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The Weekly GAB Friday, June 2, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=X_fUHhufagnsXY_5fKp5qQ

USGLC in the News

THE TENNESSEAN
Veteran: Cutting Civilian Forces Makes Us Less Safe

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XkchSGeNRu_LUzQMv8bCrQ

Marjorie K. Eastman, United States Army Reserve (Ret.) and a member of
the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition's Veterans for Smart Power
Network

After ten years of military service and two combat deployments, I
don't scare easily. It's rare that I find myself alarmed
by the latest headlines coming out of Washington. But that's
exactly how I felt after the Administration's proposal to slash
funding to the State Department and U.S. Agency for International
Development by 32 percent - an unthinkably dangerous cut given
the growing crises around the world. And more than 120 retired three
and four-star generals agree. In a letter to Congress, they shared
their conviction that strategic investments in diplomacy and
development alongside defense are critical to our national security.

THE NEWS-PRESS
Raising my Voice for Development, Diplomacy

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=If59fpYDgwia8hqNYCDaEw

Raymond Royce, Executive Director, Highland County Citrus Growers, and
a member of the Florida Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global
Leadership Coalition

They say nothing good comes from talking about politics, that you
should keep quiet and bite your tongue. But the American way has never
been to avoid uncomfortable truths. And simply put, it would be
irresponsible to cut one-third of our civilian development and
diplomacy forces at a time of extreme global threats, famines of
historic proportions and the worst refugee crisis since World War II.
Yet the administration's proposed budget threatens to do exactly
that. Too much is at stake to remain silent. But don't just take
my word for it. Over 120 retired generals and admirals recently wrote
to Congress with a simple, yet powerful message: "Now is not the
time to retreat."

Who's in the News

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
America First Doesn't Mean America Alone

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=qKfV6hQcROkJTTaJfuFP3Q

Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, National Security Adviser, and Mr. Gary D.
Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council

President Trump just returned from nine days in the Middle East and
Europe that demonstrated his America First approach to ensuring
security and prosperity for our nation. America will not lead from
behind. This administration will restore confidence in American
leadership as we serve the American people. America First does not
mean America alone. It is a commitment to protecting and advancing our
vital interests while also fostering cooperation and strengthening
relationships with our allies and partners. A determination to stand
up for our people and our way of life deepens our friends'
respect for America.

USA TODAY
A Real National Security Budget Will Keep the Peace

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=q0KKqJpIVajA6g2sMwsL9A

Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Army (Ret.), Commanded U.S. and Allied
Forces in Afghanistan (2005-07), U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
(2009-11)

As America prioritizes its spending in a dangerous world, the White
House has proposed a hard-power budget that emphasizes military
investments to deter war. Yet what it first would deter is any
cost-effective work to reduce the wars abroad - civil upheaval
in weak or failing states - that greatly threaten U.S. interests
and global stability. This "national security budget"
would dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the State Department,
USAID and United Nations peacekeeping operations, and end funding for
the small, specialized U.S. Institute of Peace - all vital tools
for keeping America safe. We would be left with one massively
expensive and blunt instrument - the United States military
- to deal with any and all foreign policy challenges.

TIME

Bob Dole and Tom Daschle: Trump's Budget Takes U.S. Leadership
Backwards

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=IKxg9t0F1oR53qUfXZi62A

Former Senators Bob Dole (R-KS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD)

Last week, the Trump administration released a budget that would cut
billions in humanitarian assistance by the U.S., asserting that these
cost-cutting measures are consistent with American interests. But this
budget would reverse the course of decades of U.S. leadership helping
the world's most vulnerable people. For more than 50 years, the
U.S. has led the global fight against hunger and famine - not
just because it's the moral choice, but because it's one
of the smartest and most effective ways to invest in our collective
future.

THE BOSTON GLOBE

UN Peacekeepers Are an Investment in Global Peace, Security, and
Prosperity

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XC9UU9_TI-pGgDmpPvc-hA

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

Independent research has shown the worth of peacekeeping: It prevents
the spread of violence, and it typically reduces the number of
civilians killed by more than 90 percent, compared to before the
deployment. We also know peacekeeping is cost-effective. The UN
peacekeeping budget is less than half of 1 percent of global military
spending, and is shared between all 193 UN member states. US studies
show that UN peacekeeping missions are an estimated eight times more
cost-effective than when the United States acts alone. That investment
pays off many times over when we consider the economic growth and
prosperity that follow from increased stability and security after
successful peacekeeping missions.

Development & Diplomacy

THE HILL
Senators Press Tillerson on Potential State Department Cuts |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-US1ertEXMDeL5OwyHWiMw

Morgan Chalfant

A bipartisan pair of senators is pressing Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson on the nascent plans to reorganize the State Department and
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), warning of the
potential for damaging reductions to foreign assistance. Sens. Chris
Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) wrote to Tillerson on
Thursday, according to a letter shared with The Hill, asking for a
briefing on his reorganization plans, which were triggered by an
executive order that President Trump signed in March. "We
support reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the
State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID)," the senators wrote.

