foreignpolicy--2020-08-28--The Trumpists’ Answer to His Republican Foreign-Policy Critics? More Culture Wars.

The Trumpists ’ Answer to His Republican Foreign-Policy Critics ?
More Culture Wars .
On Aug. 21 , I was among the more than 70 former Republican national security officials who publicly rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump and endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in an open letter published in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal .
The previous day , I joined Victor Cha , another signatory of the open letter , in laying out our argument here in Foreign Policy as to why a second Trump term would be dangerous to U.S. security interests around the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s more , in terms of character and views on foreign policy , Biden has far more in common with the other Republican presidents and presidential candidates I have worked for .
That is why so many national security and foreign-policy practitioners who worked for Republican presidents over the past four decades are supporting Biden in this election .
The response from the Trumpist rump of the Republican Party and their friends on the right ?
Deafening silence—at least at first .
This week , finally , pro-Trump columnists fired back on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coinciding with the Republican National Convention .
The Journal ’ s former editor in chief , Gerard Baker , cast the group of us who signed the letter as pampered in “ comfortable stints in consulting firms and think tanks ” and unwilling to accept Trump ’ s radical reorientation of U.S. foreign policy .
Holman Jenkins , a member of the newspaper ’ s editorial board , wrote that Republican critics of Trump are stuck in “ histrionic disdain ” for the president .
In earlier times , these columnists would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internationalists who signed the open letter , but in Trump ’ s America we find ourselves on different sides of the debate .
On Fox , other commentators dismissed the former Republican national security officials as out-of-touch elitists and advocates of “ forever wars.
” What is striking about this counterattack is that—just like the Republican National Convention narrative that unfolded this week—it is primarily based on culture-war arguments about a supposedly out-of-touch elite and other mainstays of Trumpist grievance politics , rather than on any actual foreign-policy strategy .
But is it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alliances , trade , and international institutions who are out of touch with the American people—or is it the Trumpists who are out of touch ?
According to the most recent poll on these issues by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs , in 2019 : 69 percent of Americans want the nation to have an active role in international affairs , 74 percent said that alliances make the United States safer ( more than those who chose conventional military spending , nuclear weapons , or any other answer ) , 78 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support for NATO , and 87 percent said international trade is good for the United States .
Former President Ronald Reagan ’ s foreign-policy strategy understood the basic goodness , courage , and internationalism of the American people ; today , polls show that this is still the national character—Trumpist culture wars notwithstanding .
On Fox , other commentators dismissed the former Republican national security officials as out-of-touch elitists and advocates of “ forever wars.
” To the extent that there is an actual foreign-policy strategy behind the counterattack on Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the idea that only Trump was bold enough to break the orthodoxy in Washington and take on China and other real and imagined rivals .
The problem with this assertion is that everybody has hardened on China , and by no means in response to Trump .
Legislation in the U.S. Congress to punish China for the Hong Kong crackdown , technology theft , and repression in Xinjiang enjoys overwhelmingly bipartisan support .
The Biden foreign-policy team has clearly identified China as a strategic competitor and would continue to press for change in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ allies and values .
Trump can not credibly claim to own the issue—and as Democrats are gleefully pointing out , he praised Chinese President Xi Jinping ’ s authoritarianism for years until suddenly changing his story to make China an anvil for his election-year hammer .
More to the point , Trump ’ s version of competition with China often suits Beijing just fine .
The targets of Chinese revisionism are the sources of U.S. strength and influence around the world—particularly the United States ’ alliances and its leadership in international institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be the targets of Trump ’ s own revisionism .
His strategy for dealing with China is like that of a sheriff who yells loudly at the thieves down the street , but then starts shooting at the posse that has gathered to catch them .
There was an awful lot of yelling loudly at the Republican National Convention this week as well .
But just as loud yelling is not a foreign-policy strategy , neither is making foreign policy nothing but an extension of the culture wars at home .

On Aug. 21, I was among the more than 70 former Republican national security officials who publicly rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump and endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in an open letter published in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. The previous day, I joined Victor Cha, another signatory of the open letter, in laying out our argument here in Foreign Policy as to why a second Trump term would be dangerous to U.S. security interests around the world, but especially in Asia. What’s more, in terms of character and views on foreign policy, Biden has far more in common with the other Republican presidents and presidential candidates I have worked for. That is why so many national security and foreign-policy practitioners who worked for Republican presidents over the past four decades are supporting Biden in this election.
On Aug. 21, I was among the more than 70 former Republican national security officials who publicly rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump and endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in an open letter published in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. The previous day, I joined Victor Cha, another signatory of the open letter, in laying out our argument here in Foreign Policy as to why a second Trump term would be dangerous to U.S. security interests around the world, but especially in Asia. What’s more, in terms of character and views on foreign policy, Biden has far more in common with the other Republican presidents and presidential candidates I have worked for. That is why so many national security and foreign-policy practitioners who worked for Republican presidents over the past four decades are supporting Biden in this election.
The response from the Trumpist rump of the Republican Party and their friends on the right? Deafening silence—at least at first. This week, finally, pro-Trump columnists fired back on the Wall Street Journal editorial page, coinciding with the Republican National Convention. The Journal’s former editor in chief, Gerard Baker, cast the group of us who signed the letter as pampered in “comfortable stints in consulting firms and think tanks” and unwilling to accept Trump’s radical reorientation of U.S. foreign policy. Holman Jenkins, a member of the newspaper’s editorial board, wrote that Republican critics of Trump are stuck in “histrionic disdain” for the president. In earlier times, these columnists would have championed the same ideals as the conservative internationalists who signed the open letter, but in Trump’s America we find ourselves on different sides of the debate. On Fox, other commentators dismissed the former Republican national security officials as out-of-touch elitists and advocates of “forever wars.”
What is striking about this counterattack is that—just like the Republican National Convention narrative that unfolded this week—it is primarily based on culture-war arguments about a supposedly out-of-touch elite and other mainstays of Trumpist grievance politics, rather than on any actual foreign-policy strategy.
But is it really the advocates of global engagement, alliances, trade, and international institutions who are out of touch with the American people—or is it the Trumpists who are out of touch? According to the most recent poll on these issues by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, in 2019: 69 percent of Americans want the nation to have an active role in international affairs, 74 percent said that alliances make the United States safer (more than those who chose conventional military spending, nuclear weapons, or any other answer), 78 percent said they wanted to maintain or increase support for NATO, and 87 percent said international trade is good for the United States. Former President Ronald Reagan’s foreign-policy strategy understood the basic goodness, courage, and internationalism of the American people; today, polls show that this is still the national character—Trumpist culture wars notwithstanding.
On Fox, other commentators dismissed the former Republican national security officials as out-of-touch elitists and advocates of “forever wars.”
To the extent that there is an actual foreign-policy strategy behind the counterattack on Trump’s conservative internationalist critics, it centers on the idea that only Trump was bold enough to break the orthodoxy in Washington and take on China and other real and imagined rivals. The problem with this assertion is that everybody has hardened on China, and by no means in response to Trump. Legislation in the U.S. Congress to punish China for the Hong Kong crackdown, technology theft, and repression in Xinjiang enjoys overwhelmingly bipartisan support. The Biden foreign-policy team has clearly identified China as a strategic competitor and would continue to press for change in Chinese behavior and protect the United States’ allies and values. Trump cannot credibly claim to own the issue—and as Democrats are gleefully pointing out, he praised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s authoritarianism for years until suddenly changing his story to make China an anvil for his election-year hammer.
More to the point, Trump’s version of competition with China often suits Beijing just fine. The targets of Chinese revisionism are the sources of U.S. strength and influence around the world—particularly the United States’ alliances and its leadership in international institutions and economic rule-making. These also happen to be the targets of Trump’s own revisionism. His strategy for dealing with China is like that of a sheriff who yells loudly at the thieves down the street, but then starts shooting at the posse that has gathered to catch them. There was an awful lot of yelling loudly at the Republican National Convention this week as well. But just as loud yelling is not a foreign-policy strategy, neither is making foreign policy nothing but an extension of the culture wars at home.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-29--Our Top Weekend Reads

Our Top Weekend Reads

“ Gangnam Style ” is hardly an accessible refrain anymore in Seoul , where the cost of a home has doubled since 2017 .
