Syrians in neighboring Turkey protest against the Assad regime. The U.S. is concerned that the lack of a political process is increasing the chances of a brutal civil war.

By Stephen Kaufman
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
February 2012

U.S. officials warned that in light of the United Nations Security Council’s failure to support a proposed political solution by the Arab League to end the violence in Syria, the country faces an increased risk of civil war.

Senior Obama administration officials added that the United States will continue to work with the international community outside the United Nations and use diplomatic and economic pressure in response to the Syrian government’s brutality against its people and in support of a peaceful political transition in the country.

Speaking in Bulgaria February 5, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United States and others in the Security Council who voted in support of the Arab League’s proposal had hoped it would start political engagement inside the country that would lead to a transition after nearly one year of protests in which at least 5,400 Syrian civilians have been killed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Clinton said it should not be a surprise that many Syrians are moving to defend themselves against their government, and she said the U.N.’s failure to approve a political process will “increase the chances for a brutal civil war.”

The Arab League plan called for an end to the violence and the release of political prisoners. It also called for Assad to delegate power to the Syrian vice president and allow the creation of a national government of unity. However, in a 13–2 vote on February 4, China and Russia exercised their Security Council vetoes and prevented the measure from being adopted.

“Faced with a neutered Security Council, we have to redouble our efforts outside of the United Nations with those allies and partners who support the Syrian people’s right to have a better future,” Clinton said, by using diplomatic pressure as well as a full implementation of regional and national sanctions to “dry up the sources of funding and the arms shipments that are keeping the regime’s war machine going.”

“We will work to expose those who are still funding the regime and sending them weapons that are used against defenseless Syrians, including women and children. And we will work with the friends of a democratic Syria around the world to support the opposition’s peaceful political plans for change,” she said, as well as to try to provide humanitarian relief.

At the White House, press secretary Jay Carney told reporters February 6 that despite the U.S. disappointment over the U.N. vote, pressure on Assad and his regime is continuing to intensify.

“He has dwindling financial resources. He has dwindling access to what he needs to continue to govern. His regime has lost control of parts of the country. There are a number of indications of the desire to depart from the regime by senior Syrian government and military officials. These are telltale signs that Assad’s future is very limited at best,” he said.

Carney said that although U.S. officials “take no options off the table” in their response to the ongoing violence, “the right solution in Syria is a political solution. And there remains an opportunity for that to be achieved, for that transition to democracy to take place.”

U.S. SUSPENDS EMBASSY OPERATIONS IN DAMASCUS

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland announced that, because of the Assad regime’s failure to adequately respond to U.S. security concerns over the safety of its diplomatic personnel, the United States had suspended its embassy’s operations in Damascus.

“Our concern is that the situation in and around Damascus is becoming increasingly violent, reflecting the fact that the regime is increasingly losing control of the situation because it itself has resorted to violence rather than dialogue with its own people,” she said February 6.

Nuland said Robert Ford has left Damascus and will be returning to Washington, but that he remains the U.S. ambassador to Syria.

She said Ford and other U.S. officials will maintain their contacts with the Syrian people and especially with the Syrian opposition “so that we can make sure that the Syrian people know that we stand with them and their desire for a democratic future.”

MORE COVERAGE

President Obama ordered stricter sanctions on Iran and its central bank for failing to comply with international obligations over its nuclear weapons program.

By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
February 06, 2012

President Obama ordered stricter sanctions be imposed on Iran and its central bank for noncompliance with its international obligations to halt development of nuclear weapons.

Obama told Congress February 6 that more sanctions were necessary because of deceptive practices by the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks in trying to hide financial transactions of companies and government officials that already have been sanctioned over the country’s nuclear weapons development program. He also cited weaknesses in Iran’s regime to fight money-laundering, which pose an unacceptable risk to the international financial system.

“My goal is to try to resolve this diplomatically, mainly because the only way, over the long term, we can assure Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon is by getting them to understand it’s not in their interest,” Obama said in an interview with NBC News that aired on the Today show February 6. He added that the United States has a good estimate of when Iranian scientists and engineers could complete work on a fully functional nuclear weapon, based in part on where they are in the uranium enrichment process.

“Do we know all the dynamics inside Iran? Absolutely not,” Obama said. “And I think one of the difficulties is that Iran itself is a lot more divided now than it was.

