On Plugged In …
Joe Biden …
gets to work …
[[SOT-BIDEN “We didn’t get into this mess overnight. It’s going to take time to turn things around.”]]
From vaccine distribution …
and reviving the economy …
to repairing alliances …
and dealing with threats …
Challenges abound …
for the new American president.
[[SOT O’HANLON: “What I’m hoping is Biden will have a new vision.”]]
Perspectives …
on the priorities …
and personality …
of a new U.S. President ….
On Plugged In …
The New Biden Administration.
###
[[GRETA]]
Hello and welcome …
to Plugged In.
I’m Greta Van Susteren …
reporting from Washington, DC …
Where new leadership …
is making its presence felt.
President Joe Biden …
ushered in …
his new administration …
with a slew …
of executive orders …
And a plea …
for Americans to voluntarily …
wear a mask in public …
for the next 100 days …
to combat …
the coronavirus pandemic.
He is requiring mask-wearing …
in federal government buildings …
and aboard planes ...
trains and buses.
Biden reversed numerous …
Trump Administration policies …
such as ending construction …
of a wall along the border …
with Mexico …
He is also dropping the ban …
on people entering the United States
from several …
Muslim majority countries …
The new president …
also brought the US …
back into the …
Paris Climate Accords …
and the …
World Health Organization.
Both moves …
have been welcomed …
by allies around the world.
More from London …
And VOA’s Henry Ridgwell.
[[RIDGWELL PKG]]
###
((NARRATOR))
After four years of turbulent transatlantic relations, the European Union Commission head offered a warm welcome for President Joe Biden.
((Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President (in English) ))
“Once again after four long years Europe has a friend in the White House. From climate change to health, from digitalization to democracy, these are global challenges that need renewed and improved global cooperation.”
((NARRATOR))
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a warmer relationship with former President Trump. But Johnson said Wednesday he and Biden have a ‘joint common agenda.’
((Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister))
“It's a fantastic thing for America. It's a step forward for the country, it's been through a bumpy period.”
((NARRATOR))
There were big celebrations in Kosovo – where a street bears the name of Joe Biden’s late son Beau Biden, who worked in the country with the U.S. Justice Department following the 1999 Kosovo war.
U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region also welcomed the new U.S. administration.
((Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister))
“There is a lot of work for us together, whether it is on climate, on energy, on international security and, importantly, regional security here in the Indo-Pacific.”
((NARRATOR))
Japan’s Prime Minister echoed his Australian counterpart.
((Yoshihide Suga, Japanese Prime Minister (in Japanese)))
“I hope to closely cooperate with the new president to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
((NARRATOR))
That a clear reference to the perceived threat from China in the Indo-Pacific region.
In Beijing, a call for a reset in relations with Washington.
((Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson (in Mandarin) ))
"We hope that the new U.S. government will view China and our relations in an objective and rational manner.”
((NARRATOR))
China Wednesday sanctioned outgoing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and dozens of other Trump officials.
Biden’s National Security Council called the sanctions ‘unproductive and cynical,’ a response some analysts say is not surprising.
((Julie Norman, Security Analyst, University College London))
“The incoming administration will also maintain a pretty tough on China stance. It’s actually an area where I think we’ll have some bipartisan agreement on that approach. But again, one that is more engaged with allies in doing that.”
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile Iran’s leader said the ‘ball was in Biden’s court’ over the future of the 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. president has said he wants to re-join if Tehran meets its commitments.
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. called Biden’s inauguration a new chapter in relations with Washington. There was no official response from President Vladimir Putin.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London))
[[GRETA]]
The foreign policy challenges …
that will face …
the Biden administration …
are vast.
Michael O’Hanlon …
is a Senior Fellow …
and Director …
of Foreign Policy Research ...
at the Brookings Institution ...
in Washington.
We discussed …
some of the most pressing …
foreign policy issues ...
facing the Biden Harris administration.
[[SOT]]
Michael O’Hanlon: You know, Biden's been a supporter of expanding NATO and bringing it eastward. And we promised to someday bring Ukraine and Georgia, former Soviet republics into NATO. That is just as you know so incendiary for the Russians. It's not the only issue on which we disagree with the Russians, but it's maybe the issue that we sort of created ourselves, where on most of the other issues, there was Russian bad behavior that created the issue. And so, Biden's going to have to be, I think a little bit clever. Because if he leaves the basic strategy as it's been, keep trying to expand NATO to the East, for example, and then of course face down Putin where you do have to challenge him on issues like Russian tinkering in our elections, Russian suppression of its own democracy, Russian aggression in the broader Middle East -- those issues we have to oppose Putin. But if you also continue to try to push the idea of eventual NATO expansion, then I think you're guaranteeing a bad relationship with Russia, when it doesn't have to be that way and it's dangerous for it to be quite that way. So what I'm hoping is that Biden will have a new vision for European security, especially for the neutral or non-aligned countries that include the former Soviet republics I just mentioned, as well as some other places like Armenia and Azerbaijan, even down to Cyprus, even up to Finland and Sweden, and try to think of how we can stabilize that zone, and also get Russia to stop aggressing against Ukraine, and find a new stable concept for Europe. To me, that is the big challenge but I'm not really sure I've heard anybody on the Biden team tilt that way yet, so I hope they will.
GVS: How do you factor in the fact that Iran’s top scientist who has recently been assassinated? Iran has at least said that it’s further enriching uranium.
MO: I think that the assassination of the Iranian scientist is the sort of thing that will reinforce hostility and anger inside of Iran, but we also know that regime is frankly one of the coldest most calculating and most Machiavellian on the planet. And I'm sure they'll be a fair amount of anger, but there won't be a lot of sentimentality about the path forward. I think in the end, they will watch out for their own national interest, with or without this scientist being alive. And so what I think you’re going to see is Iran trying to figure out how the world reacts if and when Biden comes in and says you know, the 2015 deal was pretty good at the time and times are different and I need something a little broader and longer lasting and at first that will not be something Iran wants to hear and Iran will test the waters to see if America’s European allies as well as Russia and China will really go along with that approach or maybe the United States can be isolated in its desire for a broader arrangement. So that I think will be the initial conversation. I think it’s going to be fascinating to watch.
