Thread: Pence: US will hold Russia accountable

Pence: US will hold Russia accountable

By Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer
Updated 9:22 AM ET, Sat February 18, 2017

Munich, Germany (CNN)Aiming to calm European fears about US-Russia ties, Vice President Mike Pence told world leaders Saturday that the United States will stand firm against Moscow while also seeking avenues for cooperation.

But Pence's posture was met abruptly by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said at the same conference that the West's dominance of world affairs is ending.

The dueling messages came during a security summit in Germany, where leaders are eagerly looking for clues about how the new US administration will broach Russia's persistent challenges to international law.

"Know this: the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, President Trump believes can be found," Pence said during remarks at the Munich Security Conference, the first major foreign policy address of the Trump administration.



Donald Trump: How the US President sees the world


Pence's speech sought to ease concerns in Europe about President Donald Trump, who has offered brash dismissals of long-established transatlantic institutions but few specifics about his intentions.

Trump has also expressed a desire to draw Russian President Vladimir Putin closer, hoping to develop a strategy on combating ISIS.

Russia's top diplomat praised that approach Saturday, at the same time arguing for a "post-West" world order.

"The US cannot be the only power," Lavrov said. "We need to set up constructive US-Russia relations, economic and political cooperation. We don't want Russia to be seen as less important. We want mutual respect to recognize the global needs."

Pence: US 'strongly supports NATO'

Pence arrived at a moment of uncertainty for the White House national security apparatus, which is without a clear leader since Trump fired Gen. Michael Flynn after he misled Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. The incident dismayed the vice president while also raising questions about his stature within the administration.

Pence did not offer any detailed policy proposals during his remarks, instead expressing in broad terms the US commitment to fighting radical Islamist terrorism and to the NATO alliance, which Trump lambasted as "obsolete" during last year's presidential campaign.



US troops deploy to Bulgaria as part of NATO operation to support Eastern European allies


"Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance," Pence said. "The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in our commitment to our transatlantic alliance."

Pence sought to underscore a history of common endeavors and said Trump would maintain deep ties to Europe while also significantly increasing military spending in the United States. Trump has committed to attend a NATO leaders meeting in May, as well as a Group of 7 summit that month.

"As you keep faith with us, under President Trump we will always keep faith with you," Pence said. "The fates of the United States and Europe are intertwined. Your struggles are our struggles. Your success is our success. And ultimately, we walk into the future together."

Pence's goal in his remarks was to reassure US allies in Europe of the new administration's continued commitment to regional security, his aides said before the speech. Many Western leaders have eyed Trump with deep skepticism, given his campaign trail dismissals of NATO and the European Union.

VP skeptical of Iran deal


Pence didn't mention the EU during his remarks, and he cast deep skepticism on the Iran nuclear deal, which the European bloc helped broker along with President Barack Obama's administration.

Pence said that loosening sanctions on Iran as part of the agreement had helped Tehran finance terrorists, a line that was met with silence inside the ornate Hotel Bayerischer Hof, where the annual security conference is held.

More enthusiastic was the response to Pence's insistence that Russia adhere to a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, which was established in 2014 but routinely broken since.

"We must hold Russia accountable and demand that they honor the Minsk Agreements, beginning by de-escalating the violence in eastern Ukraine," Pence said.



Mike Pence's European debut: White House turmoil likely to accompany him


While he offered firm backing for NATO, Pence echoed previous calls for member nations to scale up their military spending, meeting the collective's requirement to spend 2% of GDP on defense.
"The President of the United States expects our allies to keep their word, fulfill this commitment, and for most that means the time has come to do more," he said.
Since taking office, European apprehension on Trump has not waned. US and European officials who have met with members of the administration describe receiving mixed signals about American intentions moving forward, particularly on the future of US sanctions on Moscow for its incursion into Ukraine and its cyber-meddling in last year's presidential election.
Lavrov on Saturday reiterated Moscow's position on the election hacking, saying he has "not seen a single fact regarding that (Russia) tried to break into some sites of the Democratic Party." Lavrov was responding to a question from the audience.
Pence did not offer a specific vow on sanctions Saturday, suggesting only that the US would maintain pressure on Russia even as it seeks places to cooperate.
Merkel defends journalists


The topic was expected to arise Saturday in Pence's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spoke ahead of the US vice president during the security forum.


