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☆ Exclusive: State Department officials told House investigators they created Afghanistan withdrawal plans from scratch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Kylie Atwood | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The State Department has continued to publicly defend its decision making around the NEO as well as the ending of the war. Milley and retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who were in charge of the US military during the withdrawal, blamed the State Department for not ordering a NEO sooner. The State Department officials did not weigh in on whether calling a NEO sooner would have had a substantial impact, as this would have preceded their arrival in Afghanistan. Although the State Department has faced sharp criticism from the Defense Department – most recently in a congressional hearing with retired Gens. Coordination with the militaryAnd on the ground, as they grappled with the frenzied and fluid situation, State Department officials and service members at Hamid Karzai International Airport were regularly coordinating.

Persons: John Bass, Jim DeHart, Jayne Howell, Michael McCaul’s, McCaul, Biden, ”, Mark Milley, ” Howell, DeHart, ” Bass, Hamid, Bass, Wendy Sherman, Washington . Howell, I’m, Howell, “, Trump, Anna Moneymaker, Milley, Kenneth McKenzie, McKenzie, Vedant Patel, “ It’s, Defense Department –, Gens, Kenneth McKenzie –, ” DeHart, didn’t Organizations: CNN, State Department, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Department, Foreign Affairs, Chiefs, House Foreign, ”, DC, State, Department of Defense, Airport, Foreign Service Institute, Pentagon, Biden, Joint Chiefs, Staff, US, US Central Command, ” State Department, Defense Department, Hamid Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Ukraine, Kabul Afghanistan, Washington ., Turkey, Rayburn, Washington , DC, extremis

☆ A diplomat who was pressed into leading the Afghanistan withdrawal was so flummoxed by his last-minute assignment that he had to run to REI for gear: book
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Afghanistan ambassador John Bass was pressed to return to Kabul in August 2021. Bass was called by a top State Department official to return to the nation to help lead the US' withdrawal. Bass was so unprepared for the assignment that he had to run to an outdoor store to get gear. I've just been asked to go back to Kabul and support the evacuations," the book quotes him as saying. According to the book, Biden himself would "pepper" Bass with ideas on how to get more evacuees through the airport's gates.

Persons: John Bass, Bass, Afghanistan John Bass, REI, Franklin Foer, Joe Biden's, Ross Wilson, Wendy Sherman, I'm, I've, Hamid Karzai, Biden, Foer, Ross, Sherman Organizations: State Department, Service, Airport, Atlantic Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Wall, Silicon, Foggy, Virginia

☆ Top US-China exchanges since Biden took office
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Below is a list of some of the other high level U.S.-China exchanges since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. FIRST TRADE TALKS - May 26, 2021U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and China's then Vice Premier Liu He held talks virtually, the first such high level trade talks between the world's two biggest economies since Biden took office. DIPLOMAT VISITS CHINA - July 26, 2021Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held talks with State Councillor Wang Yi, in Tianjin, China. DEFENCE CHIEFS HOLD FIRST TALKS - April 20, 2022U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a call with China's then defence minister Wei Fenghe, the first talks between the two officials since Biden took office. BIDEN AND XI MEET IN BALI - November 14, 2022Biden and Xi held their long-awaited first face-to-face leadership talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Persons: Janet Yellen, John Kerry, Joe Biden, BIDEN, Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi, Katherine Tai, China's, Liu, Wendy Sherman, SULLIVAN, YANG, Sullivan, Yang, Lloyd Austin, Wei Fenghe, WANG, Wang, Nancy Pelosi, HARRIS, Kamala Harris, Gina Raimondo, Wang Wentao, National Defense Li Shangfu, Li, BLINKEN, Antony Blinken, Washington's, Martin Quin Pollard, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Kim Coghill Organizations: . Treasury, U.S, FIRST, National Security, . Trade, CHIEFS, . Defense, General Assembly, BIDEN, IN, Economic Cooperation APEC, CHINA COMMERCE, . Commerce, Commerce, Washington D.C, China's, National Defense, Pentagon, Austin, BEIJING, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Yellen's, U.S, Anchorage , Alaska, Blinken, CHINA, Tianjin, Taiwan, North Korea, ROME, Russia, Ukraine, New York, IN BALI, Bali , Indonesia, BANGKOK, Asia, Thailand, MUNICH, Munich, WASHINGTON, Washington, Singapore

☆ State Department amends comment on APEC invitation for Hong Kong's leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department amended part of a statement to Congress in which it said Washington would invite Hong Kong's chief executive, who faces U.S. sanctions, to a November summit, after lawmakers urged he be barred from entering the country. The Unites States is set to host this year's gathering in San Francisco of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, of which Hong Kong is a member economy. But Hong Kong's top official John Lee was placed under U.S. sanctions in 2020 over his role in implementing what Washington deems a "draconian" Hong Kong national security law. The Department regrets the error," a State Department spokesperson said. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday confirmed it had received the corrected response, which said the U.S. "has not made any commitments regarding invitations."