This is going to be one of the huge areas of change, because we know the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and had something tantamount to a regime change policy towards Iran, extremely hardline -- was not really joined by most of the rest of the world in that policy, and it's not clear where that policy could realistically have led, but it did apply a lot of additional pressure on Iran. And then you throw COVID on top of that, Iran is hurting. So that's the situation that Biden inherits, and he also inherits a situation where in this particular case on this issue, Trump was not an outlier relative to most Republicans. Most Republicans were very critical of the 2015 nuclear deal, because it did not restrict Iran’s other activities such as support for Assad in Syria. And it also began to expire within 8 to 10 years of implementation of that deal. Many of the quantitative restrictions on nuclear activity actually begin to relax in 2023, So I think Biden's got a more difficult job ahead than simply returning to the deal. That's going to be what Iran expects and demands at first. But Iran may not really have the luxury of holding to that hard line, given the state of its economy. And Biden may be looking for some kind of an interim arrangement, which lifts some economic pressure and sanctions on Iran, but also refuses to live them all, until there is a longer lasting deal or a broader deal that would engender some Republican support in the United States as well. It's going to be quite a challenge and for a team that is so vested in this deal because basically everybody on the senior Biden team was part of the Obama team that negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, they're going to have to be a little bit intellectually flexible to figure out a new path forward, rather than just returning to their own baby in the form of a 2015 deal.
GVS: Turning to China, what do you see with the new administration?
MO: Even within the first term of Trump, he went from trying to buddy up with Xi Jinping in the first year to then engaging in a protracted trade war, but then sometimes trying to back off that trade war. And yes some of that was the peculiarity of Donald Trump, but it also reflected the changing view of China in the United States, in economic as well as security circles. I think we are in a new era of our relations with what’s become the other great super power on the planet. I would already give China that designation myself and so I think we are going to have a complex relationship we haven’t yet sorted out.
GVS: How does the coronavirus, and also even the humanitarian issues like the treatment of the Yuighurs- how does that factor into a Biden presidency?
MO: Well those are two issues where complication and competitiveness are going to be part of the new relationship regardless, there are two of the reasons why. Although on coronavirus, it's actually more complex. With the treatment of the Yuighurs and also Hong Kong and also Christians in China and dissent and dissidents in China, there's no ambiguity. Those are all negatives from an American point of view. On COVID-19, what we see here is that first of all China may have been the cause, but it's also been part of the solution. It's figured out how to handle this virus better than most western countries. Also, we have pandemics that could happen in the future that we have to work hard to prevent. and China's got to be part of that conversation. You don't solve that problem with an adversarial relationship or a rivalrous one. That's an example of where we need to cooperate with China. So it's going to be a relationship that's one part competitiveness, one part cooperation. The key is to make sure there's not another part that's outright conflict. I think that has to be the goal, but actually making that happen is of course a very complex proposition.
GVS: One of the problems that has troubled every recent American president is North Korea and its nuclear weapons ambition. And no one has seemed to be able to figure out how to handle North Korea and now Kim Jong Un. We've ignored them, we've had sanctions. President Trump tried to talk to him, tried to make friends with him. What will President Biden do about North Korea because it is marching forward with its nuclear weapons program, with the missile program?
MO: Well, I hope that President Biden will be a little more flexible on North Korea. and I don't want to say that he should imitate what President Trump did, but he might want to take one or two pages out of the long playbook, most of which was a failure by Trump, but it's worth remembering that Obama failed too, and so did George W. Bush. You know the overall effort to constrain North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, long-range missile programs has failed under presidents of both parties. And when President-Elect Trump visited Washington four years ago and President Obama hosted him for the traditional visit, of the type that hasn't happened this year, unfortunately, but when Obama was more gracious to Trump than Trump has been to Biden, at that meeting, Obama acknowledged that North Korea policy had been a great failing of his presidency. And Trump took that to heart by all accounts, and decided he needed to try something radically new, and he tried several things that were radically new: first threatening war in the fall of 2017, and then buddying up to Jong Un with the three summits. And then all that petered out and we didn't really get a negotiation strategy that either side was willing to pursue thereafter. So what I hope Biden will do is pick up on the notion that first of all high-level engagement with Kim Jong Un or his covenant is a good idea. I'm not suggesting that Biden should have summit diplomacy without any deliverables, but there should be intense high-level engagement with people who can speak for the President of the United States and make a deal. And then secondly we need to be flexible and realistic about what that deal could entail. We need a little bit of the art of the deal even though Donald Trump himself could not deliver that deal. And I think it means accepting and acknowledging North Korea is not going to give up all of its nuclear weapons right away. They have too much fear about attack, that's too much a legacy of the father and grandfather of Kim Jong Un. We need a partial deal that in the short term freezes North Korea's ability to make any more bombs, and then in return for that, there's a partial lifting of sanctions and you leave the longer-term disarmament for the longer term. I think if Biden can be pragmatic in that regard he has much better prospects for success.
GVS: How is he gonna differ from his former boss, in terms of foreign policy, President Obama --is he going to be a lot like him or is he going to be different? Is he going to be his own man?
MO: You know, it's just a fascinating question, because, you know, he should try to be his own man, clearly, even if he keeps some of the Obama philosophy. But you could argue and many, certainly many people have argued that Obama himself was sort of running out of gas in his foreign policy by the end of his second term, that in his first term, he had this team of rivals Bob Gates, Hillary Clinton. He was projecting big visions and ideas for the world. And in the second term, he was sort of just trying to minimize America's, you know, burdens and losses in places like Afghanistan. He had to deal with the rise of ISIS. He had to deal with the return of Russia and the growing strength of China, and he didn't quite seem to adopt policies that were up to most of these challenges very quickly. So in that regard, Biden, a much older guy, and much more a creature of traditional Washington, is going to have to be more innovative than second term Obama ..on issues.
GVS: Michael thanks, always nice to talk to you.
MO: Greta thanks for having me on.
[[GRETA]]
President Biden …
has laid out …
an ambitious plan …
to address …
his top priorities …
in the first 100 days …
of his presidency.
[[FS GRAPHIC]]
He wants more money …
to fight COVID-19 …
and the economic crises …
the pandemic has caused.
