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The Weekly GAB Friday, December 14, 2018
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
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USGLC in the News

DEVEX
Royce Leaves Lasting Legacy on Development |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=DZ6KW9pmEEy9-YEdJVhokQ

Teresa Welsh

Ed Royce channeled the personal passion for effective and robust U.S.
foreign aid programs into accomplishments on numerous development and
humanitarian issues throughout his career in Congress. Educating
others on these values was key to his success in a frequently
deadlocked Congress, said USGLC President Liz Schrayer. "He
really cared about mentoring members of his committee, particularly
junior members," Schrayer said.

DEVEX
Q&A: A Career Spent Advocating for Effective US Foreign Assistance |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=bQmsrNQ9WMiCdJ7ufdABgQ

Teresa Welsh

After 26 years in U.S. Congress and six years as chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Ed Royce is retiring. The
Republican from California was known in the development and
humanitarian community as a tireless advocate for effective United
States foreign assistance programs... Royce has received awards from
InterAction, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, and the U.S.
Global Leadership Coalition in recent ceremonies, at which many of his
colleagues delivered tributes to his dedication to bipartisanship and
getting bills passed. The retiring congressman recently spoke with
Devex to reflect on his legacy on development and humanitarian
policies.

Development & Diplomacy

AP NEWS
Trump's New Africa Strategy Takes Sharp Aim at China, Russia |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=T8azu_XX-uOKdkjC4XyuJg

Maria Danilova and Cara Anna

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a sharp refocus of its
Africa strategy to counter what it called the "predatory"
practices of China and Russia, which are "deliberately and
aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a
competitive advantage." National security adviser John Bolton
laid out the new strategy in remarks at the Heritage Foundation,
saying the U.S. will now choose its African partners more carefully.
He took special aim at China, accusing it of wielding "bribes,
opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in
Africa captive to Beijing's wishes and demands."

THE WASHINGTON POST
In Yemen, a Ray of Light Amid a War's Darkness |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=dC49jBRzJIUMV5kdCS2rCw

Ishaan Tharoor

Millions of Yemenis received a lifeline Thursday. After a week of
U.N.-brokered talks in a town outside Stockholm, two of the major
parties in the country's ruinous war agreed to a cease-fire over
the strategic port of Hodeida. The move was hailed as a major
breakthrough in the grim conflict, which has raged for four years,
caused the collapse of the already impoverished nation's economy
and precipitated the world's worst humanitarian crisis... Those
involved in relief work welcomed the announced pause in fighting
- something that international organizations have been demanding
for months - but warned that the real struggle was only about to
begin.

POLITICO MAGAZINE
How the Migrant Caravan Built Its Own Democracy |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=v696H2pWFrIAEENvLiLxCA

Jesus Rodriguez

The caravan migrants who arrived at the border nearly a month ago
don't have a country. But they do have a government. In the time
since the caravan left Honduras in mid-October, the asylum-seekers
have fashioned a proto-democracy out of their group of some 6,000
migrants overwhelmingly from Central America, most of whom have walked
for most of the trip, at times hitching rides in the backs of cars or
trucks. To hear President Donald Trump tell it, the caravan is nothing
more than a "lawless" mob of potentially violent
criminals. But dozens of phone interviews and WhatsApp conversations
with advocacy groups and migrants, as well as social media updates
from groups on the ground, show that the migrants have organized a
surprisingly sophisticated ruling structure, complete with everything
from a press shop to a department of public works.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Homicides Have Fallen Dramatically in Honduras. So Why Are People
Still Fleeing? |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=QPnZNHbTwGUIXCdEsRi5og

Kate Linthicum

Less than a decade ago, when Honduras was the homicide capital of the
world and this industrial city was the homicide capital of Honduras,
the neighborhood of Rivera Hernandez was usually deserted after
dark... Today, there is less to fear. On a recent warm evening,
teenagers kicked around a soccer ball as a vendor selling yam chips
circled with a pushcart and a high school marching band practiced
nearby. The transformation is thanks in part to hundreds of millions
of dollars the United States has spent to help Honduras fight crime...
But the reality has proved much more complicated. Though the
country's homicide rate has fallen dramatically, the number of
people fleeing Honduras in recent years has not.

