“Foreign policy is really domestic policy with its hat on.” — Hubert H. Humphrey

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Under Biden, important foreign policy interests are being sacrificed domestic ones

Under the Biden administration, US foreign policy appears afflicted by several perturbing defects. Indeed, it seems to suffer from both a lack of general strategic perspective and of sound theater-specific understanding. Moreover, it appears to be heavily impacted by extraneous factors not having any discernable relevance for the pursuit of American interests across the globe.

Crucial goal for military success

This was starkly illustrated recently by the sharp changes in tone in US attitudes towards Israel during its protracted battle against Hamas. Immediately after the 10/7 massacre, in which innocent Israeli citizens—men, women, senior citizens, and infants—were slaughtered, mutilated, tortured, raped beheaded, and incinerated—the Biden administration appeared staunchly supportive of Israel’s right of self-defense. But as the fighting dragged on, the US began to adopt a more critical attitude towards IDF actions—particularly regarding a possible assault on Rafah, on Gaza’s southern border, conditioning any support for an operation against the town on plans to ensure the safety of Gazan civilians who fled to the south under Israeli directives.

For Israel, the takeover of Rafah is essential for its success in its battle to eradicate Hamas. Indeed recently,  Netanyahu declared that sending ground troops into Rafah is essential to meeting Israel’s war goals while  Biden warned him that Israel should not conduct a military operation there without a “credible and executable” plan to protect civilians.

Incubator for terror

Underscoring the problematics of this is the recent daring Israeli Special Force rescue of two elderly hostages, who were kidnapped on 10/7. The hostages were held in Rafah— among civilians– precisely because of US opposition to Israeli military action there.

It is difficult to understand the underlying rationale of this policy twist– particularly regarding Hamas which is, after all, the exact antithesis of the all values the US purports to cherish: It is indisputably a tyrannical, homophobic misogynistic organization that was freely elected by the Gaza public. The approval it won in the polls in the immediate wake of the polls proves that the Gazan public is not so much a victim of its elected leaders but the crucible in which it was formed and the incubator from which it emerged.

What lies behind this perverse and seemingly paradoxical US approach to pressure Israel, the only like-minded ally in the region, into negotiations with an entity, whose very raison d’Etre is its destruction? The answer to this lies outside the realm of foreign policy and falls into the sphere of domestic politics and the current fabric of the Democratic Party. Most of the ideological energy in the party comes from the radical, “progressive” (read “regressive”) wing, on the far Left of the party which harbors considerable animosity toward Israel and commensurate sympathy for the Palestinians, and fears that support for Israel could alienate its electorate, thus undermining the party’s fortunes in the elections?

A geopolitical pivot for US

Another case of self-obstructive policy appears to be the approach to Azerbaijan. This central Asian country is not only a strong ally of Israel, being one of its largest energy suppliers and one of the biggest purchasers of Israeli armaments, but it has far-reaching importance for US strategic interests as well.  Indeed, as one former US National Security Advisor remarked, Azerbaijan constitutes one of the world’s “geopolitical pivots” and a key to U.S. security interests.

Recently, however, in the wake of the recent fighting resulting in the dissolution of the former Armenian enclave Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), relations between Washington and Baku have soured.  Thus, last November, Washington, reportedly under heavy domestic pressure from the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), initiated hostile legislative and administrative acts, the former prohibiting  US military aid to Baku for the two coming fiscal, the latter by including  Azerbaijan in the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL)  for alleged religious intolerance –with the possibility of economic sanctions.

These actions appear somewhat heavy-handed toward a Shi’a Muslim majority country that is not only resolutely secular, pro-Western, and relatively free of religious bias. Indeed, a recent Jerusalem Post article refers to it as a: “model of interfaith harmony, where the nation embraces and protects the Jewish community.”

America’s linchpin

Moreover, in terms of realpolitik self-interest, Washington has several security interests in the region as well– deterring threats from Iran and Russia and limiting Islamic extremism.

Azerbaijan has proved a willing partner in each of these areas. Baku has given U.S. energy companies access to Azerbaijani energy reserves and supported U.S. military campaigns in the Middle East. Likewise, Azerbaijan’s geostrategic position in Central Asia prompted one prominent strategic analyst to describe Azerbaijan as America’s “linchpin” in the area.

Furthermore, for the West, Azerbaijan’s strategic pipelines (see here & here) and considerable energy exports reduce dependency on Russia. Indeed, EC President Ursala von der Leyen praised  Azerbaijan as a “reliable, trustworthy partner” as Europe tries to break its reliance on Russian energy.

The history of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict is complex and blame is not always easy to apportion fairly, However, it would appear that both reason and realpolitik, should perhaps spur a rethink of the current punitive approach toward Baku.

©2024. Dr. Martin Sherman. All rights reserved.

The pilot program in the Zeitoun neighborhood will include ending incitement in the schools 

Israel is preparing to carry out a pilot program that will see local authorities replace the Hamas terrorist group in governing the southern Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitoun, Channel 12 reported.

The military began a major aerial and ground offensive in the district on Monday night to clear it of terrorists ahead of the initiative. Led by the 162nd Division, Israeli forces killed and captured dozens of terrorists and confiscated a large amount of ammunition.

According to the report, Israel’s goal is for community leaders to manage the reception and distribution of humanitarian aid to establish an alternative to Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip. Security forces will attempt to prevent the terrorist group from interfering with this process.