The average annualized return on an apartment in the Gangnam neighborhood may be about 330 percent , but the broader instability provoked by the housing crisis could jeopardize President Moon Jae-in ’ s political future .
Meanwhile , members of Kashmir ’ s LGBTQ community are wrestling with Indian nationalism that seeks to pit them against their neighbors to save face .
And an ongoing lockdown in Buenos Aires has thrown Argentina into economic turmoil , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where investment in real estate is extraordinarily lucrative , housing prices are rising faster than anywhere on earth .
If South Korean President Moon Jae-in doesn ’ t rein in the market soon , it may bring him down , S. Nathan Park writes .
2 .
Kashmir ’ s LGBTQ Community Is Caught Between Conservative Society and Indian Ethnonationalism New Delhi has invoked homophobia and transphobia in justifying its militarized incursions into Indian-administered Kashmir .
But the Indian government ’ s actions are only pushing queer voices further to the margin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ economies reopen , Argentina has kept its capital , Buenos Aires , on lockdown .
The decision has rendered the country disproportionately vulnerable to the economic malaise driven by the coronavirus pandemic , Milagros Costabel writes .
4 .
The Trumpists ’ Answer to His Republican Foreign-Policy Critics ?
More Culture Wars .
Backers of Donald Trump in the foreign-policy arena can ’ t point to anything substantive to justify their continued support for the U.S. president .
But as Team Trump resorts to name-calling , polls suggest the administration ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. public than they claim , Michael J .
Green writes .
Though India has modernized its intelligence apparatus significantly since a 1962 border skirmish with China , it still lacks a central processing system for dispatching information .
This jumbled approach leaves the country susceptible to Chinese breaches , Sumit Ganguly and Frank O ’ Donnell write .

“Gangnam Style” is hardly an accessible refrain anymore in Seoul, where the cost of a home has doubled since 2017. The average annualized return on an apartment in the Gangnam neighborhood may be about 330 percent, but the broader instability provoked by the housing crisis could jeopardize President Moon Jae-in’s political future.
“Gangnam Style” is hardly an accessible refrain anymore in Seoul, where the cost of a home has doubled since 2017. The average annualized return on an apartment in the Gangnam neighborhood may be about 330 percent, but the broader instability provoked by the housing crisis could jeopardize President Moon Jae-in’s political future.
Meanwhile, members of Kashmir’s LGBTQ community are wrestling with Indian nationalism that seeks to pit them against their neighbors to save face.
And an ongoing lockdown in Buenos Aires has thrown Argentina into economic turmoil, with long-lasting effects.
Here are Foreign Policy’s top weekend reads.
Abandoned houses sit near new high-rise apartments, following evictions prior to redevelopment, in the Ahyeon district of Seoul on Dec. 18, 2018.
In Seoul, where investment in real estate is extraordinarily lucrative, housing prices are rising faster than anywhere on earth. If South Korean President Moon Jae-in doesn’t rein in the market soon, it may bring him down, S. Nathan Park writes.
Protesters march in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on Oct. 7, 2016.
New Delhi has invoked homophobia and transphobia in justifying its militarized incursions into Indian-administered Kashmir. But the Indian government’s actions are only pushing queer voices further to the margin, Adnan Bhat writes.
A volunteer church worker delivers a box with food supplies at the Villa 31 shantytown, amid the lockdown in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 25.
As other countries’ economies reopen, Argentina has kept its capital, Buenos Aires, on lockdown. The decision has rendered the country disproportionately vulnerable to the economic malaise driven by the coronavirus pandemic, Milagros Costabel writes.
White House Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway pre-records her address to the Republican National Convention in the empty Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC, on Aug. 26.
Backers of Donald Trump in the foreign-policy arena can’t point to anything substantive to justify their continued support for the U.S. president. But as Team Trump resorts to name-calling, polls suggest the administration’s worldview may be less popular with the U.S. public than they claim, Michael J. Green writes.
A Chinese soldier and an Indian solider stand guard at the Nathu La border crossing between India and China on July 10, 2008.
Though India has modernized its intelligence apparatus significantly since a 1962 border skirmish with China, it still lacks a central processing system for dispatching information. This jumbled approach leaves the country susceptible to Chinese breaches, Sumit Ganguly and Frank O’Donnell write.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-29--Southeast Asia is Ground Zero in the New U.S.-China Conflict—and Beijing Is Winning

Southeast Asia is Ground Zero in the New U.S.-China Conflict—and Beijing Is Winning Sometimes the signs are scattershot .
Investigative journalists imprisoned for doing their job in Thailand or the Philippines .
Another forest razed to make way for an industrial-size plantation producing rubber or palm oil in Myanmar or Laos .
Fishers and farmers losing their livelihoods in Vietnam after the construction of more than a dozen dams along the Mekong River .
A high-speed rail system under construction in Malaysia using credit that drives the country deeper into debt .
Casinos rising up to transform Sihanoukville , Cambodia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At other times , China ’ s growing presence is visible for all to see .
Chinese tourists crowding tropical islands , ancient temples , and shopping malls .
Deal-makers from Guangzhou and Shanghai shuffling in and out of hotel lobbies and government offices .
Chinese navy ships bullying neighboring countries ’ fishing boats , military patrols , and oil exploration vessels to assert Beijing ’ s dubious claims over the South China Sea .
Chinese officials have become unabashedly open in their talk about a “ Greater China ” unconstrained by national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and anchored by Chinese communities across Southeast Asia .
Many in the region worry that China is trying impose a new version of colonialism .
Traveling around parts of the region as I did last year , there was no mistaking the whiff of Chinese imperial arrogance—and of fear .
Cambodians I ’ ve known for years whispered that their country is a Chinese colony in all but name .
They told me about being disparaged by Chinese as “ lazy , ” and of more than a few Chinese-owned businesses in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as they quash the local competition .
In Vietnam , I was warned not to mention China in any of my public talks .
In his new book , Under Beijing ’ s Shadow : Southeast Asia ’ s China Challenge , Murray Hiebert performs the extraordinary service of uncovering , in precise and meticulous detail , what these countries are up against—and China ’ s strategy to pull each of them ever more tightly into its orbit .
He describes how China , whose history with each country goes back centuries , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states , seeks weaknesses , and brings to bear all its leverage and enticements regardless of international rules or standards .
Routinely , Beijing ignores human rights and the rule of law in order to ensure that authoritarian leaders friendly to China stay in power .
Hiebert ’ s approach is the equivalent to that of a fine craftsman who puts together a sophisticated timepiece before our eyes so we can see how the gears work .
A former journalist and now a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He is also the rare authority who knows both sides of this issue from the ground up : Not only was he posted in Beijing at the Wall Street Journal bureau , but he also covered Southeast Asia for the Wall Street Journal Asia and the Far Eastern Economic Review , based in Hanoi , then Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia .
In Hiebert ’ s description of 21st-century Chinese encroachments , he isn ’ t presenting us with the familiar caricature of barbarians bearing tribute to the court of the Middle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clothed in the language of economic progress , regional cooperation , and cross-cultural ventures .
It takes the form of special economic zones , growing tourism , and various loans and grants .
Then there is the formidable Belt and Road Initiative , which routinely saddles countries with debt to pay for showcase projects that don ’ t meet their citizens ’ needs .
The soft power promise of cultural and scholarly exchanges draws the region ’ s elite into Chinese networks , often greased by nicely disguised bribes .
Chinese military aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national leaders and ensure dependency on Beijing .
The Southeast Asian countries are pieces on a strategic chessboard that China has every intention to dominate .
What is in it for Beijing ?
Mainly , China is devouring the region ’ s resources : diverting and polluting the waters of the Mekong River with dams ; razing forests to plant bananas and oil palms as far as the eye can see , an ecological disaster ; and building high-rise after high-rise to launder illicit Chinese money .
But at least as importantly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a strategic chessboard that China has every intention to dominate .
The countries haven ’ t been entirely defenseless .
Hiebert describes how each has developed strategies to pry economic benefits from China without giving up its independence—and not without success .
