Tag: Iraq

Congress to Examine Russia’s Role in the Crises in Syria and Ukraine; The First Lady Travels to Qatar and Jordan

Syrian and Iraqi Crises

Secretary of State John Kerry delivered remarks on U.S. Middle East policy last Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  The Secretary called on the Russian Government to contribute to the end of the Syrian conflict, including through a political settlement.  He also highlighted areas where the United States, Russia, and others agree, which include the fact that Daesh cannot be victorious and that a secular and united Syria must be preserved.  That same day, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia cannot win in Syria, adding it can perhaps prevent Assad from losing.  Earlier in the week, the press reported that Russia has sent a few dozen special operations troops to Syria, redeploying the elite units from Ukraine as the Kremlin shifts its focus to supporting the Syrian regime.

Secretary Kerry then headed to Vienna, Austria, for another round of multilateral talks regarding the Syrian conflict, talks that will for the first time include Iran. At his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to be Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, State Department Counselor Tom Shannon testified that Secretary Kerry was convening the meeting in Austria to ascertain Russia’s commitment to fighting ISIL and to finding a political solution to the crisis that does not include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  This comes after Secretary of Defense Ash Carter signaled last Tuesday that the Administration is considering deploying a small number of special operations forces to Syria and attack helicopters to Iraq to build momentum in the fight against ISIL.

  • On Wednesday, 4 November, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “U.S. Policy after Russia’s Escalation in Syria.”

  • On Wednesday, 4 November, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Challenge to Europe: The Growing Refugee Crisis.”

Ukraine Crisis

Last Monday, the White House and State Department issued statements commending Sunday’s elections in Ukraine and calling for votes on 15 November in Mariupol and in other parts of eastern Ukraine where the elections could not take place.

Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker travelled to Ukraine early last week to meet with Government officials and to discuss ongoing economic reforms.  She reiterated U.S. support for Ukraine and announced that President Obama, working with Congress, intends to move forward with a third $1 billion loan guarantee for Ukraine in the coming months.  This, she said, fulfills a U.S. commitment to consider providing a third $1 billion loan guarantee in late 2015, if the conditions warrant.

The press reported last week that NATO is considering proposals to deploy 4,000 troops to Eastern European countries bordering Russia.  The proposals are apparently part of an ongoing debate within the Alliance about the long-term response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for the separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

  • On Tuesday, 3 November, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine and the Propaganda that Threatens Europe.”

NDAA – Avenues Sought

After the presidential veto, Congressional leaders are looking for options to advance the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA; H.R. 1735).   Some sources report that Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona) may be considering drafting a revised NDAA that could be attached to an Omnibus appropriations measure that will likely move later next month or early December.  However, some Members are reportedly advocating for a revised NDAA – one that reflects the $5 billion in cuts mandated by the Budget deal – to be passed quickly and not delayed until Congress takes up the expected Omnibus bill.

TPP Update

Last Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sought to explain the delay around publicly releasing the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), attributing it to the Canadian election.  Reports around Washington indicate the release of the text is weeks away.  At a Thursday press conference, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) called on the White House to “stop selling something [TPP deal] that nobody but them knows about.”  Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) praised the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) last Thursday for issuing new guidelines that allow the Committee Members’ personal staff to access the text of the deal.

Ex-Im Bank Re-Authorization Advances

Early last week, the House of Representatives passed a measure to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank by a vote of 313-118 over the objections of the chamber’s most conservative Republican members.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) blocked the measure from being brought to the floor as a standalone bill last week and instead reiterated the bill will have to be attached to another legislative vehicle expected to advance in the Senate.

Washington Prioritizes TTIP

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman confirmed last Tuesday at an Atlantic Council event that last month’s conclusion of the TPP deal allows USTR to shift its focus to advancing and accelerating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment (TTIP) negotiations with the European Union.  That same day, SPB released a client alert on Washington’s shift to TTIP.

U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum

Last week, the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum convened in Washington to discuss agriculture, trade in services and goods, promoting investments in manufacturing, and intellectual property.

Other Congressional Hearings This Week

  • On Tuesday, 3 November, the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Future of Warfare.”

  • On Tuesday, 3 November, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Examining the EU Safe Harbor Decision and Impacts for Transatlantic Data Flows.”

  • On Tuesday, 3 November, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “International Data Flows: Promoting Digital Trade in the 21st Century.”

  • On Tuesday, 3 November, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Aircraft Carrier – Presence and Surge Limitations. Expanding Power Projection Options.”

  • On Wednesday, 4 November, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Human Rights is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Demanding Accountability: Evaluating the 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report.”

  • On Wednesday, 4 November, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to hold a hearing titled, “U.S. Policy in North Africa.”

  • On Wednesday, 4 November, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Iran Terror Financing and the Tax Code.”

  • On Friday, 6 November, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere is expected to hold a hearing titled, “Deplorable Human Rights Violations in Cuba and Venezuela.”

Looking Ahead

Washington will likely focus on the following upcoming matters:

  • 1-7 November: First Lady Michelle Obama travels to Doha, Qatar, and Amman, Jordan

  • 9 November: President Obama hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

  • 14-22 November: President Obama travels to Turkey, the Philippines, and Malaysia

  • 30 November-11 December:  U.N. Global Climate Conference in Paris

  • 15-18 December: 10th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Nairobi, Kenya

Article By Stacy A. Swanson of Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
© Copyright 2015 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP

Crime Doesn’t Pay (as much as it used to) – FBI Cracks Down on Trade of Looted Syrian and Iraqi Cultural Artifacts

In support of the international crackdown on the black market trade of looted cultural artifacts, the FBI recently announced that art dealers may be prosecuted for engaging in the trade of stolen Iraqi and Syrian antiquities. Terrorist organizations such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (“ISIL”) have pillaged these countries of their cultural relics for sale on the black market. Many find their way into the hands of art dealers and collectors in the Europe or even United States. In response, the FBI released an alert titled “ISIL Antiquities Trafficking” on August 25, 2015. Perhaps most strikingly, this alert warns that engaging in the purchase of these looted artifacts may constitute a violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2339A[1] for providing financial support to terrorist organizations.

ISIL has done much to publicize its demolition of artifacts and archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq that it has condemned as un-Islamic.[2] However, behind the cameras, many of these cultural artifacts are being smuggled out of these countries and sold by ISIL on the underground market and finally reach the dealers and collectors in Europe and North America. The profits from the sale of these precious antiquities are then used by the organization to fund its operations. George Papagiannis, spokesman of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, described the artifact trafficking as “a threat to the memory of humankind and a threat to the identities of people in these communities who are tied to these sites.”[3] Facilitating this illicit trade are the smugglers and gallery owners who provide forged documentation to allow the artifacts to enter European and American markets.[4]

Before the FBI’s issuance of the alert, United Nations and Europe had already taken steps to prevent and eliminate the trafficking of these Syrian and Iraqi cultural objects. On February 10, 2015, United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2199 that requires all Member States to take efforts to prevent the trade of artifacts illegally removed from Syria after 2011 and from Iraq after 1990. In December 2013, the European Union Council Regulation (EU) No 1332/2013 prohibited the trade of Syrian cultural property where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the goods were removed from Syria without the consent of their legitimate owner or in breach of Syrian law or international law.

The FBI alert follows in the footsteps of these efforts to stop the illegal trade of Syrian and Iraqi artifacts. The alert warns art dealers and collectors that they should be careful in purchasing objects from these regions and asks them for help and cooperation to spread this message out and prevent further trade. In addition, the FBI states that purchasing stolen items from these regions may result in prosecution under 18 U.S. Code § 2339A because the proceeds from such sales may provide financial support to terrorist organizations.

18 U.S.C. § 2339A was enacted to charge those who provided material support to terrorists. It provides that “whoever provides material support or resources…knowing or intending that they are to be used in preparation for, or in carrying out, a violation of [various criminal statutes related to terrorist activities]” may be charged with providing material support to terrorists. Penalties for violating 18 U.S. Code § 2339A are significant and range from a fine to life imprisonment. However, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 130 S. Ct. 2705 (2010), the Supreme Court clarified that a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A requires that the donor must intend to further terrorist activity, rather than simply know that the donee is a terrorist organization. According to this holding, it seems that even if an art dealer or collector was prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, there would need to be a showing that the dealer or collector intended to support terrorist activity by purchasing the stolen artifacts, which in most cases, is highly unlikely.

It is unclear from FBI’s alert whether 18 U.S.C. § 2339B will be used to pursue dealers and collectors found to have bought Syrian and Iraqi stolen artifacts. Section 2339B penalizes anyone who “knowingly provides material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, or attempts or conspires to do so.” Unlike 18 U.S.C. § 2339A, the required mental state for a violation of § 2339B is only knowledge that the receiving organization is a designated terrorist organization, not specific intent to further the terrorist activities. In Weiss v. National Westminster Bank PLC, 768 F.3d 202, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, a defendant has knowledge that an organization engages in terrorist activity if it “knows there is a substantial probability that the organization engages in terrorism but…does not care.” If the FBI elects to prosecute under 18 U.S. Code § 2339B, art market practitioners may have more cause concern. Admittedly several intermediary middle-men often separate the original terrorist looters and the final buyers, but the intermediate art dealer or the buyer might still be charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 2339B if it should be aware of a substantial probability that the prior seller may have engaged with terrorism but takes no action.

18 U.S.C. § 2339B has been the most frequently cited statute for the government to pursue sponsors of terrorism. If the government is determined to use § 2339B to attack the trafficking of cultural property, the innocent buyer may face real legal risks if the acquired objects are proven to be looted from Iraq or Syria by ISIL. As the FBI warns in its alert, art dealers and collectors alike should do their due diligence and “check and verify provenance, importation and other documents” and report any suspicious items to the FBI.

Article By Robert A. Darwell of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP & Justin Xu
Copyright © 2015, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

[1] The statute quoted in the alert is 18 U.S. Code § 233A. However, we understand the cited statute here should be 18 U.S. Code § 2339A.

[2] Matthew Hall, How We Can Prevent ISIS From Pillaging Palmyra, the Newsweek, (June 14, 2015), available here.

[3] Julian Pecquet, Congress Deals Blow to ISIS Looting in Syria, the U.S. News (June 2, 2015), available here.

[4] CBS News, Following the trail of Syria’s looted history, (September 9, 2015), available here.

The Disintegration of Iraq

Covington BUrling Law Firm

The news almost every day contains events which harken the end of Iraq as a nation state.  Radical Sunnis take over Mosul for their ISIS state.  Kurds tighten their control over oil in the north.  Shiites kidnap a top Sunni leader and his security men in Baghdad.

It is not surprising that Iraq should be dismembered.  To start with, the country was an artificial creation of British and French diplomats and cartographers who created new nations to control as they divided up the spoils of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War.  Through its whole existence, Iraq was nothing more than three warring disparate groups:  Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds, whose animosity exceeded their desire to work together.  The country was held together first by a colonial power, then by a monarchy, followed by the Baathists, and finally by the US military.

There was an opportunity during the US occupation to pump life into this moribund entity.  However, we did not engage sufficiently in effective nation-building, except when we drew Sunni tribal support during the surge, so that in the longer term, institutions were not in place for disparate Iraqi populations to share power in a democratic arrangement.  And perhaps it was impossible.  Nevertheless, we handed the keys to the Shiite Prime Minister Maliki and withdrew.

Rather than seeking to find common ground with Sunnis and Kurds, Maliki turned to Iran for help and set out to turn Iraq into another Middle Eastern Shiite nation.  We are now witnessing the results of Maliki’s biased rule.  When new maps are printed ten years from now, will there even be an entity known as Iraq?  It is doubtful.

ARTICLE BY

Allan J. Topol
Martin Gold
OF
Covington & Burling LLP