Derek Reinbold  //  12/24/17  //  Topic Update

The National Security Strategy is a dramatic departure that abandons the United States’ role as a global force for good, writes Susan Rice at NYT.

• The new National Security Strategy’s proposal to weaken arms export controls will lead to global insecurity, contributing to human rights violations, writes Brian Chang at Just Security.
• The failure to address climate change in the new National Security Strategy is a wishful, unstrategic mistake, writes Mark Nevitt at Just Security.
• The Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy displays troubling nativism and a continued focus on the war on terrorism, writes A. Trevor Thrall at Cato at Liberty.

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).

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) 

DHS’s costly implementation of facial screening technology at airports is technologically flawed and is a significant escalation in government surveillance, claims a report from Georgetown University researchers. (Ars Technica, NYT)

The Trump Administration's decision to attribute the “WannaCry” malware to North Korea is an ineffective and counterproductive response to a major global cyberattack, argues Jack Goldsmith at Lawfare.

• North Korean officials denied any connection to the cyber-attack and called the allegations “reckless” and a “a grave political provocation.” (The Hill)

The Pentagon released a detailed policy for recruiting transgender troops (Nat Sec)

President Trump’s attribution of the ransomware attacks in May 2017 to North Korea raises three important questions, writes Kristen Eichensehr at Just Security. 

Tags: