31 OCTOBER

Born in the USA

President Donald Trump has announced sweeping plans to end the birthright citizenship bestowed on babies born in the United States to non-citizen parents. The move is a direct challenge to the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which states in its first clause: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

Trump said he would not need another amendment and would be able to implement the policy change through executive order alone. This would almost certainly face extensive legal challenges up to and including in the Supreme Court.

The president falsely claimed in the interview that the United States is the only country in the world that has birthright citizenship and said "It's ridiculous. And it has to end". There are at least 30 other countries, including Canada, where birthright citizenship exists. He did not indicate when he intends to sign the executive order.

NEWS WRAP

'Ye' of little faith

• Rapper Kanye West says he will distance himself from politics following controversy over his alleged involvement in the design of a "Blexit" logo, encouraging African-American voters to leave the Democratic Party. Tweeting under his pseudonym 'Ye', West said he had "been used to spread messages I don’t believe in" and never wanted any association with Blexit. He said he will now be "completely focusing on being creative". West had been a strong supporter of President Trump, visiting him at the White House just weeks ago. READ MORE HERE.
   
• Donald Trump, healthcare and immigration are the most important issues for Americans going into the midterm elections, according to new USSC-YouGov polling. Climate change was the issue that saw the greatest difference between Democrats and Republicans, with 78 per cent of Democratic voters rating it as an issue of importance, as opposed to just 16 per cent of Republican voters. READ MORE HERE.
   
• More than 5,000 US troops will be sent to the US-Mexico border by the Trump administration to "harden access points" and to prevent a dwindling group of 3,500-5,000 South American migrants from gaining access to the United States. The president has been accused of politicising the US armed forces as the move comes just a week before the midterm elections, where immigration issues loom large. READ MORE HERE.
   
• A mass-shooter at a Pittsburgh synagogue killed 11 people and injured six more in an attack that has again brought race relations, antisemitism, terrorism and gun control to the forefront of US political consciousness. Thomas Adams spoke to Triple J's Hack program about the increasingly large group in the United States who are thinking about practical ways to institute white supremacy. LISTEN HERE.
   
• Four shots were fired at a Republican office in Florida Sunday night less than a week after several packages containing what appeared to be pipe bombs were sent in the mail to prominent Democrats. USSC lecturer in political science Shaun Ratcliff and non-resident fellow John Barron spoke to News.com.au about the rising social and political tensions in the lead up to the US midterm elections. READ MORE HERE.
   
• Women have already been one of the big stories of the midterms, despite the vote still being a week away. A record number of female candidates are running in the November 6 elections, determined, as research associate in the Foreign Policy and Defence Program Matilda Steward told Nine News, to have their own say in policies that affect them. READ MORE HERE.
   
• Jimmy Carter has called on a Republican gubernatorial nominee to resign his role as secretary of state. The former president flagged Brian Kemp's position of overseeing an election he is a candidate in as an untenable one. Carter's interjection is the latest in a string of accusations that Kemp has used his position to suppress the minority vote in Georgia to boost the chances of a Republican – and his own – victory. USSC CEO Simon Jackman spoke to Radio National about several instances where voter participation in the midterms appears under threat. LISTEN HERE.
   
• Halloween may have finally won over Australia. Long a holiday of division locally, it now seems there's no recourse to stop Australian children and young parents from fully embracing the US tradition. Lecturer in American Studies Rodney Taveira spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about how the prevalence of US entertainment and depictions of Halloween have turned the tides. READ MORE HERE.

 For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement. You yourself called the murderer evil, but yesterday’s violence is the direct culmination of your influence.

An open letter by Pittsburgh Jewish leaders to President Trump
29 October 2018

ANALYSIS

Is the United States having its cake in Europe and eating it too?

Mats de Rooij
Politics, Society and Culture Program

Europe is starting to do what the United States has long wanted. It’s just not doing it the way the United States wants.

Following decades of US military presence in Europe, US tolerance of overseas military engagements is being questioned more than ever. The need for a stronger European pillar in the NATO alliance – to burden share the costs of European security – has been promoted by the US government for over a decade. President George W. Bush urged greater European military investment, President Obama complained of European free-riding, and President Trump has long called its NATO allies “delinquent”.

The European Union’s recently established Permanent Structured Cooperation on Security and Defence (PESCO) is a crucial step in facilitating development of Europe’s military capabilities in line with US demands. Signed on December 11, 2017 by 25 of the 28 EU member states, PESCO would deepen integration of the EU’s security and defence policies, enhance European military coordination and allocate European defence spending more effectively. Seventeen shared capability projects have been adopted within the PESCO framework, ranging from the establishment of a medical command centre to the Schengen-inspired unhindered provision of free movement for military units throughout the EU. PESCO would ultimately strengthen the EU’s role in the domain of international security.

Yet despite all this, the new agreement has caused turmoil in Washington DC amid unease over a potential breakdown of the US-EU military partnership.

There are two major US concerns with PESCO. Firstly, as articulated by US ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, PESCO could develop into a “protectionist vehicle” by cutting off American military sales in Europe, which “could splinter the strong security alliance” between the European Union and the United States. This is the result of conjectures that PESCO is a European tool for the development of its own defence products. The second, and perhaps greater US concern is the potential for strategic ties between an autonomous European Union and Russia to strengthen. EU officials have claimed that PESCO does not serve as an alternative to NATO, yet in August 2018, President of France Emmanuel Macron remarkably called for more integration of European armed forces as a substitute of reliance on the United States and the need to enter a “strategic relationship” with Russia.

Despite the theoretical possibility of a more independent Europe, significant hurdles must be overcome to turn this vision into reality. Indeed, a long history of communism in Central and Eastern Europe has generated scepticism about a tighter partnership with Russia. In fact, in August 2018, the Polish government offered the United States up to US$2 billion in exchange for the permanent deployment of American troops on its soil to safeguard the state against Russia. A weakening reliance on the United States and more Russian involvement in European security and defence issues will presumably face strong opposition in other Central and Eastern European states too.

Ultimately, PESCO does not seem to provide a short-term solution to Europe’s enduring lack of available troops and military equipment. Research suggests it would take at least a decade of disproportionally large investments to offset American military contributions through the collective development of European weapon systems. Between now and 2020 1,500 American soldiers will be added to the existing 33,000 US troops in Germany, which is one of the indicators that European cooperation with the United States remains too substantial to relinquish.

While PESCO may serve as the precursor of a long-term development towards more European independence, it ultimately has the potential to accomplish that which the US government has long sought. Nonetheless, Europe would first need to overcome significant hurdles in the years to come to ensure that a possible divorce with the United States does not undermine its own well-being.

DIARY

The week ahead

• Wednesday, 31 October: US Supreme Court hears arguments.
   

• 31 October-5 November: President Trump scheduled to attend campaign rallies in Florida, Missouri, Indiana, Montana, Georgia, Tennessee and Ohio.
   

• Sunday, 4 November: President Trump's Axios interview on birthright citizenship is scheduled to air.
   

• Tuesday, 6 November: US midterm elections.

EVENT

Planet America LIVE: Midterms special

VIDEO

Sarah Sanders asked to name which media outlets are the 'enemy of the people'

THE WEEK IN TWEETS

#Media

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University of Sydney NSW 2006

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