Biden also wants an expansion …
of the Voting Rights Act …
to reduce barriers ...
that keep some people from voting...
and for the United States …
to be a leader on the issue …
of climate change.
[[GRETA OC]]
Accomplishing these goals …
requires the agreement …
of the U.S. Congress.
Getting legislation passed …
will be easier for Biden …
now that Democrats …
hold the majority …
Although a slim majority...
In Congress.
VOA Congressional Correspondent …
Katherine Gypson explains.
[[GYPSON PKG]]
###
[[TV INTRO]]
[[The United States returns to a unified government this week as Joe Biden becomes the 46th president and Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, this gives Biden the opportunity to enact big legislative changes.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Open with Biden taking Oath of Office Wednesday then over to Thu COVID presser))
As he takes office, U.S. President Joe Biden faces considerable challenges – first among them combating the coronavirus that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.
((Joe Biden, President))
((Bite about sending COVID relief to Hill))
((NARRATOR))
((ABC Harris Senate Swearing-In-Shot of VP Harris Swearing in Warnock, Ossoff and Padilla))
But with Vice President Kamala Harris….
((Open for nats of Harris swearing in Ossoff, Warnock, & Padilla etc. Wednesday afternoon))
((NARRATOR))
((Continue with clip then over to AP Schumer Broll))
…..and three new senators, Democrats now have control of the U.S. Senate under now Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
((Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader))
“This Senate will tackle the perils of the moment: a once-in-a-generation health and economic crisis. And it will strive to make progress on generations-long struggle for racial justice, economic justice, equality of opportunity and equality under the law.”
((NARRATOR))
((AP Inauguration Biden-Schumer-McConnell))
An ambitious agenda for Democrats to pursue, but control of both the White House and both chambers of Congress helps clear the way…
((Casey Burgat, George Washington University))
“Knowing that the president is of the same party, they know that anything that comes out of Congress is likely to get his signature on the bill instead of having a back and forth about a veto and trying to come up with a larger base of the Congress to vote on something to override any potential veto threat from the president. So, it basically comes with unity and agenda control.”
((NARRATOR))
((Senate and House floors then over to Pelosi at Inauguration))
But Democrats have narrow margins in both chambers of Congress. And Republicans will still be able to block some bills that require 60 votes for passage in the Senate.
In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi can only lose a few Democratic votes and she has suggested there could be ways to work with Republican lawmakers.
((Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House))
((MRT PELOSI))
“We have a responsibility to find bipartisanship where we can to find that common ground.”
((NARRATOR))
((AP Senate COVID Checks-Broll of Federal COVID aid checks being printed then over to AP Blinken Hearing and AP Haines Confirmation))
Quick passage of a new round of coronavirus relief for a struggling American economy comes first. But the new Democratic Senate will also move quickly to confirm the Biden Cabinet nominees awaiting hearings.
((Open for nat of final vote total in Haines confirmation))
((NARRATOR))
((Capitol Broll shots then over to Trump and Jan 6 Riots))
Unified control also gives the nation’s legislative branch a greater ability to enforce government accountability – and within days the ultimate exercise in checks and balances will begin.
((Casey Burgat, George Washington University))
“I'm actually hopeful for this, in terms of the impeachment and how that is affected going forward, there's no greater sign of accountability than Congress literally holding a presidential impeachment trial. And we of course, have never seen one after a president has left office. So it's the epitome of Congress sticking up for itself and making sure that the president is paying attention or at least doesn't think of himself as above the law.”
((NARRATOR))
Despite their new majority, Democrats will still need to persuade 17 Republicans to convict former President Donald Trump if they hope to bar him from ever running again for federal office.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington))
[[GRETA]]
Susan Page …
is the Washington Bureau Chief …
for USA Today …
and has covered …
six White House administrations.
We talked about …
the challenges facing …
the new Biden administration.
[[SOT/PAGE INTERVIEW]]
GVS: President Biden was vice president for eight years under President Obama but he was also in the U.S. Senate and he was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. What what is that going to do when we start looking at foreign policy? I mean, when you start looking at the world, do you have any thoughts on how he's going to think about China, Africa North Korea Iran?
SP: So he's got very extensive experience on foreign affairs. As you say this is something he spent decades looking at in Congress and in eight years of course as vice president very involved in foreign affairs. But some of the lessons we might draw from his attitudes in the past I think do not apply at this moment. You know for instance- you look at policy toward China that is probably the greatest rival that the United States now faces on a world stage. The situation with China is different now than it was even when Obama was president. And so I think an issue like that you're going to see a kind of rethinking about what U.S. policy ought to be, not that they want to adopt President Trump's policy toward China, but they also don't think it's right to go back to President Obama's policy. They think it's a moment where you have to kind of figure out what's best moving ahead.
GVS: Turning to North Korea, another problem for the United States. No press has been able to resolve this. We've tried sanctions in past administrations. President Trump tried to be friends I guess for lack of better words with Kim Jong un. But meanwhile North Korea is moving ahead with its nuclear weapons program.
SP: Is there any problem in foreign policy that is more difficult than our policy toward North Korea? Because as you say nothing has worked. I am quite certain that President Biden will not continue President Trump's friendship initiative with the North Korean leader. I wouldn't expect an early summit between them or one without conditions or progress made beforehand. But it's and there are some architects of the earlier North Korea policy who are now going to be participating, now going to be appointed to the Biden State Department. But it is an issue that has really defied solution.
GVS: President Trump is sort of a tough love approach with foreign policy like with NATO. He demanded that the other countries pay pay what they had earlier agreed to in terms of NATO dues, it seems to me that President Biden is going to is going to have a different approach to many of these world leaders who are our allies. Your thoughts?
SP: He's much closer to our allies, our traditional allies than President Trump ever was. I think he will assert once again our allegiance to NATO. President Trump talked about withdrawing the United States from NATO. That would not be the approach that President Biden would take. He not only has I think, an appreciation for international alliances, he also knows a lot of these leaders himself because of his long experience in government. It's going to be a very different landscape, I think a very different fundamental attitude toward alliances than the last four years have been.
GVS: when President Biden was vice president and President Obama. President Obama signed an agreement with Iran on their nuclear program, their weapons programs which President Trump then pulled out of when he became president.