Gazan representatives recently met with Israeli officials to discuss the plan.

Notably, the plan does not involve a return to the north for the tens of thousands of Gazans who evacuated to a humanitarian zone in the southern Strip at the behest of the Israeli army. Instead, the pilot will be carried out with the residents who remained there.

Additionally, the pilot includes replacing the school curricula with textbooks that do not promote violent rejection of Israel and hatred towards Jews. Israeli leaders have repeatedly stressed the importance of deradicalizing the Gaza population, including moderating the educational system, after Hamas is defeated.

Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz on Wednesday evening referred to an international pilot in which moderate Arab countries would establish a civil administration to manage the Strip after the war ends, while Israel maintains full security control.

This civil administration would likely include “local Palestinians supported by some sort of regional committee or arrangement,” according to Gantz.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said that he wants to see local Palestinian community leaders govern Gaza instead of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

“Oslo was the mother of all sins. The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is only that Hamas wants to destroy us here and now, and the P.A. wants to do it in stages,” Netanyahu said in December.

IDF building security road bisecting the Strip.

RELATED ARTICLE: Knesset Advances Bill To Recognize Fiancés as Family Members of Fallen Soldiers

EDITORS NOTE: This JNS – Jewish News Syndicate column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks urged the Biden administration to probe a Midwestern nonprofit with extensive ties to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence and influence operations to determine if it violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), according to a letter shared exclusively with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Banks sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an inquiry into the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA), a 501(c)(3) bipartisan organization, which characterizes its mission as “building bridges and promoting opportunities” between 21 U.S. heartland states and China. However, USHCA leads trips to China for Midwestern mayors in cooperation with organizations affiliated with a Chinese government influence arm, and also employs multiple individuals belonging to such organizations, the DCNF reported.

Banks’s letter asks the DOJ to review whether or not USHCA may need to register under FARA, which “requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities,” according to the DOJ.

“I am writing to urge you to investigate the U.S. Heartland China Association (USHCA) for apparent violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as revealed in a recent report from the Daily Caller News Foundation,” Banks’ letter states. “FARA requires all U.S. residents acting as agents of foreign governments to regularly file public disclosures with the Justice Department (DOJ) outlining their activities and describing their status as a foreign agent.”

Banks’ letter alleges that USHCA “acts in concert with the United Front to expand CCP influence within Indiana and the Midwest.”

The CCP utilizes an influence and intelligence collection strategy known as the “United Front,” which, among other things, targets “foreign actors and states,” according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The United Front is coordinated by the Chinese government’s United Front Work Department (UFWD), which “oversees many subordinate organizations,” including operations within the U.S., according to the House Select Committee on the CCP.

The UFWD “conceals its influence over groups like the USHCA through its use of proxy groups,” Banks’ letter alleges, citing USHCA’s partnership with the Chinese People’s Association For Friendship With Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) as an example.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has characterized CPAFFC as a “key organization” in the CCP’s United Front.

In November 2023, USHCA announced it had led a delegation of six mayors to China in order to “underscore the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China.” Yet, Chinese state-run China Youth Daily reported that CPAFFC took credit for inviting the delegation to China.

“CPAFFC is the UFWD proxy responsible for managing and expanding sister relationships between the U.S. and China,” Banks’ letter states. “During the trip, the former Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, Jim Brainard, who also serves as vice chair of USHCA, ratified a sister-city agreement with Xiangyang, Hubei.”

The U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center has warned that CPAFFC “may exploit” sister-city agreements to “press its agendas.”

USHCA “will inevitably work with Chinese entities” because it “promotes people-to-people exchanges in culture, education and business between the Heartland and China,” a spokesperson for the nonprofit recently told the DCNF.

Mary Kissel, former senior advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, told the DCNF that U.S. engagement with the United Front only benefits China.

“Please give me an example of when engagement with a United Front organization resulted in positive change on the Chinese side?” Kissel said. “The answer is, there is no example of that.”

The United Front’s “brazen” targeting of America’s heartland suggests far more extensive operations in high-population states, said Kissel, who’s now an executive vice president at Stephens, a private financial services firm.

“If they’ve done it in Missouri, what in the world are they doing in places like Florida or California or New York or Texas?” Kissel said. “Alarm bells should be going off.”

Banks’ letter to the DOJ also calls attention to USHCA’s leadership, which includes at least four individuals who’ve held positions at UFWD-affiliated entities, the DCNF reported.

“One of these senior USHCA officials, a strategic advisor named Zhao Suisheng, has worked directly for China’s government in a variety of advisory positions,” Banks’ letter states.

Zhao, who serves as the director of the University of Denver’s Center for China-U.S. Cooperation, told the DCNF he’d attended events hosted by several UFWD-affiliated organizations, such as the Center For China And Globalization (CCG), which lists him as an “expert” on its “academic advisory committee.” Zhao claims the reason he’s held advisory positions with Chinese government agencies and UFWD-affiliated organizations is because he’s an “independent scholar” studying “Chinese politics” and “United Front tactics.”

“USHCA is not an independent entity — it is a malign agent of our foremost foreign adversary,” Banks’ letter concludes.

AUTHOR

PHILIP LENCZYCKI

Investigative reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXCLUSIVE: Communist Influence Network Is Deeply Involved With Nonprofit Connecting China To US Heartland

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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