Tag Archives: ambassadors

Don’t turn your cheek and look the other way; A failure to vote is a failure to warn the nation of the direction it’s headed

IMG_5061-1068x601-Voting-booths

Important Takeaways:

  • Which brings me to my point today. Although God already knows the outcome of this election, He has called you and me to engage with the world we live in as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are living IN SUCH A TIME AS THIS so that we can testify to the Truth that transcends mere politics and serve as salt and light in a corrupt and darkening world. If nothing else, we are called to restrain the evil agendas being pushed in every sphere.
  • You may think your vote does not matter. Or, you may be so disheartened by both Presidential candidates that you don’t want to vote for either. I would urge you not to give in to that deception.
  • First of all, individual votes do matter. For one thing, I’ve seen elections decided by one, single vote.
  • Second, abstaining altogether allows other votes opposing moral policies to have an outsized impact. As Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” The failure of Christians to rise up and vote their biblical values is what got us into so much trouble as a society.
  • Finally, even if right does not prevail, we will be held accountable for our faithfulness to stand up and speak out. Just read Ezekiel 3 if you want to know God’s expectation for those He has called.

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Exclusive: European envoys take fight for Iran nuclear deal to U.S. Congress

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, January 15, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As Congress faces a possible fight over the future of the Iran nuclear agreement, European ambassadors and officials from President Barack Obama’s administration are making their case for preserving the pact directly to U.S. lawmakers.

The British, French, German and European Union ambassadors to the United States will participate later on Wednesday in a meeting on Capitol Hill with Democratic senators organized by the Senate’s number two Democrat, Richard Durbin, congressional aides and embassy officials told Reuters.

Former Undersecretary of State and lead Iran negotiator Wendy Sherman will also attend and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will participate via videolink, an aide to Durbin and another congressional aide said.

The meeting is part of an ongoing effort by Democrats in Congress and other officials who support the nuclear pact to bolster support for the deal by spelling out the consequences of its collapse as Republican President Donald Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline for certifying the agreement or placing its fate in the hands of Congress.

A British embassy official said Ambassador Kim Darroch was in Congress on Wednesday with his French, German and EU counterparts meeting with both Democrats and Republicans “to provide information on the European position on the JCPOA,” using an acronym for the nuclear agreement.

An EU embassy spokesman confirmed that EU Ambassador David O’Sullivan and others would attend, to explain that the deal is a multilateral agreement that is working and that the European Union will do everything it can to ensure it stays in place.

Trump has long criticized the nuclear pact, a signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor Obama, and signed in 2015 by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran.

Senior White House officials have said that Trump is leaning toward a course of action that could lead to the United States abandoning the pact, despite apparent disagreement within his administration over whether that is the best way forward.

A senior administration official said the administration was considering Oct. 12 for Trump to give a speech on Iran but no final decisions have been made.

Supporters of the deal say its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and worsen Middle East tensions. Opponents say it went too far in easing sanctions without requiring that Iran end its nuclear program permanently.

The ambassadors have said the deal’s demise would be a major loss that could lead to increased enrichment by Iran and weaken international proliferation efforts as the world grapples with a growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States should consider staying in the deal unless it were proven that Tehran was not abiding by the agreement.

Mattis said Iran was “fundamentally” in compliance with the agreement.

Earlier on Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump would be presented with multiple options regarding the future of the nuclear pact.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the suspension of international sanctions that were choking its economy. If Trump declines to certify, it could pave the way for Congress to vote to resume those sanctions, killing the deal.

Some Republicans argue that Trump can decertify because he does not believe the agreement is in the national security interest. That, they said, would increase pressure on Tehran because Congress could threaten to re-impose sanctions if Iran does not agree to a more restrictive deal.

Iran has said it may abandon the nuclear deal it reached with the major world powers if the United States decides to withdraw from it.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and James Dalgleish)

Israel, Turkey restore ties in deal spurred by energy prospects

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on during a meeting with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi at Chigi Palace in Rome, Italy June 27, 2016.

By Ercan Gurses and Jeffrey Heller

ANKARA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel and Turkey announced on Monday they would normalize ties after a six-year rupture, a rare rapprochement in the divided Middle East driven by the prospect of lucrative Mediterranean gas deals as well as mutual fears over growing security risks.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the two countries would exchange ambassadors as soon as possible.

The mending in relations between the once-firm allies after years of negotiations raises the prospect of eventual cooperation to exploit natural gas reserves worth hundreds of billions of dollars under the eastern Mediterranean, officials have said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it opened the way for possible Israeli gas supplies to Europe via Turkey.

The move also comes as the Middle East is polarized by Syria’s civil war and as the rise of Islamic State threatens regional security, leaving both countries in need of new alliances.

Relations between Israel and what was once its only Muslim ally crumbled after Israeli marines stormed an aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and killed 10 Turkish activists on board.

Speaking after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome, Netanyahu said the agreement was an important step. “It has also immense implications for the Israeli economy, and I use that word advisedly,” he told reporters.

Kerry welcomed the deal, saying, “We are obviously pleased in the administration. This is a step we wanted to see happen.”

Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze military cooperation after a 2011 U.N. report into the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara largely exonerated the Jewish state. Israel and NATO member Turkey, which both border Syria, reduced intelligence sharing and canceled joint military exercises.

Netanyahu made clear the naval blockade of Gaza, which Ankara had wanted lifted under the deal, would remain in force, although humanitarian aid could continue to be transferred to Gaza via Israeli ports.

“This is a supreme security interest of ours. I was not willing to compromise on it. This interest is essential to prevent the force-buildup by Hamas and it remains as has been and is,” Netanyahu said.

But Yildirim said the “wholesale” blockade of Gaza was largely lifted under the deal, enabling Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid and other non-military products.

A first shipment of 10,000 tonnes would be sent next Friday, he said, and work would begin immediately to tackle Gaza’s water and power supply crisis.

“Our Palestinian brothers in Gaza have suffered a lot and we have made it possible for them to take a breath with this agreement,” Yildirim told a news conference in Ankara.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by phone on Sunday night and told him the deal would improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, sources in his office said. They said Western-backed Abbas, who lost control of Gaza to Hamas in fighting in 2007, had expressed satisfaction.

ENERGY TIES

Restoring relations with Ankara is a linchpin in Israel’s strategy to unlock its natural gas wealth. It is looking for export markets and is exploring a pipeline to Turkey as one option, both for consumers there and as a connection to Europe.

“This is a strategic matter for the state of Israel. This matter could not have been advanced without this agreement, and now we will take action to advance it,” Netanyahu said.

Gas, he said, had the potential to strengthen Israel’s coffers “with a huge fortune”.

Shares in Turkey’s Zorlu Energy <ZOREN.IS>, which has activities in Israel, rose 11 percent on news of the agreement. Israeli energy stocks also rose in Tel Aviv.

Yildirim was more cautious.

“Firstly let normalization begin and, after that, the level to which we cooperate on whatever subject will be tied to the efforts of the two countries,” he said. “There is no point in talking about these details now.”

Israel, which had already offered its apologies for the 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara activist ship – one of Ankara’s three conditions for a deal – agreed to pay out $20 million to the bereaved and injured. The deal requires Turkey pass legislation protecting Israeli soldiers against related lawsuits.

A senior Turkish official described the agreement as a “diplomatic victory”, even though Israel pledged to maintain the Gaza blockade it says is needed to curb arms smuggling by Hamas, an Islamist group that last fought a war with Israel in 2014.

“Israel comes out on top here,” said Louis Fishman, assistant professor of history at Brooklyn College in New York, who specializes in Turkish and Israeli affairs.

“From the start it believed that a deal could be worked out where Turkish aid was able to enter the Gaza Strip under Israeli supervision. It seems this is what was struck.”

(Additional reporting by Warren Strobel in Rome, Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Daren Butler and Ayla Jean Yackley in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Dominic Evans)