Biden's foreign policy and interventions predications

[Adam Peter]

On 2/26/2021 at 5:50 PM, Ivanhoe said:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-moves-to-revoke-terrorist-designation-for-yemens-iranian-backed-houthis/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogan_of_the_Houthi_movement

Isn't it weird how every group which promotes the "Death to Israel!" goal gets to be friends with the Biden administration?

 

You have to accept that lost the war. Like when Trump sent an envoy to the Taliban.

 

There is a difference between a Russian journalist and a Saudi journalist

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US intelligence agencies have concluded in a newly declassified intelligence report that Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi – but Washington stopped short of targeting the future Saudi king with financial or other sanctions.

Deep state met deeper state?

[JWB]

FAQ: What Biden did — and didn’t do — after U.S. report on Khashoggi’s killing by Saudi agents.

  Ultimately nothing:

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The Biden administration, in contrast, has pledged to “recalibrate” relations. But Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the United States will not impose any direct punishment on the Saudi royal. The stated Biden calculus has been that Mohammed — the country’s 35-year-old de facto leader — is too valuable for U.S. strategic interests to risk losing as an ally.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/27/faq-what-biden-did-didnt-do-after-us-report-khashoggis-killing-by-saudi-agents/

[BansheeOne]

I guess Biden and Putin ain't going to become friends anymore. 

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Russia recalls US ambassador after Biden calls Putin a 'killer'

'He will pay a price' if election meddling is proven, Biden said of Putin during a televised interview

By Thomas Barrabi | Fox News

Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States on Wednesday after President Biden said he agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "killer" and threatened further sanctions during a televised interview, according to a report.

Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov will return to Moscow to discuss future relations between the two nations, Reuters reported. Russian officials said the decision was a bid to ensure diplomatic relations won’t be further damaged.

The State Department and Russia’s US embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biden issued a warning after top US intelligence officials unveiled findings that Russia, at Putin’s direction, attempted to meddle in the 2020 presidential election. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines' office concluded that Russia sought to influence the outcome in favor of former President Donald Trump by attempting to "denigrate" Biden.

"He will pay a price," Biden said of Putin during an interview with ABC. "We had a long talk, he and I, when we -- I know him relatively well. And the conversation started off, I said, 'I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, then be prepared."

Biden said the public will "see shortly" what actions his administration will take against Russia over the alleged election meddling. When asked if he thought that Putin was a killer, Biden said, "I do."

The Biden administration recently sanctioned Russia over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and is said to be considering further penalties following the DNI’s report.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/russia-recalls-us-ambassador-biden-calls-putin-killer-threatens-action-over-election-meddling

[Ivanhoe]

Putin's feelings got hurt when Biden started romancing the PRC.  lol

Is this the reset that Hillary promised Russia, back in the day?

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

So lets see, that has been 4 US Presidents (if you can count Bill Clinton and Yeltsins last weeks) whom believed that they could work with Putin, and Uncle Joe  arrives in the Oval Office believing from the start it would be impossible to work with Putin.  And its only taken 2 decades for it to happen!

If I call Putin a killer, will he recall all those tourists whom visit Salisbury to see its world Cathedral and clocktower? 

 

[Josh]

Biden sanctioned a number of Chinese officials over Hong Kong and has had three FoNOps so far; I don’t think Putin is particularly jealous of Xi.

[glenn239]

4 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

So lets see, that has been 4 US Presidents (if you can count Bill Clinton and Yeltsins last weeks) whom believed that they could work with Putin,  

 

Bush wanted to invade Iraq in 2003 and came up with some claptrap about looking into Putin's eyes.  He got what he wanted - his war in Iraq without Russian interference.   Hillary pulled the same play in 2009 with some dumb ass red button.  She got what she wanted too - no Russian interference as NATO invaded Libya in 2011.

I think the take away for American globalists is that if Putin gives you a green light for such stupid-ass conflicts, perhaps they still shouldn't invade Shitholia.  Sadly though, not everyone in Washington is as smart as Trump was.

