NEWS WRAP

Lack of coordination risks military edge

• The United States’ defence industrial base is failing to draw upon its global network of trusted allies, which is one of Washington’s greatest strengths, according to USSC Fellow Brendan Thomas-Noone. The Australian covered his new report on the congressionally-mandated US National Industrial Technology Base (NITB) and its unrealised dreams of a 'defence free trade area' between the United States and its close allies. Breaking down barriers and incentivising trusted allies with R&D, knowledge and resources to continue working with the US should be a critical priority, the report argues. READ MORE HERE
   

• Two White House budget aides resigned after expressing their concerns about US military aid that was withheld from Ukraine, the House Intelligence Committee was told earlier this month. These details, in the newly released transcript of the committee's interview with Office of Management and Budget official Mark Sandy, mark more evidence of wide discomfort with the reasoning behind withholding the military aid. This release comes after The Washington Post reported that a confidential White House review had revealed emails from acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney attempting to generate an after-the-fact justification for withholding the aid. READ MORE HERE
   

• The US Secretary of the Navy has been ousted after coming into conflict with President Trump over his interventions in war crimes cases. In addition to pardoning two soldiers accused of war crimes, President Trump called for the end to an internal Navy review into whether a US Navy SEAL should be demoted for allegedly posing for a photograph with a dead ISIS combatant. The ousted former Secretary Richard Spencer said in an interview with CBS that not letting the review run its course erodes the "prime tenet" of discipline that underlines the US Navy SEALs. READ MORE HERE
   

• Australian business leaders need to follow the lead of those in the United States and Europe, Non-Resident Senior Fellow John Lee writes for The Australian. Lobbying the Australian government to improve its relationship with China purely for the sake of business would not remove the sovereign risk attached to a changing model of Chinese assertiveness, Lee said. READ MORE HERE
   
• The White House has honoured Conan, the dog that participated in the raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Belgian Malinois was awarded a medal and a plaque before joining the president, first lady, vice president and his handler at the White House. President Trump extended his thanks to special service members involved in the operation who "for obvious reasons" couldn't appear in front of cameras with the dog. READ MORE HERE

ANALYSIS

The insiders' guide to impeachment

Excerpts from the USSC's new collection of essays released this week.

Simon Jackman, Charles Edel, Gorana Grgic, Mia Love, Bruce Wolpe 

Professor Simon Jackman, CEO United States Studies Centre | The president’s party decides

“The impeachment inquiries underway would have to reveal new facts that damage the president among Republican partisans and Republican members of Congress. A remarkable feature of the Trump presidency is that his standing among Republicans has barely shifted over the course of his presidency, despite the criminal convictions of former aides, the Mueller probe, and an array of allegations of self-dealing.”

Dr Charles Edel, Senior Fellow | A short history of impeachment

“It is precisely because of the contested nature and depth of the alleged harm done that impeachment has always been a ferociously partisan and highly divisive affair. As Alexander Hamilton foresaw more than two centuries ago, impeachment will ‘agitate the passions of the whole community’, connect to ‘pre-existing factions’, and the outcome will be determined less by ‘real demonstrations of innocence or guilt’, and more by the competitive strength of the parties."

Gorana Grgic, Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy | Impeachment and foreign policy 

“When the heads of departments and agencies are missing, or are serving only in acting capacity, it is difficult to coordinate policy implementation and plan strategically. It also opens up the space for informal channels of policymaking to arise. This is precisely how the likes of Rudy Giuliani and his associates have been able to insert themselves into the policymaking process. The high turnover within the key coordinating bodies such as the National Security Council and in managerial roles such as the White House chief of staff has enabled the rise of a parallel foreign policy.”

Mia Love, Non-Resident Senior Fellow & former Republican Member of Congress | Impeachment and partisanship 

“If those in the political centre are able to disassociate their dislike of President Donald Trump’s tweets or truculent personality traits from the current direction of impeachment proceedings, it becomes apparent that the complete lack of bipartisan support, transparency, selective release of information and absence of an actual crime point to a process that has been weaponised for political gain.”

Bruce Wolpe, Non-Resident Senior Fellow & former Democratic staffer | The politics of impeachment

“No president has been under impeachment while running for re-election, much less facing a Senate trial 10 months before an election. In raw political terms, impeachment involves weakness and ridicule, and is an exercise in humiliation by virtue of the high degree of exposure of official actions to public scrutiny.”

EVENT

Impeachment: The insiders' guide

Join us in Sydney for the launch event of “Impeachment: The insiders' guide”, a compilation of analysis by US Studies Centre experts. The compilation features essays on impeachment from diverse angles, including:

• US public opinion by Professor Simon Jackman, the US Studies Centre CEO and a leading expert on political science and polling
• History by Dr Charles Edel, a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre who served on the US Secretary of State’s policy planning staff from 2015 to 2017
• Foreign policy by Dr Gorana Grgic, a University of Sydney Lecturer in US Politics and Foreign Policy
• Partisan bias by Mia Love, a non-resident Senior Fellow and former Republican member of Congress
• Political implications by Bruce Wolpe, a non-resident Senior Fellow who was a Democratic staffer in Congress and chief of staff to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard

The event will feature coverage of these topics by Professor Jackman, Dr Edel, Dr Grgic and Mr Wolpe.
 

DATE & TIME
27 November 2019
6pm–7.30pm

LOCATION
Lecture Theatre 1040, Abercrombie Business School, corner of Abercrombie and Codrington Sts, Darlington, University of Sydney

COST
$10

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