Foreign Policy Review (Rejected)

[Talleyrand]

Definitions of the DoEA's Foreign Policy Review

DoEA Policy: Asia and Oceania

Syria: Full military and economic restrictions.  The regime of Bashar al-Assad has committed significant human rights violations against its people, and it is time for Mr. Assad to accept the will of his people and resign his position and allow Syria to become a democratic state.
Taiwan: Normal. We support the re-inclusion of Taiwan in the United Nations and plan to reinstate official diplomatic relations.
Tajikistan: Full military and economic restrictions

Could someone please sponsor the preceding amendment? It makes clear our recognition of Taiwan as a separate sovereign state.

[Talleyrand]

Thanks for the input, Hash.

If that's the case, I think we can get rid of the line concerning relations with U.N., although we might as well legitimize relations with Taiwan, as we already deal with it as a separate government, if not sovereign state than the PRC. The President of Taiwan and I have agreed on this as a suitable outcome.

[Talleyrand]

Liechtenstein just recently signed a legal assistance treaty with Atlasia to combat money laundering and illegal banking when SJoyce was SoEA. Penalizing the nation so quickly after such a move would be counterproductive most likely. While the export market with Atlasia is a good deal smaller than that of Switzerland's, this sort of direct communication is vital to global partnerships and has not been done nearly as extensively by Switzerland. If the administration wishes not to levy sanctions on Switzerland and Singapore, it's only fair to avoid such sanctions on Liechtenstein.

[Talleyrand]

So I have a few problems with this FPR…

-More sanctions on Turkey? We might not be best buddies with the AKP, and they might not be doing everything we want… but they're still a democracy and still a key regional power. I'm doubtful that tougher sanctions are what we want here.

-What is the rationale for the restrictions on Morocco and Lebanon?

-Why are we ratcheting up sanctions on Kuwait (in particular), as well as Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE - and why are our sanctions on those 5 stricter than Bahrain? For instance, in Oman there were minor protests, the Sultan made concessions to the legislature and dismissed some people, and a few people died in the protests. In Bahrain Saudi Arabia basically invaded to put down a protest and upwards of 100 people died. I don't see the justification.

-Sort of wondering how the Armenians are getting off free; it's entirely possible that Sargsyan rigged their election.

-Both the Pakistanis and Israelis will be severely pissed.

-Yemen is missing, I hope the talks with Iran proceed, and the FSM, Palau, and Marshall Islands are part of Atlasia (State of Oceania).

-While the administration believes strongly that the AKP is heading in a direction which puts political freedoms and civil liberties in danger for its citizens and is likely contributing to potential regional instability, the administration and I believe that it is best for now to cancel the planned economic restrictions on Turkey (and military if the Senate sees fit), although we reiterate our concerns.

-No restrictions were put on Morocco. The restrictions on Lebanon were extant under SoEA Dr. Cynic as well and are not an addition made by this administration, although we have come to the conclusion that such restrictions are not necessary and urge the Senate to do away with them.

-The sanctions placed on Kuwait by this review should be removed and transferred to Bahrain instead. The administration is deeply concerned by events in the other 5 nations, and is not interested in playing to Islamist petrodictators in the Gulf, although we will be monitoring their actions closely.

-Sanctions, military in particular, in particular would probably a good idea in Armenia per your recommendation and upon some more research into the state of political freedoms in the country. This is a nation in which the AAID has conducted many programs and currently has a good relationship with Atlasia, despite some prior inappropriate military transfers to Iran (which have since been dealt with) so I'd rather these be on the lower scale.

-Both of these nations have done enough to warrant the sanctions placed against them.

-Thanks for the heads-up. The three oceanic countries should be removed and Yemen should be added with sanctions on par with those placed on Oman.

[Talleyrand]

Shua's suggestions with regard to Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Somalia are acceptable to the administration and we encourage their adaptation as a part of this review via amendment.

This view is shared my the SoEA. Could you link to your amendment from 2011, Shua? The lack of or existence of restrictions in these nations is a carry-over from the last review, as the preliminary review did not make many changes to foreign policy in Africa from October 2011 with the exception of nations like Egypt.

-Both of these nations have done enough to warrant the sanctions placed against them.

Solid answers. This is the only one I have further questions on, focusing specifically on Israel.

How will this move affect Atlasian military deployments in the nation, specifically at Dimona and the Port of Haifa, assuming the Israelis refuse to allow a continued presence? How will it affect Israeli defense capabilities if they are not able to acquire anything from Atlasia (especially since they've announced plans to introduce the F-35 within two years from now)? And finally (and perhaps most importantly), how will isolating the Israelis impact our ability to pressure them - for a settlement freeze, end to the Gaza blockade, or any other foreign policy objectives?

The Department of Defense plans to maintain current deployments at Dimona and the Port of Haifa for now. We do not believe the Israelis will take moves to expel Atlasian military presence from within their borders at a time when we are conducting peace negotiations with one of its biggest adversaries in the region (Iran), and thereby create ill will against a nation which has consistently been one of its key backers. We believe we will still be able to pressure Israel due to the fact that the Israeli government knows better than to further antagonize a key ally during these times, although it's 100% certain that these restrictions will create significant anger among elements of the Israeli government and public. Military equipment which has already been sold to the government from Atlasia will still be eligible for acquisition by Israel, and certain exceptions may be made for weapons in cases of emergency per executive order.

[Talleyrand]

By all means it would be a drastic step, and one intended to provoke a response from within the echelons of the Israeli government and military to take action to alleviate some of the issues that the Atlasian government sees. Israel, while likely immensely angered, would have little choice to address these problems, as antagonizing would certainly not produce positive results.

However, due to political realities at home, the adminisration has decided that it will settle for partial restrictions, with warning of further restrictions if changes are made.

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Could a Senator sponsor this amendment, please?

[Talleyrand]

Private efforts have been made to encourage the Israeli government to move in the appropriate regard, although I suppose one could consider the potential military sanctions the first "hard" move the administration is making in regards to relations with the nation.

Here are some amendments which were discussed earlier.

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Lebanon: Full No military and no economic restrictions.

Bahrain: Full military and no partial economic restrictions.  The Atlasian Government strongly condemns the measures taken against protesters in Bahrain.

Kuwait: Full No military restrictions and partial economic restrictions. We are concerned by a lack of regard for human rights and democracy.

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Federated States of Micronesia: Normal
Marshall Islands: Normal
Palau: Normal

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[Talleyrand]

Gass has stated that 58 is friendly.

[Talleyrand]

Private efforts have been made to encourage the Israeli government to move in the appropriate regard, although I suppose one could consider the potential military sanctions the first "hard" move the administration is making in regards to relations with the nation.

Are there any records of when these private efforts took place, and what the result of them were? I can't find anything related to Israel in "The Global Enquirer".

Usually the records of every private effort aren't immediately published in the official DoEA newspaper, although had some sort of movement been made, it would have definitely been announced in the paper (which will have some updates later this week).

[Talleyrand]

If this fails, it'll probably go the floor again (this time with Shua's additions) and probably for more discussion on the topic of Israel.