Secretary Kerry (Dec. 18): "More than 70 percent of Yemen’s population is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, and unfortunately, the humanitarian response plan remains only about 58 percent funded. So the U.S. will continue to work with our friend Saudi Arabia and with the Emirates and other countries in order to try to meet the security needs, find the path to peace, and we intend to do that with as much energy as possible." Full Text» Trip Page» More»
Deputy National Security Advisor Rhodes (Dec. 17): "Two years ago, the United States and Cuba surprised the world by announcing a coordinated effort to begin normalizing relations. It took 18 months of secret negotiations, a trip to the Vatican, and a leap of faith by both sides to get there, but in one announcement on December 17, 2014, President Obama decisively broke with decades of a failed policy." DipNote» More»
Dec. 21: The State Department has designated Saleck Ould Cheikh Mohamedou as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign individuals determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the U.S. More»
The U.S. and the Republic of Korea held the inaugural meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group in Washington, DC on December 20. More»
Dec. 20: The Department of State released Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XXIII, Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean. More»