“ [ I ] t is stunning how challenging it has been for Beijing to use its growing economic muscle to get these projects off the ground , ” Hiebert writes .
“ Even the poorest and weakest countries have been negotiating for years to shrink down China ’ s outsized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the numbers of Chinese workers in check.
” Still , the results are mixed .
Laos , Hiebert writes , is “ sacrificing sovereignty for prosperity ” by allowing unfettered immigration of Chinese .
The most spectacular recent pushback against China , on the other hand , took place in Malaysia in 2018 , when voters turned against then-Prime Minister Najib Razak largely because of a multibillion-dollar , high-profile project with China that was marred by corruption and inflated prices .
The stakes are high , especially for the United States .
Hiebert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) have a combined population of nearly 700 million and a $ 2.8 trillion economy .
U.S. companies invest more in Southeast Asia than in China , Japan , South Korea , and India combined .
The U.S. military presence in the region is considered crucial to allies such as Japan and South Korea to protect trade , ensure peace , and counter Chinese aggression .
In the growing global standoff between Washington and Beijing , Hiebert compellingly describes Southeast Asia and the South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrates how the rise of Chinese President Xi Jinping has turbocharged Beijing ’ s ambitions in the region .
Since China is not yet powerful enough to challenge the U.S. Navy directly and isn ’ t attractive enough to have enlisted real allies , it has instead co-opted some of the region ’ s leaders through its organized corruption of the elite .
One such leader is Rodrigo Duterte , the president of the Philippines , who was barely in office when he made a state visit to Beijing in 2016 .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and investment pledges as well as Chinese assurances that they had his back and would not interfere in the Philippines ’ internal affairs .
Hiebert connects the dots , showing how a green light from his powerful neighbor enabled Duterte to go after his critics with little regard for established law or human rights .
( For Westerners , the most visible target has been the former CNN journalist Maria Ressa , convicted of specious charges of libel and tax evasion . )
Repaying China ’ s favors , Duterte walked away from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague , which had ruled that China ’ s outsized territorial claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis .
By abandoning the Philippines ’ internationally ratified claim , Duterte has allowed China to ignore international law with even greater abandon , making a peaceful resolution to the standoff less likely .
As the antagonism between China and the United States reaches a new intensity , the region has only gained in strategic importance—for both Washington and Beijing .
Another leader who has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cambodia ’ s authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen , who in 2017 faced the real possibility of losing national elections .
Deploying massive police and military power , and backed by Chinese money and aid , Hun abruptly shut down the opposition , independent media , and public protests .
Hun rightly calculated that he could destroy most of the remnants of Cambodia ’ s democracy without serious international pushback .
Ever grateful for Beijing ’ s support , Hun has blocked all attempts by ASEAN to coordinate a response against China ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
China was also steadfast in its support of Myanmar when the rest of the world condemned the latter ’ s lethal suppression of its Rohingya Muslim minority—which some observers have called genocide—in order to come closer to another strategic goal .
The two countries have since revived the construction of a high-speed rail line across Myanmar , giving China its long-coveted access to a port on the Indian Ocean .
Under Beijing ’ s Shadow comes none too soon .
While Chinese military activities such as those in the South China Sea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government , it is much less clear whether Washington has any real understanding of China ’ s expansive vision for exerting its sway over the countries of Southeast Asia—or whether Washington even cares .
Before the United States ’ retrenchment from global involvement that began during the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama and has wildly accelerated under the current officeholder , Donald Trump , the United States could be counted on to play a strategic role in Southeast Asian affairs .
But without a U.S. vision for the region—and a commitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing , or have already lost , their ability to balance one great power off of the other .
That gives China a wide-open field .
Hiebert wisely resists suggesting how the United States could respond to China ’ s shadow across Southeast Asia .
Trump has certainly abandoned any pretense at deep engagement , or any vision .
The U.S. military is the voice of much of the official relations in the region .
As the antagonism between China and the United States reaches a new intensity , the region has only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beijing .
Hiebert ’ s book , therefore , should be required reading for anyone trying to make sense of the fast-moving changes in Southeast Asia .

Sometimes the signs are scattershot. Investigative journalists imprisoned for doing their job in Thailand or the Philippines. Another forest razed to make way for an industrial-size plantation producing rubber or palm oil in Myanmar or Laos. Fishers and farmers losing their livelihoods in Vietnam after the construction of more than a dozen dams along the Mekong River. A high-speed rail system under construction in Malaysia using credit that drives the country deeper into debt. Casinos rising up to transform Sihanoukville, Cambodia, into an Asian Las Vegas.
Sometimes the signs are scattershot. Investigative journalists imprisoned for doing their job in Thailand or the Philippines. Another forest razed to make way for an industrial-size plantation producing rubber or palm oil in Myanmar or Laos. Fishers and farmers losing their livelihoods in Vietnam after the construction of more than a dozen dams along the Mekong River. A high-speed rail system under construction in Malaysia using credit that drives the country deeper into debt. Casinos rising up to transform Sihanoukville, Cambodia, into an Asian Las Vegas.
At other times, China’s growing presence is visible for all to see. Chinese tourists crowding tropical islands, ancient temples, and shopping malls. Deal-makers from Guangzhou and Shanghai shuffling in and out of hotel lobbies and government offices. Chinese navy ships bullying neighboring countries’ fishing boats, military patrols, and oil exploration vessels to assert Beijing’s dubious claims over the South China Sea.
Under Beijing’s Shadow: Southeast Asia’s China Challenge, Murray Hiebert, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers/Center for Strategic & International Studies, 608 pp., , August 2020
Chinese officials have become unabashedly open in their talk about a “Greater China” unconstrained by national boundaries, integrated into the Chinese economy, and anchored by Chinese communities across Southeast Asia. Many in the region worry that China is trying impose a new version of colonialism.
Traveling around parts of the region as I did last year, there was no mistaking the whiff of Chinese imperial arrogance—and of fear. Cambodians I’ve known for years whispered that their country is a Chinese colony in all but name. They told me about being disparaged by Chinese as “lazy,” and of more than a few Chinese-owned businesses in their country refusing to hire Cambodians even as they quash the local competition. In Vietnam, I was warned not to mention China in any of my public talks.
In his new book, Under Beijing’s Shadow: Southeast Asia’s China Challenge, Murray Hiebert performs the extraordinary service of uncovering, in precise and meticulous detail, what these countries are up against—and China’s strategy to pull each of them ever more tightly into its orbit. He describes how China, whose history with each country goes back centuries, pays close attention to its would-be client states, seeks weaknesses, and brings to bear all its leverage and enticements regardless of international rules or standards. Routinely, Beijing ignores human rights and the rule of law in order to ensure that authoritarian leaders friendly to China stay in power.
Hiebert’s approach is the equivalent to that of a fine craftsman who puts together a sophisticated timepiece before our eyes so we can see how the gears work. A former journalist and now a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hiebert steers clear of punditry. He is also the rare authority who knows both sides of this issue from the ground up: Not only was he posted in Beijing at the Wall Street Journal bureau, but he also covered Southeast Asia for the Wall Street Journal Asia and the Far Eastern Economic Review, based in Hanoi, then Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In Hiebert’s description of 21st-century Chinese encroachments, he isn’t presenting us with the familiar caricature of barbarians bearing tribute to the court of the Middle Kingdom. Today, Chinese expansion is clothed in the language of economic progress, regional cooperation, and cross-cultural ventures. It takes the form of special economic zones, growing tourism, and various loans and grants. Then there is the formidable Belt and Road Initiative, which routinely saddles countries with debt to pay for showcase projects that don’t meet their citizens’ needs. The soft power promise of cultural and scholarly exchanges draws the region’s elite into Chinese networks, often greased by nicely disguised bribes. Chinese military aid and joint exercises with local forces boost national leaders and ensure dependency on Beijing.
The Southeast Asian countries are pieces on a strategic chessboard that China has every intention to dominate.
What is in it for Beijing? Mainly, China is devouring the region’s resources: diverting and polluting the waters of the Mekong River with dams; razing forests to plant bananas and oil palms as far as the eye can see, an ecological disaster; and building high-rise after high-rise to launder illicit Chinese money. But at least as importantly, the Southeast Asian countries are pieces on a strategic chessboard that China has every intention to dominate.
