EMERGING THREATS U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY - CounterStrikeMedia

A GOVERNANCE PROBLEM CALLED NIGERIA: WHY IT MATTERS; US MISTAKES IN SOMALIA & HOW THE CONGO IS BACK IN PLAY

2/21/2019

The world can learn from how Somaliland overcame militias
Michael Rubin | Washington Examiner

After weeks of failed talks following an election widely believed to be fraudulent, the newly-elected President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, has been urged to enter a power-sharing agreement with his predecessor, Joseph Kabila.

If Trump truly wants to end America’s endless wars abroad, he should embrace US allies, bolster democracies, and recognize that even at the height of its greatness, America has never truly gone it alone. Finish here.

AEI’s Marc Thiessen debated Buck Sexton on the correct US military strategy in the Middle East and the future of US national security. The two discussed whether a full withdrawal is in the United States’ best interest and whether our lengthy engagement with ISIS has successfully deterred future attacks. Watch the debate here.

Out of Africa: Why has Somaliland succeeded where Iraqi Kurdistan has failed?
Michael Rubin | 1001 Iraqi Thoughts

Trump’s Taliban dealing is already destabilizing Africa
Michael Rubin | Washington Examiner

AEI’s Michael Rubin: The US and UN are repeating Iraq-style mistakes in Somalia

US Africa policy cannot afford to ignore Somaliland
Michael Rubin | The National Interest

Somaliland – Key to Winning America's Longest War
By Michael Rubin, RealClearDefense: “ Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, AFRICOM commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. airstrikes alone would not defeat al-Shabaab. Instead, he said, local forces need to "step up." He is right, so it is especially unfortunate that when local forces step up to rebuff al-Shabaab, AFRICOM ignores them.

HOW THE SALIFI JIHADI MOVEMENT IS WINNING, AFRICOM STAYS IN GHANA & AEI'S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT

2/17/2019

The Salafi-jihadist movement is winning
Katherine Zimmerman | RealClearWorld
Local conflicts and popular grievances create openings for the Salafi-jihadist movement to grow its influence. Working to resolve these conflicts will block its efforts to infiltrate communities. Reducing the movement’s ability to interact with populations is the only way to weaken it. America’s strategy must change to reflect this reality.

AFRICOM Adds Logistics Hub in West Africa, Hinting at an Enduring US Presence
// Katie Bo Williams
From Ghana's capital, a new supply network will ferry supplies and arms to special forces troops across the region.

U.S., AFRICA:
Understaffed AFRICOM CuttingHundreds More Troops
By Tara Copp, Military Times: “U.S. Africa Command has begun cutting up to 10 percent of its forces from the continent in response to U.S. security challenges elsewhere, the top U.S. commander for Africa told reporters at the Munich Security Conference."

CTP’s Threat Update series is a weekly update and assessment of the al Qaeda network and its affiliates in Yemen, the Horn of Africa, and the Maghreb and Sahel. CTP’s Iran team follows developments on the internal politics, military capabilities, and regional conflicts closely.

Jomana Qaddour writes: The Trump administration’s stated policy objectives in Syria were reaffirmed at the February 6 meeting of the “Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS”: namely, to push back against Iranian hegemony, destroy the Islamic State, and condition reconstruction on real political progress outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2254. Now that the administration intends to relinquish most of its military leverage inside Syria, however, it will need to strategically coordinate with regional allies even more to achieve these objectives. Its last, best leverage in this regard is reconstruction. – Washington Institute

SOUTH AMERICA ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS; GERMANY THE RELUCTANT EURO POWER; HERE'S HOW TEAM TRUMP SHOULD RESPOND TO SOUTH AMERICAN CRISIS

2/17/2019

Paraguay Is a Fiscal Paradise for Terrorists
Emanuele Ottolenghi — Foreign Policy
The U.S. Department of Justice last year designated Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militant group, as a transnational criminal organization, thanks to its long-standing and well-documented partnership with Latin American drug cartels. A focal point of Hezbollah operations in the Western Hemisphere is the Tri-Border Area ... Read more

Europe: Trying to Legitimize Iran's Regime by Giulio Meotti

Will Germany, Not Ready & Slow To Invest, Keep EU Leadership, Deter Putin
By Robbin Laird, Wednesday, February 20, 2019 3:41 PM
The Cold War has not returned, but the Russians have. The challenge for the Trump Administration is less about whether the US cares about European defense; it is much more about a strategic shift of American attention to dealing with the Chinese and North Korean threats.

German Foreign Policy is Stuck in Neutral by Julianne Smith

EUROPE MUST GET ITS ACT TOGETHER

GERMANY:
The Unready Hegemon
By Constanze Stelzenmüller, Berlin Policy Journal: “German foreign and security policy is not prepared for the new era of great power competition. To stand up for its convictions and values, the country needs to step up."

How the Trump Administration Should Counter Putin's Policies in Ukraine and Venezuela by Jiri Valenta

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE BREXIT, WHY NO DEAL IS THE BEST DEAL FOR ENGLAND IN ITS WAR AGAINST THE E.U.; WHAT WOULD DE GAULLE DO FOR FRANCE NOW; BRITISH PARAMILITARY SPEAKS ABOUT "BLOODY SUNDAY"

2/12/2019

Brexit's a mess, and here's what's coming next by Conrad Black
National Post
March 23, 2019
http://www.conradmblack.com/1462/brexit-a-mess-and-here-what-coming-next

Brexit: What Would Thatcher Do? Editorial of The New York Sun | March 20, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/editorials/brexit-what-would-thatcher-do/90616/
What would Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher do in respect of Brexit? That's the question with which we're wrestling as the second woman premier to lead Britain, Theresa May, flounders toward the March 29 date by which, absent a deal or an agreed-upon delay, Britain will finally regain its independence. How would the Iron Lady handle what the nervous Nellies are calling a colossal constitutional crisis?
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NY SUN: SHOULD THE QUEEN INTERVENE ON BREXIT

The British Parliament has voted to reject a no-deal Brexit after a chaotic evening in the House of Commons that laid bare divisions within the governing Conservative Party.

British lawmakers will today vote on postponing the date when Britain leaves the European Union. There are 15 days to go until the scheduled exit date of March 29.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is also expected to put her proposed Brexit deal before the British Parliament for a third time in the coming week even though Parliament has already rejected it on two occasions. May told members of Parliament that if her deal was not accepted, then Brexit may be delayed considerably.

Could Brexit Manage To Unite Ireland?
By PAUL ATKINSON, Special to the Sun | March 12, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/foreign/could-brexit-manage-to-unite-ireland/90605/

NY SUN

The Irony of Brexit
Robert Samuelson, Washington Post

What Would De Gaulle Do? Editorial of The New York Sun | March 6, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/editorials/what-would-de-gaulle-do/90598/
What in the world is Charles de Gaulle going to think when he gets ahold of the latest op-ed piece from Emmanuel Macron? We understand that De Gaulle, the founding father of the Fifth Republic, has been dead for nigh fifty years. A lucky thing for him, too, given the way things are going in the land to which he addressed his immortal "Call to Honor."
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BBC: "BLOODY SUNDAY"

Brexit: A Supreme Test of the British
Editorial of The New York Sun | March 13, 2019
https://www.nysun.com/editorials/brexit-a-supreme-test-of-the-british/90609/
As the Mother of Parliaments wrestles with whether to bow to the voters of Great Britain or the mandarins in Brussels, here's what we will be thinking. We will be thinking how lucky Americans are that the Revolutionaries who founded our country struck for independence when they did. They seized independence when they had the chance, and it's made all the difference since.
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Theresa May’s Lucky Defeat
Theodore Dalrymple, City Journal
Theresa May’s crushing defeat in the House of Commons yesterday over her plan for Britain to leave the European Union was actually a great victory for her, provided that you make a simple assumption: that she and her colleagues never wanted Britain to leave the EU in the first place. A majority of the British legislature is, and always was, opposed to Brexit. Those legislators who agitated most vociferously for it declined, when the time came, to carry out the policy, leaving it to a woman, already well known for her political maladroitness. Read more here....

IS MEXICO A FAILED STATE? STRATEGY BRIDGE EXAMINES

2/7/2019

Is Mexico a Failing State?
By Alexander Grinberg, Strategy Bridge: "In 2009, U.S. Joint Forces Command released a statement expressing concerns over Mexico, highlighting the potential even then for a total collapse."

How Socialism Destroyed Venezuela
Daniel Di Martino, E21
Many in the media have blamed Venezuela’s worsening humanitarian crisis on corruption, mismanagement, falling oil prices, or U.S sanctions—anything but the rise of socialism in what was once the wealthiest country in South America. Yet corruption and mismanagement were the direct result of increased government control of the economy—socialism—and in reality, lower oil prices and U.S. sanctions have little to do with the crisis. Read more here....

AL-QAEDA IN THE AFRICAN HORN: PUSH BACK ON AFRICOM, ASSASSINATING SOMALIA LEADERSHIP & RAND CORPORATION STUDIES MIDDLE EAST SECTARIANISM

2/6/2019

Shabaab assassinates more high-ranking Somali military personnel

Middle Eastern Communities Can Resist Sectarianism
Sectarian violence in the Middle East has been destructive, but it is still the exception rather than the norm. Communities are generally resilient to the worst sectarian impulses. Lessons from Lebanon, Bahrain, Syria, and Iraq show that there are a range of actions that can curb sectarianism. Read more »

TRUMP & KIM: SUMMIT 2.0 & HOW CHINA TRAINS FOR COMPETING WITH US NAVY IN PACIFIC

2/6/2019

NATIONAL INTEREST

FRANCE'S 5TH REPUBLIC IS CRASHING: MACRON'S PERMANENT POLITICAL CRISIS

2/3/2019

Unrest in France: No End in Sight

US MUST COMPETE WITH RUSSIA, CHINA IN LATIN AMERICA & VENEZUELA: ITS ALL ABOUT RUSSIAN MONEY-LAUNDERING AND SANCTION EVASION

2/3/2019

The Administration Must Compete with Russia and China in Venezuela

Get China and Russia Out of Venezuela - and the Western Hemisphere by Gordon G. Chang

THE RENT SEEKING OF US FOREIGN AID

2/1/2019

Rent-seeking behavior in US international food aid programs

Stephanie Mercier | American Enterprise Institute

Food aid programs provide rents to interest groups through cargo preference requirements and purchasing requirements raising program costs. As a result, US food aid is not efficiently achieving its goals of increasing US soft power and alleviating global hunger.