Briefing Skipper: Proximity talks, Clinton to Russia, Jihad Jane, Myanmar
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Thursday’s briefing by spokesman P.J. Crowley: The Palestinians are not pulling out of the deal to have "proximity" talks with the Israelis, despite reports saying that are, according to Crowley. "I don’t think ...
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Thursday’s briefing by spokesman P.J. Crowley:
- The Palestinians are not pulling out of the deal to have "proximity" talks with the Israelis, despite reports saying that are, according to Crowley. "I don’t think that that report that’s been circulating for the last 24 hours is accurate. We’ve heard nothing to indicate that they’ve pulled out," he said. Vice President Joseph Biden has moved on to Amman, Jordan. Special Envoy George Mitchell and Assistant Secretary Jeff Feltman are working the phones in Washington, calling up regional leaders.
- Mitchell is still planning to return to the region next week. "There are always going to be bumps in the road, but the only way to resolve these difficult issues is through discussions that lead to formal negotiations that lead to a peace agreement that addresses all of the key issues," Crowley added.
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is going to Moscow for a Quartet meeting. Details here.
- No comment on whether the State Department is seeking or being granted consular access for two people arrested abroad in connection to the arrest of Colleen R. LaRose aka Jihad Jane.
- Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell was in Bangkok Thursday, where he took the opportunity to say that "We are very disappointed and we are concerned" with the Burmese Junta’s decision to write election laws that bar leading opposition candidates like Aung San Suu Kyi from running. Friday Campbell is in Brunei, next week in Tokyo.
- Sudan Special Envoy Scott Gration was in Doha Thursday and met with Kenyan Minister of Trade Amos Kimunya, former Kenyan president Daniel Moi, and General Lazarus Sumbeiywo. The topic? Implementation of the 2005 North-South CPA, Crowley said.
- The Senate confirmed former spokesman and Ambassador Ian Kelly as the new U.S. Representative to the OSCE. Congrats Ian!
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
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