The countries haven’t been entirely defenseless. Hiebert describes how each has developed strategies to pry economic benefits from China without giving up its independence—and not without success. “[I]t is stunning how challenging it has been for Beijing to use its growing economic muscle to get these projects off the ground,” Hiebert writes. “Even the poorest and weakest countries have been negotiating for years to shrink down China’s outsized ambitions, reduce costs, and keep the numbers of Chinese workers in check.”
Still, the results are mixed. Laos, Hiebert writes, is “sacrificing sovereignty for prosperity” by allowing unfettered immigration of Chinese. The most spectacular recent pushback against China, on the other hand, took place in Malaysia in 2018, when voters turned against then-Prime Minister Najib Razak largely because of a multibillion-dollar, high-profile project with China that was marred by corruption and inflated prices.
The stakes are high, especially for the United States. Hiebert reminds us that together, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have a combined population of nearly 700 million and a $2.8 trillion economy. U.S. companies invest more in Southeast Asia than in China, Japan, South Korea, and India combined. The U.S. military presence in the region is considered crucial to allies such as Japan and South Korea to protect trade, ensure peace, and counter Chinese aggression. In the growing global standoff between Washington and Beijing, Hiebert compellingly describes Southeast Asia and the South China Sea as ground zero.
Hiebert demonstrates how the rise of Chinese President Xi Jinping has turbocharged Beijing’s ambitions in the region. Since China is not yet powerful enough to challenge the U.S. Navy directly and isn’t attractive enough to have enlisted real allies, it has instead co-opted some of the region’s leaders through its organized corruption of the elite. One such leader is Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, who was barely in office when he made a state visit to Beijing in 2016. He returned with $24 billion in loans and investment pledges as well as Chinese assurances that they had his back and would not interfere in the Philippines’ internal affairs. Hiebert connects the dots, showing how a green light from his powerful neighbor enabled Duterte to go after his critics with little regard for established law or human rights. (For Westerners, the most visible target has been the former CNN journalist Maria Ressa, convicted of specious charges of libel and tax evasion.) Repaying China’s favors, Duterte walked away from his predecessor’s hard-won victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which had ruled that China’s outsized territorial claims in the South China Sea had no legal basis. By abandoning the Philippines’ internationally ratified claim, Duterte has allowed China to ignore international law with even greater abandon, making a peaceful resolution to the standoff less likely.
As the antagonism between China and the United States reaches a new intensity, the region has only gained in strategic importance—for both Washington and Beijing.
Another leader who has been co-opted by China for geostrategic aims is Cambodia’s authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who in 2017 faced the real possibility of losing national elections. Deploying massive police and military power, and backed by Chinese money and aid, Hun abruptly shut down the opposition, independent media, and public protests. Hun rightly calculated that he could destroy most of the remnants of Cambodia’s democracy without serious international pushback. Ever grateful for Beijing’s support, Hun has blocked all attempts by ASEAN to coordinate a response against China’s claims in the South China Sea.
China was also steadfast in its support of Myanmar when the rest of the world condemned the latter’s lethal suppression of its Rohingya Muslim minority—which some observers have called genocide—in order to come closer to another strategic goal. The two countries have since revived the construction of a high-speed rail line across Myanmar, giving China its long-coveted access to a port on the Indian Ocean.
Under Beijing’s Shadow comes none too soon. While Chinese military activities such as those in the South China Sea have held the attention of the U.S. government, it is much less clear whether Washington has any real understanding of China’s expansive vision for exerting its sway over the countries of Southeast Asia—or whether Washington even cares. Before the United States’ retrenchment from global involvement that began during the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama and has wildly accelerated under the current officeholder, Donald Trump, the United States could be counted on to play a strategic role in Southeast Asian affairs. But without a U.S. vision for the region—and a commitment remotely matching China’s—these countries are losing, or have already lost, their ability to balance one great power off of the other. That gives China a wide-open field.
Hiebert wisely resists suggesting how the United States could respond to China’s shadow across Southeast Asia. Trump has certainly abandoned any pretense at deep engagement, or any vision. The U.S. military is the voice of much of the official relations in the region. As the antagonism between China and the United States reaches a new intensity, the region has only gained in strategic importance—for both Washington and Beijing. Hiebert’s book, therefore, should be required reading for anyone trying to make sense of the fast-moving changes in Southeast Asia.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-29--The U.S. Postal Service Is a Threat to Your Life

The U.S .
Postal Service Is a Threat to Your Life The drama that unfolded in July and August , prompting passage of an emergency House bill , and its predictable blockage in the Republican-controlled Senate amid a threatened presidential veto , stemmed from a series of actions taken by a new postmaster general .
But the plan that would deprive rural Americans , individuals without Internet access , veterans , and millions of other citizens of their rightful postal deliveries was hatched long before he held office .
In June 2018 , the Executive Office of the President released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan , “ Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century : Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.
” Though little noticed outside of the White House , the plan represented marching orders for the appointed leaders of every government agency , delineating what services and personnel should be eliminated and how the missions of the respective departments ought to be changed .
The plan was careful to note which fundamental alterations in mission might require congressional approval , highlighting changes an agency director , cabinet member , or the president himself could order without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Page 68 of the plan starts a section dedicated to privatizing the United States Postal Service , noting , “ A privatized Postal Service would have a substantially lower cost structure , be able to adapt to changing customer needs and make business decisions free from political interference , and have access to private capital markets to fund operational improvements without burdening taxpayers .
” The plan noted that between 2001 and 2017 , first-class mail use fell by 40 percent , though junk mail was stable .
No mention was made in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mail for payments , medicines , small-business supplies , rural deliveries , Social Security checks , tax rebates , pensions , Medicare reimbursements , food and welfare subsidies , and the like .
It should come as no surprise , then , that newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy set forth to execute the plan shortly after taking office on June 16 , with cost savings and privatization at the forefront of his mind .
DeJoy replaced Megan Brennan , the Nation ’ s 74th postmaster general and its only female leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being appointed by then President Barack Obama .
Her departure in January left a power struggle between the agency ’ s Board of Governors and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin , who was willing to extend a $ 10 billion line of credit to tide the financially strapped agency over , but only with tough preconditions and mandatory payback .
The Board of Governors recoiled , unable to see how the Postal Service would ever generate sufficient surplus revenues to pay back the unprecedented $ 10 billion loan , and opposed to Mnuchin ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mail service , in line with the White House plan .
Turbulence followed , and the board ’ s vice chairman , David C. Williams , resigned in protest days before DeJoy ’ s selection , saying before Congress months later that the Mnuchin scheme marked “ the end of the Postal Service.
” Regardless of any impact implementation of the plan might have on the Nov. 3 national elections , the disruption of normal postal services in an effort to reduce costs and transition the agency from a public institution to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 billion loan from the Treasury—proceeded with haste once DeJoy was in the postmaster general ’ s seat .
Days after taking the position , he prepared to remove 671 automatic mail-sorting machines .
Many of these machines had been replaced , at great cost , after the 2001 anthrax mailings led to widespread contamination of sorters in Washington , D.C. , New Jersey , and New York , killing two postal workers .
In addition , social media in early August was rife with images of mothballed blue mailboxes , and teams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states .
Prior to DeJoy ’ s appointment , there were about 142,000 mailboxes scattered across the United States .
Between 2011 and 2017 , some 14,000 mailboxes were decommissioned because of their low use rates , and it is unclear whether the photographed removals represent routine displacement or an acceleration ordered by the new postmaster general .
Regardless of motivations and the scope of decommissionings , according to DeJoy ’ s testimony on Aug. 21 to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee , none of these steps were anticipated by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review of citizen needs that might go unmet or delayed .
New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan , a Democrat , asked DeJoy , “ Will you ensure that any further changes that you make to postal operations do not delay access to medications and other necessities ?
Yes or no.
” “ Yes , Senator , ” DeJoy responded , “ and I look forward to working with you on legislation to help this type of service , not reach into the future.
” This is startling , not only because it illustrates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people who are dependent on the Postal Service for life-sustaining funding , food payments , and medicines .
