Briefing Skipper: Haiti, Iran, Amiri, Hopson, FARC
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Wednesday’s briefing by spokesman Mark Toner: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in New York today the U.S. pledge of $1.15 billion for Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction. "As fellow human beings, we respond ...
In which we scour the transcript of the State Department’s daily presser so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of Wednesday’s briefing by spokesman Mark Toner:
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in New York today the U.S. pledge of $1.15 billion for Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction. "As fellow human beings, we respond from a position of conscience and morality to help those who, but for the grace of God, we could be," she said. The bulk of the funds will go to the government of Haiti’s plan to strengthen agriculture, energy, health, security and governance.
- There was a P5+1 conference call on Iran’s nuclear program Wednesday that took place at the political director level, which means Undersecretary Bill Burns was on the horn. This only one day after President Obama said he wanted to see new sanctions within weeks? Well, no draft language to be circulated yet, Toner said. "We’re working hard on the pressure track and moving forward with speed and determination."
- No comment on the report that nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri, who the Iranians have been accusing us of kidnapping, actually defected to the U.S. and spilled all the beans.
- Also no comment on Clinton’s acknowledgement yesterday that North Korea has nuclear weapons (which is obvious, but still). "So we just urge North Korea to get back to the negotiating table," said Toner, ignoring the question over whether Clinton inadvertently shifted U.S. policy.
- But Toner did confirm there is an investigation into Reginald Eugene Hopson’s reported possession of reams of classified documents he shouldn’t have been possessing. What’s Hopson’s defense? Hopson told investigators that a co-worker must have put them there. Right…
- The State Department "welcomes" Tuesday’s Serbian resolution condemning the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, "as a positive step towards reconciliation," and said yes, the U.S. does believe that genocide took place there.
- State also welcomes the Colombian FARC’s decision to release hostages Jose Calvo and Pablo Emilio Moncayo.
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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