Merkel, Pence to meet in Germany


With Pence seated in the front row, Merkel urged against protectionist politics, insisting countries look ahead instead of to the past. She also defended journalists, affirming that freedom of the press is a "pillar of democracy," a tacit rejection of Trump's frequent tirades against the media.
In speaking at the Munich forum weeks after taking office, Pence mimicked his predecessor, Joe Biden, who addressed the conference in 2009. Then, like now, the vice president offered a sweeping first glimpse of the new administration's foreign policy priorities. Biden called for a reset of ties with Russia and insisted that US partnerships around the globe be improved.
Pence is on his first trip abroad since taking office. He's also due in Brussels on Monday for talks with European leaders and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/18/politi...icy/index.html

Pence did a good job. So did Tillerson at the G20 meeting. Keep them off-guard, keep them wondering, tell them we support you but you're going to start paying your share of the bills on NATO, and yeah, we'll hold the line on Russia, except for the fact there's going to be a new deal with Russia that benefits the United States. We're sick and tired of your foolish little one-sided conflicts with and baseless fears of our ole Ally. If Crimeans want to be in Russia, it's their choice not the EU's, NATO's or the UN's. It's Crimea's decision.

Obama's last money shower for the UN: some $9.2 billion

By George Russell
Published February 03, 2017 FoxNews.com


EXCLUSIVE: In its last year in office, the Obama Administration showered at least some $9.2 billion on the United Nations and its sprawling array of organizations, according to a document recently posted on the State Department website. The total is gleaned from a document that summarizes U.S. government spending for international organizations, and is about 20 per cent higher than the $7.7 billion figure given out by State for 2010, before the Obama Administration abruptly quit providing any overall tally for its U.N. support.

The overall U.S. bill for international organizations of every stripe is just under $10.5 billion, meaning that U.N. organizations absorb about 88 per cent of such U.S. government spending.

The new tally includes nearly $360 million for the controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, which is regularly accused of inculcating violent anti-Israel attitudes and even abetting terrorist attacks on Israel, which it strongly denies. That is nearly a 50 per cent jump over the $238.3 million UNRWA got from the U.S. in 2010. (Last week, the Trump Administration froze a last-minute, $221 million donation by the Obama Administration that was intended for the Palestinian Authority.)

The UNRWA numbers, along with all the rest of the U.N. donations, are likely to come under fierce scrutiny in the weeks ahead, both from the Trump Administration, which wants to take a tough look at aligning its U.N. spending with national interests, and from Congress, which is frustrated by U.N. bloat and inefficiency, and often maddened by its anti-Israel biases. At the same time, U.N. appeals for funds, especially humanitarian money to deal with a swamp of international crises and conflicts, are still on the rise.

On Jan. 31, for example, UNICEF announced a new, $3.4 billion appeal, including $1.4 billion slated for Syria and surrounding countries, that the agency says will target some 535 million children next year. But from a U.S. point of view, “there is a new sheriff in town,” noted Robert Wexler, a former Democratic congressman from Florida and a U.N. supporter who testified on Feb. 1, along with some sharp U.N. critics, before a subcommittee hearing of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

The hearing focused on the U.N.’s anti-Israel biases, and specifically on UNRWA, whose recent alleged misdeeds were laid out in detail by Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based U.N. Watch, who told the legislators that “the U.S. Congress is the one reliable force that can hold the U.N. to account.” That is, if the figures they see can be believed. Critics are already noting that the State Department figures for U.N. support are less than the full story-- at least $500 million in contributions to the U.N.-sponsored Green Climate Fund, which Congress had opposed, are missing—and State itself admits that “not all Executive Branch agencies provided information for inclusion in this report.”

With the Green Climate Fund money included, the 2016 figure would amount to a nearly 26 per cent hike in U.N. support over 2010 levels. (Another $500 million donation to the Green Climate Fund was also blocked at the last minute by the Trump Administration.)

