US to resettle more Syrian refugees in the near future
Washington is planning to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed to resettle in the United States, mostly for...
Thursday, 2 April 2015
Machnouk: Iran nuclear deal not final
Machnouk: Iran nuclear deal not final
Prime Minister Nouhad Machnouk has played down the importance of an agreement reached Thursday between Iran and world...
Innovative Job-Training Programs Are Important. Here's Why:
Earlier today, President Obama traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to discuss how high-quality job-training programs are critical to the growth of our nation's economy, and the expansion of pathways to the middle class.
While in Louisville, the President visited a technology company called InDatus -- a place so "hip and cool," he said, that it even made him consider remodeling the White House. But in all seriousness, he visited InDatus because of its involvement in the TechHire initiative, which brings employers and local governments together to support innovative job-training programs, like online classes and coding bootcamps.
Wisconsin Sen. Johnson Reacts To Tentative Iranian Nuclear Deal
NPR's Melissa Block gets reaction from Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin on the details of the Iran nuclear deal that were announced Thursday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Americans Support Iran Talks, But Doubt They'll Prevent A Weapon
President Obama about to walk out into the Rose Garden at the White House to announce the framework of a nuclear deal with Iran. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama about to walk out into the Rose Garden at the White House to announce the framework of a nuclear deal with Iran.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
Every politician likes to tout what they believe the "American People" want.
As the debate over the Iran nuclear deal inevitably heads toward the meat grinder that is Congress, President Obama tried to preemptively frame that debate. And he claimed to have the "American people" on his side.
"If Congress kills this deal, not based on expert analysis and without offering any reasonable alternative, then it's the United States that will be blamed for the failure of diplomacy," Obama said during remarks at the White House unveiling the framework for the Iran deal. "International unity will collapse, and the path to conflict will widen. The American people understand this, which is why solid majorities support a diplomatic resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue." (Bolding ours.)
Polls, though, show a mixed bag on American public opinion regarding an Iran deal.
First, to the larger picture of how Americans feel about this president's handling of foreign policy, a majority say they disapprove of the job he's doing.
At the same time, however, more Americans said they have confidence in Obama dealing with foreign policy than Republicans in Congress by a 47 to 39 percent margin, per a March CNN/ORC poll.
Support For Direct Negotiations
To whether "solid majorities support a diplomatic resolution," as Obama said, several polls seem to support what the president said.
An ABC/Washington Post poll out Thursday found people in support of a deal by a 59 to 31 percent margin.
A CNN/ORC poll from earlier this month found 68 percent in favor of direct diplomatic negotiations "in an attempt to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon." (Most also said they thought the Republican letter to Iran "went too far.")
A Pew Research poll out this week found a lower number, but still a plurality of Americans in favor of direct negotiations by a 49 to 40 percent margin. (That's down from the 63 percent who approved of them in Obama's first year in office.)
Doubts That A Deal Could Prevent Iran Getting A Nuclear Weapon
Of course, wording and context is important.
ABC/Washington Post asked:
"Would you support or oppose an agreement in which the United States and other countries would some of their economic sanctions against Iran, in exchange for Iran restricting its nuclear program in a way that makes it harder for it to produce nuclear weapons?" (Bolding again ours.)
Even though a solid majority said they would be in favor of such a deal, an almost equal number of Americans (60 percent) said they doubt a deal "would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons."
Similarly, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last month found more than 7-in-10 said they thought a deal would "not make a real difference in preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons."
Opinion Ready To Be Shaped
Information about the details of the Iran deal framework are still being parsed. But even before Thursday's announcement, most people said they knew very little about the negotiations. Pew found that 73 percent said they either knew "a little" or "nothing at all" about them.
That same poll also found that a strong majority (62 percent) wants Congress to "have the final authority for approving any deal" not President Obama.
Translation: Public opinion is not yet baked in, and, like in any political campaign, public opinion is ripe to be shaped.
Let the talking points begin.
Future, Hezbollah tackle state institutions’ work, security
BEIRUT: Hezbollah and the Future Movement exhibited their commitment to shielding Lebanon from regional fires Thursday, holding their ninth round of talks despite deep rifts which emerged over the Yemen war.
During a nearly three-hour meeting held at Speaker Nabih Berri’s residence in Ain al-Tineh, the two sides discussed the paralysis of state institutions and the implementation of a security plan across Lebanon.
“The participants confirmed the continuation of the dialogue in accordance with the rules it was [based] on,” read a terse statement released after the session. “The discussion touched on a number of internal issues related to activating the work of state institutions, and completing [the government’s] security plans in order to enhance internal stability.”
The ninth round of talks held by senior Future and Hezbollah officials since December comes against the backdrop of fiery rhetoric exchanged by the two rival parties over the Saudi military operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen which began last month.
Last week, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah launched a fierce tirade against Saudi Arabia, saying its military offensive in Yemen was doomed to fail and vowing that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels would emerge victorious from the “Saudi-U.S. aggression.” Nasrallah’s remarks drew a quick response from Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, who said the Lebanese were treated to “a storm of hatred against Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.”
As in previous sessions, Future was represented during Thursday’s meeting by the head of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s staff Nader Hariri, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and MP Samir Jisr.
