A Varied Look at the International Scene

I. Trump's Distaste for International Institutions
"Declaring a policy of nationalism, Trump launched  verbal attacks on international institutions, threatening to pull out of them, including the more recent Paris Climate Agreement. Underlying the postwar international order was a widespread belief that the spread of democratic institutions was the best way to prevent the recurrence of war, dictatorship, and genocide that caused so much destruction between 1914 and 1945, and Trump had attacked these too. The liberal values that had held sway over the internal and external policies of many countries can no longer be taken for granted." [1]

"Democracy isn't necessarily Western, as the state democratic political systems outside the West -- from Indonesia to Tunisia -- surely indicate. The decline of democracy in Europe and America, and the economic crisis that lies at its heart are part of a general crisis of democratic and economic institutions worldwide."

II. Uighurs Endangered
"Human rights groups estimate that more than 1 million Uighurs and other minorities have been arbitrarily interned in facilities that the Chinese Communist Party terms 'vocational training centers,' but, in reality, more resemble concentration camps, with torture, sexual assault, and death all documented as taking place. inside." [2]

"According to to Patrick Poar, a China researcher at Amnesty International, Pakistan is one of the several countries (including Muslim ones) that not only tolerate the abuses in Xijany but in some cases actively support Beijing's efforts."

"It's a dangerous time for Uighurs in the world, despite international pressure, China's crackdown -- which the government insists is necessary to curb extremism -- has only shown signs of expanding." "Under the UN Convention Against Torture, no nation is required to deport someone to a country where that person has a reasonable fear of torture or abuse."

III. Haiti in a Corner
"Haitians continue to face what Pierce-Esperance, executive director of the Haitian National Human Rights Defense [Organization] has called 'the ongoing gangsterization of the state's armed gangs -- estimated to number in the dozens -- regularly receive funding, automatic weapons and ammunition, although as Esperance points out, Haiti doesn't make weapons or ammo, and the country has been under an on-and-off arms embargo for many years." [3]

President Jovenel Moise's position remains precarious."On one side, he faces an angry, organized, and militant population trying to push him out. On the other, his friends need him to remain in power so the plunder can continue."

"Haiti is the second-largest importer of rice, after Mexico. The country's fertile Artibonite Valley once provided more than enough rice to feed Haiti."

IV. Iran Stands Down
"After the Embassy attack, Pentagon officials presented Trump with a  menu of options, and they were 'stunned' when he chose the most severe one -- killing Solemiani -- White House sources told the New York Times. Sources also told the newspaper that Trump feared the storming of the Baghdad embassy --which critics called Trump's Benghazi." "No one disputes Solemiani's 'blood-drenched legacy' said the Los Angeles Times. The question is whether America is safer and more secure now that he's  dead. The price for his killing is already steep: Iran has resumed its nuclear program; the Iraqi parliament called for U.S. troops to leave the nation; and the Trump administration undermined its credibility in Baghdad by sending a Pentagon draft memo to the Iraqis that said we were, in fact, withdrawing all our troops. In addition, the U.S. and NATO have suspended operations against ISIS in order to protect troops from possible attacks by Shiite militias and Iran." [4]

V. Stop This War
TIME magazine apparently believes that the U.S. is  already at war with Iran, as it states that  when "historians debate the cause of this war, it will surely be relevant to note the hollowness of the Trump administration's claim that the Iranian general --whose killing was considered and rejected by both George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- posed an imminent threat to American lives or interests." "We are already deep in the bloody jaws of disaster. What matters now is getting out -- as quickly as possible." "However, with Iran now suspending its commitment to the JSPOA and both sides poised to escalate, the current situation is far too dangerous to rely on Congress alone. We need fresh thinking and bold action." [5]

VI. Will Europe Support U.S. on Iran?
'With his threats to destroy Iranian cultural treasures should Tehran retaliate, Trump has shown his willingness to violate international law and adopt the barbarism of the Taliban, which demolished Afghanistan's famed Barmiyan Buddha in 2001." [6]

"The U.S. has continued to back Kurdish militants in Syria, claiming they are allies in the fight against ISIS, despite our protests that these fighters support separatist terrorists inside Turkey."

Footnotes
[1] Richard J. Evans, "The Breakup," The Nation, December 30/January 6, 2020.

[2] Andrew McCormick, "One Uighur's Odyssey," TIME, January 27, 2020.

[3] Amy Wilentz, "Haiti in a Corner, TIME, January 27, 2020.

[4] "Iran Stands Down..." The Week, January 17, 2020.

[5] "Stop This War," TIME, January 27, 2020.

[6] "How they see us: Will Europe support U.S. on Iran?" The Week, January 17, 2020.