Week in Review - November 21, 2014 Share This /

Middle East and North Africa

• Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in London to discuss escalating violence in Israel and Palestine and strengthening bilateral ties between Egypt and the United States. The U.S. Congress debated over the $1.3 billion of annual security assistance the United States provides Egypt. Congress is considering whether to continue the FMF levels to Egypt with a continuing resolution (CR) or altering the agreement in an omnibus bill. Meanwhile, Amy Hawthorne of the Atlantic Council published the second of her two part analysis of the United States’ Foreign Military Financing program to Egypt. Hawthorne explained that funds (not related to counterterrorism and border security) can only be approved pending the Secretary of State’s certification of democratic reforms in the country. And State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki, said just last week, “There are still concerns we have, and that is noted by the fact that we have not certified, based on [Egypt’s] human rights record.” This comes as five Egyptian students were transferred to military courts to be tried for rioting at Al Azhar University.
• The United States has reportedly discontinued support to Syrian rebels in the North after the groups suffered major losses to the Nusra Front and Islamic State militants. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said that the Pentagon will "speed up" the training of Syrian rebels to combat the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Turkish officials and the Defense Department confirmed the training of Syrian rebels would occur on bases in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Obama administration is also reportedly considering expanding the Central Intelligence Agency’s training mission in Syria, which currently vets and trains approximately 400 fighters a month.

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Former rebels turned soldiers began looting a police station while protesting in the Ivory Coast. The government opened negotiations with the disgruntled soldiers, who seek pay back wages. While representatives from both sides negotiated, the soldiers halted the protesting and returned to their barracks. On Friday, a settlement seemed to have been reached as President Ouattara, announced, “You have been heard. We have solved these problems, and you know they've been solved because I am telling you they are solved.”
• Nigeria’s struggle against Boko Haram continues to escalate, with a recent attack by the militant group in Borno state killing dozens. In response, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan extended the “state of emergency” in the states most affected by the insurgency. Meanwhile, Nigeria has been searching for military equipment to combat Boko Haram, including a purchase of 12 Scorpion jets, but the country, according to The Daily Maverick, is having difficulty purchasing from major arms dealers. The United States and South Africa have limited sales to the Nigerian government including a U.S. refusal to sell advanced weaponry to a country whose military stands accused of human rights violations as Nigeria’s army has been.
• Arms sales and defense expenditures on the African continent have increased dramatically in the past seven years. As The Economist reported, all but nine countries have increased defense spending anywhere from 50% to 200% from 2004 to 2013. Despite stagnant military spending in the 1990s leading up to the early 2000s, the continent’s defense expenditures as a whole grew by an astounding 65%. Evidence of this progress is witnessed throughout the continent, such as Angola’s increased spending to assert itself as a regional maritime power or Nigeria appropriating nearly $1 billion for new aircraft and training.

Latin American and Caribbean

• President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to use his executive authority to protect millions of undocumented migrants residing in the United States from deportation. According to the Pew Research Center, the new measures expand protections for roughly 4 million undocumented migrants who have resided in the country for more than 5 years and who have children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. Human Rights Watch lauded the President’s plan, but also called attention to aspects of immigration policy the executive action does not address, including alleged mistreatment of migrants in detention at U.S. facilities.
• New data from Mexico’s National Registry of Missing Persons reported 5,098 citizens disappeared between January and October 2014, 584 more than the total from the previous year. The total number of disappeared persons in Mexico is estimated to be more than 22,000. Meanwhile, Mexican citizens have been taking to the streets en masse for weeks to protest the rampant government and police corruption in the country as well as widespread problems of crime, violence and impunity. These events have highlighted the shortcomings of counternarcotics and anti-crime programs implemented by the Mexican government with billions of dollars of support from the U.S. government. Many journalists, analysts and activists have criticized U.S. policy for contributing to the militarization of Mexico’s citizen security efforts while giving insufficient attention to underlying issues of governance and rule of law.
• Cuba and Norway helped facilitate the release of Colombian army General Rubén Alzate, after his capture by the FARC rebel group put the ongoing peace negotiations with the government in jeopardy. Nevertheless, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has signaled that arrangements have been made for the safe return of the General and four other prisoners held by the FARC. The peace process, which is now more than two years old, seems likely to go forward, but Colombia will continue to face security challenges beyond the decades-old civil conflict even in the event of a final peace deal according to InSight Crime.

Central Eurasia

• Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili visited Brussels for negotiations with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the implementation of the ‘substantive cooperation package’ that was offered to Georgia at the NATO Summit in early September. At a joint press conference after their meeting, Jens Stoltenberg announced Georgia will host a NATO-Georgia Training Center that will “prepare Georgia and other partners for future contributions to NATO Response Force.” While in Brussels, the Georgian Prime Minister also attended what he called “a very fruitful” first session of the E.U.-Georgia Association Council. In a separate visit, Commander of the United States Army Europe Lieutenant General Ben Hodges traveled to the Georgian Ministry of Defense to observe ongoing Staff and Command Exercise Didgori 2014 and meet with newly-appointed Georgian Minister of Defense Mindia Janelidze.
• Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken stated that the White House is considering providing lethal arms to Ukraine, which would represent a break with the previous policy of sending only non-lethal assistance. At a hearing on his nomination for Deputy Secretary of State, Blinken said he believes lethal military aid could help deter Russia from further aggression against Ukraine. He also explained that the administration has been reluctant to act due to fears that Russia would react by increasing support for armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also made a statement calling on President Obama to reverse his position and provide arms to Ukrainian forces. However, some analysts have raised concerns that providing weapons to Ukrainian forces would be ineffective due to problems with command and control, a lack of necessary technical skills and widespread corruption in the country’s military.