SENATE BILL: September 2017 Foreign Relations Review (Passed)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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People's Regional Senate
Pending
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Sponsor: Scott for the State Department, NSC and the Administration.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I hereby open the floor debate.  This is concurrent with the FRR currently being debated in the House.  I welcome senators to review the list thoroughly, check for oversights, and offer amendments.  There have been contentious debates in the Congress about our foreign policy in the past (and especially now with regard to the North Korea situation), and I look forward to a clean and constructive discussion.

[1978 New Wave skinny trousers]

I have several comments on this review. Firstly, I believe that some restrictions should be placed on several unsanctioned Central Asian dictatorships, particularly Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Both are some of the least democratic countries in the world, and Uzbekistan killed scores of protesters in the 2005 Andijan massacre. Longtime dictator Islam Karimov recently died, but I doubt that this will improve democratic conditions in the country. I also believe that some restrictions should be placed on the authoritarian, undemocratic government of Azerbaijan. Additionally, I believe that Egypt should be sanctioned, as it is ruled by military dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi.

In Southeast Asia and Africa, there are also several unsanctioned, undemocratic regimes. Vietnam and Laos are Communist dictatorships, and Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Angola have also been ruled by Communist parties for decades, although the latter group of countries are not inherently under one-party Communist rule. In addition, I believe that some economic/trade restrictions should be removed from South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. I believe this because the Emergency Famine Relief Act stated that the Famine Relief Commission would work with national governments as part of the famine relief plan. However, I don't know if this will be possible, and it will surely be made harder, if substantial economic/trade restrictions exist on these three countries. It is true, though, that they are all undemocratic countries, so maybe instead of lifting restrictions, an exception should be made for foreign aid.

Finally, the last topic that I have to address is Saudi Arabia. It is true that Atlasia has good relations with the Saudis, and we do trade often and cooperate militarily together. However, I am uncomfortable with no restrictions being placed on this country. Firstly, Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy and one of the least democratic countries in the world. Secondly, it is a Wahhabist country in which women were indefinitely banned from driving until today, when Saudi Arabia announced that the ban will be lifted next year. Thirdly, Saudi Arabia has links to terrorism, and it is possible that it played a role in 9/11. Due to all of these factors, I believe that partial military and economic restrictions should be placed on Saudi Arabia.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

While I normally don't advocate this, I would recommend that each amendment be worked into the initial text (I would say OP, but it takes 3 posts not just OP) so the current text doesn't have to be reposted several times, which at this length would be murderous on myself and Scott.

[Anna Komnene]

As I understand it, the Come Out of the Shadows Act designates countries that account for 5% or more of unauthorized migration as priority recipients for aid from 2017-2021. It was hard to find currents stats for this, but the the research I did says those countries are Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. So I guess they would need to be designated "most priority." on the economic side of things.

[PPT Spiral]

I echo the words of Senator Henry Wallace on Saudi Arabia. They have more flagrantly been at odds with Atlasia than many other nations we've put partial sanctions on, and we've overlooked their ties to terrorist activities for too long. I disagree with the Senator, though, on sanctioning Egypt. While undoubtedly a dictatorship, el-Sisi has done more to combat Islamist terrorism in the region than his predecessor, and we should encourage moderate and secular regimes in the Middle East through diplomacy when possible. Establishing Western-style democracies is a much more ambitious and unlikely goal for the time being.

I also motion that we lift our sanctions on two Southeast Asian countries: Thailand and the Philippines. They have historically been two of the most pro-Atlasian nations in the region, and they continue to be strong supporters when some of their neighbors are considerably more hostile. Thailand's friendship with Atlasia goes back to the mid-1800s, when their king wrote to President Lincoln about supplying an elephant for the Union Army. Despite any disagreements our government may have with theirs, we need to strengthen our bonds with our allies and ensure that we'll have reliable partners in the Asian peninsula during these rocky times.

[Anna Komnene]

I agree with Senator Wallace on Saudi Arabia, and I agree with Senator Spiral on Egypt, Thailand, and the Philippines.

On the subject of reservations, I wonder if it's really necessary to have full sanctions on Iran in our world, given that President dfwlibertylover visited them and we passed a joint resolution that officially apologized to them (and others) for past military coups. I feel like imposing sanctions on the would not be in the spirit of our recent policies toward them - and if we are going to antagonize Saudi Arabia, it would be a good idea to keep building a better relationship with Iran.

