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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2018)
January 24, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 Thorny Global Issues Abound a Year Into Trump Presidency AP correspondents take stock of volatile, unprecedented year in global politics ith a sharp de- parture from years and sometimes decades of U.S. foreign policy, President Donald Trump has made a seis- mic global impact during his first year in office. It has been delivered with his own brand of bombast and occasional threats. Contentious issues have always existed, es- pecially in conflict-rid- den or volatile countries, but has he improved or worsened matters? Twelve months into his presidency, Associated Press correspondents take stock: W RUSSIA Trump repeatedly de- clared in his campaign that he would improve relations with Russia but was never specific. A year into his presiden- cy, it’s no clearer. Mos- cow and Washington are at odds over issues ranging from North Ko- rea to Ukraine, despite Trump’s open admira- tion of President Vladi- mir Putin. Russian officials had high hopes that Trump would move to abandon or reduce the sanctions that the United States im- posed over Russia’s an- nexation of Crimea and its support for separat- ists in eastern Ukraine. Instead, Trump ap- proved selling lethal weapons to Ukraine for the fight against the rebels, he appointed a Russia hawk as Washing- ton’s envoy for Ukraine’s peace process, and his U.N. ambassador, Nik- ki Haley, declared that the Crimea sanctions wouldn’t be lifted un- less the peninsula is re- turned to Ukraine. Trump even signed legislation imposing new sanctions on Russia — unwillingly, but effec- tively forced to by the measure’s near-unani- mous Senate approval. Publicly, the Kremlin contends Trump is hog- tied by suspicions of Rus- sia held over from the Barack Obama era and by hysteria over allegations that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election and that Trump and Russia had colluded. Trump himself has criticized Russia, saying Moscow “seeks to chal- lenge American values, influence and wealth,” and complaining he is not satisfied with Rus- sia’s role in easing ten- sions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile pro- grams. Russia contends the U.S. wants to undermine the deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program and that Washington clan- destinely supports Is- lamic fighters in Syria. Although Trump has a taste for defying conventional political wisdom, his potential moves toward Russia appear constricted un- til the investigation into his campaign’s dealings with Russia concludes and leaves him untar- nished. While the probe continues, the Kremlin is edging from quiet disap- pointment into needling suggestions of U.S. weak- ness. “Will they show good will? Will they gather courage, exercise com- mon sense?” Putin said. ASIA Asia was one of Trump’s punching bags during his election cam- paign. Chinese and Jap- anese exports were de- stroying U.S. jobs. South Korea and Japan weren’t paying enough for U.S. troops defending their countries. Then came Kim Jong Un. Two weeks before Trump took office, the leader of North Korea de- clared in a New Year’s ad- dress that preparations for an intercontinental ballistic missile were in “the final stage.” Trump tweeted in response: “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stag- es of developing a nu- clear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won’t happen!” Both sides traded threats and insults, and North Korea conducted an underground nucle- ar test and three ICBM launches that demon- strated at least a theoret- ical ability to reach the U.S. Seeking China’s help on isolating North Korea through economic sanc- tions, Trump backed off a threat to label China a currency manipulator. He was off-and-on con- ciliatory on trade during an extended visit to Asia in November, and China said it would lift restric- By Matthew Perrone AP Health Writer AP PHOTO/NASSER NASSER, FILE By The Associated Press News Anti-Smoking Plan May Kill Cigarettes — and Save Big Tobacco In this Dec. 14, 2017 file photo, Palestinian protesters burn a poster with a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump during clashes with Israeli troops following protests against Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Trump promised to pursue “the ultimate deal” - an agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A year later, he has made little headway and his hoped-for peace push appears to be in tatters. In December, he upended decades of policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move, seen as siding with Israel, set off weeks of unrest and prompted the Palestinians to declare Trump unfit to mediate peace. tions on foreign invest- ment in its banks and other financial institu- tions. As his second year in office dawns, however, Trump appears to be moving steadily toward raising tariffs or re- stricting imports to try to force China to take steps to narrow its trade surplus with the United States. Kim began the year with his own conciliato- ry note: sending a delega- tion to next month’s Win- ter Olympics in South Korea. But he also said in a Jan. 1 speech that North Korea’s nuclear and mis- sile tests have achieved a powerful deterrent that “nothing can reverse.” SYRIA, IRAQ AND THE ISLAMIC STATE Trump can claim credit for the virtual defeat of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria on his watch. He largely con- tinued Obama’s anti-IS strategy and intensi- fied it. U.S. troop levels were increased in both countries, coalition com- manders got more au- See TRUMP on page 10 WASHINGTON (AP) — Imagine if cigarettes were no longer addic- tive and smoking itself became almost obso- lete; only a tiny seg- ment of Americans still lit up. That’s the goal of an unprecedented an- ti-smoking plan being carefully fashioned by U.S. health officials. But the proposal from the Food and Drug Administration could have another unexpect- ed effect: opening the door for companies to sell a new generation of alternative tobacco products, allowing the industry to survive — even thrive — for gen- erations to come. The plan puts the FDA at the center of a long-standing debate over so-called “re- duced-risk” products, such as e-cigarettes, and whether they should have a role in anti-smoking efforts, which have long fo- cused exclusively on getting smokers to quit. “This is the single most controversial — and frankly, divisive — issue I’ve seen in my 40 years studying tobac- co control policy,” said Kenneth Warner, pro- fessor emeritus at Uni- versity of Michigan’s school of public health. The FDA plan is two- fold: drastically cut nicotine levels in ciga- rettes so that they are essentially non-addic- tive. For those who can’t or won’t quit, allow low- er-risk products that deliver nicotine with- out the deadly effects of traditional cigarettes. This month the gov- ernment effort is poised to take off. The FDA is expected to soon begin what will likely be a years-long process to control nicotine in cigarettes. And next week, the agency will hold a public meeting on a closely watched cigarette alternative from Philip Morris In- ternational, which, if granted FDA clearance, could launch as early as February. The product, called iQOS (pronounced EYE-kose), is a penlike device that heats Marl- boro-branded tobac- co but stops short of burning it, an approach that Philip Morris says reduces exposure to tar and other toxic by- See TOBACCO on page 11