“Knowing who is making decisions at any given time inside of Iran is tough. But we do have a pretty good bead on what’s happening with their nuclear program,” he added.

The executive order freezes Iranian assets as well as those of its Central Bank and all Iranian financial institutions held by U.S. banks and financial firms. The order was signed on February 5 and took effect shortly after midnight EST on February 6.

The United States and the European Union (EU) have strengthened sanctions in an effort to convince the Iranian regime to halt all uranium enrichment, a process essential for the construction of a nuclear weapon. The United States, working closely with the EU and other partners, has attempted to negotiate with Iran to halt the weapons development program and find ways to provide Iran with enriched uranium for civilian use.

Six nations — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — have attempted to convince Iran in a series of negotiations to forgo a nuclear development program, but talks halted and have not resumed.

Estimates indicate Iran has more than 3,000 kilograms of reactor-grade low-enriched uranium in stocks at its Natanz enrichment facility and facilities elsewhere in the country. That is enough material for at least a two nuclear weapons, according to previous International Atomic Energy Agency reports. Experts also estimate Iran has begun producing small quantities of uranium to a concentration of about 20 percent, another sign of progress toward nuclear weapons production.

The U.S. Treasury Department said that President Obama’s actions underscore his commitment and resolve to hold Iran accountable for its failure to meet international obligations and ensure it halts uranium enrichment, permits international inspectors to inspect all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, and gives up any efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

“Iran now faces an unprecedented level of pressure due to intensified sanctions applied by the United States and complementary actions by many others around the world,” the Treasury said in a prepared statement. “It will face ever-increasing economic and diplomatic pressure until it addresses the international community’s well-founded and well-documented concerns regarding the nature of its nuclear program.”

MORE COVERAGE

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 04, 2012
Statement by the President on Syria

Thirty years after his father massacred tens of thousands of innocent Syrian men, women, and children in Hama, Bashar al-Assad has demonstrated a similar disdain for human life and dignity. Yesterday the Syrian government murdered hundreds of Syrian citizens, including women and children, in Homs through shelling and other indiscriminate violence, and Syrian forces continue to prevent hundreds of injured civilians from seeking medical help. These brutal killings take place at a time when so many Syrians are also marking a deeply meaningful day for their faith. I strongly condemn the Syrian government’s unspeakable assault against the people of Homs and I offer my deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones. Assad must halt his campaign of killing and crimes against his own people now. He must step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately.

The Syrian people demonstrated in large numbers across Syria yesterday to participate in peaceful protests commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Hama massacre. They labeled the protests, “We are Sorry, Hama – Forgive Us.” We owe it to the victims of Hama and Homs to learn one lesson: that cruelty must be confronted for the sake of justice and human dignity. Every government has the responsibility to protect its citizens, and any government that brutalizes and massacres its people does not deserve to govern. The Syrian regime’s policy of maintaining power by terrorizing its people only indicates its inherent weakness and inevitable collapse. Assad has no right to lead Syria, and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community.

The international community must work to protect the Syrian people from this abhorrent brutality. Earlier this week, our Arab partners called on UN Security Council members to take action to support a political solution to the crisis in Syria and stop Assad’s “killing machine.” The Council now has an opportunity to stand against the Assad regime’s relentless brutality and to demonstrate that it is a credible advocate for the universal rights that are written into the UN Charter.

We must work with the Syrian people toward building a brighter future for Syria. A Syria without Assad could be a Syria in which all Syrians are subject to the rule of law and where minorities are able to exercise their legitimate rights and uphold their identities and traditions while acting as fully enfranchised citizens in a unified republic. The United States and our international partners support the Syrian people in achieving their aspirations and will continue to assist the Syrian people toward that goal. We will help because we stand for principles that include universal rights for all people and just political and economic reform. The suffering citizens of Syria must know: we are with you, and the Assad regime must come to an end.

The ILO, a United Nations agency, will help Colombia implement the April 2011 Colombia Action Plan Related to Labor Rights. That plan, concluded between Colombia and the United States, was crucial to passage by Congress of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. President Obama signed the legislation implementing the trade agreement in October 2011.

“Minister Pardo and his leadership team share our commitment to worker rights and strong and effective labor law enforcement,” Solis said. “The grant from the U.S. Department of Labor announced today is but one effort to help ensure that Colombia has all the tools it needs to carry out this commitment.”