Because the steps DeJoy zealously took were based on a plan that had been in place for two years , it would have seemed appropriate , if not a moral responsibility , for the postmaster general to have prepared and examined such data before interrupting services , allowing cost-saving steps to unfold without literally imperiling human lives .
It ’ s possible that such assessments were done before DeJoy ’ s arrival , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , because on Aug. 7 DeJoy executed what ’ s been dubbed the “ Friday Night Massacre , ” firing or displacing 23 top postal service executives , thereby eliminating many of the high-level experts that might have known how many Americans , in which parts of the country , were completely dependent upon the Postal Service for their health , finances and well-being .
The mass firing came the same day that nine lawmakers wrote to the Postal Service inspector general , demanding to know what DeJoy was up to .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the lawmakers asked , and , “ What analyses of their impact did he or other Postal Service officials conduct before putting them in place ?
” On Aug. 19 , Sens .
Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey , both Democrats , wrote to five major prescription management companies , requesting details on medicine deliveries and disruptions .
“ Millions of Americans with diabetes , high blood pressure and heart disease , asthma , and other chronic conditions , illnesses or health care needs rely on the USPS for delivery of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risks if President Trump ’ s efforts to degrade mail service results in delays and disruptions , ” they wrote .
They are awaiting answers from the companies .
House Democrats have done the same , garnering evidence that thousands of their constituents are not receiving their prescriptions and are unable to obtain life-sustaining medications from any other means .
Facing withering criticism from political leaders , including many Republicans , the Postal Service hired a crisis management firm and announced that all mailbox and sorting machine removal would cease .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines that had been already removed were dismantled and sold for scrap metal .
They will not be replaced .
Though old and broken machines are routinely scraped , the staggering number DeJoy had slated for removal represents a toll more than 80 percent above any previous months of Postal Service operations .
According to CNN , email from the postmaster general ’ s office instructed post offices that any still-intact sorting machines that had been removed from use could not be restored to their prior positions , or even plugged into electrical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questioning from members of the Senate , DeJoy was unable to answer questions about citizens ’ livelihoods imperiled by mail disruptions .
And he was still unable to do so after three weeks , when testifying on Aug. 24 before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform , when he admitted to not knowing how many veterans depend on prescriptions by mail .
( The answer is 330,000 veterans receive medicine every single day . )
The essential fact is that Americans are dependent on the Postal Service for their basic medical well-being—and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are several reasons why that ’ s the case—and why the Postal Service ’ s disruptions are so potentially deadly .
First , insurance companies that cover some or all of the costs of prescription medicines have pressured consumers to abandon local pharmacies in favor of warehoused bulk-purchasing operations that mail drugs via the U.S .
Postal Service .
For example , OptumRx mails half a billion prescription drugs annually on behalf of various insurance providers .
Many of these medicines , such as hormones , insulin , and eyedrops , are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that require on-time delivery to ensure the drugs contained are not only active , but have not deteriorated into a potentially dangerous form under inappropriate heat .
Approximately 1 in 3 birth control prescriptions are filled by mail , particularly to parts of the country not served by Planned Parenthood .
Mailed medication deliveries are featured in both private and public insurance plans .
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee , the Postal Service delivered 1.2 billion prescriptions in 2019 .
Second , other agencies in the U.S. government have sought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in bulk , warehousing , and then directly mailing medicines .
Leading the government agency list is the Department of Veterans Affairs .
Third , health requires food and housing .
Some 21 percent of U.S. households were dependent on checks or vouchers for food , medical care , and housing in 2012 , from 79 different programs .
These include welfare payments , meal assistance , and Medicaid supplements .
In 2019 ( before this year ’ s massive surge in unemployment ) 64,699,741 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid , 18 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 39 percent of children were enrolled in one or more federal programs that involved mailed checks or paperwork .
Since COVID-19 swept the United States , the ranks of the unemployed have increased , with millions more filing for unemployment benefits , Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act stimulus checks , and supplemental weekly payments—most delivered by mail .
Fourth , most physicians ’ offices , hospitals , and health insurance companies send medical bills and require on-time receipt of payments from health consumers via mail .
If mailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the individuals may be levied fines , be reported to various third-party debt collectors , or even face cancellation of insurance .
Fifth , the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have increased all mail use , including for pharmacy and medical deliveries .
According to a mid-August survey , 1 in 5 Americans expected a medicine delivery during the past week , and one-quarter of those deliveries were either delayed or never showed up .
One online pharmacy , Honeybee Health , said mail delays were negligible before DeJoy started the Postal Service changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 percent of Honeybee ’ s medicine deliveries are lost .
There are a host of groups whose health and welfare may have already been inconvenienced , or imperiled , by the disruptions executed during DeJoy ’ s first two months in office .
Start with veterans .
Eighty percent of prescriptions and medical supplies for veterans are mailed using the Postal Service .
Some 5 percent is mailed directly to veterans , primarily those located in rural areas .
The remainder are mailed by the Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocacy group has said that , on average , medications from the VA have been delayed by about 25 percent this year .
In a thread on Twitter , the group VoteVets denounced the postmaster general ’ s actions , saying more than 300,000 prescription drug deliveries are mailed to veterans every day .
On Aug. 13 , a group of senators notified DeJoy that medicines usually shipped to vets in three to five days are “ often taking weeks to be delivered and causing veterans to miss doses of vital medications.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions who rely on the mail for medicine .
About 20 percent of Americans over the age of 40 get their prescriptions delivered by mail .
The behemoth drugstore chain CVS delivers 15 percent of all its prescriptions via the Postal Service .
Americans living in rural areas are especially vulnerable .
“ An even greater share of the rural population relies on mail order prescriptions since so many pharmacies in rural communities have shut down , ” according to a recent report by the Institute for Policy Studies , which has exhaustively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S .
Postal Service and lack of alternative access to high-speed broadband Internet service .
According to Federal Communications Commission data , about 14.5 million Americans can ’ t pay bills or receive Medicare , Social Security , Medicaid , or other payments digitally because they lack access to high speed Internet .
Moreover , the report said , paying far more for Amazon , FedEx , the United Parcel Service , and other private delivery services still doesn ’ t guarantee on-time mailing in rural parts of the country , because last-mile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the U.S .
Postal Service .
Senior citizens face heightened dangers , too .
One out of every 5 U.S. senior citizens lives in a rural area ; 4.7 million of them are veterans .
More than half a million of those seniors count on the U.S .
Postal Service to deliver their monthly Social Security checks , which are used to cover mortgages , buy food , and meet medicine co-payments .
And according to AARP , 75 percent of adults ages 50 and older regularly take a prescription medication ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure is even higher .
More than 80 percent of those adults take more than one such medication , “ and over four in ten … take four or more.
” Medicare also pushes people into drug plans that involve just-in-time Postal Service mailing .
This is just a cursory survey of groups of Americans whose very livelihoods and survival depend upon timely , routine postal delivery .
It ’ s the sort of list that the Postal Service should have scrutinized before taking any disruptive actions , ensuring that none of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rendered useless , or lost .
That it has apparently failed to do so is reprehensible .
For their part , leading Democrats have focused on the implications of sweeping Postal Service changes on the November elections ; none have publicly noted that the overall privatization scheme dates to June 2018 .
They have repeatedly missed opportunities to question the larger motivations behind DeJoy and Mnuchin ’ s reforms , or to take a broader view of the likely impact on the health and well-being of Americans .
In contrast , Republicans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s debt and its failure to compete with Amazon and FedEx .
It ’ s not like there wasn ’ t time to hold the Trump administration accountable .
This scheme to privatize the Postal Service has been on paper in the White House for more than two years and was reviewed by the Congressional Research Service .
Two years was plenty of time for at least a cursory look at the lives likely to be harmed , children likely to go hungry , and rents likely to go unpaid if the mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That such a review was apparently never undertaken , or was ignored by the postmaster general , can only prove to the American people that the cost efficiency of the Postal Service is far more important to its leadership than the survival of citizens who rely upon it .

