Briefing Skipper: Netanyahu, Abbas, Merida, Pakistan, North Korea
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Monday’s briefing by spokesman P.J. Crowley: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday afternoon at the Mayflower Hotel following Clinton’s remarks to the AIPAC conference. Protocol dictated that ...
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Monday’s briefing by spokesman P.J. Crowley:
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday afternoon at the Mayflower Hotel following Clinton’s remarks to the AIPAC conference. Protocol dictated that Clinton should go to where Netanyahu was because he technically outranks her. "They had a further discussion of the specific actions that might be taken to improve the atmosphere and keep proximity talks moving forward," the State Department said in a statement after the meeting.
- As for Clinton’s list of demands and Netanyahu’s seeming inability or refusal to meet them? "This is an ongoing process, and so I wouldn’t suggest that we have particular concerns at this point," Crowley said.
- Special Envoy George Mitchell met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday and is now headed back to Washington, just in time for President Obama’s Tuesday meeting with Netanyahu.
- Clinton is going to Mexico on Tuesday for high level meetings related to the Merida Initiative. She won’t have time to meet with Embassy and consulate staff there so she did a video teleconference with them Monday afternoon, where she pledged to continue to press for answers regarding the murders of consular staff in Juarez.
- Undersecretary Maria Otero, Assistant Secretary for International Organizations Esther Brimmer, and Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs Reta Jo Lewis are going to Rio de Janeiro later this week for the World Urban Forum, joining Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.
- "You know, rapid global urbanization is a phenomenon that requires the attention of the United States and all nations concerned," said Crowley, pointing out that two-thirds of the world population will live in cities by 2050.
- Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Sandy Vershbow will travel to Bahrain and Oman this week, to lead the fifth round of the Gulf Security Dialogue.
- State Department is not objecting to a new gas pipeline deal between Pakistan and Iran, according to Crowley. "This is a decision for Pakistan to make," he said, "Our concerns about the role that Iran plays in the region and beyond is well known."
- No real comment on North Korea’s decision to put American Aijalon Mahli Gomes on trial, after that guy entered the Hermit Kingdom illegally. What are you thinking, man?
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
More from Foreign Policy
Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.
Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.
It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.
Sign up for Morning Brief
Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter with what’s coming up around the world today. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
