La politique américaine comme si vous y étiez...

Citation :

Ce militant démocrate qui défie Barack Obama

Candidat à la présidence, Darcy Richardson exprime la frustration d’une partie des progressistes états-uniens face au bilan du président sortant. Il participe aux primaires démocrates afin de «r amener,dit-il, Obama à gauche ».

Il n’a eu droit qu’à quelques entrefilets 
dans deux, trois journaux mais le New York Times ne l’a pas cité une seule fois dans 
l’un de ses articles. Il ne collecte que quelques milliers de dollars de-ci, de-là. Il ne bénéficie donc ni de la puissance financière ni de la couverture médiatique, éléments indispensables à toute campagne électorale 
aux États-Unis. Pourtant Darcy Richardson 
est bel et bien candidat à la présidence des 
États-Unis (www.darcy2012.com). Mieux 
même, il est le seul à défier Barack Obama 
dans plusieurs États. Même si le barnum ultradroitier des républicains l’a occulté, 
il n’en reste pas moins que le Parti démocrate organise lui aussi un processus de désignation 
de son candidat.

« Je suis le premier à admettre que je n’ai aucune chance de battre, voire d’inquiéter le président sortant », répète Darcy Richardson en 
préambule des rares interviews que des chaînes locales lui accordent. Même si Eugene 
McCarthy constitue sa référence politique 
(les deux hommes ont notamment milité ensemble au début des années quatre-vingt-dix dans l’aile gauche du Parti démocrate), ce féru d’histoire sait que 2012 n’est pas 1968. Cette année-là, le sénateur progressiste du Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy, avait défié, au nom 
du mouvement antiguerre, Lyndon Johnson, président depuis 1963, embourbé dans 
son escalade militaire au Vietnam. Après 
des premières primaires très serrées, 
Johnson renonça finalement à se représenter.

Pourquoi dès lors se lancer dans une telle 
bataille à cinquante-six ans ? Parce qu’Obama 
doit répondre de son bilan, rétorque en substance cet ancien assureur devenu auteur et bloggeur (www.battleground.com). « Il n’a accompli aucune des choses dont il a parlé en 2008. L’administration Obama est un cas d’école de l’influence corruptrice de l’argent de Wall Street dans la politique américaine. Le président a abandonné sans mener le combat. » L’accusation est rude mais le ton toujours posé. Il cite : renoncement de la réforme du système bancaire et de Wall Street et de la création d’un véritable système public de santé, poursuite de la guerre en Afghanistan, reconduction des réductions d’impôts pour les plus riches votés sous 
George Bush. « Les frustrations et les déceptions de l’électorat démocrate sont immenses, ajoute-il. De plus en plus de gens se rendent compte que 
le premier mandat d’Obama est en fait un 
troisième mandat de Bush. Nous ne voulons pas d’un quatrième mandat de Bush. »

Darcy Richardson a reçu le soutien 
de la Nouvelle Alliance progressiste (www.newprogs.org), organisation créée par le philosophe noir Cornel West, très critique envers l’hôte 
de la Maison-Blanche et qui avait appelé 
à une candidature unifiée pour défier 
Obama. Aucune des personnalités évoquées 
depuis plusieurs mois (Jeffrey Sacks, Robert Reich, Bernie Sanders, Dennis Kucinich…) 
n’a relevé le gant. Darcy Richardson, si. 
Son slogan de campagne : « Un démocrate progressiste pour président. » Et son espoir : « Ramener Obama à gauche. »

Citation :

Aux États-Unis, il n’y a pas que Lyndon LaRouche pour accuser Obama d’avoir trahi ses promesses. Bien que boudé par la grande presse, le démocrate progressiste Darcy Richardson défie le président Barack Obama dans plusieurs États dans la course à la présidentielle. Car, même si le barnum ultradroitier des républicains l’a occulté, il n’en reste pas moins que le Parti démocrate organise lui aussi un processus de désignation de son candidat.

