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The Weekly GAB - Friday, August 28, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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Top Quote

MSNBC MORNING JOE
Congressman, a Former SEAL, Reacts to Afghan Speech
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=QcBlxE8tNfE3nbGeX7PArQ

"I understand...the Administration's desire to look at the
State Department and not waste money, but at the same time, you have
to have diplomacy. It's a crucial element of our foreign policy,
and...a tool in our tool bag, so I would not like to see it cut as it
was spoken about initially by the Administration." --
Congressman Scott Taylor (R-VA)

Who's in the News

CNN
How Trump Can Stop the Four Famines

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Hsr_Yje6rq4tucQ6ogyiPA

Richard Fontaine, President, Center for a New American Security

Now a worthy target is crying out for President Trump's extraordinary
reach: The so-called "four famines" that currently afflict South
Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. The United States has been generous
in providing resources to confront the spread of starvation in these
countries; it's other wealthy countries who have fallen down on the
job. And it's here that the President could rack up a win for his
administration and for humanity. President Trump's megaphone is
perhaps the loudest of any world leader in memory. With near 24/7
coverage of his statements and actions and tens of millions of social
media followers, the President possesses the unique ability to
illuminate a humanitarian catastrophe that garners few headlines at
home or abroad -- and help save millions of lives.

FOREIGN POLICY
Back to the Future in Afghanistan

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=gujxYZVaysvrRoNmu4siaA

Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO

The options are bad in Afghanistan. We could cut our losses (2,400
Americans dead, $1 trillion spent) and depart - but that would
eventually lead to another Vietnam moment...So we are left with the
option that excites no one: a very modest increase of troop
strength...a "conditions-based approach" without a
specific withdrawal timeline; and a revitalized regional strategy that
puts more pressure on Pakistan. Sounds a lot like what was proposed in
2013 as we drew down our military forces by 90 percent and
significantly cut foreign aid to Afghanistan. And yet President Donald
Trump calls this a "new approach." Will it work? What
should we really be doing?

BREITBART
Trump as Commander in Chief, Making the Hard Decisions

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=rWYKuRQTiEuEvWQ9IQEdLA

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Keith Kellogg, Assistant to the President and Chief of
Staff of the National Security Council

We will use our integrated military, political, and economic efforts
to promote stability in the region. We will demand that nations
ultimately provide for their own security. Those that harbor terrorist
networks must eliminate them....While our brave men and women in
uniform are waging battle on the ground and from the air, President
Trump will be using every diplomatic and economic tool at his disposal
to bring about an end state that does not allow another country to
become a breeding ground for radical Islamic terrorism...President
Trump has demonstrated the courage to lead, the confidence in our
military to deliver results, the trust in our diplomats to bring
peace, and faith in our citizens' patience to see our Nation to
victory.

THE HILL
Dear Administrator Green: A Five-Step Vision for the Future of USAID

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=21c28ZLxPt2CfKUS8oGlVw

Ann Vaughan, Acting Vice President and Senior Director of Policy and
Advocacy, Mercy Corps

Earlier this month, Mark Green began his tenure as the Administrator
of USAID. His proven leadership record and ability to navigate
bipartisan waters will serve him well, yet he is walking into a
hornet's nest of redesign efforts, staffing freezes and budget
cuts. We have five recommendations as he faces challenges both
internally and from an increasingly violent world. 1) Invest in
fragile states and ending violence. 2) Strengthen USAID's
independence. 3) Double down on existing reforms. 4) Cut the red tape
not the staff. 5) Money matters.

THE HUFFINGTON POST
Hate Paying Taxes? Think Again.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=BK84iAxuN92TwBxK0zllIQ

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

In an age of strained budgets and increased scrutiny about the
effectiveness of foreign aid, many donors are rightly looking to get
the greatest possible impact for each dollar they spend. During his
confirmation hearing, the newly appointed USAID Administrator, Mark
Green, mentioned "domestic resource mobilization" as a way
of helping to maximize return on investment. To most people outside
global development, these three words might be something of a mystery,
but they are an extremely important and effective way of funding
public services; we are talking about tax.

