14 November 2024

Newsweek | Ukraine Responds to Nuclear Bomb Claims
Ukraine has said it is not considering developing nuclear weapons as a security measure, following reports that suggested it could create a bomb quickly.

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Responsible Statecraft | Veterans: Why we want Trump to keep Iraq withdrawal deal
The election is now behind us and the impacts on America’s foreign policy are emerging. One thing that shouldn’t change is our commitment to the deal reached between the Biden administration and the Iraqi government for a withdrawal of most U.S. forces from Iraq in 2025.

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The New York Times | Ukraine Prioritizes Security, Not Territory, as Trump Pushes Truce Talks
Ukrainian officials have said for months that they would not cede territory occupied by Russia in any peace settlement. Now, as Ukraine contemplates an accelerated timetable for negotiations pushed by President-elect Donald J. Trump, it is putting at least as much importance on obtaining security guarantees as on where an eventual cease-fire line might fall.

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Fox News | Trump's first Cabinet picks decidedly not isolationists: Ukraine, Israel breathe a sigh of relief
Some restraint-minded thinkers hold out cautious optimism. "If [Rubio] channels Trump’s approach rather than pursuing his own agenda, he could redefine the state department’s role in a way that is both respected and effective abroad. Rubio knows that his future prospects are tied to his ability to execute Trump’s policy, not personal ambitions," said Jason Beardsley, senior coalitions adviser for Concerned Veterans for America.

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Military Times | Lawmakers want VA to better secure records after campaign violations
Earlier this fall, VA officials confirmed that the Department of Justice is investigating several federal staffers for improperly accessing the veterans records of vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance amid the contentious summer campaign.

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Stars and Stripes | Lapse in computer security at Atlanta VA leaves millions of veterans’ records unprotected, report finds
A Department of Veterans Affairs office in Atlanta that determines health care coverage for veterans failed to encrypt the records of more than 3 million former service members, ran outdated computer programs not securely configured and permitted unauthorized software on its networks, according to an audit.

Foreign Affairs | Trump Must Not Betray “America First” | Dan Caldwell & Reid Smith
Donald Trump has achieved a political comeback with no parallel since the Gilded Age, when Grover Cleveland won reelection to the presidency in nonconsecutive terms. On his way to this latest victory, Trump provoked a popular backlash against both major political parties’ establishments. This realignment underscores a shift in the GOP’s constituent demographics and illuminates a broader transformation within the electorate itself.

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The Guardian | The Cheney-loving Democratic party needs a reckoning about war | Stephen Wertheim
Last October, Joe Biden made the most significant address of a presidency defined by war. Sitting in the Oval Office, he asked Congress to approve $106bn in emergency aid mainly to arm Ukraine and Israel in their ongoing wars. He barely attempted to explain what the US was seeking to achieve in either place, or how the fighting would come to an end. Instead, he claimed that American allies, and freedom itself, were under attack, and the US had to help because of its very identity as a nation. “We are, as my friend Madeleine Albright said, ‘the indispensable nation’,” Biden intoned. Albright had served as secretary of state in the late 1990s, at the apex of America’s global dominance.

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The New York Times | The Quiet Development Shaking America’s Power | Sarang Shidore
With the stunning comeback of Donald Trump as president, America’s allies are scrambling. Behind their sober messages of congratulation is a palpable anxiety that Washington will soon treat them as mere pawns on the global chessboard. It would be quite a change. Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States — sharpening its rivalry with China and seeking to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — put great store in strengthening its alliances and partnerships.

Realism in Practice Report: CVA Policy Director Tyler Koteskey has written a new report on how the foreign policy principles of realism and restraint should guide a new path for U.S. strategy abroad. “Realism in Practice” argues that policymakers have lost focus on protecting vital national interests since the end of the Cold War, overusing the U.S. military and running up massive amounts of debt at home. Because of these factors, the report argues that the President will need to realign U.S. foreign policy goals with our available resources. We can avoid strategic overstretch by asking more of our allies and rediscovering the value of creative diplomacy and economic engagement, focusing our military resources where they matter most. You can read the report here.