Pour Darcy Richardson, qui mène lui aussi campagne pour rétablir la séparation des banques d’affaires des banques de dépôt (retour au Glass-Steagall Act), le bilan du mandat d’Obama est plus que calamiteux : «  Il n’a accompli aucune des choses dont il a parlé en 2008. L’administration Obama est un cas d’école de l’influence corruptrice de l’argent de Wall Street dans la politique américaine. Le président a abandonné sans mener le combat.  »

Et comme le précise un article paru dans l’Humanité du 8 mars : « L’accusation est rude mais le ton toujours posé. Il cite  : renoncement de la réforme du système bancaire et de Wall Street et de la création d’un véritable système public de santé, poursuite de la guerre en Afghanistan, reconduction des réductions d’impôts pour les plus riches votés sous George Bush. "Les frustrations et les déceptions de l’électorat démocrate sont immenses, ajoute-il. De plus en plus de gens se rendent compte que le premier mandat d’Obama est en fait un troisième mandat de Bush. Nous ne voulons pas d’un quatrième mandat de Bush." »

La référence politique de Darcy Richardson reste Eugene McCarthy (rien à voir avec l’anti-communiste Joseph McCarthy). Ce sénateur progressiste du Minnesota avait défié en 1968, au nom du mouvement contre la guerre du Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson, président depuis 1963. Eugene McCarthy était aussi en très bonnes termes avec Lyndon LaRouche et s’était fait remarquer en 1988 en faisant campagne en faveur de l’Initiative de défense stratégique (IDS), initiative anti-guerre initié par LaRouche et caricaturé par la presse comme « la guerre des étoiles ». Il avait également signé l’appel pour un Nouveau Bretton Woods de LaRouche.

Aujourd’hui, Darcy Richardson dispose du soutien de la Nouvelle Alliance progressiste, organisation créée par le philosophe noir Cornel West, très critique envers l’hôte de la Maison-Blanche et qui avait appelé à une candidature unifiée pour défier Obama. Le slogan de campagne de Richardson  : «  Un démocrate progressiste pour président.  » Son espoir  : «  Ramener Obama à gauche.  »

eiffel65 a écrit:

Dick Cheney est le conseille de Joe Biden, voilà qui va réellement diriger l'Amérique.

The European Council on Foreign Relations a écrit:

How a Biden win could transform US policy in the Middle East and North Africa

Victory for Joe Biden is likely to bring three big policy shifts in the region, opening new possibilities and challenges for Europeans

Many European governments hope that with Joe Biden as president the United States would re-embrace the transatlantic relationship in pursuit of common interests. But what would such a shift mean for US policy towards the Middle East and North Africa and associated European interests? This is a region where a potential Biden administration is expected to both refocus US policy on issues such as Iran and push for respect of normative values across the region. But he is also likely to want to lower the level of US engagement. These positions will create openings and challenges for Europeans. ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme experts look at the most likely possibilities ahead if Biden is wins the US elections.
Iran

If the nuclear deal can be preserved until Biden’s inauguration, then the Iran file presents a natural area for renewed transatlantic cooperation. Biden has made clear he intends to re-enter the JCPOA (if Iran also comes back into full compliance) and to pursue diplomacy with Tehran on wider issues. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany (the E3) are likely to support this approach after spending the Trump years seeking to preserve the nuclear agreement and pushing for damage control in the Middle East.

But Europeans face major hurdles in this effort, knowing that politics in Washington and Tehran is likely to severely complicate progress. The Republican party, together with US allies in the Middle East such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, are likely to oppose the US re-entering the JCPOA. It is also unclear whether Biden will be willing to lift sanctions that are unrelated to nuclear matters and that the Trump administration introduced deliberately in order to it hard to return to the agreement.

Iran’s leaders have outlined that they expect a lifting of these sanctions and to be compensated for the economic damage done by Donald Trump. While a Biden administration and the E3 cannot offer reparations to Iran, they will need to find some economic sweeteners that provide Tehran with a face-saving path back into compliance. There is also the technical challenge raised by Iran’s increased nuclear know-how gained through research and development prohibited by the JCPOA.

Europe can play a role charting a diplomatic pathway between Washington and Tehran, starting during the US presidential transition phase. The E3 and EU should focus their immediate efforts on stepping up talks with Iran, Russia, and China to find parameters for a possible US return to the deal and scoping out realistic economic relief tracks. Given that the EU chairs the JCPOA’s Joint Commission, it could also push technical discussions to overcome related challenges. Europeans should press Tehran to avoid ongoing escalation with the outgoing Trump administration given that this would complicate chances for renewed diplomacy.

The Gulf Cooperation Council states

Cinzia Bianco

Biden’s team has outlined support for a diplomatic approach to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the GCC states. His election could create momentum to pursue a regional security dialogue, including Saudi-Iran talks, something that the Europeans have long supported, particularly as it relates to Yemen and Iraq. European states should quickly look to forge a shared understanding with a Biden administration to advance this process.

US and European efforts will need to secure buy-in from regional states traditionally opposed to diplomacy with Iran, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). From the perspective of these countries, this will require keeping Riyadh and Abu Dhabi informed about new nuclear talks, but also consolidating the message that diplomacy with Tehran will strengthen rather than undermine their wider security interests. Europeans should look to play an active role on bolstering security, including through the continued deployment of the European EMASoH maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz.

There is some hope that these states are already more willing to explore diplomatic engagement given the failure of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign to box in Iranian regional conduct. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have reinitiated some security channels with Iran to prevent further regional escalation. Riyadh may show further flexibility given its need to strengthen its uneasy position with a Biden administration. As a presidential candidate, Biden offered tough words about Saudi Arabia’s regional policy – in particular in Yemen – and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s human rights record.

The Yemen conflict may offer a particular opportunity for progress. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are already, albeit unsuccessfully, pursuing a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Biden has made it clear that he will stop US support for the war. Europeans should work with the US to throw their combined weight behind a diplomatic process that can finally deliver much-needed peace to the country and potentially unlock a wider regional security dialogue.

Israel-Palestine

Hugh Lovatt

When it comes to Israel-Palestine, most European governments will greet a Biden administration with a deep sigh of relief. Even if few expect Biden to prioritise the issue, there is hope that he will at least row back the most negative consequences of the Trump era, such as by renewing US aid to the Palestinians, re-opening the Palestinian mission in Washington, and returning to traditional two-state positions – all of which the EU sees as requisites for any diplomatic track.

Still, there is unlikely to be a full return to the status quo ante in terms of reversing Trump’s decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Biden may also be limited by a US Congress that wields considerable power on this file. Nevertheless, the change in mood music coming from Washington will mark a big difference for the Palestinian leadership, encouraging them to renew cooperation with Israel and potentially declare their readiness to re-enter US sponsored negotiations.

But absent a deeper rethink, this will represent nothing more than doubling down on a failed strategy. Far from bringing forward an end to the long conflict based on a two-state solution, international diplomacy has only maintained a negative trajectory that is entrenching a one-state reality of unequal rights and open-ended occupation.

Europeans should support renewed diplomatic engagement with the aim of generating longer-term conflict transformation, based on legal equality, political emancipation, and the end of military rule, rather than labouring in the hope of an imminent political breakthrough under the same broken framework. Rather than being an enthusiastic cheerleader for American efforts, the EU needs to step up as a meaningful actor that brings its own contributions to the table. It should make demands of the US to achieve a just and lasting resolution that can ensure equality and security for both sides.

Syria, the Levant, and countering ISIS

Julien Barnes-Dacey

Syria and the Levant were remarkably absent from the US presidential campaign, despite the presence of US troops on the ground. Biden’s team has said little on the issue other than that he will not withdraw from Syria.

The main immediate difference of a Biden victory will be one of messaging, with the new administration expected to convey a unified approach compared to a Trump administration that often talked at cross-purposes. But on substance, Biden appears likely to largely maintain a similar approach: keeping a small military presence in north-eastern Syria (albeit with greater support for the Kurdish-dominated SDF forces, which Trump largely abandoned); supporting the UN political process; and maintaining sanctions on Syria. Europeans will broadly agree with this approach but should nonetheless press for shared reflection about a more effective policy given Assad’s continued hold on power, the country’s deepening socio-economic collapse, and the mounting suffering of its people (including in Idlib). But Europeans will need to take the initiative here. Biden is unlikely to spearhead any diplomatic push, a track that will also be complicated by Democrat party anger with Russia. Nor should Biden be expected to support a more assertive US position given widening calls in the US for disengagement from the Middle East.