Development & Diplomacy

DEVEX
Former USAID Chief Rajiv Shah Lays Out His Advice for Mark Green |

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

Molly Anders

Now is not the time to lay low. That is the advice for the new head of
the U.S. Agency for International Development Mark Green from his
predecessor Rajiv Shah. Faced with looming budget cuts, three
potential famines in East Africa and more than 65 million people
displaced, Green must also navigate an administration determined to
"get out of the business of development and aid," Shah
said, as U.S. Congress weighs President Donald Trump's proposed
30 percent cut to the aid budget.

FOREIGN POLICY
Time Is Up on Rex Tillerson
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=ajmQVIpQJuRdNOtNUSLGuw

Max Boot, Senior Fellow for national security studies at the Council
on Foreign Relations

With U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to launch wars against
North Korea and even Venezuela, now would seem like the time for
strong diplomacy to achieve America's aims while minimizing the
risk of conflict. The problem is that America's top diplomat is
not John Hay, Dean Acheson, Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James
Baker, or Madeleine Albright. It's Rex Tillerson, and he is
proving to be quite possibly the most ineffectual secretary of state
since America's rise to global prominence in 1898.

THE WASHINGTON POST

President Trump wants to Pressure Allies By Cutting Foreign Aid. That
Never Works

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=zyPb6-S_TuBBoONKy9dK-A

Jessica Trisko Darden, American University's School of
International Service and a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American
Enterprise Institute

But history shows that foreign aid is a poor way to get what we want.
Threatening to cut off aid is almost certain to fail in bringing about
political change in Egypt, Pakistan or any country that the United
States has a strategic interest in supporting. The risk of pushing
countries whose cooperation we need closer to Russia, China and Saudi
Arabia - all of which have sizable aid programs of their own
- is something Congress and the Trump administration should
consider. Long-standing relationships, such as we have with Pakistan
and Egypt, do need to be revisited. There's no question that
foreign aid needs to be reformed so that it better serves our national
interest instead of supporting countries that undermine our goals. But
empty threats put us in a poor negotiating position - something
that this president should, at least in theory, know a bit about.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Congressional Visit Urges Central African Republic Aid |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=mR91Sbwfxho1sXEJko1OSg

Zack Baddorf

A U.S. congressman on Thursday called for urgent aid to Central
African Republic during a visit to the impoverished country where
deadly sectarian violence is surging again. Hundreds of people have
been killed this year and more than 600,000 have been displaced. Rep.
David Cicilline of Rhode Island, a member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, told The Associated Press that the international community
"has to think about the long-term implications of abandoning our
efforts to stabilize this country." Cicilline praised the U.N.
peacekeeping mission for preventing "significant armed
conflict," though the mission has acknowledged it doesn't
have enough personnel to sufficiently protect civilians throughout the
country.

Politics & Foreign Policy

CNN
Five Key Pieces of Trump's Afghanistan Plan |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Pr6UoIrDHju6R0zT5zCpSw

Jeremy Herb

President Donald Trump outlined his plan for the 16-year US war in
Afghanistan Monday evening...Here are the five key pieces of Trump's
Afghanistan plan. 1) The President is giving the Pentagon authority to
ramp up troop levels in Afghanistan by several thousand, but Trump
declared the US military would not talk specifically about troop
levels there. 2) Perhaps the biggest military change Trump announced
Monday was to relax US authorities to attack the Taliban and other
terrorist groups in Afghanistan. 3) The end-goal of Trump's plan in
Afghanistan was to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table to find
a political solution to the Afghan war. 4) Trump echoed comments from
his predecessors in their desire to get Pakistan to change its
terrorist-harboring ways. 5) When Obama talked about the war in
Afghanistan, he focused on bringing US troops home. Trump made clear
he wants victory there.

THE WASHINGTON POST

'It's a Hard Problem': Inside Trump's Decision
to Send More Troops to Afghanistan |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=c2SBt0Vr9rXX5ZOt0yxxWw

Philip Rucker and Robert Costa

Trump's private deliberations - detailed in interviews
with more than a dozen senior administration officials and outside
allies - revealed a president un­attached to any particular
foreign-policy doctrine, but willing to be persuaded as long as he
could be seen as a strong and decisive leader. Part of that listening
included hearing out the military about sharing the burden in the
region and getting Pakistan more involved in managing the war. Thomas
J. Barrack Jr., a longtime Trump friend and chairman of his
presidential inauguration, said Trump "views generals with a
special respect and admiration that allows him to defer to and
consider their judgment and expertise in a different light than with
his business or political peers who may be Cabinet members or other
trusted advisers."


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