Latest news with #Blinken
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Antony Blinken speaks in Utah about Ukraine, Trump's cuts to foreign aid and tariffs
Antony Blinken's stepfather was held in a Nazi death camp for two years during World War II. He escaped with a friend during a forced march in Bavaria, and as they ran for their lives they came upon a tank, Blinken said. The tank had a five-pointed star on it, and as the men approached an American G.I. poked his head out of the top. Blinken's stepfather then said the three English words he knew, 'God bless America.' Blinken, the first Jewish U.S. secretary of state, told the story during a conversation in Salt Lake City on Thursday with former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake, who is now chairman of the board at World Trade Center Utah. After serving for four years during the Biden administration, Blinken said he is now 'retired,' which means he's primarily spending time with his two young children, who are 6 and 5 years old. During his remarks to Utah's political and business leaders at the Crossroads of the World International Trade Summit, a two-day, invitation-only event sponsored by Zions Bank and World Trade Center Utah, Blinken called for the U.S. to remain the 'last, best hope' of the world by continuing to assert global leadership. He also spoke about why he felt it was important for the U.S. to back Ukraine after Russia invaded in 2022, and the war in Gaza, following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks. Blinken was among the many global leaders who were in Salt Lake City on Wednesday and Thursday to speak at the summit. Earlier on Thursday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO of Zions Bancorporation. Her remarks were off the record. Simmons told the Deseret News that tariffs and supply chain issues are top of mind for people at the summit. 'Secretary Rice made the observation that we're not going back to a China where we have the kind of supply chain that has existed for the last two to three decades — that's a thing of the past," he said. That's different, he said, than what was expected after China joined the World Trade Organization, and will lead businesses to review their supply chains. 'We all hope that President (Donald) Trump is successful in negotiating trade deals that are in the mutual interest of the U.S. and our trading partners,' Simmons said. 'It is going to cause some disruption.' In addition to Blinken and Rice, Thursday's summit attendees also heard from former U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. At the beginning of their conversation, Flake joked about getting to question a 'tough boss.' As secretary of state, Blinken oversaw Flake during his time as ambassador to Turkey. Flake served during a tenuous time in the region, including during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — which did not come up during his conversation with Blinken — and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which they did discuss. Blinken had high praise for Flake and his service as ambassador. He called Flake 'the right person in the right place at the right time.' President Trump is taking a very different approach to foreign policy than the Biden administration did, asserting an 'America first' policy on the global stage that includes tariffs, a reduction in foreign aid and criticism of even close allies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also attempting to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, and he and special envoy Steven Witkoff are also trying to stop the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. Blinken said he hopes the U.S. will maintain its position as a leader in the world. 'The world doesn't organize itself,' he said. The lack of American leadership could lead to a vacuum that is filled by others looking to take its place. His second concern is related to the Trump administration's decision to cut funds for USAID and other foreign aid organizations. 'The return on that investment is extraordinary,' he said. Without those tools of soft power, the U.S. will need to find other ways to communicate and cooperate with others, he said. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in a decade, Blinken said the Biden administration believed strongly they had to help them. 'This was an aggression not just against Ukraine, but against the very principles that had been at the heart of the international system since the end of World War II,' he said. Blinken said if they had let that aggression go forward, others would think they could also get away with it, pointing specifically to China's ambitions with Taiwan. He said he believes if the ceasefire and peace deal the Trump administration is trying to negotiate moves forward, it will just give Russian President Vladimir Putin time to retrench and rebuild his forces. To stop that, he said, the U.S. should support Europe's aims to put troops along the demarcation line, or the U.S. should welcome Ukraine into NATO. The Trump administration says they want to stop the killing of troops and civilians on both sides of the border. While its tough to be sure, estimates are that more than half a million soldiers and civilians have been killed in the war. Trump is also staunchly opposed to inviting Ukraine to join NATO, and instead has signed a critical minerals agreement with Kyiv to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. Flake asked Blinken whether Trump's decisions to put additional tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from China was a good decision. Blinken said he agreed with the tariffs Trump levied during his first four years in office, which were continued during the Biden administration, but said instead of additional tariffs President Joe Biden took a different approach with China. In order to counter some of China's trade practices, Biden wanted to 'invest in ourselves,' by spending money on infrastructure and to boost chip manufacturing. The administration also tried to align with European and other allies to counter China's dominance in manufacturing. China manufactures one-third of the goods consumed across the world, he said. Blinken said decoupling U.S. and Chinese markets is a 'fantasy,' and said instead the U.S. should engage in 'derisking.' On Trump's decision to levy 10% across the board tariffs, Blinken said the industrial tax increase will be a 'sea change' for the global economy. He said he hopes the tariffs will eventually be much more narrowly focused. Blinken called the Hamas attacks 'one of the most horrific events in my lifetime. The worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.' The 'deepest poison' in the world is dehumanization, Blinken said. When that sets in, everything bad is so much easier, and everything good is so much harder, he said. 'Nowhere is that more clear, evident, powerful than in the Middle East,' he said. Blinken said the Biden administration felt strongly they had to defend Israel after Hamas attacked, while also trying to contain the fighting so it didn't become a regional conflict. He also expressed concerns about the Palestinians and how they have suffered because of Hamas. A final agreement, Blinken said, should include a state for Palestinians — something Trump has said he doesn't support. At the end of his remarks, Blinken circled back to the anecdote he told about his stepfather at the beginning. He said he hopes the U.S. will maintain the trust of its allies so it can remain the world's 'last, best hope.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tensions are high between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers
India and Pakistan both say their military sites were targeted with attacks, leading to an escalation between the two countries late Thursday. Both of the nuclear powers deployed drones, missiles, air defense systems and fighter jets against each other in what is a rare aerial clash. Tanks haven't moved yet in this war-like conflict, expected to continue for at least the next few days. India hasn't faced such airborne attacks since the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Border villages and towns in both countries were evacuated ahead of the exchange of gunfire, according to reports. The India-Pakistan border ranked as one of the most dangerous international boundaries in the world, according to a Foreign Policy article in 2011. But tensions are especially high right now, following the deadly militia attack on tourists in Kashmir, India, in late April. New Delhi held Islamabad accountable for the act of terrorism in Pahalgam, a popular tourist destination in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, as the Deseret News reported. At least two dozen people were killed by terrorists in Kashmir, India. Pakistan authorities denied the country's involvement. Kashmir has long been the scene of frequent unrest between India and Pakistan, which both control portions of the land there, as does China. India launched a retaliatory attack against Pakistan on May 7, killing more than 30 people. But New Delhi's 'measured' response led to a dangerous crossfire between the two countries Thursday night. At the second annual Crossroads of the World International Trade Summit Thursday in Salt Lake City, former United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hopes the conflict won't continue to escalate. He acknowledged the horrific attack on India but added, 'It's not in Pakistan's interest to continue this.' Pakistan is making strides with their economy, under the International Monetary Fund's direction, he said. 'And fundamentally, I don't think India wants this,' Blinken added. Although verified information is sparse, many credible reports indicate continued shelling on the ground. Several videos online show India's Air Force Defense System deployed to the maximum effect for the second time in two days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not addressed the nation since the strikes. During a cabinet meeting, he called for 'continued alertness' and 'clear communication.' Pakistan closed airports for four hours and India suspended all its flights departing from near the 2,000-miles-long India-Pakistan border. X, formerly known as Twitter, received an order from the Indian government to suspend 'accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users' amid the conflict, when misinformation is rampant on social media. In New Delhi, public spaces, like the areas near India Gate, were closed and evacuated while other parts of the country, especially Srinagar in Kashmir, experienced blackouts. Schools in Punjab, an Indian state that shares a border with Pakistan, will be closed for the rest of the week. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif separately on Thursday but fell short of playing the mediator. He 'emphasized the need for immediate deescalation' and encouraged a direct dialogue between the two parties in both conversations. He also expressed his condolences for the losses on the Indian and Pakistani sides. The vice president called on 'Pakistan to take concrete steps to end any support for terrorist groups' and 'reaffirmed the United States' commitment to work with India in the fight against terrorism.' New Delhi's Wednesday strikes were intended as a response to the tourist massacre in Kashmir in April and they only targeted alleged terrorist infrastructure, Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra told CNN. 'When we did this the day before yesterday, our assumption was that we have completed what we set out to do ourselves vis a vis the terrorists,' he said. 'We, from our perspective, had brought a certain finality to it.' 'Pakistan chose to escalate it further,' he added. Following the terrorist attack on India in April, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was visiting India that same week, told Fox News that he hoped New Delhi 'responds to this terrorist attack in a way that doesn't lead to a broader regional conflict.' 'And we hope, frankly, that Pakistan, to the extent that they're responsible, cooperates with India to make sure that the terrorists sometimes operating in their territory are hunted down and dealt with,' Vance added. President Donald Trump also condemned the 'terror' attack and expressed his support for India at the time. Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, an Indian American, defended India's recent attacks in a post on X. 'Terrorists launched an attack that killed dozens of Indian citizens. India had every right to retaliate and defend itself,' she wrote. 'Pakistan does not get to play the victim. No country gets a pass for supporting terrorist activity.' Weeks after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, India responded through 'Operation Sindoor," a 'measured and non-escalatory' plan. New Delhi directed 24 missiles at nine alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan, killing 30 people over the course of half an hour on Wednesday night. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said their Chinese-made aircraft shot down two Indian aircraft and 25 drones, according to CNN. The next morning, Pakistan shot down 25 Indian air defense system drones. According to the Indian defense minister, 16 people, including some children, died during this attack. This led to an ongoing flurry of drone attacks on Thursday night. Reports out of India also indicate the possibility of a naval operation underway against Pakistan.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Biden admin held private talks with Beijing on Chinese spy balloon ahead of notifying public, officials say