 

 

[Ivanhoe]

 

[Ivanhoe]

Biden's nominee for undersecretary of defense, not surprisingly, has generated some controversy;

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/299215

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/544351-colin-kahls-nomination-will-be-a-disaster-for-israel-and-the-region

https://wset.com/news/nation-world/biden-nominee-for-top-pentagon-post-apologizes-for-harsh-tweets

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/veterans-in-congress-speak-out-against-biden-defense-pick-colin-kahl/

Of course there is no shortage of pro-Kahl pieces out there too.

[BansheeOne]

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US: Joe Biden expected to recognize Armenian genocide, sources say

2h ago

In a move that is bound to infuriate Ankara, US President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to recognize the genocide against Armenians.

US President Joe Biden is expected to recognize the killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as an act of genocide, sources said on Wednesday.

The largely symbolic move is likely to strain the already fragile ties between Washington and Ankara.  

For decades, the White House has carefully crafted its language toward the issue as Turkey remains hostile towards such statements. 

Washington has 'more to say'

Three sources familiar with the matter said that the US president was likely to use the word "genocide" during a statement on April 24, marking the annual commemorations for the victims.

"My understanding is that he took the decision and will use the word 'genocide' in his statement on Saturday," a source was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. 

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the White House would likely have "more to say" about the issue on Saturday. Psaki did not elaborate. 

Biden made a pledge 

During his campaign as a presidential candidate last year, Biden had pledged to honor the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.  

"Today, we remember the atrocities faced by the Armenian people in the Metz Yeghern — the Armenian genocide. If elected, I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority," he said on Twitter at the time.

Earlier this week, 100 bipartisan lawmakers urged Biden to fulfill his campaign promise. Representative Adam Schiff called on the president to "right decades of wrongs."

US-Turkey relations at stake 

Another US source, also cited by Reuters, cautioned that Biden might choose not to use the term at the last minute to maintain ties with Turkey.

On Tuesday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said that such a move by Washington could further torment relations with Ankara. 

"Statements that have no legal binding will have no benefit, but they will harm ties," Cavusoglu said. "If the United States wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs," Cavusoglu said in an interview with broadcaster Haberturk.

In 2019, both houses of the US Congress passed a resolution recognizing the killings as genocide, infuriating Turkey. But the Donald Trump administration rejected the vote and said it did not view the deaths as genocide, allowing Trump to maintain a good relationship with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

https://m.dw.com/en/us-joe-biden-expected-to-recognize-armenian-genocide-sources-say/a-57283208

[glenn239]

Joe really seems to have the touch.  Just as Ukraine might be driving a wedge between Turkey and Russia, along comes Joe to shoot himself in the foot as he's scoring an own goal.

[BansheeOne]

Quote

Date 24.04.2021

Biden and Erdogan talk amid tensions over Armenian genocide question

US President Joe Biden has spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about improving bilateral ties, even as the US president considers officially recognizing the Armenian genocide.

US President Joe Biden had a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, as Biden deliberates whether the US should officially recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide.

The issue has been a perennial sore spot for US diplomacy with Turkey, past US presidents have avoided the issue to avoid damaging relations. Turkey adamantly rejects any accusations of genocide.

However, statements from the US and Turkish governments about the call, the first between the two presidents, made no mention of the genocide question.

What was said during the call?

Biden told Erdogan that he was interested in overcoming differences of opinion, the White House said in a statement.

"President Biden spoke today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, conveying his interest in a constructive bilateral relationship with expanded areas of cooperation and effective management of disagreements," the statement said. 

A statement from the Turkish presidency said Biden and Erdogan agreed on "the strategic character of the bilateral relationship and the importance of working together to build greater cooperation on issues of mutual interest."

Erdogan enjoyed a good rapport with former US President Donald Trump. Biden waiting three months after his January inauguration to call Erdogan has been considered a worrying sign in Ankara. 

According to the White House statement, the two presidents have agreed to meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit set to take place in June, in order to have wider talks about bilateral relations.

[...]

https://www.dw.com/en/biden-and-erdogan-talk-amid-tensions-over-armenian-genocide-question/a-57319955

[JWB]

The Biden administration changed its story on refugee admissions 6 times in 3 weeks.