THE GUARDIAN

'Trump's Aid Budget is Breathtakingly Cruel - Cuts Like These
Will Kill People'

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=_3mnOIIi86nD0UmwVc1F9Q

Jeremy Konyndyk, Center for Global Development

President Trump's new budget plans take particular aim at
foreign aid spending, proposing an overall cut of 32% to all civilian
foreign affairs spending. Facing extensive criticism from Republicans
and Democrats alike for the budget's draconian vision,
Trump's budget chief Mick Mulvaney defended the proposal by
arguing it should be judged not "by how much money we spend, but
by how many people we actually help." This is an admirably fair
standard because it perfectly illuminates the callousness and cruelty
of the 2018 Trump aid budget.

NPR

We Asked, You Answered: Does U.S. Foreign Aid Raise Living Standards?
|

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=SepQMUcdVGVSwQN8p2bEZg

Malaka Gharib

"Should America Keep Giving Billions Of Dollars To Countries In Need?"
That was the headline of a story NPR published in early May, looking
into a former Trump campaign adviser's claim made during an interview
on Morning Edition. Stephen Miller said there's "zero evidence" that
U.S. foreign aid has had an effect on economic development. We wanted
to know what our audience had to say, so we invited them to submit
their views as part of our #CuriousGoat series. We received over 100
responses over the past two weeks. Here's a sampling, edited for
length and clarity.

VOICE OF AMERICA
Lawmakers: US Urgently Needs More Engagement in Africa |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XOJxc0q4PPfqUrFOu5kuVw

Mariama Diallo

The U.S. must remain active in Africa, which is in the midst of three
famines and ongoing political instability, the chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee said during a recent hearing in Washington.
"Our engagement in Africa is in the strategic interest of the
U.S. not only to address urgent humanitarian aid, but also to advance
economic, political and security interests," Congressman Ed Royce, a
Republican from California, said. "Now is not the time to pull back."
The House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman also has asked the State
Department to explain how deep budget cuts proposed by the Trump
administration won't impede programs aimed at fostering good
governance and economic growth and bolstering counterterrorism efforts
in Africa.

VOX

20 Million Starving to Death: Inside the Worst Famine Since World War
II |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Rj5UVgsO_ALDLUW1lIMv8w

Jane Ferguson

In February, the United Nations estimated that 100,000 South Sudanese
were starving, and that 5 million more - 42 percent of the
country's population - have such limited access to proper
food that they don't know where their next meal is coming from.
More recent figures are not available yet, but aid agencies fear the
situation could be much worse now. There are two things you need to
understand about the famine decimating South Sudan...First, South
Sudan isn't the only country in the region facing mass
starvation. A potentially historic famine is also threatening Nigeria,
Somalia, and Yemen...Second, these famines weren't caused by
natural disasters like crop failures or droughts. They were man-made
- the direct result of the bloody wars and insurgencies raging
in all four countries.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Cholera, Famine and Girls Sold Into Marriage for Food: Yemen's
Dire Picture |

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

Rick Gladstone

Cholera deaths in war-torn Yemen have surged into the hundreds, more
than a quarter of Yemenis face famine, and parents are selling girls
into marriage to buy food, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The
description of Yemen by the top United Nations aid official, Stephen
O'Brien, the under secretary general for humanitarian affairs
and emergency-relief coordinator, was perhaps his most dire yet in a
series of alarming updates on the crisis. "The people of Yemen
are being subjected to deprivation, disease and death as the world
watches," he said.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Trump Hands the Chinese a Gift: The Chance for Global Leadership |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=6g6mUFx-SZtjCG5LXPwW4A

David E. Sanger and Jane Perlez

President Trump has managed to turn America First into America
Isolated. In pulling out of the Paris climate accord, Mr. Trump has
created a vacuum of global leadership that presents ripe opportunities
to allies and adversaries alike to reorder the world's power
structure. His decision is perhaps the greatest strategic gift to the
Chinese, who are eager to fill the void that Washington is leaving
around the world on everything from setting the rules of trade and
environmental standards to financing the infrastructure projects that
give Beijing vast influence.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

North Korea, South China Sea to Dominate Defense Secretary's
Asia Trip |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=3yEvmTFPdPA-cB6ouDZANA

Gordon Lubold

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived here Friday to reassure allies
that the U.S. remained committed to the Asia-Pacific region as the
Trump administration grapples with the dual challenges of North Korea
and China's assertiveness in the South China Sea. His arrival in
Singapore comes as the U.S. Navy conducts a three-day exercise in the
Sea of Japan with two aircraft carriers, the USS Carl Vinson and the
USS Ronald Reagan, a rare show of force not seen there for more than
two decades. The U.S. is seeking to send a message to Pyongyang to
curb its increasingly aggressive ballistic missile program.

FOREIGN POLICY
Vietnamese Prime Minister Comes to Talk Trade |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=_uXyvGK_dEcBOB4q30KAlQ

Emily Tamkin

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is meeting with U.S.
President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The White
House statement said the meeting was meant to "deepen regional
cooperation with one of America's important partners in
Southeast Asia." For Vietnam, that's particularly
important in one arena: trade. Before Trump pulled out of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, Vietnam was expected to get an economic
boost of at least eight percentage points - more than any other
signatory to the agreement. And so now Vietnam is left to consider
how, exactly, it can continue to improve trade with the United States,
particularly given that the U.S. has a $32 billion trade deficit with
Vietnam.


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