EXCLUSIVE: Biden administration State Department officials held private talks with Beijing counterparts about the Chinese spy balloon that intercepted U.S. airspace in 2023, and discussed the implications the balloon's publicity would have on the relationship between the U.S. and China, according to Trump administration officials. U.S. officials identified the spy balloon infiltrating U.S. airspace on Jan. 28, 2023, and an Air Force fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina Feb. 4, 2023, two days after the Pentagon issued a statement on the matter. Biden officials held discussions with Beijing Feb. 1, 2023, about the balloon, and discussed the impact disclosing the balloon to the public could have on the relationship with China, internal State Department documents show, two Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital. Chinese Spy Balloon Equipped With Tech From At Least 5 Us Firms: Report An internal State Department readout of the talks between Blinken and a top Chinese diplomat said Blinken stated that if the presence of the balloon were revealed publicly, it could have "profound implications for our relationship" with China, particularly amid efforts to stabilize the bilateral relationship with Beijing, two Trump administration officials familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital. The readout said that the incident could also have complicated Blinken's travel plans to China in early February 2023, if not quickly resolved. Blinken ultimately postponed the trip until June 2023. Read On The Fox News App A former Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that the State Department summoned senior Chinese diplomat Zhu Haiquan Feb. 1, 2023, so that the U.S. could notify China to remove the balloon, and issue a warning that the U.S. could take action to eliminate the balloon. "Former Secretary Blinken advocated strongly to tell the American people about China's rogue balloon, which is exactly what happened," a spokesperson for the former secretary of state said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News Digital. "He has a long history of being tough on China while actually delivering results." Likewise, another senior State Department official also held private talks on Feb. 1, 2023, with Chinese counterparts. A readout from that discussion says that the official claimed the longer it took to mitigate the issue would only increase the likelihood that news of the balloon would become public, posing greater challenges managing the situation, the Trump administration officials said. Whatever Happened To … The Investigations Into The Chinese Spy Balloon Ultimately, the Pentagon issued a statement Feb. 2, 2023, claiming that the U.S. government had detected a "high-altitude surveillance balloon." While then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden received a briefing on the balloon on Jan. 31, 2023, she did not provide details regarding why his administration didn't issue a statement on the matter until Feb. 2, 2023. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a U.S. senator from Florida, repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for how it handled disclosing information to the public about the balloon — and how long it took the administration to shoot it down. Biden's failure to address the situation sooner was the "beginning of dereliction of duty," Rubio said during an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper. "Why didn't the president go on television?" Rubio told Tapper. "He has the ability to convene the country in cameras and basically explain what we're dealing with here." Click To Get The Fox News App On Feb. 4, 2023, an Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet from Virginia's Langley Air Force Base shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. At the time, the Pentagon said that while the balloon was not a military or physical threat, its presence in U.S. airspace did violate U.S. sovereignty. The Pentagon also shut down China's initial claims that the balloon was a weather balloon blown off course and labeled such statements false. "This was a PRC surveillance balloon," a senior defense official told reporters at the time. "This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites." The Pentagon also said after shooting down the balloon that similar balloons from China transited continental U.S. airspace in at least three instances during Trump's first administration. Additionally, Biden "gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon's path," the senior defense official said, noting that there was concern debris could harm civilians. The Pentagon later said in June 2023 that it did not believe that the balloon gathered information as it traveled across the U.S. Blinken is now a speaker with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately provide comment to Fox News article source: Biden admin held private talks with Beijing on Chinese spy balloon ahead of notifying public, officials say
Fox News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Biden admin held private talks with Beijing on Chinese spy balloon ahead of notifying public, officials say
Biden administration State Department officials held private talks with Beijing counterparts about the Chinese spy balloon that intercepted U.S. airspace in 2023, and discussed the implications the balloon's publicity would have on the relationship between the U.S. and China, according to Trump administration officials. U.S. officials identified the spy balloon infiltrating U.S. airspace on Jan. 28, 2023, and an Air Force fighter jet shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina Feb. 4, 2023, two days after the Pentagon issued a statement on the matter. Biden officials held discussions with Beijing Feb. 1, 2023, about the balloon, and discussed the impact disclosing the balloon to the public could have on the relationship with China, internal State Department documents show, two Trump administration officials told Fox News Digital. An internal State Department readout of the talks between Blinken and a top Chinese diplomat said Blinken stated that if the presence of the balloon were revealed publicly, it could have "profound implications for our relationship" with China, particularly amid efforts to stabilize the bilateral relationship with Beijing, two Trump administration officials familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital. The readout said that the incident could also have complicated Blinken's travel plans to China in early February 2023, if not quickly