[ZuWo]

I also motion that we lift our sanctions on two Southeast Asian countries: Thailand and the Philippines. They have historically been two of the most pro-Atlasian nations in the region, and they continue to be strong supporters when some of their neighbors are considerably more hostile. Thailand's friendship with Atlasia goes back to the mid-1800s, when their king wrote to President Lincoln about supplying an elephant for the Union Army. Despite any disagreements our government may have with theirs, we need to strengthen our bonds with our allies and ensure that we'll have reliable partners in the Asian peninsula during these rocky times.

I concur. I don't see why we should impose sanctions on the Philippines and Thailand while the Vietnamese regime, to pick another Southeastern Asian example, should be unscathed. It's inconsistent.

[fhtagn]

I agree with Senator Wallace on Saudi Arabia, and I agree with Senator Spiral on Egypt, Thailand, and the Philippines.

On the subject of reservations, I wonder if it's really necessary to have full sanctions on Iran in our world, given that President dfwlibertylover visited them and we passed a joint resolution that officially apologized to them (and others) for past military coups. I feel like imposing sanctions on the would not be in the spirit of our recent policies toward them - and if we are going to antagonize Saudi Arabia, it would be a good idea to keep building a better relationship with Iran.

As I mentioned in the House version, this was a detail that was likely missed when going through the list.

As Yankee had stated, this is an extensive list, which had many hands involved in it, so there may have been things deleted or missed in the process, and such obvious changes are definitely worth making to ensure things remain correct.

[PPT Spiral]

All right, I'll go ahead and formally offer this amendment. If it's the wrong way to do it for the review, let me know and I'll change whatever I need to.

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[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Friendly, though I have to say I am a bit uneasy about easing restrictions on countries with significant human rights abuses, particularly the Philippines.  But by the same token we can't afford to compromise our existing relationships with Asian countries while Atlasia is at war.

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Sponsor Feedback: Friendly
Status: Senators have 24 hours to object

[1978 New Wave skinny trousers]

I will not object to Senator Spiral's amendment, as a majority of Senators seem to support it, although I do personally disagree with it. Thailand has been run by a military junta since 2014, when democratically elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was overthrown in a military coup. It is my opinion that the Thai military dictatorship should be sanctioned, but as I said earlier, I will not object to this amendment. As for the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte is an authoritarian and is guilty of numerous human rights abuses. Although I will not object to this amendment, I am hesitant about removing sanctions on the Philippines. Also, in the amendment that I am about to propose, I will not propose sanctions against Egypt, as a majority of the Senate has come out against that idea.

With that said, I offer the following amendment:

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[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Friendly.

Senators have 24 hours to object.

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Sponsor Feedback: Friendly
Status: Objection raised, Amendment on the table

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Amendment S8:07 is adopted.

[PPT Spiral]

I object to Senator Wallace's amendment. I would rather not want to see additional sanctions applied on countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam at a time when we're at war and the cost of alienating any other Asian partners is too high. When China is now blatantly trying to extort us with our current situation, we need all the countries on our side that we can get. China's relations with Vietnam have long been dismal, so I'm not as worried about them, but Cambodia has tried to get on their good side much more, even cutting off all ties with Taiwan. Should the conflict go south, Cambodia could easily fight with China against us after facing new sanctions all of a sudden.

[ZuWo]

I agree with the fellow Senator from the South. Considering China's recent muscle-flexing we need more allies in Southeastern Asia, not fewer. Imposing sanctions on a new slate of nations is not going to help in that respect.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

An objection has been raised.  Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain on amendment S8:09.

[PPT Spiral]

Nay

[Anna Komnene]

Nay

I'm skeptical of most sanctions on principle because I don't think they usually do any good unless their targeted for a really specific reason and usually hurt ordinary people more than the governments we're trying to change. So I don't support blanket sanctions just because a country is authoritarian.

[1978 New Wave skinny trousers]

Aye

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Abstain

[ZuWo]

Nay

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Abstain.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

With one vote in favor, three opposed, and two abstentions, the amendment is rejected.