John, 

From thousands of rockets being fired into Israel to one of our nation’s most important gas pipelines falling victim to a foreign cyberattack, the events of the last month have led to major moves being made on the geopolitical chess board. We’re here to bring you to speed on everything you need to know.

Catch up on all the top foreign policy headlines from the last month below and sign our petition to join Mike’s efforts to move the 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing!

[READ] CONGRESSMAN GALLAGHER PROVIDES UPDATE ON WUHAN LAB PROBE

The bottom line: “Rep. Mike Gallagher said...he’s concerned the Democrats’ fear of Chinese confrontation would impede substantive efforts to investigate the origin of the novel Wuhan coronavirus. While Trump Derangement Syndrome and an incompetent media apparatus gave China an 18-month head start to cover up suspicions of a lab leak from Wuhan, Gallagher said, “there’s this sort of broader fear that I’m detecting on the left of provoking a confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party.” –– The Federalist

[READ] TALIBAN PREPARING TO FILL POWER VACUUM IN AFGHANISTAN

The bottom line: “As the United States packs up its military presence in Afghanistan...the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is locked in a fierce war with the Taliban militants. While both sides continue to engage in a peace process, previously brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in the Qatari capital of Doha, little progress has been made. The Taliban, who have gained legitimacy as a political player with a big voice in the future of the country, don’t recognize the Afghan government as legitimate, referring to it only as the “Kabul administration”

–– Foreign Policy

[READ] HOW IRAN HELPED HAMAS MANUFACTURE THOUSANDS OF ROCKETS

The bottom line: “As Israel has become more effective at blocking the smuggling of weapons into the isolated Mediterranean strip, Iran has looked for other ways to help Hamas, supplying designs and know-how the militants can use to make rockets—in some cases cobbled together from common materials such as pipes, castor oil and scavenged spent Israeli munitions. “The design is Iranian but the production is local,” said Ephraim Sneh, a retired Israeli brigadier general and former deputy defense minister. –– The Wall Street Journal

[READ] CHINESE GOV’T ANGERED AT US SENATE DELEGATION VISITING TAIWAN

The bottom line: “Chinese state media outlets are decrying a visit by three U.S. senators to Taiwan, saying the move is provocative and challenges Beijing's control of the region. The criticism came in two separate editorials by the Xinhua press agency and the China Daily newspaper on Monday after Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) visited Taiwan on Sunday.” –– The Hill

[READ] WHY CHINA MUST BE DISQUALIFIED FROM HOSTING THE 2022 OLYMPICS

The bottom line: “The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given China the honor of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics, just as it allowed Nazi Germany to host the Summer Olympics in 1936. But although the international community may not have understood the full extent of Hitler’s crimes and intentions in 1936, the CCP’s crimes against the Uyghurs and its escalating human rights abuses throughout mainland China—not to mention the destruction of civil liberties in Hong Kong—are well documented.” –– Foreign Policy

ALERT: CONGRESSMAN GALLAGHER IS CALLING ON THE IOC TO MOVE THE 2022 OLYMPICS OUT OF CHINA. WILL YOU ADD YOUR NAME TO JOIN MIKE?

[WATCH] RUSSIAN GOV’T SPONSORING NONSTOP CYBERATTACKS AGAINST U.S.

The bottom line: “FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency was investigating about 100 different types of ransomware, many tracing back to hackers in Russia, and compared the current spate of cyberattacks with the challenge posed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “There are a lot of parallels, there’s a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention,” Mr. Wray said in an interview Thursday. “There’s a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies but across the private sector and even the average American.”

–– The Wall Street Journal

Thank you,

Gallagher Foreign Policy HQ