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Originally, the Biden administration’s 2021 refugee cap would be raised to 62,500. Until it wouldn’t be.

Then the record low cap of 15,000 was “justified.” Until it wasn’t.

 

The record low cap had nothing to do with the migrant surge at the southern border. Until it did.

As President Biden reversed himself this month on a campaign promise to significantly increase the number of refugees admitted into the country, his administration repeatedly contradicted itself as it tried to explain the policy shift (which it later claimed wasn’t a “change in policy”). You can watch the Biden administration’s shifting explanations on the refugee admissions cap in the video above, and we’ll detail some of the key ones below.

 

On World Refugee Day last June, Biden said he would raise the annual refugee admissions cap to 125,000. He reiterated that goal after the 2020 election and again on Feb. 4 for fiscal year 2022, which would begin on Oct. 1. 

On Feb. 12, the Biden administration told Congress that it planned to raise the cap for the remaining fiscal year 2021 to 62,500, a prorated number from Biden’s pledge of 125,000 for the next fiscal year.

But the increase never came.

As the migrant surge at the southern border worsened, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the surge had nothing to do with the delay in raising the cap.

“No, it’s not related to that,” Psaki said on April 1.

 

But 16 days later, Biden said exactly that.

“The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people,” Biden said Saturday. “We couldn’t do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number.”

Days later, The Washington Post reported that “Biden harbored concerns about what the sharp increase in migrants at the southern border meant for the government’s capacity to handle an influx of refugees from elsewhere.”   

On April 8, Psaki said Biden was still committed to raising the fiscal 2021 cap to 62,500. She reiterated this commitment on April 12 and again on April 15.

But the next day, the Biden administration announced that the refugee admissions cap would remain at 15,000 — before reversing itself yet again hours later. This time a final cap for fiscal 2021 wouldn’t come until May, more than three months after Biden pledged to raise the cap to 62,500.

The Biden administration has previously struggled with its messaging on teacher vaccinations and on the migrant surge at the southern border, but the repeated shifts over such an acute period of time may be the White House’s most contradictory messaging yet. And it still hasn’t settled on a final cap number.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/23/biden-administration-changed-its-story-refugee-admissions-six-times-three-weeks/

[BansheeOne]

Now he has gone and done it. 

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US President Joe Biden recognizes Armenian genocide

30m ago

It is the first time that the United States has used the term to refer to the 1915 killings by Ottoman forces. Turkey said it "entirely rejects" the label, while senior Armenian officials thanked Biden for the move.

The United States has recognized the 1915 massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Saturday.

"We remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring," he said.

"And we remember so that we remain ever-vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms."

The announcement came on the day that Armenians worldwide mark Genocide Remembrance Day.

How did Turkey respond?

Minutes after Biden's declaration, Turkey responded by saying it "entirely" rejects the label.

"We have nothing to learn from anybody on our own past. Political opportunism is the greatest betrayal to peace and justice," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter. "We entirely reject this statement based solely on populism."

[...] 

https://m.dw.com/en/us-president-joe-biden-recognizes-armenian-genocide/a-57324601

[Ivanhoe]

Its the right thing to do, time will tell if the approach used was the least-worst or nearly so.

I imagine career diplos are struggling to predict the future of the ME in the Biden era.

 

 

[Ssnake]

5 hours ago, Ivanhoe said:

I imagine career diplos are struggling to predict the future of the ME in the Biden era.

To me, that would be an improvement. Too many highly educated idiots have been cocksure about the future in the Middle East. I don't think any of them in a position of influence was consistently right, ever.

[DB]

Cynically, the only prediction is that there will be conflict in the middle east for as long as people live there. Beyond that, I guess you could ask the Israelis, they're the most likely to be accurate because for them it's not a game.

[bojan]

I would say "more likely" but that also makes them "most likely".

Edited April 25, 2021 by bojan

[Ivanhoe]

15 hours ago, Ssnake said:

To me, that would be an improvement. Too many highly educated idiots have been cocksure about the future in the Middle East. I don't think any of them in a position of influence was consistently right, ever.