JEWISH NEWS SYNDICATE
USAID to Close Doors in the West Bank and Gaza by Early 2019 |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=zJBryEF52o7SPqtpyDbWMg

Jackson Richman

The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development confirmed on
Wednesday reports that USAID will close its doors in the West Bank and
Gaza by early 2019. "We have strict guidelines on who we work
with, and that's simply not just what we do, but across the U.S.
government," USAID administrator Mark Green told JNS. Without
elaborating, he continued: "[There] are guidelines that we
follow." "We follow administration policy," added
Green. This comes as the Trump administration is reportedly trying to
save remaining U.S. funding towards the Palestinian Authority, most of
which was cut off through the enactment of the Taylor Force Act, as
the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act would, barring changes, cut off
security assistance to the P.A.

TIME
How to Rebuild a City: Cold, Hard Cash
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=RseTP75GdM_cg8eeRf_7wA

Nick McDonnell, Author, The Bodies in Person: An Account of Civilian
Casualties in American Wars

Though the city was liberated from ISIS in 2017, millions of tons of
rubble are yet to be cleared; 40% of old Mosul remains disconnected
from any water network; electricity is erratic; in certain
neighborhoods, corpses and IEDs remain on the roadside... Today there
is no fighting in Mosul, but the city remains devastated psychically,
as well as physically. A great deal of work is necessary to repair
it... Why, though, should Americans help with that work? When I speak
with people interested in Mosul's reconstruction, I hear
surprising political overlaps, encounter strange bedfellows.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In Remote Villages, Surprising New Measures Save Children With Malaria
|

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Xt3GG5U7q4TObcYcOn9TDg

Donald G. McNeil Jr.

During malaria season, children who live in remote villages are at
tremendous risk. When parasites transmitted by mosquitoes swarm into
the brain, the disease can kill within 24 hours. Often parents do not
realize quickly enough how close a toddler is to death. More than 90
percent of malaria deaths are in children under five years old. Now,
after 13 years of effort, a set of stopgap measures to keep youngsters
alive long enough to get them to a clinic has been developed. Initial
testing suggests the measures can dramatically cut death rates; in one
pilot project in Zambia, they dropped by 96 percent.

TIME

'We're All Handcuffed in This Country.' Why Afghanistan Is Still the
Worst Place in the World to Be a Woman |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Ax_0_mRaNoEfXisU0g3xoQ

Lauren Bohn

It was a sunny morning in early December last year when 23-year-old
Khadija set herself on fire. She kissed her three-month old son
Mohammed goodbye and said a short prayer... Like the majority of
Afghan women, Khadija was a victim of domestic abuse. For four years,
she said, her husband beat her and told her that she's ugly and
dumb "a nobody." ... In a country racked by decades of war
and a dearth of resources, Khadija's story shows how women in
Afghanistan are struggling to live with dignity. It also highlights
how, in the face of little governmental support and dwindling
international aid, women are stepping in to help one another.

USGLC GLOBAL IMPACT BLOG

Top 6 Takeaways from the Administration's New Africa Strategy |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=zDiDKOg5IkGlyC5s73wYpQ

Zach Wehrli

At the Heritage Foundation yesterday, National Security Advisor John
Bolton introduced the Administration's new Africa strategy,
which he said reflects the president's "central campaign
promise" to put the interests of the American people first. He
kicked off the speech with a declaration that "lasting
stability, prosperity, independence and security on the African
continent are in the national security interest of the United
States," and as anticipated, much of the strategy focused on
competition with China and Russia with the goal of "helping
African countries move toward self-reliance." Here are six key
takeaways.

Politics & Foreign Policy

NBC NEWS

Nikki Haley Says She Leveraged Trump's Outbursts to Get Things Done at
the U.N. |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=S4tk_ic7WSrR0djvOxN8jw

Alex Johnson

Nikki Haley, who is leaving as the U.S. ambassador to the United
Nations at the end of the year, told NBC's "Today" that she got things
done by using President Donald Trump's "unpredictable" nature to her
advantage. "He would ratchet up the rhetoric, and then I'd go back to
the ambassadors and say: 'You know, he's pretty upset. I can't promise
you what he's going to do or not, but I can tell you if we do these
sanctions, it will keep him from going too far,'" Haley said in an
exclusive interview which aired Wednesday morning... Haley said that,
in general, she was aware that some people believe that she and Trump
aren't always on the same page, but she said that's only because "our
styles are very different."