SP: Well of course, I think that Biden and members of his team wish we had never pulled out of that accord They supported it. They thought it was flawed but the best way forward. But at this point, you know things have happened in the past four years. It makes it difficult for the United States to simply try to jump back in to the nuclear accord. And it's not clear that Iran would agree to that automatically either. So I would think negotiations are going to start with that issue because you know you're listening, you're ticking through the most difficult foreign policy and national security challenges that this new president will face, Iran North Korea China you'd have to put those three at the top of the list.
GVS: Even some Democrats would give President Trump credit for what was done to the Middle East, their new relationships with Israel that's made it a safer place for Israel in the Middle East. What is what is President Biden going to do about the Middle East? Do you think he'll continue sort of the approach that President Trump has taken or will he have his own approach?
SP: Well I think he'll have his own approach But I think I think you're right I think some in Washington have been surprised by the relative success in the achievements of the Trump administration when it comes to the Middle East and to and to Israel. As you know that's a region that's been that's kind of defied the efforts of previous White Houses to make anything that's a lasting peace. I think the number one desire of the Biden administration would be to have less focus on the Middle East, more focus on challenges elsewhere in other regions that they think deserve more attention. And it's possible that some of the steps that the Trump administration is taking will make that more possible. You talked to the Biden people They would rather talk about Asia than talk about the Middle East.
GVS: in the continent of Africa. And we haven't had a lot of discussion with the Trump administration about the continent of Africa. But there are a lot of important things going on, for instance in Ethiopia there's a fight over a dam that impacts both Egypt and Sudan. Do you see the United States getting more involved in some of these disputes in other continents or not it's going to be hands off? the Trump administration seem to want to let these countries resolve these things themselves. Some of the prior administrations have been more involved and helpful in trying to solve problems.
SP: yeah, you know, I think the real answer to your question would be I don't know. But I can tell you that I haven't heard much about Africa in the discussions with Biden folks when they talk about their priorities. So that may be a sign that it is not going to be a first tier concern for them. But actually since I haven't talked to them about it maybe that's wrong.
GVS: So I guess we'll have to wait and see what extent the African continent goes high up on the radar screen to this White House. Immigration, that's been a thorny problem that the United States has been grappling with for a long time. President Trump started building a wall. President Biden says no more to the wall. And we see we see video of people making their way towards the United States. President Biden wants a path toward citizenship for a lot of people. So what's going to happen is the us finally going to get to get an immigration policy of some sort?
SP: You know this is going to be one of the leading priorities that the Biden White House is going to have. One of the things he's going to do is send a sweeping immigration to Capitol Hill. This was President Trump's kind of core issue. It's one thing he talked about that day in 2015 when he announced his presidential campaign. He talked about immigration the threat of immigration. It's going to be one of the first things that a President Biden tries to undo, to reverse some of the steps that President Trump took including building that wall and moves ahead on this issue of the dreamers. You know this is something that Democrats have been promising since since Barack Obama's presidency and both Obama's presidential campaigns, he promised to try to deal with the issue of the dreamers it never got happened. This is one of the things that now lands on Biden's plate.
GVS: Susan thank you very much, always nice to talk to you.
SP: Always nice to talk to you, Greta. Thank you.
[[GRETA]]
With a promise …
to vaccinate …
100-million Americans …
for COVID ...
in its first 100 days ...
the Biden Administration …
has put ending …
the pandemic …
atop its agenda.
Thanks in part …
to strict discipline …
and the ability …
to enforce mask wearing …
and social distancing …
the U.S. military …
has so far …
contained COVID …
within its ranks.
But there is …
a new challenge:
Convincing America’s …
all-volunteer military force …
to voluntarily take …
the vaccine.
VOA’s Bill Gallo …
reports from Seoul.
[[GALLO PKG]]
((Must credit: Defense Department))
((NARRATOR))
The first doses of the coronavirus vaccine arriving at Camp Humphreys - the largest overseas U.S. military base.
(NARRATOR))
A big step toward protecting the nearly 30,000 U.S. troops here in South Korea. But at least for now, the military won’t be forcing anyone to receive the vaccine.
((NARRATOR))
Military officials tell VOA it could be up to two years before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives the vaccine full approval that would allow it to become mandatory.
((end credit))
((NARRATOR))
Colonel Doug Lougee, the lead U.S. medical officer in South Korea. who spoke to VOA remotely, says it’s an unusual situation for military leaders.
((Col. Doug Lougee, U.S. Forces Korea Surgeon))
“Here in the military, especially the army, we're not used to telling people to volunteer or asking them to volunteer for things like this...so that's been an interesting thing to work through to help make sure people make good, informed decisions.”
((Must credit: Defense Department))
((NARRATOR))
Like anywhere else, there has been some skepticism about the vaccine, which was developed much quicker than many expected.
To allay those concerns, the military rolled out educational campaigns to combat disinformation. And to set an example, senior leaders were among the first to get the shots.
((Col. Doug Lougee, U.S. Forces Korea Surgeon))
“I think we're hitting about the right tone, with not ceding the battlefield to the conspiracy theorists, getting the information out there but on the other hand, not being overbearing or strong-arming people.”
((NARRATOR))
((Must credit: Defense Department))
Lougee says the U.S. military does have experience administering voluntary vaccines. But not at this level or with this much urgency.
So far, the plan is working, says Colonel Lee Peters.
((Col. Lee Peters, U.S. Forces Korea Spokesperson))
“There was a pretty good number of people who said hey I don't want it. However, since we've seen the vaccine and the people kind of like observed and watched and did their own research and education, we've seen those numbers grow dramatically to where I would say very few people are now saying hey, I don't want the vaccine.”
((NARRATOR))
“Military officials won’t say how many have taken the vaccine here in South Korea. For now, frontline health workers and other critical positions are first in line. Eventually, the vaccine will be available to all. But it’s not clear when it will be mandatory.”
((Bill Gallo. VOA News. Seoul.))
[[GRETA]]
That’s all the time …
we have for now.
My thanks …
to Susan Page …
from USA Today …
And Michael O’Hanlon …
from the Brookings Institution.
Keep up …
with the latest news …
at VOANews.com …
and follow me on Twitter
at Greta.
Thanks for being …
Plugged In.