The Colombia Action Plan committed the country to improve protection of labor rights, prevent labor violence and prosecute instances of such violence.

U.S. labor unions and other groups opposed to the free-trade agreement assert that the Colombia Action Plan has not prevented the murder of labor leaders in that country.

Acknowledging how much work remains to improve labor rights in Colombia, Solis reaffirmed U.S. commitment to cooperating with Pardo. The Labor Department said that, “To date, Colombia has met each milestone in the action plan.”

Statement by the Press Secretary on Aerial Bombardments in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
February 2, 2012

The United States strongly condemns the bombing by the Sudanese Armed Forces of civilian populations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan.  Aerial attacks on civilian targets are unjustified and unacceptable.  Such attacks are a violation of international law and compound the ongoing crisis in these areas.

We continue to be deeply concerned by the ongoing fighting and lack of humanitarian access in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States in Sudan, which is causing tremendous human suffering, death, and displacement.  In particular, we urge the Sudanese government to grant immediate and unconditional humanitarian access to civilian populations in need in these areas.  More than 500,000 people are affected by this conflict, and without humanitarian access by March, the situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile will reach Stage 4 of a humanitarian emergency, one step short of full-scale famine.  We believe that this conflict can only be resolved by dialogue, not through violence, and we encourage all parties to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

Former first ladies Nancy Reagan, left, and Laura Bush at a 2005 display of red dresses for the heart health awareness campaign that year. First ladies donated all the gowns.

By Charlene Porter
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
February 2,  2012

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the greatest single global killer, the cause of 30 percent of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Members of the U.N. General Assembly in 2011 resolved to emphasize public awareness of this health risk in their home countries and advocate healthier lifestyles that can prevent CVDs.

The United States urges citizens to take responsibility for heart health with the annual recognition of American Heart Month every February, as declared by presidential proclamation.

President Obama’s proclamation January 31 called heart disease a “staggering health problem” with one in three American adults affected by some form of cardiovascular disease.

“This month, let us rededicate ourselves to reducing the burden of heart disease by raising awareness,” the proclamation said, “taking steps to improve our own heart health, and encouraging our colleagues, friends, and family to do the same.”

CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. Heart disease and stroke are the most widely occurring, but arterial disease in the arms and legs and pulmonary embolism are also included in the group.

Both the WHO and U.S. health agencies have emphasized that these diseases are caused largely — 80 percent, according to WHO — by lifestyle behaviors that individuals have the power to improve: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and tobacco use.

On the global scale, the WHO is emphasizing the severity of CVDs in the developing world. “People in low- and middle-income countries who suffer from CVDs and other noncommunicable diseases have less access to effective and equitable health care services which respond to their needs (including early detection services),” a WHO fact sheet says.

The dangers of heart disease and other CVDs in the developing world ranked high on the list of concerns when the U.N. General Assembly held a special session on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in September 2011. The session convened around the belief that NCDs not only adversely affect individuals and families, but that they contribute to a downward spiral of poor health, inability to thrive and sustained poverty.

The special session ended with U.N. member states committing to reduce risk factors, create health-promoting environments, strengthen national policies and health systems, bolster international cooperation and partnerships and promote research and development. The delegates pledged to work with the WHO and other international organizations toward those goals. As the assembly adopted this political declaration, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “We can do more than heal individuals — we can safeguard our very future.”

AMERICAN HEART MONTH

In 2012, the U.S. National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute will enter a new decade of its February campaigns, The Heart Truth, which alert women to their risk of CVDs. Heart attack long was thought to be a greater health concern for men in the United States, and only in recent years have women realized that they too are at high risk.

The Heart Truth and its centerpiece symbol of the red dress have been important in raising awareness and media coverage over the last decade. Joining the U.S. government in the cause, the fashion industry — including designers, models, and celebrities — is a partner in National Wear Red Day, marked on February 3 this year, when tens of thousands of participants suit up in red apparel as a symbol of their concern about cardiovascular disease.

eJournal USA: Making Their Mark: Black Women Leaders

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 31, 2012

National African American History Month, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The story of African Americans is a story of resilience and perseverance. It traces a people who refused to accept the circumstances under which they arrived on these shores, and it chronicles the generations who fought for an America that truly reflects the ideals enshrined in our founding documents. It is the narrative of slaves who shepherded others along the path to freedom and preachers who organized against the rules of Jim Crow, of young people who sat-in at lunch counters and ordinary men and women who took extraordinary risks to change our Nation for the better. During National African American History Month, we celebrate the rich legacy of African Americans and honor the remarkable contributions they have made to perfecting our Union.