Persons: Hong, John Lee, Lee, Wendy Sherman, Marco Rubio, Jeff Merkley, Jim McGovern, Chris Smith, Mr, Michael Martina, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: U.S . State Department, Economic Cooperation, Washington, Hong, Senate Foreign Relations, APEC, State Department, Foreign, Democratic, Republican, People's, China's, Thomson Locations: Washington, San Francisco, Asia, Hong Kong, U.S, People's Republic of China

☆ Factbox: Top US-China exchanges since Biden took office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Below is a list of some of the other high level U.S.-China exchanges since then. FIRST TRADE TALKS - May 26, 2021U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and China's then Vice Premier Liu He held talks virtually, the first such high level trade talks between the world's two biggest economies since Biden took office. DIPLOMAT VISITS CHINA - July 26, 2021Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held talks with State Councillor Wang Yi, in Tianjin, China. DEFENCE CHIEFS HOLD FIRST TALKS - April 20, 2022U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a call with China's then defence minister Wei Fenghe, the first talks between the two officials since Biden took office. BIDEN AND XI MEET IN BALI - November 14, 2022Biden and Xi held their long-awaited first face-to-face leadership talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Joe Biden, BIDEN, Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Yang Jiechi, Wang Yi, Katherine Tai, China's, Liu, Wendy Sherman, SULLIVAN, YANG, Sullivan, Yang, Lloyd Austin, Wei Fenghe, WANG, Wang, Nancy Pelosi, HARRIS, Kamala Harris, Gina Raimondo, Wang Wentao, National Defense Li Shangfu, Li, Martin Quin Pollard, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: U.S, FIRST, National Security, . Trade, CHIEFS, . Defense, General Assembly, BIDEN, IN, Economic Cooperation APEC, CHINA COMMERCE, . Commerce, Commerce, Washington D.C, China's, National Defense, Pentagon, Austin, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Anchorage , Alaska, Blinken, CHINA, Tianjin, Taiwan, North Korea, ROME, Russia, Ukraine, Beijing, New York, IN BALI, Bali , Indonesia, BANGKOK, Asia, Thailand, MUNICH, Munich, WASHINGTON, Washington, Singapore

☆ Wendy Sherman, US official who led diplomacy with China and Russia, to retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the country's number two diplomat, said on Friday she will retire at the end of June after three decades in Washington's foreign policy establishment. Sherman is the first woman to serve in her current role, in which she has headed up the Biden administration's diplomacy with China and led unsuccessful talks with Russia to avert Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken credited Sherman with breaking barriers for women and working on "some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of our time." "Our nation is safer and more secure, and our partnerships more robust, due to her leadership," Blinken said in a statement. "(N)othing lent itself to straightforward answers," Sherman wrote in the note seen by Reuters.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Russia is very unlikely to use its nuclear weapons, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday, despite past saber-rattling from the Kremlin and the heavy casualties that eMoscow is enduring in its invasion of Ukraine. Nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States have increased since the start of the conflict with Ukraine with Putin repeatedly warning that Russia is ready to use its nuclear arsenal if necessary to defend its "territorial integrity." U.S. officials for months have said they have not seen signs Russia was preparing to employ nuclear weapons but also cautioned that they were staying vigilant. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Wendy Sherman pointed to Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way." Last week the Kremlin played down the idea that Russia might be preparing to carry out a nuclear weapons test, saying all nuclear states were abiding by a moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

☆ US urges NATO vigilance for signs Russia could use nuclear weapon in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Johanna GeronWASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Russian President Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a "managed" escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday. Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way," Sherman said. Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets. Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who joined Sherman in opening the conference, called Putin's plan to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus part of a years-long pattern of "dangerous, irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" that intensified with "the brutalization of Ukraine."

☆ Israeli government lifts ban on return to West Bank settlements
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, March 21 (Reuters) - The Israeli parliament on Tuesday paved the way for Jewish settlers' return to four settlements in the occupied West Bank by amending a 2005 law that ordered their evacuation, a move condemned by the Palestinian Authority and the European Union. The repeal of certain clauses in a previous disengagement law would allow Jewish residents to return to four West Bank settlements they were ordered to vacate in 2005 on condition of approval by the Israeli military. Since the 1967 war, Israel has established around 140 settlements on land Palestinians see as the core of a future state, where more than 500,000 settlers now live. Besides the authorized settlements, groups of settlers have built scores of outposts without government permission. "We call on Israel to revoke this law and take actions that contribute to de-escalation of an already very tense situation," an EU spokesperson said in a statement.