###
Joe Biden …
gets to work …
[[SOT-BIDEN “We didn’t get into this mess overnight. It’s going to take time to turn things around.”]]
From vaccine distribution …
and reviving the economy …
to repairing alliances …
and dealing with threats …
Challenges abound …
for the new American president.
[[SOT O’HANLON: “What I’m hoping is Biden will have a new vision.”]]
Perspectives …
on the priorities …
and personality …
of a new U.S. President ….
On Plugged In …
The New Biden Administration.
###
[[GRETA]]
Hello and welcome …
to Plugged In.
I’m Greta Van Susteren …
reporting from Washington, DC …
Where new leadership …
is making its presence felt.
President Joe Biden …
ushered in …
his new administration …
with a slew …
of executive orders …
And a plea …
for Americans to voluntarily …
wear a mask in public …
for the next 100 days …
to combat …
the coronavirus pandemic.
He is requiring mask-wearing …
in federal government buildings …
and aboard planes ...
trains and buses.
Biden reversed numerous …
Trump Administration policies …
such as ending construction …
of a wall along the border …
with Mexico …
He is also dropping the ban …
on people entering the United States
from several …
Muslim majority countries …
The new president …
also brought the US …
back into the …
Paris Climate Accords …
and the …
World Health Organization.
Both moves …
have been welcomed …
by allies around the world.
More from London …
And VOA’s Henry Ridgwell.
[[RIDGWELL PKG]]
###
((NARRATOR))
After four years of turbulent transatlantic relations, the European Union Commission head offered a warm welcome for President Joe Biden.
((Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President (in English) ))
“Once again after four long years Europe has a friend in the White House. From climate change to health, from digitalization to democracy, these are global challenges that need renewed and improved global cooperation.”
((NARRATOR))
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a warmer relationship with former President Trump. But Johnson said Wednesday he and Biden have a ‘joint common agenda.’
((Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister))
“It's a fantastic thing for America. It's a step forward for the country, it's been through a bumpy period.”
((NARRATOR))
There were big celebrations in Kosovo – where a street bears the name of Joe Biden’s late son Beau Biden, who worked in the country with the U.S. Justice Department following the 1999 Kosovo war.
U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region also welcomed the new U.S. administration.
((Scott Morrison, Australian Prime Minister))
“There is a lot of work for us together, whether it is on climate, on energy, on international security and, importantly, regional security here in the Indo-Pacific.”
((NARRATOR))
Japan’s Prime Minister echoed his Australian counterpart.
((Yoshihide Suga, Japanese Prime Minister (in Japanese)))
“I hope to closely cooperate with the new president to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
((NARRATOR))
That a clear reference to the perceived threat from China in the Indo-Pacific region.
In Beijing, a call for a reset in relations with Washington.
((Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson (in Mandarin) ))
"We hope that the new U.S. government will view China and our relations in an objective and rational manner.”
((NARRATOR))
China Wednesday sanctioned outgoing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and dozens of other Trump officials.
Biden’s National Security Council called the sanctions ‘unproductive and cynical,’ a response some analysts say is not surprising.
((Julie Norman, Security Analyst, University College London))
“The incoming administration will also maintain a pretty tough on China stance. It’s actually an area where I think we’ll have some bipartisan agreement on that approach. But again, one that is more engaged with allies in doing that.”
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile Iran’s leader said the ‘ball was in Biden’s court’ over the future of the 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. president has said he wants to re-join if Tehran meets its commitments.
Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. called Biden’s inauguration a new chapter in relations with Washington. There was no official response from President Vladimir Putin.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London))
[[GRETA]]
The foreign policy challenges …
that will face …
the Biden administration …
are vast.
Michael O’Hanlon …
is a Senior Fellow …
and Director …
of Foreign Policy Research ...
at the Brookings Institution ...
in Washington.
We discussed …
some of the most pressing …
foreign policy issues ...
facing the Biden Harris administration.
[[SOT]]
Michael O’Hanlon: You know, Biden's been a supporter of expanding NATO and bringing it eastward. And we promised to someday bring Ukraine and Georgia, former Soviet republics into NATO. That is just as you know so incendiary for the Russians. It's not the only issue on which we disagree with the Russians, but it's maybe the issue that we sort of created ourselves, where on most of the other issues, there was Russian bad behavior that created the issue. And so, Biden's going to have to be, I think a little bit clever. Because if he leaves the basic strategy as it's been, keep trying to expand NATO to the East, for example, and then of course face down Putin where you do have to challenge him on issues like Russian tinkering in our elections, Russian suppression of its own democracy, Russian aggression in the broader Middle East -- those issues we have to oppose Putin. But if you also continue to try to push the idea of eventual NATO expansion, then I think you're guaranteeing a bad relationship with Russia, when it doesn't have to be that way and it's dangerous for it to be quite that way. So what I'm hoping is that Biden will have a new vision for European security, especially for the neutral or non-aligned countries that include the former Soviet republics I just mentioned, as well as some other places like Armenia and Azerbaijan, even down to Cyprus, even up to Finland and Sweden, and try to think of how we can stabilize that zone, and also get Russia to stop aggressing against Ukraine, and find a new stable concept for Europe. To me, that is the big challenge but I'm not really sure I've heard anybody on the Biden team tilt that way yet, so I hope they will.
GVS: How do you factor in the fact that Iran’s top scientist who has recently been assassinated? Iran has at least said that it’s further enriching uranium.
MO: I think that the assassination of the Iranian scientist is the sort of thing that will reinforce hostility and anger inside of Iran, but we also know that regime is frankly one of the coldest most calculating and most Machiavellian on the planet. And I'm sure they'll be a fair amount of anger, but there won't be a lot of sentimentality about the path forward. I think in the end, they will watch out for their own national interest, with or without this scientist being alive. And so what I think you’re going to see is Iran trying to figure out how the world reacts if and when Biden comes in and says you know, the 2015 deal was pretty good at the time and times are different and I need something a little broader and longer lasting and at first that will not be something Iran wants to hear and Iran will test the waters to see if America’s European allies as well as Russia and China will really go along with that approach or maybe the United States can be isolated in its desire for a broader arrangement. So that I think will be the initial conversation. I think it’s going to be fascinating to watch.
