Embarrassment in Beijing

On her first visit to China in 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Chinese leaders that she considered human rights secondary to other, greater issues. “Our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” she said. Have those words ever come back to bite her! Over the past week, the case of blind Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng has exposed the Clinton–Obama foreign policy as few events ever have, and it has exposed it as either spineless or … More

Human Rights Activists: Obama Must Stand With Chen Gaungcheng

A top activist for human rights in China warned on Thursday that if the United States wants to maintain its image as a global human rights leader, dissident Chen Gaungcheng and his family must join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she returns from China this week. Chen has become the center of a diplomatic firestorm after he was reportedly pressured by U.S. officials to leave the American embassy in Beijing. He may now face reprisal from the Chinese government, which has also imprisoned and tortured his wife since Chen … More

Obama Administration Courts the Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has a long history of deception, promotion of Sharia law, anti-Semitism, and anti-Western values. Yet this does not seem to concern the Obama White House. Recently the Obama Administration wholeheartedly welcomed a delegation from the Muslim Brotherhood to Washington. It even suspended normal screening processes for them, including one member who, according to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, was “implicated—though not charged—in a U.S. child pornography investigation.” In addition to turning a blind eye to suspected criminals, the Obama Administration has overlooked the Muslim Brotherhood’s policies and … More

House Members Ask Hillary Clinton Not to Promote ‘Fracking’ Propaganda

Thirty-two members of the House of Representatives have asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to remove a factually inaccurate environmentalist documentary from the list of featured films at a State Department event showcasing “contemporary American society and culture.” The documentary, Gasland, spread hysteria about the natural gas mining technique hydraulic fracturing, using numerous factual misstatements, exaggerations, and misrepresentations. Its inclusion in State’s event was first reported by Scribe last month. The 32 House members accuse State of pursuing a “radical environmental agenda,” as evinced by its inclusion of Gasland in … More

Obama Administration Knifes Britain in the Back over Falklands

In yet another display of disdain for the Anglo-American Special Relationship, the Obama administration has weighed in on the mounting tensions between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Just two days after Prime Minister David Cameron issued a robust statement in the House of Commons vowing to defend the sovereignty of the Falklands, the US State Department has undercut Britain yet again with a deeply unhelpful statement that plays into Argentina’s hands. In response to a question on the Falklands at Thursday’s State Department press briefing, a US government spokesman supported direct … More

House Committee to Consider Bill to Advance Keystone Pipeline

In the wake of President Obama’s decision to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing to review legislation that would restart the project, and give oversight responsibility to an agency the bill’s proponents say is less politically motivated than the White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be invited to testify at the hearing, scheduled for Jan. 25, to discuss her department’s environmental review procedures. The hearing will focus on a bill introduced by Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE), … More

Obama Administration Airbrushes Britain out of Europe

Philip H Gordon, US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, has just delivered a speech in Berlin outlining “the state of transatlantic relations”. His remarks, given at the Korber Foundation on January 11, are a scene-setter for the Obama administration’s European policy in “its final year in office before elections this November.” Like most pronouncements on Europe coming from the Obama presidency, it is fixated on Washington’s dealings with the European Union, as well as with Hillary Clinton’s “reset” of relations with Moscow. This is hardly surprising coming from a … More

The Trial of Alleged Wikileaks Informant Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning, the Army private who allegedly leaked classified information to WikiLeaks, starts his trial process today with an Article 32 hearing at Fort Meade in Maryland. Under military law, this is essentially the equivalent of a preliminary hearing in the civilian justice system. Based on the hearing, the investigating officer will make a recommendation to the convening authority whether Manning should be sent to a general court martial for his actions that led to the worldwide disclosure of highly sensitive military reports and intelligence, as well as State Department … More

Hillary Clinton Heads to Burma

By Doug Bandow

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to the isolated nation of Burma, officially known as Myanmar, in an attempt to spur the reform process. “After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress,” said President Barack Obama of the troubled country. By visiting Burma Secretary Clinton can test the new government’s willingness to [...]

Hillary Clinton Heads to Burma is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog