Refocusing American Diplomacy on Reindustrialization and Technical Expertise
America’s foreign policy establishment—the men and women staffing embassies, consulates, and commercial sections around the world—likes to talk about economic diplomacy. Yet for all the jargon about “competitiveness,” “innovation ecosystems,” and “strategic partnerships,” one glaring truth remains: there is not a single federal employee stationed in Germany, Japan, or South Korea whose sole job is to engage with companies possessing the technologies critical to President Trump’s reindustrialization agenda.
Temporary Afghan Special Immigrant Visas Program Untenable
Following the closure of Embassy Kabul, numerous Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, more commonly known as “SIVs”, have been issued by the Department of State under a temporary program designed to reward faithful service to the U.S. for those employed “by, or on behalf of, the U.S. government”. While the aim of the program is laudable, the eligibility of applicants for these visas is incredibly difficult to verify. Authenticating employment documents, ruling out other visa ineligibilities, establishing the family ties of derivative applicants, and uncovering fraud are all very difficult to do at arm’s length. In some cases, applicants who had been denied a visa at U.S. Embassy Kabul for fraud received approval to interview again based on a second, equally fraudulent application.
What Europe’s migration crisis means for America
In 2015, approximately 1.5 million asylum seekers — mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq — arrived in Europe to escape conflicts, political instability and poverty.