This is going to be one of the huge areas of change, because we know the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and had something tantamount to a regime change policy towards Iran, extremely hardline -- was not really joined by most of the rest of the world in that policy, and it's not clear where that policy could realistically have led, but it did apply a lot of additional pressure on Iran. And then you throw COVID on top of that, Iran is hurting. So that's the situation that Biden inherits, and he also inherits a situation where in this particular case on this issue, Trump was not an outlier relative to most Republicans. Most Republicans were very critical of the 2015 nuclear deal, because it did not restrict Iran’s other activities such as support for Assad in Syria. And it also began to expire within 8 to 10 years of implementation of that deal. Many of the quantitative restrictions on nuclear activity actually begin to relax in 2023, So I think Biden's got a more difficult job ahead than simply returning to the deal. That's going to be what Iran expects and demands at first. But Iran may not really have the luxury of holding to that hard line, given the state of its economy. And Biden may be looking for some kind of an interim arrangement, which lifts some economic pressure and sanctions on Iran, but also refuses to live them all, until there is a longer lasting deal or a broader deal that would engender some Republican support in the United States as well. It's going to be quite a challenge and for a team that is so vested in this deal because basically everybody on the senior Biden team was part of the Obama team that negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, they're going to have to be a little bit intellectually flexible to figure out a new path forward, rather than just returning to their own baby in the form of a 2015 deal.
GVS: Turning to China, what do you see with the new administration?
MO: Even within the first term of Trump, he went from trying to buddy up with Xi Jinping in the first year to then engaging in a protracted trade war, but then sometimes trying to back off that trade war. And yes some of that was the peculiarity of Donald Trump, but it also reflected the changing view of China in the United States, in economic as well as security circles. I think we are in a new era of our relations with what’s become the other great super power on the planet. I would already give China that designation myself and so I think we are going to have a complex relationship we haven’t yet sorted out.
GVS: How does the coronavirus, and also even the humanitarian issues like the treatment of the Yuighurs- how does that factor into a Biden presidency?
MO: Well those are two issues where complication and competitiveness are going to be part of the new relationship regardless, there are two of the reasons why. Although on coronavirus, it's actually more complex. With the treatment of the Yuighurs and also Hong Kong and also Christians in China and dissent and dissidents in China, there's no ambiguity. Those are all negatives from an American point of view. On COVID-19, what we see here is that first of all China may have been the cause, but it's also been part of the solution. It's figured out how to handle this virus better than most western countries. Also, we have pandemics that could happen in the future that we have to work hard to prevent. and China's got to be part of that conversation. You don't solve that problem with an adversarial relationship or a rivalrous one. That's an example of where we need to cooperate with China. So it's going to be a relationship that's one part competitiveness, one part cooperation. The key is to make sure there's not another part that's outright conflict. I think that has to be the goal, but actually making that happen is of course a very complex proposition.
GVS: One of the problems that has troubled every recent American president is North Korea and its nuclear weapons ambition. And no one has seemed to be able to figure out how to handle North Korea and now Kim Jong Un. We've ignored them, we've had sanctions. President Trump tried to talk to him, tried to make friends with him. What will President Biden do about North Korea because it is marching forward with its nuclear weapons program, with the missile program?
MO: Well, I hope that President Biden will be a little more flexible on North Korea. and I don't want to say that he should imitate what President Trump did, but he might want to take one or two pages out of the long playbook, most of which was a failure by Trump, but it's worth remembering that Obama failed too, and so did George W. Bush. You know the overall effort to constrain North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, long-range missile programs has failed under presidents of both parties. And when President-Elect Trump visited Washington four years ago and President Obama hosted him for the traditional visit, of the type that hasn't happened this year, unfortunately, but when Obama was more gracious to Trump than Trump has been to Biden, at that meeting, Obama acknowledged that North Korea policy had been a great failing of his presidency. And Trump took that to heart by all accounts, and decided he needed to try something radically new, and he tried several things that were radically new: first threatening war in the fall of 2017, and then buddying up to Jong Un with the three summits. And then all that petered out and we didn't really get a negotiation strategy that either side was willing to pursue thereafter. So what I hope Biden will do is pick up on the notion that first of all high-level engagement with Kim Jong Un or his covenant is a good idea. I'm not suggesting that Biden should have summit diplomacy without any deliverables, but there should be intense high-level engagement with people who can speak for the President of the United States and make a deal. And then secondly we need to be flexible and realistic about what that deal could entail. We need a little bit of the art of the deal even though Donald Trump himself could not deliver that deal. And I think it means accepting and acknowledging North Korea is not going to give up all of its nuclear weapons right away. They have too much fear about attack, that's too much a legacy of the father and grandfather of Kim Jong Un. We need a partial deal that in the short term freezes North Korea's ability to make any more bombs, and then in return for that, there's a partial lifting of sanctions and you leave the longer-term disarmament for the longer term. I think if Biden can be pragmatic in that regard he has much better prospects for success.
GVS: How is he gonna differ from his former boss, in terms of foreign policy, President Obama --is he going to be a lot like him or is he going to be different? Is he going to be his own man?
MO: You know, it's just a fascinating question, because, you know, he should try to be his own man, clearly, even if he keeps some of the Obama philosophy. But you could argue and many, certainly many people have argued that Obama himself was sort of running out of gas in his foreign policy by the end of his second term, that in his first term, he had this team of rivals Bob Gates, Hillary Clinton. He was projecting big visions and ideas for the world. And in the second term, he was sort of just trying to minimize America's, you know, burdens and losses in places like Afghanistan. He had to deal with the rise of ISIS. He had to deal with the return of Russia and the growing strength of China, and he didn't quite seem to adopt policies that were up to most of these challenges very quickly. So in that regard, Biden, a much older guy, and much more a creature of traditional Washington, is going to have to be more innovative than second term Obama ..on issues.
GVS: Michael thanks, always nice to talk to you.
MO: Greta thanks for having me on.
[[GRETA]]
President Biden …
has laid out …
an ambitious plan …
to address …
his top priorities …
in the first 100 days …
of his presidency.
[[FS GRAPHIC]]
He wants more money …
to fight COVID-19 …
and the economic crises …
the pandemic has caused.