The U.S. Postal Service is now widely suspected of carrying out the president’s desire to suppress voting in this year’s election. But those fears understate the threat that changes the U. S. Postal Service now poses to the American public. Hardly anyone in the federal government seems to have given consideration to the health of more than 200 million Americans who depend upon the Postal Service for delivery of medicines, veterans’ assistance benefits, Social Security checks, food subsidies, child support, or deliveries of basic goods and food—dependencies that have been magnified by COVID-19. It is a medical crisis caused by what should be a political scandal: President Donald Trump’s administration’s quiet attempt to make mail delivery a private, rather than public, service.
The U.S. Postal Service is now widely suspected of carrying out the president’s desire to suppress voting in this year’s election. But those fears understate the threat that changes the U. S. Postal Service now poses to the American public. Hardly anyone in the federal government seems to have given consideration to the health of more than 200 million Americans who depend upon the Postal Service for delivery of medicines, veterans’ assistance benefits, Social Security checks, food subsidies, child support, or deliveries of basic goods and food—dependencies that have been magnified by COVID-19. It is a medical crisis caused by what should be a political scandal: President Donald Trump’s administration’s quiet attempt to make mail delivery a private, rather than public, service.
The drama that unfolded in July and August, prompting passage of an emergency House bill, and its predictable blockage in the Republican-controlled Senate amid a threatened presidential veto, stemmed from a series of actions taken by a new postmaster general. But the plan that would deprive rural Americans, individuals without Internet access, veterans, and millions of other citizens of their rightful postal deliveries was hatched long before he held office.
In June 2018, the Executive Office of the President released the Trump administration’s 132-page master plan, “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.” Though little noticed outside of the White House, the plan represented marching orders for the appointed leaders of every government agency, delineating what services and personnel should be eliminated and how the missions of the respective departments ought to be changed. The plan was careful to note which fundamental alterations in mission might require congressional approval, highlighting changes an agency director, cabinet member, or the president himself could order without facing legislative roadblocks or statute limitations. Page 68 of the plan starts a section dedicated to privatizing the United States Postal Service, noting, “A privatized Postal Service would have a substantially lower cost structure, be able to adapt to changing customer needs and make business decisions free from political interference, and have access to private capital markets to fund operational improvements without burdening taxpayers .”
The plan noted that between 2001 and 2017, first-class mail use fell by 40 percent, though junk mail was stable. No mention was made in the plan of citizens’ dependence on the mail for payments, medicines, small-business supplies, rural deliveries, Social Security checks, tax rebates, pensions, Medicare reimbursements, food and welfare subsidies, and the like.
It should come as no surprise, then, that newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy set forth to execute the plan shortly after taking office on June 16, with cost savings and privatization at the forefront of his mind. DeJoy replaced Megan Brennan, the Nation’s 74th postmaster general and its only female leader, who took office in 2015 after being appointed by then President Barack Obama. Her departure in January left a power struggle between the agency’s Board of Governors and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who was willing to extend a $10 billion line of credit to tide the financially strapped agency over, but only with tough preconditions and mandatory payback. The Board of Governors recoiled, unable to see how the Postal Service would ever generate sufficient surplus revenues to pay back the unprecedented $10 billion loan, and opposed to Mnuchin’s insistence on personally overseeing privatization of the mail service, in line with the White House plan. Turbulence followed, and the board’s vice chairman, David C. Williams, resigned in protest days before DeJoy’s selection, saying before Congress months later that the Mnuchin scheme marked “the end of the Postal Service.”
Regardless of any impact implementation of the plan might have on the Nov. 3 national elections, the disruption of normal postal services in an effort to reduce costs and transition the agency from a public institution to a private company—with or without a $10 billion loan from the Treasury—proceeded with haste once DeJoy was in the postmaster general’s seat. Days after taking the position, he prepared to remove 671 automatic mail-sorting machines. Many of these machines had been replaced, at great cost, after the 2001 anthrax mailings led to widespread contamination of sorters in Washington, D.C., New Jersey, and New York, killing two postal workers .
In addition, social media in early August was rife with images of mothballed blue mailboxes, and teams removing the boxes were photographed in several states. Prior to DeJoy’s appointment, there were about 142,000 mailboxes scattered across the United States. Between 2011 and 2017, some 14,000 mailboxes were decommissioned because of their low use rates, and it is unclear whether the photographed removals represent routine displacement or an acceleration ordered by the new postmaster general.
Regardless of motivations and the scope of decommissionings, according to DeJoy’s testimony on Aug. 21 to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, none of these steps were anticipated by a thorough, or even scanty, review of citizen needs that might go unmet or delayed. New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, asked DeJoy, “Will you ensure that any further changes that you make to postal operations do not delay access to medications and other necessities? Yes or no.”
“Yes, Senator,” DeJoy responded, “and I look forward to working with you on legislation to help this type of service, not reach into the future.”
This is startling, not only because it illustrates a flagrant lack of concern for the American people who are dependent on the Postal Service for life-sustaining funding, food payments, and medicines. Because the steps DeJoy zealously took were based on a plan that had been in place for two years, it would have seemed appropriate, if not a moral responsibility, for the postmaster general to have prepared and examined such data before interrupting services, allowing cost-saving steps to unfold without literally imperiling human lives.
It’s possible that such assessments were done before DeJoy’s arrival, but mothballed. We don’t know, because on Aug. 7 DeJoy executed what’s been dubbed the “Friday Night Massacre,” firing or displacing 23 top postal service executives, thereby eliminating many of the high-level experts that might have known how many Americans, in which parts of the country, were completely dependent upon the Postal Service for their health, finances and well-being. The mass firing came the same day that nine lawmakers wrote to the Postal Service inspector general, demanding to know what DeJoy was up to. “What was the rationale for these changes,” the lawmakers asked, and, “What analyses of their impact did he or other Postal Service officials conduct before putting them in place?”
On Aug. 19, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey, both Democrats, wrote to five major prescription management companies, requesting details on medicine deliveries and disruptions. “Millions of Americans with diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, asthma, and other chronic conditions, illnesses or health care needs rely on the USPS for delivery of their prescription drugs and are at grave risks if President Trump’s efforts to degrade mail service results in delays and disruptions,” they wrote. They are awaiting answers from the companies. House Democrats have done the same, garnering evidence that thousands of their constituents are not receiving their prescriptions and are unable to obtain life-sustaining medications from any other means.
Facing withering criticism from political leaders, including many Republicans, the Postal Service hired a crisis management firm and announced that all mailbox and sorting machine removal would cease. However, DeJoy told senators, the automatic sorting machines that had been already removed were dismantled and sold for scrap metal. They will not be replaced. Though old and broken machines are routinely scraped, the staggering number DeJoy had slated for removal represents a toll more than 80 percent above any previous months of Postal Service operations. According to CNN, email from the postmaster general’s office instructed post offices that any still-intact sorting machines that had been removed from use could not be restored to their prior positions, or even plugged into electrical outlets.
Two weeks later, under questioning from members of the Senate, DeJoy was unable to answer questions about citizens’ livelihoods imperiled by mail disruptions. And he was still unable to do so after three weeks, when testifying on Aug. 24 before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, when he admitted to not knowing how many veterans depend on prescriptions by mail. (The answer is 330,000 veterans receive medicine every single day.)
The essential fact is that Americans are dependent on the Postal Service for their basic medical well-being—and have become increasingly so for decades. There are several reasons why that’s the case—and why the Postal Service’s disruptions are so potentially deadly.
First, insurance companies that cover some or all of the costs of prescription medicines have pressured consumers to abandon local pharmacies in favor of warehoused bulk-purchasing operations that mail drugs via the U.S. Postal Service. For example, OptumRx mails half a billion prescription drugs annually on behalf of various insurance providers. Many of these medicines, such as hormones, insulin, and eyedrops, are temperature-sensitive, and are mailed in coolers that require on-time delivery to ensure the drugs contained are not only active, but have not deteriorated into a potentially dangerous form under inappropriate heat. Approximately 1 in 3 birth control prescriptions are filled by mail, particularly to parts of the country not served by Planned Parenthood.
Mailed medication deliveries are featured in both private and public insurance plans. According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Postal Service delivered 1.2 billion prescriptions in 2019.