Whereas Trump largely saw the counter-ISIS mission as complete, Biden may offer renewed US military support to prevent the group’s resurgence. This will underpin an ongoing US presence in Syria and Iraq but it is also an area where Europeans should assume greater responsibility. This US approach could include a less antagonistic approach towards Baghdad, despite its ties to Tehran, offering political and economic support to help stabilise the country. US maximum economic pressure against Iran and its allies, including in Iraq and Lebanon, could soften as the administration shows a greater recognition of the destabilising impact on these countries – a shift Europeans should encourage.

Turkey

Asli Aydintasbas

Under a Biden administration, relations between Washington and Ankara will undoubtedly kick off with tension and apprehension on both sides. While there is likely to be a months-long policy review under Biden on Turkey policy, followed by an offer for a reset, Ankara has two main concerns about future ties with the new administration. The first is the fear that Biden will reintroduce a democracy and human rights promotion discourse into the bilateral relationship. Secondly, Ankara worries that Biden will try to constrain a resurgent Turkey, backing policies to contain Turkey in Libya, the eastern Mediterranean, and Syria.

Top of the agenda will be Turkey’s purchase of S-400s from Russia, and whether Biden will impose CAATSA sanctions on Turkey. While Congress remains adamant on this issue, a Biden administration will likely have the same concerns as the Trump administration – that imposing sanctions on Turkey will alienate a still important NATO ally.

Ankara is hoping that it can enter negotiations with a strong hand, using S-400s and Turkey’s relations with Russia as leverage. But the expectation is that things will get worse before they get better. Deprived of Trump’s shield, Ankara is wary that an angry US Congress will have a freer hand in taking measures against Turkey.

All of this leaves Europe with two options – to become the steady Western hand in dealing with Turkey to counterbalance the turmoil in the Ankara-Washington conversation; or to follow the US lead, including the possibility of sanctions.

This is not simply a question of whether the EU can decouple its relationship with Turkey from the US approach. It is a larger and more existential question about what Europe wants to do with Turkey. And the answer is unclear. There are undoubtedly differences of opinion inside Europe on which course to take. Countries like France want to contain a resurgent Turkey, while Germany accepts Turkey’s ambitions as a fact of life and want to salvage the broader relationship. Europe must start by securing a better consensus position among key countries.

North Africa

Anthony Dworkin

In terms of US relations in North Africa, a Biden presidency is likely to usher in most change in relations with Egypt. Trump has been largely supportive of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who he notoriously called “my favourite dictator”. Biden and his advisers have strongly criticised Egypt’s human rights violations and will be encouraged to take a tougher line by a growing sense in Democrat foreign policy circles that Egypt is decreasingly important as a US partner. The US is heavily focused on counter-terrorism in its regional policy, and some Biden advisers believe that Sisi’s heavy-handed approach is counter-productive because it encourages radicalisation. Egypt’s importance as a regional power has indeed diminished.

If there is any further uptick in human rights violations in Egypt, Biden can be expected to suspend some of the large annual US funding to Egypt. He is also likely to adopt a more balanced stance on the dam dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia. Trump had undermined US credibility as a possible mediator by backing Egypt’s position.

This reorientation of US policy could offer an opening for the EU to recalibrate its own policy. Europeans tend to share Biden’s concerns, as well as a broader sense that Sisi is losing time to address Egypt’s multiple challenges. A coordinated approach with the US could persuade the Egyptian leadership to make some policy adjustments and influence some specific human rights cases.

Elsewhere in North Africa there is likely to be greater continuity. The Trump administration viewed the Maghreb through a counter-terrorism lens and the wider context of a push to limit Chinese and Russian influence in Africa. Biden is likely to adopt the same priorities towards Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, but unless the situation in these countries deteriorates, they are unlikely to be a major focus of his presidency. While security is also a European concern, the EU should recognise that the US will not invest in addressing social, economic, and governance problems contributing to instability in these countries. This will remain a challenge that Europe must take the lead on by working with regional partners.