“This report was probably put together in hurried fashion,” observes Brett Schaefer, an expert on U.N. funding at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He notes that its appearance was likely prompted by a congressional spending resolution last December that demanded such figures once again be made public.

The State Department website now includes similarly disorganized spending numbers for 2015—when overall spending on international organizations hit $10.8 billion—and links to more organized reports on spending that stretch back to 2007.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DOCUMENTS
Pulling exact totals out of the State Department paperwork is a daunting task, as it does not separate U.N. organizations and other international organizations that the U.S. voluntarily and involuntarily funds. In some cases, getting the numbers also involves analyzing ostensibly non-U.N. grants where the money is then returned, via partnerships, to U.N. organizations.

The tallies, however, are virtually guaranteed never to match with their U.N. equivalents. The State Department figures cover the government’s fiscal year: October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. U.N. Secretariat biennial budgets run from January 1 to December 31 each year. U.N. annual peacekeeping budgets are prepared on a cycle from July 1 to June 30. Other U.N. organizations may also vary.

Thus, for 2014—the latest year covered on a U.N. website for its top inter-agency coordinating body—total U.S. contributions to the U.N. alone are tallied at $10.067 billion.

The State Department report for fiscal 2014 lists total U.S. contributions to all international organizations at about $7.4 billion.

The U.S. spent about $2.6 billion on U.N. peacekeeping in fiscal 2016, according to the State Department. That would be 32.7 percent of the $7.9 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget for July 2016 to June 30 2017—much more than the 28.57 per cent it is assessed for its peacekeeping “dues,” and which many U.S. legislators already consider greatly excessive.
(The same $2.6 billion would be 31 per cent of the previous 2015-2016 peacekeeping budget of $8.3 billion.)

Whatever the truth of the numbers, all of that money is likely to come under the skeptical microscope of the Trump Administration, which is contemplating a tough review of any U.N. spending that it deems outside the national interest—including steep cuts to “voluntary” funding beyond U.S. dues-paying minimums.

UNRWA in particular may face harsh scrutiny. A foretaste was provided at the Feb. 1 subcommittee hearing, where UN Watch in particular singled out the agency in a 130-page report entitled Poisoning Palestinian Children.

The UN Watch document cites more than 40 Facebook pages that it claims were “operated by school teachers, principals and other employees” of UNRWA, which it charges “incite to terrorism or anti-Semitism.” UNRWA has vigorously denied such charges in the past.

UN Watch director Neuer claimed before the legislators that the UNRWA indictment was only part of a “vast infrastructure the U.N. has constructed to demonize Israel.”

There are plenty of other targets in the State Department tallies. To name one: $67.9 million was spent in 2016 for the United Nations Population Fund, which has become an automatic piñata when pro-life Republican Administrations are in power, and the opposite under Democrats.

In 2010, the Obama Administration gave the Population Fund $51.4 million, according to the State Department, which means the figure has been boosted by nearly a third.

But two years earlier, the number was zero. And in his first week in office, President Trump announced restoration of the so-called Mexico City Policy for global health assistance that cuts U.S. funding for non-government organizations that offer abortion counselling or advocate for abortion rights in foreign countries. Like most U.N. organizations, the Population Fund is dependent on local organizations to carry out its family planning work.

The fuel for many other impassioned battles can be seen in the State Department numbes. In 2010, for example, the International Organization for Migration, devoted to “humane and orderly migration,” got $272.8 million from the U.S.

In 2016, now a full-fledged U.N. agency, it got $477.2 million, much of it in response to the Syria crisis—upheaval which, in turn, has helped prompt a rethinking of immigration policies by the Trump Administration.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...2-billion.html

People have to understand that these NGO's, non-governmental organizations, are just money monsters. There's nothing to show in Syria or anywhere else any real good that they did. One also has to remember that the NGO agencies thrive on war, conflict, suffering, it's their reason to be to collect money in most cases and there's no real means to sort the good from the bad until after the money is wasted.

I have heard them and yes....absolutely different speeches then McCaine. He should understand, Obama is out and the U.S is under new President and the Government. Looks like both of them...Pence and Tillerson got respect and Merkel should understand too...USA isn't EU or NATO sponsor, just partner....she should remember and understand.