Subject: The Weekly GAB - Friday, December 4, 2015
From: "USGLC GAB" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 2015 17:18:28 -0500

The Weekly GAB - Friday, December 4, 2015
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org

Campaign 2016

THE HILL
Foreign Policy and the 2016 Campaign<http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/261736-foreign-policy-and-the-2016-campaign> | Jim Patterson
Many things can change between now and November 2016, but it seems that the voting public is ready to trust any GOP candidate with foreign policy. This is due to President Obama's weak response to a variety of global problems, including Russian aggression in Ukraine, policy impotence on Chinese cyber theft, a perceived betrayal of Israel and unwarranted spying, documented by Edward Snowden, on allied leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and others.

CNN
Refugees Want to Stay in Syria<http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/29/politics/ben-carson-jordan-trip-syrian-refugees/> | Eric Bradner
Carson implied that the United States should spend more money aiding the refugee camps, rather than resettling small numbers of those refugees. "They don't have enough money," he said. "You look at last year, there was a $3 billion shortfall. That's the same amount of money we spent last month on Halloween candy."

USGLC in the News

CONCORD MONITOR
Our Turn: America's Role in the World Isn't Up for Debate<http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/19801656-95/my-turn-americas-role-in-the-world-isnt-up-for-debate>
Raymond Buckley, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman and Steve Duprey, New Hampshire Republican Party National Committeeman. Both are members of the USGLC's New Hampshire Advisory Committee.
In today's election climate, it's rare to see bipartisan agreement on anything... But there is at least one area where Democrats and Republicans roundly agree: America's development and diplomacy programs are critical tools to strengthen our nation's security, prosperity and values. New Hampshire has long played an important role in picking the nation's president. With our first-in-the-nation primary and emphasis on retail politics, any candidate who wants to be taken seriously here needs to focus on issues of importance to Granite State voters. As leaders from our respective parties, we have a message for all the campaigns: Our nation's global leadership matters to New Hampshire.

THE HILL
Senate Confirms International Aid Chief<http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/261565-senate-confirms-international-aid-chief> | Jordain Carney
The Senate on Monday signed off on a new administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) amid a growing Syrian humanitarian crisis. Senators voted 79-7 to confirm Gayle Smith to lead the agency, seven months after President Obama nominated her for the post... U.S. Global Leadership Coalition President and CEO Liz Schrayer said that Smith "has been integral in every aspect of the numerous bipartisan initiatives that are making a difference in the development world."

THE DES MOINES REGISTER
In Iowa, America's Role in the World Isn't up for Debate<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2015/11/28/iowa-americas-role-world-isnt-up-debate/76342036/>
Leonard Boswell, former U.S. Representative, and Charles Larson Jr., former U.S. Ambassador. Both are members of the USGLC Iowa Advisory Council.
This election, as in every election, Iowa voters will enjoy a loud voice in picking the nation's next president. With this comes great responsibility. We must demand from our leaders not only a vision for America, but also a vision for the world - because we are not only electing a domestic leader, but the next leader from the free world. There could not be a worse time for the United States to withdraw from our position of global leadership. In the face of so many challenges, whether it be Ebola, a drought in Ethiopia, the attacks in Paris, or other global security threats, America must remain engaged.

Who's in the News

TIME
Climate Change is a National Security Problem<http://time.com/4130796/paris-climate-conference-chuck-hagel/?xid=time_socialflow_twitter>
Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense
While I was Secretary of Defense, we prioritized preparing for climate change as a national security issue. The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review warned that climate change was a "threat multiplier," identifying the specific risks to security we face from a changing climate. With Arctic sea ice melting faster as a result of climate change, we developed the Department of Defense's first-ever Arctic strategy to ensure a secure and stable region where U.S. national interests are safeguarded, the U.S. homeland is protected, and nations are working cooperatively to address challenges.

THE HILL
To End Preventable Deaths Worldwide, We Must Focus on Nutrition<http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/261569-to-end-preventable-deaths-worldwide-we-must-focus-on>
Mark Shriver, President of Save the Children Action Network and Ariel Pablo Mendez, assistant administrator for Global Health, Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator for USAID
Each year, 5.9 million children under age 5 die from preventable causes - that's 16,000 children dying every day, nearly half of whom are newborns. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of 45 percent of those deaths, and increases the risk of death from pneumonia and diarrhea. Millions of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria add to existing food needs around the world. U.S. leadership, public and private partners working together, has helped build the capacity of communities and countries to care for their children. Since 2008, USAID's maternal and child survival efforts have resulted in nearly 2.5 million more children surviving and 200,000 maternal deaths averted in USAID's 24 priority countries.

AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
Why American Leadership Still Matters<http://www.aei.org/publication/why-american-leadership-still-matters/>
Former Senators Joe Lieberman and Jon Kyl
US engagement abroad, however, constitutes far more than just military action. Military force is but one tool of international engagement and should never be the first option. Too often, we tend to overlook America's crucial hand in waging peace, dampening rivalries, and helping to resolve conflict. We similarly tend to underappreciate the importance of some of the bedrock tools of international engagement including American diplomacy, foreign assistance, economic assistance, people-to-people programs, and public-private partnerships. These tools all help to ensure that military force remains an option of last resort.

Development & Diplomacy

REUTERS
In Rural South Africa, AIDS Treatment Gains Ground - But So Do Infections<http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/safrica-hiv-treatment-idUSKBN0TJ0AU20151130#irml2mlXf2JgbHkE.97> | Laurie Goering
Treatment for HIV patients in South Africa has made huge strides in the last decade but concerns remain as the number of newly infected people each year still outnumbers those who gain access to treatment, with girls and young women most at risk. "We need new prevention tools if we are to escape this epidemic," Naledi Pandor, the country's minister of science and technology, admitted at an AIDS conference last year. South Africa has the world's largest HIV treatment programme, with more than 6.8 million people in the 53 million population living with HIV and 2.7 million taking a daily pill that, mostly, turns the infection from a killer into a manageable condition.

TASK AND PURPOSE
These Army Veterans are on a Quest to Make the World a Safer Place<http://taskandpurpose.com/army-veterans-on-a-quest-to-make-the-world-a-safer-place/> | Sean Maday
As a Green Beret serving in Afghanistan, Greg Adams assembled teams of local Afghans to defend their village. Now as a civilian, Adams is building a team to tackle an even larger security challenge: making the world a safer place. Adams and his colleagues, Chris Hurst and Stephen Riley, are co-founders of the technology startup Stabilitas. Through Stabilitas, this trio is leveraging their 25 years of combined experience in the Army to build a company focused on revolutionizing the safety and security industry.

Politics & Foreign Policy

CIVIL EATS
In Paris, the USDA Puts Food and Climate Change Center Stage<http://civileats.com/2015/12/02/in-paris-the-usda-puts-food-and-climate-change-center-stage/> | Elizabeth Grossman
As world leaders gather in Paris this week to negotiate a new global climate agreement, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sounding the alarm about the enormous challenges ahead for the food we eat. The government agency has released a new report assessing the impacts of climate change on global food security and the U.S. food system. It takes a detailed look at how-between now and the end of this century-the changing climate will affect farming and food distribution around the world. These impacts will touch virtually everything we eat, from grains to fresh produce, fish, meat and dairy products. The bottom line? In the words of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: "Never before has agriculture faced challenges of this magnitude."

THE WASHINGTON POST
Inside the Business Coalition's Successful Fight to Save the Export-Import Bank<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/12/04/inside-the-business-coalitions-successful-fight-to-save-the-export-import-bank/> | Catherine Ho and Paul Kane
If they had a kitchen sink, pro-business lobbyists pushing for the renewal of the Export-Import Bank might have thrown that, too. For the better part of two years, a group of influential business interests - led by the National Association of Manufacturers, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and corporate giants Boeing and GE on their side - spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pressuring lawmakers to renew the credit export agency that, until recently, was a relatively obscure and uncontroversial provider of loans to foreign buyers purchasing U.S.-made goods. Finally, the bank's allies now appear on the verge of a victory. A provision renewing the bank's charter until September 2019 is in the highway bill that cleared the House and Senate on Thursday. President Obama is expected to sign it into law Friday.

THE WASHINGTON POST
When China Gives Aid to African Governments, They Become More Violent<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/02/when-china-gives-aid-to-african-governments-they-become-more-violent/>
Roudabeh Kishi, Visiting Scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and Clionadh Raleigh, Director of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project
Chinese influence in Africa is on the rise. As it becomes the continent's largest trade partner, China has recently established its first mission to the African Union and is increasing the level of aid it gives to Africa. The big beneficiaries include Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, and Mozambique, which have seen the largest increases from what they received only seven years ago. Chinese aid is different from Western aid: It is unconditional, meaning it comes with no strings attached. Western aid typically requires progress on the donor's agenda, such as support for democracy, good governance, respect for human rights, and poverty reduction. President Xi's visit to Zimbabwe is particularly striking as a counterpoint to Western countries' relations with the country as the EU's sanctions against Zimbabwe began in 2002 over electoral fraud and human rights abuses.

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