Unfinished Business With Jordan and Justice - Will Trump Make Extradition Great Again?

A year ago, the Conference of Presidents which speaks for America's major Jewish groups wrote an emphatic letter to Sec of State Antony Blinken. He didn't answer. This week, the COP renewed its call, this time to the Trump Administration. It concerns Jordan, justice, the… https://t.co/U7sOYMRbhA pic.twitter.com/SenocSHePC

— Arnold Roth (@arnoldroth) January 21, 2025

Now that we have a new-ish administration, I wonder what appetite it may have for bringing justice to a notorious most wanted terrorist who is hiding in plain sight in Jordan? 

See this old post or this one for details but, trust me, this is exactly the kind of business that ought to interest the Trump administration, or so you would think. 

Al-Tamimi murdered U.S. citizens, so she has an ass-kicking coming to her from the fellow citizens of those victims. 

Will Trump finally act on her now that he has a second chance to run our foreign affairs with his customary heavy hand? No one would deserve that more. 

 

These Ancient Hippie Performances Just Harsh My Mellow

If geezers really must do this, at least learn some Rolling Stones songs. That I'd listen to. 

But Rockin' in the Free World? That invites people to notice that it will have to be rockin' in the not-so-free world if you're a Ukrainian whose democratic preference is for one of the opposition parties that Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council banned two years ago. 

It seems democracy is too valuable to let just anybody vote. 

BTW, when is Ukraine's next election? Does anyone know? 

Trick question! Ukraine's present government has declared martial law, and, unfortunately, no elections are allowed under martial law. Any Ukrainians who wish to rock in that free world will have to wait until their government allows them.

  

Give That Prime Minister a MAGA Hat

Albanian PM goes MAGA in front of Blinken: “And despite the rhetoric, despite the colorful way to confront adversaries, I don’t see that NATO was weakened … Every country continued to put more money and to put more effort in increasing the NATO budget.” https://t.co/ReBLBWRptP

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) February 23, 2024

I'll bet A. Blinken didn't see that coming. There he was, having a pleasantly innocuous 'press availability' with his host, the Big Guy in Albania, when that guy peeled out of formation and gave a shout out to Donald Trump and his successful effort to make NATO grow a spine.

But one thing I can say, I had the privilege to be prime minister for Albania in NATO when the former president was there. And despite the rhetoric, despite the colorful way to confront adversaries, I don’t see that NATO was weakened. On the contrary, what was decided before continued to be the case. Every country continued to put more money and to put more effort in increasing the NATO budget. So now, elections are elections, Trump is Trump. American politics is American politics. But I think United States is something more than that. And what makes United States one of a kind in the – in our community of countries and of people all around the world is that United States cannot and will never, in my view, shy away from what are the principles and the values to be protected, whatever it takes. And so I’m not afraid of anything, but of stopping or wavering to continue and protect ourselves through protecting the right of Ukrainians to live in their country, to have their own house intact, to have their children grow there, and to have a common future with everyone else, without being threatened to be wiped out from maps based on ninth, thirteenth, fifteenth, whatever century. Because if this Pandora box opens then I can tell you we have a lot of maps in this region, but we have to see the future, and it’s only the future that will unite us.

So no, I don’t think that NATO will be weakened. I don’t think the United States will shy away from their role and from their leadership. I then that when elections will be over, American business is American business.

The PM is distinctly not concerned about our upcoming national election. 

Well, after all, Trump was the first POTUS to give weapons (the Javelin, our most advanced anti-tank rocket) to Ukraine. Obama never did. And he also blocked completion of Russia's Nord Stream II pipeline. So, he kinda does deserve some credit here.

It wouldn't be going too far to expect to see that impromptu endorsement appear on Trump campaign material soon. And if that ad can focus on A. Blinken's face when the PM said all that, it would be extra great.

A. Blinken's Surprisingly Direct Statement: Why Does Virtually No One Demand Hamas Surrender?

Everyone would like to see this conflict end as quickly as possible. But if it ends with Hamas remaining in place, and having the capacity and the stated intent to repeat October 7th again and again and again, that’s not in the interests of Israel, it’s not in the interests of the region, it’s not in the interests of the world. And what is striking to me is that even as, again, we hear many countries urging to end this conflict, which we would all like to see, I hear virtually no one saying, demanding, of Hamas, that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender. This is over tomorrow, if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that. And how can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor, and only demands made of the victim? So it would be good if there was a strong international voice pressing Hamas to do what is necessary to end this. And, again — that could be tomorrow.

I have to say that I have strange new respect for our SecState after hearing that short statement. No equivocating there, no hedging, no 'constructive ambiguity' about his meaning.  

There's probably a story there about how that text got drafted and cleared before he delivered it. What parties in State and the White House agreed with it? Who tried to water it down? Who thought it didn't go far enough? 

