Steve Clemons
Journalist and foreign-policy interviewer who is Editor-at-Large at The National Interest, Founding Editor at Large at Semafor, and host of Al Jazeera English’s The Bottom Line.
Rwanda Ties Congo Settlement to FDLR Neutralization
Rwandan Interior Minister Vincent Biruta argues that the Washington peace accord will not hold unless the Democratic Republic of the Congo neutralizes the FDLR, which Kigali describes as the enduring security threat behind its defensive measures in eastern Congo. He says Rwanda has met its obligations and wants the United States to pressure both sides more evenly, while rejecting claims that Rwanda is pursuing Congolese territory or directing M23. Biruta presents the dispute as one over security and Congolese governance, rather than a border conflict.
Tariff Access Is Becoming a Supply-Chain Security Test
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer argues that U.S. trade policy should use tariffs, market access and security conditions to redirect production toward the United States and North America while limiting exposure to China-linked supply chains. He describes a durable hierarchy of access—not a return to pre-tariff trade—in which companies can plan around known rates but must meet stricter origin, investment and export-control rules. China, in his account, is a commercial relationship to be bounded rather than reformed through negotiation.