Biden also wants an expansion …
of the Voting Rights Act …
to reduce barriers ...
that keep some people from voting...
and for the United States …
to be a leader on the issue …
of climate change.
[[GRETA OC]]
Accomplishing these goals …
requires the agreement …
of the U.S. Congress.
Getting legislation passed …
will be easier for Biden …
now that Democrats …
hold the majority …
Although a slim majority...
In Congress.
VOA Congressional Correspondent …
Katherine Gypson explains.
[[GYPSON PKG]]
###
[[TV INTRO]]
[[The United States returns to a unified government this week as Joe Biden becomes the 46th president and Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, this gives Biden the opportunity to enact big legislative changes.]]
((NARRATOR))
((Open with Biden taking Oath of Office Wednesday then over to Thu COVID presser))
As he takes office, U.S. President Joe Biden faces considerable challenges – first among them combating the coronavirus that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.
((Joe Biden, President))
((Bite about sending COVID relief to Hill))
((NARRATOR))
((ABC Harris Senate Swearing-In-Shot of VP Harris Swearing in Warnock, Ossoff and Padilla))
But with Vice President Kamala Harris….
((Open for nats of Harris swearing in Ossoff, Warnock, & Padilla etc. Wednesday afternoon))
((NARRATOR))
((Continue with clip then over to AP Schumer Broll))
…..and three new senators, Democrats now have control of the U.S. Senate under now Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
((Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader))
“This Senate will tackle the perils of the moment: a once-in-a-generation health and economic crisis. And it will strive to make progress on generations-long struggle for racial justice, economic justice, equality of opportunity and equality under the law.”
((NARRATOR))
((AP Inauguration Biden-Schumer-McConnell))
An ambitious agenda for Democrats to pursue, but control of both the White House and both chambers of Congress helps clear the way…
((Casey Burgat, George Washington University))
“Knowing that the president is of the same party, they know that anything that comes out of Congress is likely to get his signature on the bill instead of having a back and forth about a veto and trying to come up with a larger base of the Congress to vote on something to override any potential veto threat from the president. So, it basically comes with unity and agenda control.”
((NARRATOR))
((Senate and House floors then over to Pelosi at Inauguration))
But Democrats have narrow margins in both chambers of Congress. And Republicans will still be able to block some bills that require 60 votes for passage in the Senate.
In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi can only lose a few Democratic votes and she has suggested there could be ways to work with Republican lawmakers.
((Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House))
((MRT PELOSI))
“We have a responsibility to find bipartisanship where we can to find that common ground.”
((NARRATOR))
((AP Senate COVID Checks-Broll of Federal COVID aid checks being printed then over to AP Blinken Hearing and AP Haines Confirmation))
Quick passage of a new round of coronavirus relief for a struggling American economy comes first. But the new Democratic Senate will also move quickly to confirm the Biden Cabinet nominees awaiting hearings.
((Open for nat of final vote total in Haines confirmation))
((NARRATOR))
((Capitol Broll shots then over to Trump and Jan 6 Riots))
Unified control also gives the nation’s legislative branch a greater ability to enforce government accountability – and within days the ultimate exercise in checks and balances will begin.
((Casey Burgat, George Washington University))
“I'm actually hopeful for this, in terms of the impeachment and how that is affected going forward, there's no greater sign of accountability than Congress literally holding a presidential impeachment trial. And we of course, have never seen one after a president has left office. So it's the epitome of Congress sticking up for itself and making sure that the president is paying attention or at least doesn't think of himself as above the law.”
((NARRATOR))
Despite their new majority, Democrats will still need to persuade 17 Republicans to convict former President Donald Trump if they hope to bar him from ever running again for federal office.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington))
[[GRETA]]
Susan Page …
is the Washington Bureau Chief …
for USA Today …
and has covered …
six White House administrations.
We talked about …
the challenges facing …
the new Biden administration.
[[SOT/PAGE INTERVIEW]]
GVS: President Biden was vice president for eight years under President Obama but he was also in the U.S. Senate and he was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. What what is that going to do when we start looking at foreign policy? I mean, when you start looking at the world, do you have any thoughts on how he's going to think about China, Africa North Korea Iran?
SP: So he's got very extensive experience on foreign affairs. As you say this is something he spent decades looking at in Congress and in eight years of course as vice president very involved in foreign affairs. But some of the lessons we might draw from his attitudes in the past I think do not apply at this moment. You know for instance- you look at policy toward China that is probably the greatest rival that the United States now faces on a world stage. The situation with China is different now than it was even when Obama was president. And so I think an issue like that you're going to see a kind of rethinking about what U.S. policy ought to be, not that they want to adopt President Trump's policy toward China, but they also don't think it's right to go back to President Obama's policy. They think it's a moment where you have to kind of figure out what's best moving ahead.
GVS: Turning to North Korea, another problem for the United States. No press has been able to resolve this. We've tried sanctions in past administrations. President Trump tried to be friends I guess for lack of better words with Kim Jong un. But meanwhile North Korea is moving ahead with its nuclear weapons program.
SP: Is there any problem in foreign policy that is more difficult than our policy toward North Korea? Because as you say nothing has worked. I am quite certain that President Biden will not continue President Trump's friendship initiative with the North Korean leader. I wouldn't expect an early summit between them or one without conditions or progress made beforehand. But it's and there are some architects of the earlier North Korea policy who are now going to be participating, now going to be appointed to the Biden State Department. But it is an issue that has really defied solution.
GVS: President Trump is sort of a tough love approach with foreign policy like with NATO. He demanded that the other countries pay pay what they had earlier agreed to in terms of NATO dues, it seems to me that President Biden is going to is going to have a different approach to many of these world leaders who are our allies. Your thoughts?
SP: He's much closer to our allies, our traditional allies than President Trump ever was. I think he will assert once again our allegiance to NATO. President Trump talked about withdrawing the United States from NATO. That would not be the approach that President Biden would take. He not only has I think, an appreciation for international alliances, he also knows a lot of these leaders himself because of his long experience in government. It's going to be a very different landscape, I think a very different fundamental attitude toward alliances than the last four years have been.
GVS: when President Biden was vice president and President Obama. President Obama signed an agreement with Iran on their nuclear program, their weapons programs which President Trump then pulled out of when he became president.