Hezbollah was represented by Nasrallah political aide Hussein Khalil, Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan and MP Hasan Fadlallah. Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, a political aide to Berri, also attended.
Berri described negotiations between Iran and world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program as “the biggest political and diplomatic marathon in history,” after a framework deal was announced Thursday.
The speaker told his visitors that Lebanon would stand to gain from a nuclear agreement, which he described as an “important step” toward resolving the crises in the region. Berri also expressed hope that the world would increase its concern with solving Lebanon’s political crisis since it is the “least complicated” of all regional issues.
As dialogue sessions continue uninterrupted, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said national interest trumped Arab solidarity when it comes to the government’s official position on the Yemen war and Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syria.
“Our foreign policy relies on one standard and that is the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” Bassil said during a news conference delivered at the ministry.
“There are many things that concern us, primarily Arab consensus, solidarity and unity, but national unity is far more important,” he said. “When we preserve our national unity, all things become easier, and on this basis we cite [the government’s official] positions and our foreign policy.”
Clarifying Lebanon’s position on developments in Yemen, Bassil said the country backs any united Arab decision that supports legitimacy in Yemen but takes a neutral stand in topics that don’t receive unanimous backing, like military intervention.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc reiterated its condemnation of what it described as a “Saudi-American aggression against Yemen and its people,” calling for “an immediate halt to the war.” The bloc also stressed the importance of resorting to internal Yemeni dialogue as a prelude to a political solution to the conflict, according to a statement released after the bloc’s weekly meeting.
Calling on Lebanese politicians to exercise “pragmatism” when dealing with internal affairs, the bloc reiterated the call for swift presidential polls and stressed the need to hold legislative sessions despite ongoing rifts between MPs in Parliament.
Also Thursday, a presidential election session was postponed until April 22 over a lack of quorum amid a boycott by the March 8 coalition.
Parliament has now failed to elect a successor to former President Michel Sleiman 21 times since his term ended last May amid a feud between the country’s rival factions on a consensus candidate.
Lawmakers from MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, Hezbollah MPs and their March 8 allies, have thwarted a quorum since April 2014 by boycotting parliamentary sessions, demanding an agreement beforehand with their March 14 rivals.
U.S. diplomat hails education for Syrians
BEIRUT: Educating Syrian refugee children is both a humanitarian and security imperative, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab and a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday during a tour of a school in a Beirut suburb.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne C. Richard met with Bou Saab at the Sadd al-Boushrieh Intermediate School for Girls to discuss the education of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
According to UNICEF statistics, there are 400,000 refugee children aged 6-14 in Lebanon, only 25 percent of whom are enrolled in school. Many of these children attend school in the afternoon after their Lebanese peers have left for the day. While a boon for Syrian refugees, the two-shift system has strained Lebanese infrastructure and resources, Richard heard from Bou Saab and administrators at the school.
Bou Saab acknowledged that the number of Syrian refugees needing access to education in Lebanon is unlikely to decrease for “three or four years or even more.”
Aside from the humanitarian impetus to educate young children, Bou Saab said that keeping Syrian youths in school is a matter of national security. While certainly not the major contributing factor to instability in Lebanon, vulnerable Syrian youths may be exploited by terrorist groups, Bou Saab said.
“We had reports before that some of the [refugee] kids left early from school and some of them went into different terrorism camps,” Bou Saab told The Daily Star.
He noted disturbing images circulating on social media sites and YouTube showing youths and young children fighting alongside terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. “It’s a concern,” Bou Saab acknowledged.
Richard agreed. Children out of school, she said, “can get into trouble. First they can get exploited in terms of being forced to work, or recruited for military campaigns in other countries or they’re just idle ... We want them to have full lives and we want them to contribute to a future Syria.”
While investing in the future of children is an important humanitarian undertaking, it will also help maintain stability in Lebanon, explained Luciano Calestini, the acting director of UNICEF in Lebanon. “Obviously an educated child with a constructive healthy worldview is an asset to a more stable Lebanon, there’s no question about that,” he said.
While the two-shift system has been hailed as a success by many, there are still thousands of Syrian children in Lebanon without access to education. Even some of those in school say they wish there were more resources available.
“I wish we had more books, more teachers and more time [in school],” said Cherko, a young Syrian refugee from Aleppo attending classes at Sadd al-Boushrieh Intermediate School.
When asked if the United States would consider dialogue with the Bashar Assad regime if it meant the safe return of Syrian refugees and their re-enrollment in full-time schools, Richard demurred.
“I think my boss, Secretary [of State John] Kerry is a creative thinker,” she said.
“I can’t comment on how my boss is going to spend his time, but everyone knows that there is no humanitarian solution to this. It has to be a political solution,” Richard told The Daily Star.
Richard arrived in Beirut Wednesday evening after attending the Syrian crisis funding conference in Kuwait. The United States pledged $118 million to aid refugees and host communities in Lebanon.
“The U.S. government very much supports and is grateful for the work of the Lebanese government and Lebanese society to [welcome] so many refugees from Syria,” Richard said during the tour. “We feel very strongly that Lebanon is doing the right thing and should be rewarded and that we are obligated to help.”
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