This year’s theme, “Black Women in American Culture and History,” invites us to pay special tribute to the role African American women have played in shaping the character of our Nation — often in the face of both racial and gender discrimination. As courageous visionaries who led the fight to end slavery and tenacious activists who fought to expand basic civil rights to all Americans, African American women have long served as champions of social and political change. And from the literary giants who gave voice to their communities to the artists whose harmonies and brush strokes captured hardships and aspirations, African American women have forever enriched our cultural heritage. Today, we stand on the shoulders of countless African American women who shattered glass ceilings and advanced our common goals. In recognition of their legacy, let us honor their heroic and historic acts for years to come.

The achievements of African American women are not limited to those recorded and retold in our history books. Their impact is felt in communities where they are quiet heroes who care for their families, in boardrooms where they are leaders of industry, in laboratories where they are discovering new technologies, and in classrooms where they are preparing the next generation for the world they will inherit. As we celebrate the successes of African American women, we recall that progress did not come easily, and that our work to widen the circle of opportunity for all Americans is not complete. With eyes cast toward new horizons, we must press on in pursuit of a high-quality education for every child, a job for every American who wants one, and a fair chance at prosperity for every individual and family across our Nation.

During National African American History Month, we pay tribute to the contributions of past generations and reaffirm our commitment to keeping the American dream alive for the next generation. In honor of those women and men who paved the way for us, and with great expectations for those to follow, let us continue the righteous cause of making America what it should be — a Nation that is more just and more equal for all its people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2012 as National African American History Month. I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

If the U.S. continues on the course President Obama has set, its global posture “will look very different" in 2016 than it did in 2008, says the White House's Ben Rhodes.

By Stephen Kaufman,
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
January 30,  2012

In the three years since President Obama’s inauguration, the world has seen significant shifts in U.S. foreign policy as the United States has ended its involvement in Iraq, focused its efforts on nuclear nonproliferation and security, and emphasized the importance of the Asia-Pacific region to American interests.

If the United States continues on the course the president has set, “I think we will see in 2016 the U.S. posture in the world will look very different than it did in 2008,” said White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes.

Rhodes was speaking January 30 at the Center for American Progress, a public policy think tank in Washington.

Obama campaigned on a commitment to end the U.S. military involvement in Iraq, and Rhodes said that commitment has now been met. In August 2010, 100,000 U.S. troops were removed and all U.S. combat operations ended in the country, and in 2011 the last American forces were withdrawn, fulfilling the U.S. drawdown agreement with the Iraqi government.

The drawdown has not only allowed an opportunity for the United States and Iraq to build a new bilateral relationship as sovereign states, but it has also enhanced U.S. efforts against the international terrorist group al-Qaida.

Iraq “was the overwhelming focus of U.S. foreign policy for so many years. It is almost hard for some of us to remember that today, but really for five years or so, Iraq really consumed most policymakers in Washington and our actions around the world,” Rhodes said.

“Ending the war in Iraq has been a critical part of our shift to a more focused effort against al-Qaida. It’s manifested in resources allocated against al-Qaida. It’s manifested in how the government spends its time,” including greater U.S. special operations forces capabilities in Afghanistan against al-Qaida, he said.

The global war on terrorism has been transformed into a more narrow U.S. effort against al-Qaida. Rhodes said the coming withdrawal of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will allow even more focus on the terrorist group and its affiliates in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere.

The greatest potential danger to U.S. national security is a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist organization. Rhodes said that during the first three years of his term, President Obama has rebalanced the U.S. national security strategy to include a comprehensive nuclear security and nonproliferation agenda to help counter that threat worldwide.

The president’s strategy has resulted in the landmark Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia under which both countries are reducing their nuclear weapons stockpiles by 30 percent.

Under the president’s leadership, the international community has set a goal of preventing nuclear terrorism by securing all of the world’s vulnerable nuclear materials by 2014. Through his dual-track approach toward Iran and North Korea, Obama has increased global pressure on both countries and deepened their isolation as a result of their nuclear activities.

