Updates | The Week of December 18, 2017
Derek Reinbold // 12/24/17 //
President Trump said in a speech on national security that Russia and China “seek to challenge American influence, values and wealth,” but did not directly address Russian interference in the 2016 election (NYT, WaPo, Politico).
A majority of nations in the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution rebuking America's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the US embassy to the city. (NYT, WSJ, WaPo)
- J. Dana Stuster (Lawfare) analyzes the potential fallout from the new Jerusalem policy as well as implications of other recent foreign policy decision.
- President Trump earlier suggested that U.S. foreign aid might hinge on countries’ votes on the U.N. resolution condemning the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (WaPo).
The Trump administration has approved the first sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine (WaPo).
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday called on Russia and China to sever their economic pipeline to North Korea, and said Pyongyang must “earn its way back” to negotiations by ceasing missile tests for a sustained period (WaPo).
The Pentagon is likely to carry out cyber attacks against the Islamic State with greater frequency, according to current and former U.S. defense officials (WaPo).
The ACLU sued the Trump administration to force disclosure of the administration’s new and reportedly looser and more deadly guidelines for drone strikes and raids. (ACLU)
The Trump Administration will impose sanctions on Burmese officials accused of violently cracking down on Muslim minorities in the country. (NYT)
President Trump’s attribution of the ransomware attacks in May 2017 to North Korea raises three important questions, writes Kristen Eichensehr at Just Security.