| | | | Trump's Fantasy Foreign Policy | | Despite President Trump's claim that "there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," The New York Times reports that "North Korea is moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases." Meanwhile, the IAEA affirmed yet again that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal.
In other words, Trump's foreign policy is based on fantasy, suggests Daniel Larison in The American Conservative. "North Korea isn't disarming, never agreed to disarm, and isn't going to agree to disarm, but in the fantasy version the administration insists they have already agreed to give up everything," Larison writes. "Iran isn't building a nuclear weapon, and thanks to the [2015 deal] it has no means to do so, so of course the administration fantasy is that the deal is the worst ever negotiated that 'paves the way' to a bomb."
"Both fantasies are founded on disdain for diplomacy and the compromise that it requires. There would have been no nuclear deal with Iran [without] some compromises... and there won't be any agreement with North Korea as long as the administration insists on its maximalist demands."
| | Russia Brushes Off Sanctions | | Over the last few years, Russia has annexed Crimea, meddled in foreign elections, and allegedly poisoned a former spy, leading Western countries to impose tough sanctions. "But if the measures were designed to make Moscow an international pariah, friendless and toxic, they are falling short of achieving their goal," writes Henry Foy in the Financial Times.
"When it comes to Russian isolation, reality has not matched rhetoric," Foy writes. "All of the EU's biggest economies have quietly continued to do business with their eastern neighbor." In fact, "Europe is buying more gas from Russia than at any time in history."
Russia is forging new relationships as well. "An ever-closer friendship with China has provided Moscow with international finance, new trade opportunities and diplomatic heft. Moscow has also deepened its ties with a host of countries in the Middle East, from Turkey to Israel, Saudi Arabia to Iran, expanding its influence in the region at a time of American hesitation."
| | Be the Global Briefing Editor! | | | Hello loyal newsletter readers, Fareed here. Are you (or is somebody you know) eager? Ambitious? Do you have a passion for foreign policy? Are you a great reader of all things international? Can you write and edit well? If you answered "yes" to all of the above, please apply to be the next editor of this newsletter. | | Why the World Needs to Worry About Global Cooling | | The number of small air conditioning units worldwide is projected to nearly quadruple by 2050, according to a new report by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The result of all this cooling: more global warming.
"To put this in perspective; if we turned the entire global population vegetarian overnight, replanted two-thirds of our degraded tropical forests, and doubled the world's bicycle commuting it would just barely neutralize the negative impact from this one piece of technology," write Iain Campbell, an author of the report, and William Sisson in Greentech Media.
There is hope. The report claims that it is feasible to develop "a technology solution that has one-fifth of the climate impact" of current air conditioners. To that end, the Institute has partnered with Mission Innovation and the government of India on the Global Cooling Prize, which will provide $3 million for innovators to solve this burning issue.
| | Your Data Is Out of Your Hands | | We often hear about the need to set strong passwords and avoid clicking on suspicious emails. But "the 'weakest link' in cybersecurity is often no longer the human," writes Jason Koebler for Motherboard. "It's the infrastructure that increasingly controls our data without giving us a chance to do anything about it."
"Hackers are increasingly exploiting systematic failures by large companies," while "new startups rarely take security as seriously as they should." In addition, "the business models of many companies rely on monetizing and selling user data," Koebler points out.
That doesn't mean you're helpless. Motherboard has a handy "Guide to Not Getting Hacked," with tips like this: "Probably the most important and basic thing you can do to protect yourself is to update the software you use to its newest version." Take heed!
| | On Veterans Day, How to Really Honor Veterans | | The U.S. observed Veterans Day today, and "while Washington honors veterans and service members with words every day, government actions all too frequently produce the opposite effect," Daniel L. Davis writes in The National Interest.
"The use of lethal military power… should only be used by our leaders when the security of the United States is directly threatened or attacked," Davis argues. "The precious lives of the men and women who wear the uniform should not be risked by conducting missions intended on 'sending a message,' posturing for some future potential clash, or for the security of some other country."
And it's not just about exercising restraint. "If we truly want to honor our veterans and their families, we should insist that our leaders hearken back to the original intent of Veterans Day and once again 'reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace,'" as President Dwight Eisenhower said in 1954 when the holiday was created. | | | | | | |