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
More, Less, or Different?
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=kFjzKcxollutXDawSWc_Iw

Jake Sullivan, former Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of
State, former National Security Adviser to the U.S. Vice President

Since November 2016, the U.S. foreign policy community has embarked on
an extended voyage of soul-searching, filling the pages of
publications like this one with essays on the past, present, and
future of the liberal international order and the related question of
where U.S. grand strategy goes from here. The prevailing sentiment is
not for just more of the same. Big questions are up for debate in ways
they have not been for many years. What is the purpose of U.S. foreign
policy? Are there fundamental changes in the world that demand a
corresponding change in approach?

FRANCE 24
UN Conference Adopts Global Migration Pact Despite Withdrawals |

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

France 24 Staff

A United Nations conference on Monday adopted a global pact to better
handle migrant flows, despite a string of withdrawals driven by
anti-immigrant populism. The non-binding deal was adopted in front of
leaders and representatives from around 150 countries gathered for a
two-day conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh... The US was the
first government to disavow the negotiations late 2017. Since then,
Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Hungary,
Latvia, Poland and Slovakia have also pulled out of the process. On
Sunday, Chile was the latest country to shun the deal.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
China Prepares Policy to Increase Access for Foreign Companies |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=CC7C94cjVxmblijpiHvTuA

Lingling Wei and Bob Davis

China plans to replace an industrial policy savaged by the Trump
administration as protectionist with a new program promising greater
access for foreign companies, people briefed on the matter said, in a
move to resolve trade tensions with the U.S. China's top
planning agency and senior policy advisers are drafting the
replacement for Made in China 2025-President Xi Jinping's
blueprint to make the country a leader in high-tech industries
including robotics, information and clean-energy cars. The revised
plan would play down China's bid to dominate manufacturing and
be more open to participation by foreign companies, these people said.

OZY
Why China's 'Marshall Plan' Is Scaring the Neighbors |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=8Ydy9hN6KsB7_xeTJJiQGQ

Justin Higginbottom

Rows of world leaders seated before him, Chinese President Xi Jinping
told his audience at the Boao Forum for Asia - widely recognized
as the Asian Davos - in April that his megaconnectivity project,
the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), wasn't the outcome of
"geopolitical calculations." It could work for the
"greater benefit of all our peoples," he insisted. Six
months later, Xi's sales pitch is wearing thin in his own
neighborhood. From Maldivian docks to teahouses in Pakistan,
conspiratorial whispers about "the Chinese" abound. And
country after country in Asia is either hedging its bets or
withdrawing from the project.

AP NEWS
US, Canada Hold High-Stakes Talks Amid Turmoil With China |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Tc_GZDDT6gsxsr5S-_f8FA

Matthew Lee and Rob Gillies

The U.S. and Canada are holding high-stakes talks amid an escalating
dispute with China that threatens to further complicate ties between
the North American neighbors. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis were meeting their Canadian counterparts
on Friday for discussions expected to be dominated by Canada's
arrest of a Chinese tech executive at Washington's request.
China has detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation. The case has
set off a three-way diplomatic furor in which Canada is stuck in the
middle.

FOREIGN POLICY
Washington Wants Pyongyang to Choose: Humanitarian Aid or Nukes |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=IU67lHz8Pe2gu4GFekUuKA

Colum Lynch

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is restricting some
international relief agencies from delivering humanitarian assistance
to needy North Koreans, in the latest effort to compel Pyongyang to
dismantle its nuclear arms program. In recent months, U.S. diplomats
have delayed the export of surgical equipment and supplies for
fighting tuberculosis and malaria to North Korea, and held up the
delivery from Canada of 300 stainless steel soy-milk cans for day care
centers and orphanages there, according to several diplomatic sources
and internal United Nations documents.

THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In Their Darkest Hour, Middle East Christians Have Powerful Friends

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=ZBh_ujNqz3NsrH6Ov6EzUQ

Peter Burns, In Defense of Christians

Christian communities in the Middle East are facing a bleak season in
which mere long-term survival has become an ambitious objective for
some ancient groups... Yet despite all, there is a reason for hope.
Christians in the Middle East have two sympathetic and powerful allies
at the heart of the world's most powerful government: Vice President
Mike Pence and Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam
Brownback. Both of these men seem to have been tagged-in by their
superiors, President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
respectively, to lead the administration's effort on protecting
persecuted religious minorities, and what's more, they both have
a deep personal connection to the cause based in their own faith.


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