Libya

Tarek Megerisi

American elections always provoke hopeful expectation and jostling from Libyan elites believing that they can convince a new administration to back their side. But there is little indication that US inertia on Libya will be shifted by Biden. Libya remains a low-priority issue, and ever since the murder of US ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi in 2012 it has been considered a political bête noire. Given that Biden was reportedly against the 2011 intervention, it seems even less likely that he will prioritise stabilising the country. The one exception to a more assertive US role might be the emergence of a perceived security threat, such as an ISIS re-emergence, which could provoke some form of narrow US military action.

This being said, the likely rejuvenation of the State Department and a greater belief in multilateralism could translate into greater backing for the UN political track. This could mean quiet yet enhanced diplomatic support and if Europeans can coalesce around a coherent Libya policy, they could benefit from stepped-up US assistance, particularly if Washington senses a deepening Russian role given that a Biden presidency will likely refocus on Moscow as public enemy number one.

Ultimately, the greatest effect of a Biden presidency would likely be on the many states intervening in Libya. Biden’s team has intimated that they will have shorter shrift for Egyptian, Turkish, and Emirati unilateralism, humanitarian violations and general spoiling of UN and US positions in the region. Over the coming months, this may push Libyan and intervening actors to accelerate their on-the-ground positioning in the hope of locking in gains before the US can reorientate itself. But once a Biden team is settled in, it could result in a more cautious approach from regional states wary of alienating the new US administration.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, American national security and foreign policy will be led by experienced professionals ready to restore principled leadership on the world stage and dignified leadership at home. Read more: https://t.co/ojrTxrzafV

— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) November 23, 2020

RED BISHOP a écrit:

la meme équipe que Obama, Kerry toujour la et l'adjoint de Kerry qui passe Secretaire d'Etat
Jake Sullivan un pro-Hillary Clinton a la Sécurité Nationale

The New York Times a écrit:

Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State

The president-elect is also expected to name Jake Sullivan, another close aide of his, as national security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year Foreign Service veteran, as his ambassador to the U.N.

The president-elect is also expected to name Jake Sullivan, another close aide of his, as national security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year Foreign Service veteran, as his ambassador to the U.N.

WASHINGTON — Antony J. Blinken, a defender of global alliances and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s closest foreign policy adviser, is expected to be nominated for secretary of state, a job in which he will try to coalesce skeptical international partners into a new competition with China, according to people close to the process.

Mr. Blinken, 58, a former deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, began his career at the State Department during the Clinton administration. His extensive foreign policy credentials are expected to help calm American diplomats and global leaders alike after four years of the Trump administration’s ricocheting strategies and nationalist swaggering.

Mr. Biden is also expected to name another close aide, Jake Sullivan, as national security adviser, according to a person familiar with the process. Mr. Sullivan, 43, succeeded Mr. Blinken as Vice President Biden’s national security adviser, and served as the head of policy planning at the State Department under Hillary Clinton, becoming her closest strategic adviser.

Together, Mr. Blinken and Mr. Sullivan, good friends with a common worldview, have become Mr. Biden’s brain trust and often his voice on foreign policy matters. And they led the attack on President Trump’s use of “America First” as a guiding principle, saying it only isolated the United States and created opportunities and vacuums for its adversaries.

Mr. Biden plans to announce their selections even as Mr. Trump continues his ineffectual push to overturn the election. A growing number of Republicans are calling on Mr. Trump to concede and begin the official transition process.

Mr. Biden is also expected to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year veteran of the Foreign Service who has served in diplomatic posts around the world, as his ambassador to the United Nations, according to two people with knowledge of the process. Mr. Biden will also restore the post to cabinet-level status after Mr. Trump downgraded it, giving Ms. Thomas-Greenfield, who is Black, a seat on his National Security Council. The selections of Mr. Blinken and Mr. Sullivan were reported earlier by Bloomberg News, and Ms. Thomas-Greenfield’s nomination was reported by Axios.

Mr. Blinken has been at Mr. Biden’s side for nearly 20 years, including as his top aide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and later as his national security adviser when he was vice president. In that role, Mr. Blinken helped develop the American response to political upheaval and instability across the Middle East, with mixed results in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Libya.

But chief among his new priorities will be to re-establish the United States as a trusted ally that is ready to rejoin global agreements and institutions — including the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and the World Health Organization — that were jettisoned by Mr. Trump.

