World Events Summary: 30th January – 5th February 2018

State of the Union: Trump’s chance to show he is presidential was long on domestic affairs but missed opportunities to demonstrate a joined-up foreign policy approach. His calls for bi-partisan cooperation to fix the immigration system and invest US$1.5tn on infrastructure were met with stony silence from Democrats. Comments implying that Dreamers are not American were seized upon. 

Memo: the war between the FBI and many Republicans heated up after the release of a previously classified memo which alleged that inappropriate conduct had contributed to gaining legal authorization of surveillance on Trump campaign members. The FBI hit back, saying that it had ‘grave concerns’ about the release of the memo and that ‘material omissions’ undermined its accuracy. 

Monroe Doctrine: Secretary of State Tillerson invoked the spectre of a much-resented policy when visiting South America. The principle originally called for colonial powers to leave South America and for the region to be within a U.S. sphere of influence. Tillerson was attempting to develop a China containment narrative, suggesting that poor countries borrowing from China would cede it power. 

Egypt/Israel: the New York Times reported that a secret military alliance had allowed Israel to attack militants within Egypt’s borders in order to degrade terrorists operating in the Sinai Peninsula. Over 100 strikes are claimed to have taken place via unmarked drones, jets and helicopters. For domestic consumption the Egyptian government continued to rail against the Israeli state while allying with it.