resolved. Blinken ultimately postponed the trip until June 2023. A former Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that the State Department summoned senior Chinese diplomat Zhu Haiquan Feb. 1, 2023, so that the U.S. could notify China to remove the balloon, and issue a warning that the U.S. could take action to eliminate the balloon. "Former Secretary Blinken advocated strongly to tell the American people about China's rogue balloon, which is exactly what happened," a spokesperson for the former secretary of state said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News Digital. "He has a long history of being tough on China while actually delivering results." Likewise, another senior State Department official also held private talks on Feb. 1, 2023, with Chinese counterparts. A readout from that discussion says that the official claimed the longer it took to mitigate the issue would only increase the likelihood that news of the balloon would become public, posing greater challenges managing the situation, the Trump administration officials said. Ultimately, the Pentagon issued a statement Feb. 2, 2023, claiming that the U.S. government had detected a "high-altitude surveillance balloon." While then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden received a briefing on the balloon on Jan. 31, 2023, she did not provide details regarding why his administration didn't issue a statement on the matter until Feb. 2, 2023. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a U.S. senator from Florida, repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for how it handled disclosing information to the public about the balloon — and how long it took the administration to shoot it down. Biden's failure to address the situation sooner was the "beginning of dereliction of duty," Rubio said during an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper. "Why didn't the president go on television?" Rubio told Tapper. "He has the ability to convene the country in cameras and basically explain what we're dealing with here." On Feb. 4, 2023, an Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet from Virginia's Langley Air Force Base shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. At the time, the Pentagon said that while the balloon was not a military or physical threat, its presence in U.S. airspace did violate U.S. sovereignty. The Pentagon also shut down China's initial claims that the balloon was a weather balloon blown off course and labeled such statements false. "This was a PRC surveillance balloon," a senior defense official told reporters at the time. "This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites." The Pentagon also said after shooting down the balloon that similar balloons from China transited continental U.S. airspace in at least three instances during Trump's first administration. Additionally, Biden "gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon's path," the senior defense official said, noting that there was concern debris could harm civilians. The Pentagon later said in June 2023 that it did not believe that the balloon gathered information as it traveled across the U.S. Blinken is now a speaker with CAA Speakers, which represents high-profile celebrities. A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
ICC urged to investigate Biden for ‘aiding and abetting' Gaza war crimes
A US-based nonprofit organization has urged the international criminal court to investigate former president Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The request, submitted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) last month but made public by the group on Monday, urges the ICC to investigate Biden, as well as former secretary of state Antony Blinken and former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, for their 'accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza'. Last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, who was recently confirmed by Hamas to have been killed, for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war. Dawn's 172-page submission, which the group says was prepared with the support of ICC-registered lawyers and other war crimes experts, alleges that the former US officials violated articles of the Rome statute, the court's founding charter, in their support for Israel. According to a press release, the group's submission to the ICC lays out what it describes as a 'a pattern of deliberate and purposeful decisions by these officials to provide military, political, and public support to facilitate Israeli crimes in Gaza', including 'at least $17.9bn of weapons transfers, intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, diplomatic protection, and official endorsement of Israeli crimes, despite knowledge of how such support had and would substantially enable grave abuses'. One passage from the submission alleges that 'by continuously and unconditionally providing political support and military support to Israel while being fully aware of the specific crimes committed by Netanyahu, Gallant, and their subordinates, President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Austin contributed intentionally to the commission of those crimes while at least knowing the intention of the group to commit the Israeli crimes, if not aiming of furthering such criminal activity'. Dawn's executive director, Sarah Leah Whitson, said in a statement that 'not only did Biden, Blinken and Secretary Austin ignore and justify the overwhelming evidence of Israel's grotesque and deliberate crimes, overruling their own staff recommendations to halt weapons transfers to Israel, they doubled down by providing Israel with unconditional military and political support to ensure it could carry out its atrocities'. The statement also points to the political support the US provided to Israel through its veto of multiple ceasefire resolutions at the UN security council. Earlier this month, Donald Trump signed an executive order that authorizes aggressive economic sanctions against the ICC, accusing the body of 'illegitimate and baseless actions' targeting the US and Israel. In the statement on Monday, Dawn also stated that Trump's order against the ICC could subject him to 'individual criminal liability for obstruction of justice'. The group also added that if Trump were to implement his proposed plan to forcibly displace all Palestinians from Gaza and to take over the territory, it would also subject him to 'individual liability for war crimes and the crime of aggression'. Raed Jarrar, Dawn's advocacy director, said the plan merited an ICC investigation, 'not just for aiding and abetting Israeli crimes but for ordering forcible transfer, a crime against humanity under the Rome statute'.