☆ Taiwan Foreign Minister Held High-Level Meeting in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s foreign minister traveled to the U.S. this week for an unusual high-level meeting with senior American officials in the Washington area. Photos and video from Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency showed Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council chief Wellington Koo waving as they left the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan, along with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and other U.S. officials.

☆ White House to hold talks with Taiwan officials in Washington - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - The White House will meet senior Taiwan officials next week in Washington for talks meant to be private to avoid an angry reaction from China, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Adviser Wellington Koo would lead the delegation, the newspaper said, citing five people familiar with the talks whom it did not name. The Taiwanese team will meet U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the FT said. Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. says all countries should warn China against Taiwan conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The United States hopes China will not use any visits by U.S. lawmakers to Taiwan as an excuse for military action, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, adding that all countries should warn Beijing against conflict over the island. "And we hope that the PRC (People's Republic of China) does not use a visit by a member of Congress to Taiwan as a pretext for military action," Sherman said. China stepped up military drills around Taiwan as a result of Pelosi's visit. "The same would be true of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait," Sherman said. "That's going to create a lot of problems for those who are supporting this unholy invasion going forward," she said.

One U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that a meeting between Blinken and Wang was possible at the Munich conference, which runs from Feb. 17-19. "I know there's been a report about a potential meeting in Munich, but I have nothing to announce today." U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan noted last week that Blinken had postponed his visit to China, not canceled it or sworn off future high-level communication with China. China's has reacted angrily to Washington's spying allegations, saying the balloon was a civilian research craft and accusing Washington of hypocrisy. "But neither side wants to handle scheduling in the glare of media attention, and both sides are dealing with the uncertainty of balloon-related drama."

☆ U.S. House votes 419-0 to condemn 'brazen' Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution condemning the incursion of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week as "a brazen violation of United States sovereignty." The House voted 419-0 for the resolution, five days after the U.S. Air Force shot down the device over the Atlantic Ocean. Biden administration officials also held classified briefings on Thursday for members of the House and Senate. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The resolution also denounces the Chinese Communist Party's "efforts to deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns."

☆ With eye on China, U.S. Democrats want more resources for Indo-Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 9(Reuters) - Washington must commit more diplomatic and security resources to the Indo-Pacific to push back against China as Beijing seeks to create a regional sphere of influence and become the world's most influential power, U.S. Senate Democrats said on Thursday. The committee's chairman, Senator Robert Menendez, is expected to discuss the report at a hearing on Thursday where senior diplomat Wendy Sherman will testify on China policy. The Senate report says that vision is "commendable," but gives recommendations as to how the U.S. government should sharpen the aims of the strategy and do more to ensure there are enough resources available to back up its efforts. The report said the Biden administration must significantly increase funding for diplomacy and development across the U.S. government and dedicate a larger portion of the Department of State operating budget and foreign assistance to the Indo-Pacific. Its recommendations include working closely with Congress, including providing a detailed list of its plans for implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and advancing economic integration with countries in the region, including prioritizing a meaningful trade program with Taiwan.

☆ U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Washington is confident that the manufacturer of the Chinese balloon, shot down by the U.S. military last weekend off the U.S. East Coast, has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official said in a statement. Separately on Thursday, speaking at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman highlighted the flight of the Chinese balloon as another sign of Beijing's efforts to reshape the international order. "This irresponsible act put on full display what we've long recognized: that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad," Sherman told the hearing. Sherman said Washington would continue to block China from using U.S. technology to advance its military modernization.

Navy photo/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to the Chinese military that supported the incursion by a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Sherman also said the United States would continue to prevent China’s exploitation of U.S. technology to enable its own military modernization. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The public spectacle of a Chinese balloon drifting slowly across the United States has brought into sharp focus the challenge posed by China to the United States and its allies. An Asia diplomat told Reuters there was a free flow of information about the balloon, with the United States passing on additional details to allies and partner as they became available.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The United States held briefings in Washington and Beijing with foreign diplomats from 40 nations about the Chinese spy balloon that entered the U.S. airspace in late January, a senior administration official and diplomats said on Tuesday. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Monday briefed nearly 150 foreign diplomats across 40 embassies, the official said, while in Beijing the U.S. embassy gathered foreign diplomats on Monday and Tuesday to present U.S. findings about the balloon. China's foreign ministry has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course and accused the United States of overreacting. The State Department also sent U.S. missions around the world information about the balloon incident to share with allies and partners, the official added. Washington said the balloon was controlled by the Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army.