Second, other agencies in the U.S. government have sought to similarly reduce their costs by purchasing in bulk, warehousing, and then directly mailing medicines. Leading the government agency list is the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Third, health requires food and housing. Some 21 percent of U.S. households were dependent on checks or vouchers for food, medical care, and housing in 2012, from 79 different programs. These include welfare payments, meal assistance, and Medicaid supplements. In 2019 (before this year’s massive surge in unemployment) 64,699,741 individuals were enrolled in Medicaid, 18 percent of adults used food assistance programs, and 39 percent of children were enrolled in one or more federal programs that involved mailed checks or paperwork. Since COVID-19 swept the United States, the ranks of the unemployed have increased, with millions more filing for unemployment benefits, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act stimulus checks, and supplemental weekly payments—most delivered by mail.
Fourth, most physicians’ offices, hospitals, and health insurance companies send medical bills and require on-time receipt of payments from health consumers via mail. If mailed payments fail to arrive on time, the individuals may be levied fines, be reported to various third-party debt collectors, or even face cancellation of insurance.
Fifth, the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have increased all mail use, including for pharmacy and medical deliveries.
According to a mid-August survey, 1 in 5 Americans expected a medicine delivery during the past week, and one-quarter of those deliveries were either delayed or never showed up. One online pharmacy, Honeybee Health, said mail delays were negligible before DeJoy started the Postal Service changes in July. Now, at least 5 percent of Honeybee’s medicine deliveries are lost.
There are a host of groups whose health and welfare may have already been inconvenienced, or imperiled, by the disruptions executed during DeJoy’s first two months in office.
Start with veterans. Eighty percent of prescriptions and medical supplies for veterans are mailed using the Postal Service. Some 5 percent is mailed directly to veterans, primarily those located in rural areas. The remainder are mailed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to local pharmacies. A veterans’ advocacy group has said that, on average, medications from the VA have been delayed by about 25 percent this year. In a thread on Twitter, the group VoteVets denounced the postmaster general’s actions, saying more than 300,000 prescription drug deliveries are mailed to veterans every day. On Aug. 13, a group of senators notified DeJoy that medicines usually shipped to vets in three to five days are “often taking weeks to be delivered and causing veterans to miss doses of vital medications.”
Beyond veterans, there are tens of millions who rely on the mail for medicine. About 20 percent of Americans over the age of 40 get their prescriptions delivered by mail. The behemoth drugstore chain CVS delivers 15 percent of all its prescriptions via the Postal Service.
Americans living in rural areas are especially vulnerable. “An even greater share of the rural population relies on mail order prescriptions since so many pharmacies in rural communities have shut down,” according to a recent report by the Institute for Policy Studies, which has exhaustively studied rural citizens’ dependence on the U.S. Postal Service and lack of alternative access to high-speed broadband Internet service. According to Federal Communications Commission data, about 14.5 million Americans can’t pay bills or receive Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, or other payments digitally because they lack access to high speed Internet. Moreover, the report said, paying far more for Amazon, FedEx, the United Parcel Service, and other private delivery services still doesn’t guarantee on-time mailing in rural parts of the country, because last-mile delivery in rural areas is often handled by the U.S. Postal Service.
Senior citizens face heightened dangers, too. One out of every 5 U.S. senior citizens lives in a rural area; 4.7 million of them are veterans. More than half a million of those seniors count on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver their monthly Social Security checks, which are used to cover mortgages, buy food, and meet medicine co-payments. And according to AARP, 75 percent of adults ages 50 and older regularly take a prescription medication; for those 65 and older, the figure is even higher. More than 80 percent of those adults take more than one such medication, “and over four in ten … take four or more.” Medicare also pushes people into drug plans that involve just-in-time Postal Service mailing.
This is just a cursory survey of groups of Americans whose very livelihoods and survival depend upon timely, routine postal delivery. It’s the sort of list that the Postal Service should have scrutinized before taking any disruptive actions, ensuring that none of these essential first-class deliveries would be slowed, rendered useless, or lost. That it has apparently failed to do so is reprehensible.
For their part, leading Democrats have focused on the implications of sweeping Postal Service changes on the November elections; none have publicly noted that the overall privatization scheme dates to June 2018. They have repeatedly missed opportunities to question the larger motivations behind DeJoy and Mnuchin’s reforms, or to take a broader view of the likely impact on the health and well-being of Americans. In contrast, Republicans have repeatedly complained about the Postal Service’s debt and its failure to compete with Amazon and FedEx.
It’s not like there wasn’t time to hold the Trump administration accountable. This scheme to privatize the Postal Service has been on paper in the White House for more than two years and was reviewed by the Congressional Research Service. Two years was plenty of time for at least a cursory look at the lives likely to be harmed, children likely to go hungry, and rents likely to go unpaid if the mail doesn’t arrive on time. That such a review was apparently never undertaken, or was ignored by the postmaster general, can only prove to the American people that the cost efficiency of the Postal Service is far more important to its leadership than the survival of citizens who rely upon it.


foreignpolicy--2020-08-31--U.S. Officials Tour the Middle East to Promote Israeli-UAE Peace Deal

U.S. Officials Tour the Middle East to Promote Israeli-UAE Peace Deal Here is today ’ s Foreign Policy brief : U.S. delegation led by Jared Kushner tours the Middle East , a new prime minister is designated in Lebanon , and Turkish mayors accuse the national government of covering up coronavirus data .
We welcome your feedback at morningbrief @ foreignpolicy.com .
White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and other top U.S. government officials are visiting the Middle East this week to encourage more Gulf states to normalize ties with Israel in the wake of the historic peace deal between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this month .
The U.S. delegation arrived in Israel on Sunday and will join an Israeli delegation on a visit to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi today .
This is the second time in as many weeks that a delegation of senior U.S. officials will tour the Middle East to promote President Donald Trump ’ s diplomatic strategy .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel , Sudan , Bahrain , Oman , and the United Arab Emirates last week with the same objective as Kushner .
“ The stage is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] , ” Kushner said on Sunday during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem .
Hope dwindling .
The U.S. delegation still has a wide gulf to cross before successfully pushing other Arab states to normalize ties with Israel .
There was initial speculation that Bahrain and Sudan could soon follow the United Arab Emirates , but both countries have since dismissed claims they are exploring similar agreements .
Pompeo left the Middle East having failed to convince the leadership of any of the countries he visited to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make more progress .
Eyeing November .
But the visit serves a second purpose .
It is also part of an effort by the Trump administration to convince select Gulf states to attend a signing ceremony in Washington between Israeli and UAE officials , which Trump officials hope will serve to promote the administration ’ s diplomatic achievements in the Middle East as it touts its record before the November presidential election .
Kushner will reportedly visit Egypt , Jordan , Bahrain , and Oman , some of whom are considering attending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected to begin this week , according to Abdullah Abdullah , chairman of the Afghan government ’ s High Council for National Reconciliation .
August 31-September 1 .
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon to discuss ongoing efforts at political reform .
August 31-September 4 .
Talks between representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union continue this week ahead of the resumption of negotiations on Sep. 7 .
September 1 .
Members of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meet with Iran to discuss the nuclear deal .
September 2 .
Kosovar and Serbian leaders will meet with U.S. representatives in Washington .
September 4 .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosts a virtual meeting with the foreign ministers of the other BRICS countries .
September 6 .
New Zealand is expected to dissolve its parliament to trigger its general election due to be held in October .
Tight race in Montenegro .
Preliminary results from Montenegro ’ s parliamentary elections on Sunday suggest that the pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set to notch a slight victory over the pro-Serbian , pro-Russian For the Future of Montenegro alliance .
The DPS will fall well short of a majority , however , but a strong enough performance from the pro-Western Peace of Our Nation could be enough to give it a governing majority .
Djukanovic has been a strong proponent of deepening the country ’ s ties to the West , and he spearheaded Montenegro ’ s accession to NATO in 2017 and its current efforts to join the European Union .
But protests against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent months , underscoring a widespread feeling of opposition to his leadership .
Backing the monarchy in Thailand .
Protesters gathered in a stadium in the Thai capital of Bangkok on Sunday to rally in support of the monarchy following massive student-led anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks .
The event , which attracted around 1,200 people , was organized by the newly-formed pro-monarchy group Loyal Thai .
