The Sunday Subject – March 27, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings concluded this week.

Republicans in the Senate met Judge Jackson’s, the first black woman nominated to the Court, hearing with thinly veiled racism, bitterness, aggression and extremism. Despite the constant attacks, Judge Brown maintained grace and unwavering intellect.

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, died Wednesday at age 84.

Albright rose to prominence as an analyst of world affairs and White House counselor of national security. Under president Clinton, she was appointed chief delegate to the United Nations, and then secretary of state. Albright’s tenure as secretary of state was highly respected by both Americans and career diplomats abroad.

NATO has added reinforcements in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia as Russia continues to bomb Ukraine and target civilians.

President Biden has called America’s commitment to NATO a “sacred obligation.” This comes in the midst of the US government’s formal conclusion that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Israel will host a historic summit with top diplomats from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain this weekend.

The summit, held to discuss concerns about the Ukraine war, the possibility of a new nuclear deal with Iran, and a surge of violence in Israel and the occupied territories, is a demonstration of a realignment of Middle Eastern powers. Israel and some Arab governments have strengthened diplomatic relations in recent years in the face of common threats like Iran and new international realities caused by Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

China and the Solomon Islands will likely sign a security pact, raising alarm in the Pacific.

If signed, the pact would open the door to Chinese troops and naval warships on the islands, and grant China a base of operations between the United States and Australia that could be used to block shipping traffic across the South Pacific. “The establishment of a base in the Solomon Islands by a strategic adversary would significantly degrade Australia and New Zealand’s security, increase the chances of local corruption and heighten the chances of resource exploitation,” said Charles Edel, the inaugural Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.