“Simply put, the big problems that we face as a country and as a planet, whether it’s climate change, whether it’s a pandemic, whether it’s the spread of bad weapons — to state the obvious, none of these have unilateral solutions,” Mr. Blinken said at a forum at the Hudson Institute in July. “Even a country as powerful as the United States can’t handle them alone.”

Working with other countries, Mr. Blinken said at the forum, could have the added benefit of confronting another top diplomatic challenge: competing with China by choosing multilateral efforts to advance trade, technology investments and human rights — instead of forcing individual nations to choose between the two superpowers’ economies.

That is likely to mean diplomatic time spent forging stronger ties with India and across the Indo-Pacific region, where 14 nations recently signed one of the world’s largest free trade agreements with China. It could also bring an effort to deepen engagement across Africa, where China has made inroads with technology and infrastructure investments, and recognize Europe as a partner of “first resort, not last resort, when it comes to contending with the challenges we face,” Mr. Blinken said at the forum.

In public statements and interviews in recent weeks, he has made no secret of other aspects of Mr. Biden’s — and his own — agenda for the first weeks of the new presidency.

He will have about 15 days after inauguration to extend for five years the last major arms control agreement with Russia, a step Mr. Trump initially refused to take because he insisted China be brought into the treaty as well. “Certainly we will want to engage China on arms control issues,” Mr. Blinken said recently, “but we can pursue strategic stability by extending the New START arms limitation agreement and seek to build on it” later.

Mr. Blinken has turned more hawkish on Russia as the extent of its interference in the 2016 election and throughout Europe has become clearer. In a recent interview, he suggested using Russia’s discomfort with its reliance on China, especially in technology, for leverage.

“There’s a flip side” to dealing with Moscow, Mr. Blinken said. President Vladimir V. Putin, he noted, is “looking to relieve Russia’s growing dependence on China,” which has left him in “not a very comfortable position.”

In taking the White House’s top national security job, Mr. Sullivan will be the youngest person to hold that position since the Eisenhower administration. Mr. Sullivan made his name in the Obama administration, finding admirers even among conservative Republicans in Congress while playing a key role in the negotiations leading to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015.

A Minnesota native and Yale Law School graduate, Mr. Sullivan in recent months has helped spearhead a project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace re-conceiving U.S. foreign policy around the needs of the American middle class.

In recent years, Mr. Sullivan has taught at Yale Law School and Dartmouth, and moved to New Hampshire with his wife, Margaret Goodlander. Ms. Goodlander was an aide to Senator John McCain, and then a law clerk to Judge Merrick B. Garland and Justice Stephen G. Breyer.

Mr. Blinken, described by some as a centrist with a streak of interventionism, has also sought to lessen refugee crises and migration. On the last day of the Obama administration, the State Department set a cap of 110,000 refugees who would be allowed to resettle in the United States in the 2017 fiscal year. That number has since dwindled to 15,000 in the 2021 fiscal year.

He has said he will look to further assist Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — the Northern Triangle countries of Central America — to persuade migrants that they will be safer and better off remaining home.

That is all likely to leave less time and resources for the Middle East, Mr. Blinken has said, although that was the policy area that consumed him in the years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He helped craft Mr. Biden’s proposal in the Senate to create three autonomous regions in Iraq, partitioned by ethnic or sectarian identity, which was widely rejected, including by the country’s prime minister at the time. During the Obama administration, Mr. Blinken was a key player in diplomatic efforts to harness more than 60 countries to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

In contrast to some of his pricklier colleagues in the Obama administration, Mr. Blinken chatted with journalists in Baghdad in 2012 for insights beyond what soldiers, diplomats and intelligence officers hemmed inside the embassy compound could provide.

Before taking a job at the State Department’s bureau for European policy in 1993, Mr. Blinken had aspired to be a journalist or film producer. He honed his media skills by becoming a foreign policy speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later oversaw European and Canadian policy on the White House National Security Council.

Mr. Blinken also has a lighter side that may not be immediately evident when he is seen testifying or meeting foreign diplomats. He plays in a band. He has a tight group of close friends from his days as a student at Harvard and his rise through the Washington foreign policy firmament.

