WASHINGTON — In an “interim” security strategy document released Wednesday afternoon, the White House emphasized that the Biden administration views diplomacy as its first tool for national security issues — and democracy as its greatest asset. The report also called for an end to “forever wars,” such as the conflict in Afghanistan; for the Pentagon to divest of legacy military systems in favor of funding for future needs; and stressed the need for cybersecurity improvements across government. In the introduction to the 24-page document, the first wide-ranging, formal guidance on national security issues from the administration, President Joe Biden wrote that American democracy is “our…

Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming said that the U.S.-China trade dispute poses a severe challenge to the world economic order and reflects three conflicts of views between the two countries. Liu said in a signed article published on The Sunday Telegraph that the United States recently went back on its words after reaching a principled consensus with China. “The dark clouds of ‘trade war’ are once again looming over the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, and posing a severe challenge to the world economic order and the multilateral trade regime,” he said. Liu said that deep down, the trade…

TEHRAN – Israel has proposed to form a special security arrangement with some of the Persian Gulf’s Arab states, but the Israeli initiative was coldly received by Arabs, sparking speculation over whether Israel is trying to create troubles between Iran and its Arab neighbors. In what appeared to be a crass move, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz claimed that Israel intends to establish a “special security arrangement” with some of the Persian Gulf Arab states, who share common concerns about Iran. During a visit to an Israel-Gaza border crossing, Gantz played down reports in Israeli media that Israel was considering…

The Biden administration has made no secret about its intention to focus on investing in the nation’s youth. With its allies in Congress, the White House’s “American Rescue Plan” proposes to provide thousands of dollars of cash payments to families with children. This, alongside increased attention to education, caregiving, and other family support measures, signals the administration’s spotlight on the well-being of children. Although investment in the nation’s youth is a long-held staple of American politics, it was clearly not an emphasis of the Trump administration, which paid more attention to appeasing its largely older political base. Yet, politics alone is not the…

The new White House Team has been in place for more than a month and it is perhaps time to consider where it is going with America’s fractured foreign policy. To be sure, when a new administration brings in a bunch of “old hands” who made their bones by attacking Syria and Libya while also assassinating American citizens by drone one might hope that those mistakes might have served as valuable “lessons learned.” Or maybe not, since no one in the Democratic Party ever mentions the Libya fiasco and President Joe Biden has already made it clear that Syria will…