
that he would meet soon with members of Congress, including Speaker
Paul D. Ryan. Lawmakers are arguably an even more important
constituency than the president for Mr. Guterres to win over; key
congressional committee members control the purse strings, and can
help him stave off the deep funding cuts the Trump administration is
proposing for international organizations.


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