The United States operates a military base and nuclear missile silos in Montana, a state bordering Idaho. Military officials developed a plan to shoot down the balloon on Wednesday as it flew over Montana. BALLOON MANEUVERSThe U.S. government has declined to say which sites the Chinese balloon surveyed. On Friday, the Pentagon said it expected the balloon to keep flying over the United States for several more days. "That will make it fairly easy, actually," a military official said of the recovery operation in the Atlantic.

Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November with that goal in mind and both leaders pledged more frequent communications. He has also sidelined some of his "wolf warrior" diplomats whose strident rhetoric alienated many of China's trade partners. Despite such pragmatic rhetoric, China's actions - especially its military activity around Taiwan and in the South China Sea - have not moderated, analysts said. Washington hopes for incremental progress on more specific but vital matters such as securing China's cooperation on fentanyl, global health, climate change and the cases of U.S. citizens detained there. That ... is more than deeply frustrating," said another source familiar with the administration's thinking, adding that China has rebuffed Washington's "very specific" proposals.

☆ Ukraine's allies are finally sending the advanced tanks it asked for. Now they want it to embrace a rapid, aggressive style of warfare.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's allies have agreed to send it advanced tanks after months of indecision. The group said Ukraine should move towards a style of mechanized maneuver warfare that "uses rapid, unanticipated movements against Russia," sources told CNN. The new tanks and armored vehicles committed by Ukraine's allies are supposed to help Ukraine make the switch, CNN reported. Tanks for UkraineUkraine had been requesting advanced tanks for months, but the US and Germany in particular had been reluctant to send the weapons. Even so, Ukraine's plans, and Western hopes for a new, more aggressive strategy, will be aided by other advanced weaponry that its allies have recently committed and sent.

Zelenskyy has called the Russian attacks on infrastructure “energy terrorism” and vowed the assault won’t change the course of the war. People sit in a dark cafe during a blackout after Russian strikes Dec. 29 in Lviv, Ukraine. Company officials believe Russian engineers who know the vulnerable points in Ukraine’s electricity system most likely advised the Russian military on its targeting. Water and cellphonesThe attack on the country’s electricity grid has had a knock-on effect for other infrastructure, including water supplies and mobile phone service. Although the assault on Ukraine’s infrastructure hasn’t damaged Ukraine’s position on the battlefield or broken the country’s will to fight, it has inflicted “huge damage” on the economy, he said.

☆ U.S. diplomat says China protests had effect in easing COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Protests in China against the world's toughest COVID-19 restrictions are dying down because they have had an effect, a top U.S. diplomat said on Friday, as Beijing further eased testing and quarantine rules. Anger over the curbs had fueled dozens of protests in more than 20 cities in recent days in a show of civil disobedience unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. "Protests do matter," she said, adding that she recognized China had used security forces to quash the demonstrations and put protesters in jail. Asked by students at the university event about the threat of conflict between China and Taiwan, Sherman said war was possible. "I think war is potentially possible because Xi Jinping now has absolute control in China," Sherman said.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the media after an alleged Russian missile blast in Poland, in Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has been adamant that the United States will back Ukraine in its nine-month fight to repel a Russian invasion. We will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be," said White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson. Sullivan, who has been in touch with Russian officials about the risks around the Ukraine invasion, did not make contact in relation to this incident, a White House official said. "It's now just a matter of doing forensics work to determine what kind of missile it was," the official said.

☆ Cyber officials from 37 countries, 13 companies to meet on ransomware in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The White House will host officials from 37 countries and 13 global companies in Washington this week to address the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, including the illicit use of cryptocurrencies, a senior U.S. official said. The White House hopes the meeting will allow participating countries to "institute a set of cyber norms that are recognized across the globe to counter criminal ransomware threats and hold malicious actors accountable," the official said. One key topic for discussion will be how to disrupt such attacks, counter the illicit movement of cryptocurrencies and build resilience against such attacks, the official said. Top administration officials, including FBI Director Chris Wray, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will address the meeting. Companies participating include Crowdstrike, Mandiant, Cyber Threat Alliance, Microsoft, Cybersecurity Coalition, Palo Alto, Flexxon, SAP, Institute for Security + Technology, Siemens, Internet 2.0, Tata – TCS, and Telefonica, the White House said.

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