Obama also reduced the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. national security strategy while maintaining the U.S. moratorium on nuclear testing, and he has pledged not to use nuclear weapons on nations that are in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Rhodes said that during the Obama administration, the United States has continued to support greater freedom and democracy around the world, but it is doing so “through an approach that empowers movements for change rather than necessarily trying to impose U.S. outcomes on situations.”

That approach has guided the U.S. response not only to recent Arab political uprisings, but also toward developments in countries including Côte d’Ivoire, South Sudan and Burma, he said.

The United States has also shifted its focus to the Asia-Pacific region, not only through changes in its defense budgeting and its decision to send a U.S. Marine contingent force to Australia, but also through trade developments such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the completion of a free-trade agreement with South Korea, and U.S. participation in the East Asia Summit and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Rhodes said the president has also broadened the U.S. relationship with emerging powers such as India, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey, and he has elevated the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies to replace the Group of Eight (G8) as the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

Obama has also shifted the role of U.S. assistance in developing countries to emphasize capacity investment, which has the long-term goal of helping those countries become more self-sufficient and in less need of foreign assistance.

Three years after President Obama’s inauguration, Rhodes said, there is “a huge demand for U.S. leadership around the world and for its partnership in global trade and security.”

“There’s no other nation that comes close to playing the role that America plays” in the international system and global developments, he said.

Princeton Lyman urged Sudan to allow humanitarian aid, saying, "The world can’t stand by and watch famine take place in an area and know nothing's being done."

By Stephen Kaufman
IIP Staff Writer
Washington,
January 27, 2012

More than 250,000 people living in the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile may be facing a major humanitarian crisis as a result of food shortages and ongoing conflict, and the United States is urging Sudan to permit international humanitarian assistance for those in need.

“This could be a major, major calamity. And for Africa, it seems to me this is something that shouldn’t be tolerated,” Ambassador Princeton Lyman told reporters in Washington January 24. Lyman is President Obama’s special envoy for Sudan.

Serious fighting between residents of the two states and the Sudanese armed forces has prevented many farmers from planting crops or tending to their farms over the past several months. All of the relief supplies that had been provided by groups such as the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have been exhausted and the Sudanese government has prevented them and other international organizations from entering the area.

Lyman said the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is predicting that by March more than 250,000 people will slip from crisis status to emergency status, which is one level short of famine.

The government of Sudan has refused to allow international humanitarian aid, saying the situation in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile is an internal matter and that they are conflict areas. Lyman warned that in order to prevent a serious situation in March, there will need to be a way to quickly overcome the Sudanese government’s opposition to the aid, since it will take several weeks to position food and other supplies before delivery.

“We’ve been working very hard, leading up to the African Union meeting at the end of this month, to urge the government of Sudan to open up international access and to do so soon,” he said. “We have been saying and saying to our African partners that … the world can’t stand by and watch famine take place in an area and know nothing’s being done.”

Sudan’s refusal to allow international assistance goes against its duty to protect its own citizens, and the Sudanese government will face negative world opinion if it maintains its opposition while the world watches a famine unfold, Lyman said.

Ultimately a political solution will have to resolve the conflict between the government and residents of the two states, and Lyman said Sudan’s response to the food emergency could help that process.

“Making the humanitarian gesture now may create an atmosphere for that, but the most important is for the government to recognize they have this responsibility and the world will respond positively if they say yes,” he said.

Lyman said the Obama administration is also working with the African Union to resolve a dispute between the Sudanese government and the newly independent South Sudan over the distribution and financing of oil reserves.

He said an African Union panel is now “very close to a proposal which should be able to reconcile the different interests and come up with a solution,” but the United States is concerned over recent escalations in the dispute, including South Sudan’s decision to shut down oil production after Sudan imposed a $32-a-barrel surcharge and interfered with South Sudan’s pipeline and ships.

“It is a very bad situation, and both sides could get hurt very, very badly,” he said.

The United States is also working to calm tensions in South Sudan between two ethnic groups, the Lou Nuer and the Murle, which have recently flared up.

Lyman said the traditional tensions between the groups have resurfaced following South Sudan’s independence on July 9, 2011, and they demonstrate the need for the government in Juba to improve its security capabilities to help keep the peace, as well as its outreach to the communities and available conflict resolution and development programs.

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