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Tuesday's global agenda: US weighs genocide prevention as Syria burns
Your morning global affairs speed-read
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers the keynote address at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's symposium on preventing genocide. The event, in cooperation with the Council on Foreign Relations and CNN, will explore the challenges of preventing genocide in the 21st century, including emerging global trends such as economic uncertainty, political upheaval, resource scarcity, population migration, new technologies and other factors that could affect at-risk populations.
It will also feature a large-scale poll on Americans' opinion about what should be done in places like Syria and Sudan. Here's the agenda.
Romney's plan: GOP presidential candidate lays out his foreign-policy vision at a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Reno, Nev., this afternoon, ahead of his tour of Great Britain, Poland and Israel starting Thursday. Romney's speech follows President Obama's appearance at the VFW on Monday, during which he told the veterans he has stuck by his promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan responsibly and accused Republicans of endangering defense spending by refusing to allow higher taxes on the rich.
African trade: The House is scheduled to vote today on legislation giving certain African countries another three years of duty-free access to the U.S. apparel market for goods that are produced with imported yarn and fabric. The Congressional Budget Office gave the amendment to the African Growth and Opportunity Act an extra boost Monday when it scored it as saving $5 million.
Afghanistan scrutiny: Kabul's troubled Dawood hospital is back on Congress's radar less than a month after House defense lawmakers grilled DOD officials over allegations of rampant corruption and abuse at the U.S.-funded Afghan military hospital. Military officers who served in Afghanistan will tell Congress that top U.S. commanders covered up the situation when they testify before the House Oversight national security subcommittee on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Separately, the Senate Armed Services oversight subcommittee examines the Afghan National Security Forces' ability to take the lead in protecting the country.
Chinese rights: U.S. Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner and Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for International Organizations and Conferences Chen Xu wrap up the second day of their annual U.S.-China human-rights dialogue in Washington. [Associated Press]
Making friends: The House Foreign Affairs panel on Europe and Eurasia holds a hearing on U.S. engagement in Central Asia, home to a booming energy sector and increased competition for influence with Russia and China. Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Robert Blake will testify, along with several think-tank experts.
Combating global hunger: Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) and James McGovern (D-Mass.) partner with a U.S. affiliate of the U.N.'s World Food Program and several nonprofits to release a report on the “Roadmap to End Hunger” at a Capitol Hill reception this evening. The report outlines investments in emergency programs, safety nets, nutrition and especially agricultural development needed to boost U.S. leadership in the effort to end hunger worldwide.
Empowering women, Day 2: The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW) hosts an International Women’s Economic Summit with its graduating class at the United States Institute of Peace. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and the Afghan and Rwandan ambassadors are scheduled to speak at lunchtime.
In other news:
U.S. intelligence gaps are impeding efforts to support the rebels in Syria. [The Washington Post]
The violence in Iraq is spill-over from the sectarian tensions in Syria, the Iraqi government said. [The Wall Street Journal]
Gunmen attacked a NATO convoy in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing a driver in the first attack since the supply route to Afghanistan was reopened after a seven-month blockade. [The New York Times]
What you might have missed on Global Affairs:
White House says Iraq can fend for itself after series of attacks
Romney questions whether Castro regime had hand in activist’s death
Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: On normal trade relations and the deficit of normalcy
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