That will all have to wait for his memoirs, I suppose.

 

"Secretary Anthony Lincoln" Visits Jerusalem, According to U.S. Embassy Jerusalem's Facebook

Okay, his name is "A. Blinken," and I suppose that does present opportunities for screw-ups, but that one screw-up is particularly choice. 

Abe Blinken?

SecState Blinken to FSJ: A World of Risk

On Moves to Modernize: An Interview with Secretary of State Antony Blinken https://t.co/PJcHHMpKTk

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) January 15, 2022

SecState Blinken was interviewed for this month's Foreign Service Journal, and he - meaning, really, his office and staff - showed he has been briefed on an initiative now underway to approach Congress for relief from some strictures on overseas security and risk acceptance that were imposed by legislation which was passed over twenty years ago.

FSJ: You said in the speech at FSI that you will seek authorities and policies that allow diplomats to manage risk more effectively and smartly. Can you tell us more about this new risk management platform and how it will be implemented?

Secretary Blinken: My first responsibility is to ensure the safety of our people and their families in the field. From the COVID-19 pandemic to anomalous health incidents, the risks facing U.S. diplomats overseas are as significant and complex as ever.

But we must find ways to address these threats and risks without losing the in-person diplomacy and public engagement that are at the core of our profession. That’s a message I’ve heard loud and clear from every part of our workforce, everywhere I’ve traveled, including at our highest-risk posts.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve moved many U.S. embassies, consulates and American Centers out of city centers and into more hardened facilities where they’re less accessible to the people they were created to reach. In some cases, there were good reasons for those moves. But there have also been some unintended consequences. It’s become immensely difficult to open new posts, even in low-threat environments; and it’s harder than it should be to adjust our presence to respond to crises and opportunities. Last year, China surpassed the United States in total number of diplomatic and consular posts. We make it harder to outcompete China when we are so hindered in how and where we can operate. We’ve got to fix that.

As our diplomats know, a world of zero risk is not a world in which we can deliver for the American people. We have to accept risk and manage it smartly. One way to do that is by working with Congress to update the legislation that governs our physical security requirements overseas and reforming the Accountability Review Board process. Here, too, there is bipartisan support to update our mindset and operations, focusing more on lessons learned and less on individual culpability when it comes to security incidents.

So I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to make some commonsense changes that will strengthen our diplomacy while continuing to keep our people safe.

Good on you, SecState Blinken. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can persuade Congress to acknowledge the reality that this is, unavoidably, a world of risk.

Thoughts On Listening to SecState Blinken's Playlist: May Your Enemies Always Be As Soft as Your Power

In my life, music has been a constant companion--particularly on my travels. On day one of my trip, I’m thrilled to share my first @spotify playlist, inspired by artists from Liverpool and Southeast Asia. Give it a listen--and tell me what you think! https://t.co/YNr29rXioW pic.twitter.com/t3SJtoK6Zv

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 10, 2021

If the Chinese haven't already been sufficiently awed by the U.S. Navy's 'freedom of navigation' patrols through contested waters, then surely this Spotify play list of SecState Blinken's will finish the job of strategic deterrence. 

Ha! Just kidding. Seeing "Penny Lane" in the #1 spot will only incite Chi-Com aggression. 

I assume this terrible idea was a Public Diplomacy soft power ploy. While I have the highest regard for great propagandists - and cultural propaganda can be the most powerful kind, see for instance the paintings of Jacques-Louis David, who was basically the artistic director of the French Revolution and permanently shaped its public perception - I cannot imagine why anyone thought there would be a public interest anywhere in the contents of SecState Blinken's playlist. Much less can I imagine what goal PD thought would be furthered by publicizing that particular playlist.

For what it's worth, I can easily imagine him listening to the first two songs, but the rest of them must be what young PD whippersnappers thought would make him sound interesting.

If PD plans any more stunning musical revelations like this, I strongly recommend they add a Rolling Stones number to counter the sweetness of Penny Lane. Personally, I'd go with Sympathy for the Devil, which has the best literary-historical basis of any '60s Rock hit, hands down. I mean, it references the Hundred Years War, the murder of the Russian royal family by Bolshevik revolutionaries, the Holocaust, the Augustinian inquiry on the nature of evil ("what's puzzling you is the nature of my game"), and has lines like "'cause every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints." The whole song was inspired by a Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. It's stunning.

The Beetles, bless them, mostly have lyrics like "I wanna hold your hand, yeah, yeah, yeah." Trust me, back in the day when those songs were new, the Beetles were strictly for the girls while the Stones were every boy's favorite band. 

So the choice is yours, PD. What will impress our adversaries more? Sentimental dreck or hard-core bloody reality put to a samba rock beat? 

I know which one would make Xi Jinping think twice before invading Taiwan.