Well, that's the story of diplomacy and foreign policy throughout the ages. Often wrong but never in doubt, as the saying goes.

Now that Jordan has dealt with their little thing, one hopes Israel is talking to Egypt and Jordan pretty often to make sure everybody is keeping their eyes on Iran.

[BansheeOne]

Erdogan is not a happy sultan. 

Quote

April 26, 20219:19 PM CEST

Erdogan urges Biden to reverse 'wrong step' on Armenian declaration

Reuters, Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ezgi Erkoyun

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged U.S. President Joe Biden to swiftly reverse his declaration that 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, an action he said was upsetting and diminished bilateral ties.

Biden's historic declaration on Saturday infuriated its NATO ally Turkey, which has said the announcement had opened a "deep wound" in relations already strained over a host of issues. read more

In his first comments since Biden's statement, Erdogan said "the wrong step" would hinder ties, advised the United States to "look in the mirror", and added Turkey still sought to establish "good neigbourly" ties with Armenia.

"The U.S. president has made baseless, unjust and untrue remarks about the sad events that took place in our geography over a century ago," Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting. He again called for Turkish and Armenian historians to form a joint commission to investigate the events.

"I hope the U.S. president will turn back from this wrong step as soon as possible."

He slammed the United States for having failed to find a solution to the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh - where the United States, Russia and France were mediators - and said Washington had stood by as massacres unfolded.

"If you say genocide, then you need to look at yourselves in the mirror and make an evaluation. The Native Americans, I don't even need to mention them, what happened is clear," he said, in reference to the treatment of Native Americans by European settlers. "While all these truths are out there, you cannot pin the genocide accusation on the Turkish people."

[...] 

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/erdogan-calls-biden-reverse-wrong-step-armenian-declaration-2021-04-26/

[Ivanhoe]

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2021/04/27/should-kerry-resign-and-or-face-charges-over-aid-and-comfort-to-iran-n386038

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After the explosive news broke yesterday about John Kerry allegedly ratting out Israel to Iran (which the New York Times tried to bury 21 paragraphs into a 23 paragraph article), questions began bubbling to the surface in terms of just how bad and potentially criminal these alleged actions were. For the record, Kerry is now denying that it happened, so we’ll stick with “alleged” at least for now.

https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/pompeo-pushes-investigation-into-kerry-for-leaking-secrets-to-iran/

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A leaked audio recording of Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who worked closely with Kerry when the 2015 nuclear accord was negotiated, catches the Iranian official claiming the former Obama administration secretary of state informed him about at least 200 Israeli strikes on Iranian military positions in Syria. That Kerry shared these intimate details "to his astonishment," according to the New York Times, suggests Kerry may have been disclosing classified information. It would also represent a stunning betrayal of America’s closest Middle East ally. Israel relies on the United States to protect shared intelligence from its top regional enemy.

If the Mossad decides to do some wet work, I don't think there will be a whole lot of complaint from the world. I sure as hell won't.

 

[rmgill]

How does Treason work if members of the government in high positions do such acts? Does it count as the government making such actions as legal or does it count as Treason? 

[nitflegal]

25 minutes ago, rmgill said:

How does Treason work if members of the government in high positions do such acts? Does it count as the government making such actions as legal or does it count as Treason? 

He wasn't in the government at that point.  He was a private citizen.  Personally, I'd go for hanging.

[BansheeOne]

If a private citizen allegedly divulges secrets of another nation to a third nation, did the hanging tree actually fall over? 🤔

Also, after the previous administration, the "New York Post" commentary on this is a hoot from line one. 🤣

Quote

The rather curious defining feature of Democratic Party foreign policy, going back at least four decades, is that our friends must be bullied and our enemies must be appeased. [...] 

https://nypost.com/2021/04/26/john-kerry-is-skirting-the-line-of-treason-with-iran/

[rmgill]

Was it Still US Classified material? Because if it was, then that's a problem. But we've already seen that Democrats don't have to worry about classified materials handling.