And he is a new father: He and his wife have two very young children at home, and he will be the first secretary of state in modern times to be raising toddlers while serving in office.

Mr. Blinken grew up in New York and in Paris, graduating from Harvard and Columbia Law School. The son of an ambassador to Hungary during the Clinton administration and the stepson of a Holocaust survivor, Mr. Blinken has often spoken of the moral example the United States sets for the rest of the world.

“In times of crisis or calamity, it is the United States that the world turns to first and always,” Mr. Blinken said at a speech at the Center for a New American Security in 2015.

“We are not the leader of first choice because we’re always right, or because we’re universally liked, or because we can dictate outcomes,” he said. “It’s because we strive to the best of our ability to align our actions with our principles, and because American leadership has a unique ability to mobilize others and to make a difference.”

marques a écrit:

Blinken est déjà attaqué par une député démocrate (Rashida Tlaib du Michigan) membre de l'aile gauche du parti, pour sa nomination à ce poste  

Elle rappelle les origines juives de Blinken ...Tollé de la presse US qui se réveille (de sa longue sieste de 4 ans) en la traitant d’antisémite ....

Citation :

Francophone, proche de Joe Biden... qui est Antony Blinken, le futur patron de la diplomatie américaine ?


Un francophone à la tête de la diplomatie américaine. Nommé lundi par Joe Biden pour occuper le poste incontournable de secrétaire d'État, Antony Blinken a longtemps vécu à Paris, où il a effectué ses études secondaires. Malgré ses connexions avec l'appareil diplomatique tricolore, ce fervent partisan du multilatéralisme reste avant tout un serviteur des États-Unis.

Antony Blinken est en effet un pur produit de l'establishment diplomatique américain. "On est très loin de son prédécesseur Mike Pompeo", nous explique Guillaume Debré, journaliste à TF1 et ancien correspondant à Washington. Ce dernier l'assure : "Son ADN diplomatique est à mille lieues de celui de Donald Trump. En effet, il est multilatéraliste, il croit dans au leadership américain, dans la capacité de son pays à jouer un rôle de stabilisateur."


Un "rapport personnel" avec Joe Biden

Ce leadership américain, Antony Blinken, 58 ans, le connaît bien. Celui qui a étudié à l'université de Harvard avant de faire carrière dans le droit puis en politique, a travaillé pour la commission des Affaires étrangères du Sénat lorsque Joe Biden en était membre. De 2013 à 2015, il collabore avec Susan Rice au Conseil de sécurité nationale. Il a ensuite rejoint l'administration Obama en tant qu'adjoint au secrétariat d'État, de 2015 à 2017. "Ce sera un secrétaire d'État influent", souligne Guillaume Debré, rappelant son "rapport personnel" avec le nouveau président des États-Unis.

Conseiller de longue date du président élu, le nouveau "Monsieur diplomatie" du pouvoir américain aura fort à faire pour recoller auprès des alliés traditionnels des États-Unis les morceaux éparpillés sous Donald Trump. Parmi eux : la France. Un pays qu'Antony Blinken connait bien. Après ses premières années à New York, il a en effet été scolarisé dans la capitale à la prestigieuse école Jeannine Manuel, sa mère Judith ayant décidé de s'installer en France pour rejoindre son nouvel époux, Samuel Pisar. Avocat de renom, ce natif de Pologne, survivant de la Shoah, s'était installé avec sa famille à Paris.

Au cours de ses années parisiennes, le jeune étudiant s'est d'ailleurs pris de passion pour la musique, s'essayant au jazz puis au rock. Il a ainsi cité les Pink Floyd dans l'album photo d'une de ses promotions au lycée. À Washington, le guitariste a joué dans un groupe reprenant les classiques des Beatles. Avant de mettre les deux pieds dans les affaires étrangères de son pays. Pour autant, son passé en France n'était jamais bien loin, le diplomate étant régulièrement sollicité par les autorités tricolores. "Il connait tout l'establishment diplomatique français, de Jean-Pierre Raffarin à Alain Juppé en passant par Hubert Védrine, rappelle Guillaume Debré. Il les connait tous très bien, lui qui a été pendant longtemps le point d'entrée des Français à Washington".