Globe Trot: Primary voters take foreign policy fears to the polls

UNITED STATES: It’s Iowa Caucus Day in America, a good time to reflect on the changing views of voters, who now prioritize foreign policy and national security higher than in other recent elections. Notice even among Democrats a majority share the concern about U.S. policy toward ISIS, North Korea, and Iran. And here’s my brief compare-and-contrast of the GOP contenders on foreign policy.

EUROPE: The Council of Europe is scheduled to vote this week on whether to declare Islamic State actions against Christians and Yazidis genocide. Elsewhere, such a declaration poses a real dilemma.

HAITI: David VanderPool, physician and director of the aid group LiveBeyond, has been tracking the Zika virus in Haiti for years. He writes on why “delays in the development of treatments can no longer be tolerated.”

PUERTO RICO: Officials are trying to delay payments to creditors as a way to ease the country’s imminent debt crisis. Here’s a helpful timeline of the financial woes, and in-depth analysis and background from WORLD’s Marvin Olasky on what the $72 billion debt means for Americans.

IRAN: We will be following this month’s elections in Iran, starting with Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the Islamic republic’s founding ayatollah, who plans to run for the Council of Experts. Aligned with reformers, he could be part of a movement to elect a more moderate supreme leader.

NOTE: A personal note of thanks for your many notes, prayers, understanding, and patience in my absence to care for my mom. She passed away last week, and I am grateful for her life and the life to come.