John McCain: We Need a Strategy for the Middle East 10/25/2017 9:52:36 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print The chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee, Senator John McCain WASHINGTON, New York Times, October 24, 2017   — Clashes this month between elements of the Iraqi security forces and Kurdish fighters around  Kirkuk  are deeply troubling, in particular because of the United States’ longstanding friendship with the Kurdish people. These clashes are also emblematic of a broader, more troubling reality: Beyond our tactical successes in the fight against the Islamic State, the United States is still dangerously lacking a comprehensive strategy toward the rest of the Middle East in all of its complexity. This is the unfortunate legacy that the Obama administration left for its successor. President Trump’s  call this month  for a broader strategy to confront Iran’s malign influence across the Middle East was an en...

Tillerson in China as U.S. presses North Korean economic squeeze U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, center, is escorted by officials as he arrives to a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister BEIJING, Reuters, SEP. 30, 2017 -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will hold top-level talks in China on Saturday as the United States looks to tighten an economic squeeze aimed at persuading North Korea to retreat from its nuclear arms and missile programs. The United States sees China as critical to averting a military confrontation with Pyongyang, which is fast advancing toward its goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the United States. U.S. officials say Beijing appears increasingly willing to cut ties to North Korea’s economy by adopting U.N. sanctions, after long accounting for some 90 percent of its neighbor’s foreign trade. But to succeed in reaching any kind of diplomatic solution, Tillerson would need to overcome some basic ...

Trump slow to implement Russia, Iran, North Korea sanctions law: senators Senator John McCain (R-AZ) looks on during a press conference WASHINGTON (Reuters) September 29, 2017  - Two months after signing it, President Donald Trump has not begun enforcing a law imposing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, Senators John McCain and Ben Cardin said in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. Also, with just two days to go, his administration has not provided information related to Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors required under the measure by Sunday, they said. White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on the letter from McCain, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Later on Friday, the White House issued a presidential memorandum taking the first step toward implementation by designating different agencies to start the process putting the l...