“ We insist that the country ’ s conflicts stem from politicians , ” said Warong Dechgitvigrom , a prominent right-wing politician who founded the group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part in governing the country .
The institution is the morale support that connects the people together.
” Anti-government protesters have defied draconian laws against criticizing the monarchy in recent weeks to take to the streets to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha , fresh elections , and a new constitution that would limit the powers of the monarchy .
New prime minister in Lebanon .
Mustapha Adib , Lebanon ’ s current ambassador to Germany , is set to become the country ’ s next prime minister as it continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crises since the end of the civil war in 1990 .
Adib won support from all of the major parties on Sunday , as well as from former prime ministers including Saad al-Hariri .
He will be designated prime minister today just before a crucial visit from French President Emmanuel Macron .
The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned earlier this month amid mounting pressure after a pair of explosions rocked the capital of Beirut on Aug. 4 , killing almost 200 people and injuring several thousand more .
The revelation that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the accident sparked public outrage that reignited protests against the country ’ s sectarian governing system .
Turkey ’ s coronavirus coverup .
The mayors of Istanbul and Ankara , the two largest cities in Turkey , have accused the national government of covering up the severity of the coronavirus pandemic in the country , claiming that official figures don ’ t match up with their local data .
Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas , the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara , respectively , both said that the total numbers of deaths in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government is claiming as the national total .
Urban centers like Ankara and Istanbul have long been hotbeds of opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , and after local elections last year brought Imamoglu and Yavas to power , the two mayors have used their positions to expose government corruption and mismanagement .
Protests in Portland turn deadly .
One person was killed in Portland , Oregon , on Saturday during clashes between Black Lives Matters protesters and pro-Trump counterprotesters .
Although neither the identity nor the affiliation of the shooter are known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a supporter of the pro-Trump Patriot Prayer group .
Protests have taken place in Portland since the police killing of George Floyd in May .
The event follows a similar clash last week in Kenosha , Wisconsin , during which two people were shot and killed by an armed pro-Trump gunman amid protests against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the city .
The latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic is the long-time slogan of popular U.S. fast food company Kentucky Fried Chicken ( KFC ) .
The slogan , “ it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” has been used by the company on-and-off for 64 years , but KFC announced last week that it is suspending the slogan because it is no longer appropriate in the current health-conscious environment .
Health experts discourage people from touching their faces in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus , and users on social media criticized KFC for implicitly promoting unhealthy habits in its marketing campaigns .
The company rolled out an advertisement in the United Kingdom and Ireland that ended with the tagline : “ That thing we always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The suspension will go into effect today .

Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: U.S. delegation led by Jared Kushner tours the Middle East, a new prime minister is designated in Lebanon , and Turkish mayors accuse the national government of covering up coronavirus data .
Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: U.S. delegation led by Jared Kushner tours the Middle East, a new prime minister is designated in Lebanon, and Turkish mayors accuse the national government of covering up coronavirus data.
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Normalizing Ties With Israel the Focus of U.S. Tour
White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and other top U.S. government officials are visiting the Middle East this week to encourage more Gulf states to normalize ties with Israel in the wake of the historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. The U.S. delegation arrived in Israel on Sunday and will join an Israeli delegation on a visit to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi today.
This is the second time in as many weeks that a delegation of senior U.S. officials will tour the Middle East to promote President Donald Trump’s diplomatic strategy. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel, Sudan, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates last week with the same objective as Kushner. “The stage is now set for even more [peace agreements],” Kushner said on Sunday during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Hope dwindling. The U.S. delegation still has a wide gulf to cross before successfully pushing other Arab states to normalize ties with Israel. There was initial speculation that Bahrain and Sudan could soon follow the United Arab Emirates, but both countries have since dismissed claims they are exploring similar agreements. Pompeo left the Middle East having failed to convince the leadership of any of the countries he visited to change tack, and Kushner appears unlikely to make more progress.
Eyeing November. But the visit serves a second purpose. It is also part of an effort by the Trump administration to convince select Gulf states to attend a signing ceremony in Washington between Israeli and UAE officials, which Trump officials hope will serve to promote the administration’s diplomatic achievements in the Middle East as it touts its record before the November presidential election. Kushner will reportedly visit Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Oman, some of whom are considering attending the event.
The World This Week
August 31-September 4. Talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected to begin this week, according to Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan government’s High Council for National Reconciliation.
August 31-September 1. French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Lebanon to discuss ongoing efforts at political reform.
August 31-September 4. Talks between representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union continue this week ahead of the resumption of negotiations on Sep. 7.
September 1. Members of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will meet with Iran to discuss the nuclear deal.
September 2. Kosovar and Serbian leaders will meet with U.S. representatives in Washington.
September 4. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosts a virtual meeting with the foreign ministers of the other BRICS countries.
September 6. New Zealand is expected to dissolve its parliament to trigger its general election due to be held in October.
What We’re Following Today
Tight race in Montenegro. Preliminary results from Montenegro’s parliamentary elections on Sunday suggest that the pro-Western Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic is set to notch a slight victory over the pro-Serbian, pro-Russian For the Future of Montenegro alliance. The DPS will fall well short of a majority, however, but a strong enough performance from the pro-Western Peace of Our Nation could be enough to give it a governing majority.
Djukanovic has been a strong proponent of deepening the country’s ties to the West, and he spearheaded Montenegro’s accession to NATO in 2017 and its current efforts to join the European Union. But protests against his government have gripped the country in recent months, underscoring a widespread feeling of opposition to his leadership.
Backing the monarchy in Thailand. Protesters gathered in a stadium in the Thai capital of Bangkok on Sunday to rally in support of the monarchy following massive student-led anti-government demonstrations in recent weeks. The event, which attracted around 1,200 people, was organized by the newly-formed pro-monarchy group Loyal Thai. “We insist that the country’s conflicts stem from politicians,” said Warong Dechgitvigrom, a prominent right-wing politician who founded the group. “The monarchy institution has no part in governing the country. The institution is the morale support that connects the people together.”
Anti-government protesters have defied draconian laws against criticizing the monarchy in recent weeks to take to the streets to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, fresh elections, and a new constitution that would limit the powers of the monarchy.
New prime minister in Lebanon. Mustapha Adib, Lebanon’s current ambassador to Germany, is set to become the country’s next prime minister as it continues to grapple with one of its worst crises since the end of the civil war in 1990. Adib won support from all of the major parties on Sunday, as well as from former prime ministers including Saad al-Hariri. He will be designated prime minister today just before a crucial visit from French President Emmanuel Macron.
The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned earlier this month amid mounting pressure after a pair of explosions rocked the capital of Beirut on Aug. 4, killing almost 200 people and injuring several thousand more. The revelation that the government’s negligence helped cause the accident sparked public outrage that reignited protests against the country’s sectarian governing system.
Keep an Eye On
Turkey’s coronavirus coverup. The mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, the two largest cities in Turkey, have accused the national government of covering up the severity of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, claiming that official figures don’t match up with their local data. Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, respectively, both said that the total numbers of deaths in their cities almost matched the figure the government is claiming as the national total.
Urban centers like Ankara and Istanbul have long been hotbeds of opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and after local elections last year brought Imamoglu and Yavas to power, the two mayors have used their positions to expose government corruption and mismanagement.
Protests in Portland turn deadly. One person was killed in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday during clashes between Black Lives Matters protesters and pro-Trump counterprotesters. Although neither the identity nor the affiliation of the shooter are known, the victim appears to have been a supporter of the pro-Trump Patriot Prayer group. Protests have taken place in Portland since the police killing of George Floyd in May.
The event follows a similar clash last week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during which two people were shot and killed by an armed pro-Trump gunman amid protests against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the city.
Odds and Ends
The latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic is the long-time slogan of popular U.S. fast food company Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The slogan, “it’s finger lickin’ good,” has been used by the company on-and-off for 64 years, but KFC announced last week that it is suspending the slogan because it is no longer appropriate in the current health-conscious environment. Health experts discourage people from touching their faces in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and users on social media criticized KFC for implicitly promoting unhealthy habits in its marketing campaigns.
The company rolled out an advertisement in the United Kingdom and Ireland that ended with the tagline: “That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now.” The suspension will go into effect today.
That’s it for today.