SP: Well of course, I think that Biden and members of his team wish we had never pulled out of that accord They supported it. They thought it was flawed but the best way forward. But at this point, you know things have happened in the past four years. It makes it difficult for the United States to simply try to jump back in to the nuclear accord. And it's not clear that Iran would agree to that automatically either. So I would think negotiations are going to start with that issue because you know you're listening, you're ticking through the most difficult foreign policy and national security challenges that this new president will face, Iran North Korea China you'd have to put those three at the top of the list.
GVS: Even some Democrats would give President Trump credit for what was done to the Middle East, their new relationships with Israel that's made it a safer place for Israel in the Middle East. What is what is President Biden going to do about the Middle East? Do you think he'll continue sort of the approach that President Trump has taken or will he have his own approach?
SP: Well I think he'll have his own approach But I think I think you're right I think some in Washington have been surprised by the relative success in the achievements of the Trump administration when it comes to the Middle East and to and to Israel. As you know that's a region that's been that's kind of defied the efforts of previous White Houses to make anything that's a lasting peace. I think the number one desire of the Biden administration would be to have less focus on the Middle East, more focus on challenges elsewhere in other regions that they think deserve more attention. And it's possible that some of the steps that the Trump administration is taking will make that more possible. You talked to the Biden people They would rather talk about Asia than talk about the Middle East.
GVS: in the continent of Africa. And we haven't had a lot of discussion with the Trump administration about the continent of Africa. But there are a lot of important things going on, for instance in Ethiopia there's a fight over a dam that impacts both Egypt and Sudan. Do you see the United States getting more involved in some of these disputes in other continents or not it's going to be hands off? the Trump administration seem to want to let these countries resolve these things themselves. Some of the prior administrations have been more involved and helpful in trying to solve problems.
SP: yeah, you know, I think the real answer to your question would be I don't know. But I can tell you that I haven't heard much about Africa in the discussions with Biden folks when they talk about their priorities. So that may be a sign that it is not going to be a first tier concern for them. But actually since I haven't talked to them about it maybe that's wrong.
GVS: So I guess we'll have to wait and see what extent the African continent goes high up on the radar screen to this White House. Immigration, that's been a thorny problem that the United States has been grappling with for a long time. President Trump started building a wall. President Biden says no more to the wall. And we see we see video of people making their way towards the United States. President Biden wants a path toward citizenship for a lot of people. So what's going to happen is the us finally going to get to get an immigration policy of some sort?
SP: You know this is going to be one of the leading priorities that the Biden White House is going to have. One of the things he's going to do is send a sweeping immigration to Capitol Hill. This was President Trump's kind of core issue. It's one thing he talked about that day in 2015 when he announced his presidential campaign. He talked about immigration the threat of immigration. It's going to be one of the first things that a President Biden tries to undo, to reverse some of the steps that President Trump took including building that wall and moves ahead on this issue of the dreamers. You know this is something that Democrats have been promising since since Barack Obama's presidency and both Obama's presidential campaigns, he promised to try to deal with the issue of the dreamers it never got happened. This is one of the things that now lands on Biden's plate.
GVS: Susan thank you very much, always nice to talk to you.
SP: Always nice to talk to you, Greta. Thank you.
[[GRETA]]
With a promise …
to vaccinate …
100-million Americans …
for COVID ...
in its first 100 days ...
the Biden Administration …
has put ending …
the pandemic …
atop its agenda.
Thanks in part …
to strict discipline …
and the ability …
to enforce mask wearing …
and social distancing …
the U.S. military …
has so far …
contained COVID …
within its ranks.
But there is …
a new challenge:
Convincing America’s …
all-volunteer military force …
to voluntarily take …
the vaccine.
VOA’s Bill Gallo …
reports from Seoul.
[[GALLO PKG]]
((Must credit: Defense Department))
((NARRATOR))
The first doses of the coronavirus vaccine arriving at Camp Humphreys - the largest overseas U.S. military base.
(NARRATOR))
A big step toward protecting the nearly 30,000 U.S. troops here in South Korea. But at least for now, the military won’t be forcing anyone to receive the vaccine.
((NARRATOR))
Military officials tell VOA it could be up to two years before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives the vaccine full approval that would allow it to become mandatory.
((end credit))
((NARRATOR))
Colonel Doug Lougee, the lead U.S. medical officer in South Korea. who spoke to VOA remotely, says it’s an unusual situation for military leaders.
((Col. Doug Lougee, U.S. Forces Korea Surgeon))
“Here in the military, especially the army, we're not used to telling people to volunteer or asking them to volunteer for things like this...so that's been an interesting thing to work through to help make sure people make good, informed decisions.”
((Must credit: Defense Department))
((NARRATOR))
Like anywhere else, there has been some skepticism about the vaccine, which was developed much quicker than many expected.
To allay those concerns, the military rolled out educational campaigns to combat disinformation. And to set an example, senior leaders were among the first to get the shots.
((Col. Doug Lougee, U.S. Forces Korea Surgeon))
“I think we're hitting about the right tone, with not ceding the battlefield to the conspiracy theorists, getting the information out there but on the other hand, not being overbearing or strong-arming people.”
((NARRATOR))
((Must credit: Defense Department))
Lougee says the U.S. military does have experience administering voluntary vaccines. But not at this level or with this much urgency.
So far, the plan is working, says Colonel Lee Peters.
((Col. Lee Peters, U.S. Forces Korea Spokesperson))
“There was a pretty good number of people who said hey I don't want it. However, since we've seen the vaccine and the people kind of like observed and watched and did their own research and education, we've seen those numbers grow dramatically to where I would say very few people are now saying hey, I don't want the vaccine.”
((NARRATOR))
“Military officials won’t say how many have taken the vaccine here in South Korea. For now, frontline health workers and other critical positions are first in line. Eventually, the vaccine will be available to all. But it’s not clear when it will be mandatory.”
((Bill Gallo. VOA News. Seoul.))
[[GRETA]]
That’s all the time …
we have for now.
My thanks …
to Susan Page …
from USA Today …
And Michael O’Hanlon …
from the Brookings Institution.
Keep up …
with the latest news …
at VOANews.com …
and follow me on Twitter
at Greta.
Thanks for being …
Plugged In.
###
