The United States approved the delivery of arms to select Syrian rebel groups as the Syrian regime neared completion of its chemical weapons shipment agreement. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa convened to discuss the 2015 State Department budget. Below is a roundup of some of the top articles and news highlights from around the Middle East and North Africa over the last week:
United States Policy:
- Frank Rose, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy, ...
And curiously, the level of skepticism that the State Department used with respect to Central Asian governments didn't extend to Azerbaijan.
Georgia's defense minister is visiting Washington this week as the United States tries to bolster the defenses of its allies on Russia's borders.
Other than speaking at the Atlantic...
On April 23, 2014 the Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted an event analyzing the potential impact of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on African countries. The ATT is an international treaty that regulates the “international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. Event panelists included Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation and Raymond Gilpin, Academic Dean of the National Defense University’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Jennifer Cooke, Director of CSIS’s Africa Program, moderated the panel.
Last week United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel traveled to Mexico and Guatemala for a three-day visit, where he called for deeper U.S.-Mexico ties and praised Guatemalan President Pérez Molina for his work on human rights. On both visits he expressed the United States’ deep commitment to supporting both countries’ armed forces to fight narcotrafficking,