The Evening: KJU and Putin, Russia Recruits Cubans, Jimmy Buffett, and More

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Good Evening,

It's Tuesday, September 5th.

And, we’re back! I hope everyone had a happy and healthy summer. We’ll get to the news and more, but first, I want to tell you about a new CSIS product called “Audio Briefs

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,” which are short, spoken word summaries of our reports and analysis as voiced by CSIS experts. With a click on CSIS.org or a tap wherever you listen to podcasts, you can hear these less-than 3-minute recordings and get really smart, really fast. We’ll feature our latest Audio Briefs in this letter. I promise that you will find them useful!

Kim Jong Un and Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia for a summit with Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official said, in a trip that would underscore deepening cooperation as the two isolated leaders are locked in separate confrontations with the U.S., as the AP reports

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Cuba Says Trafficking Network Recruited Cubans to Fight in Ukraine

Cuba’s government has begun criminal proceedings against a “human trafficking network” that recruited Cuban citizens to fight in Russia’s war with Ukraine, according to the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the NYT reports

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Russian Private Military Companies Move to Take Over Wagner Fighters

Security groups loyal to the Kremlin are moving to take control of Wagner’s military forces in Ukraine and Africa in the wake of the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as the WSJ reports

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Executive Education

Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem

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takes a deep dive into the defense acquisition process and the defense industrial base, including topics such as setting contract requirements, the formal acquisition process, a historical overview of how we got to the current state of play, and timely topics which may include export controls, inflation, industrial base competition, rare earth elements, and data rights. Register by 11:59pm tonight, September 5.

Audio Briefs

CSIS experts give short, spoken-word summaries on the biggest takeaways from their latest reports, white papers and commentaries—in their own words.

Listen here: "Navigating the Risks of Artificial Intelligence on the Digital News Landscape

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" with CSIS's Caitlin Chin.

In That Number

1.3 million barrels/day

Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Tuesday to extend their voluntary oil production cuts through the end of this year, trimming 1.3 million barrels of crude out of the global market and boosting energy prices.

Source: AP

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Critical Quote

“The Ministry of the Interior has detected and it is working to neutralize and dismantle a human trafficking network that operates from Russia in order to incorporate Cuban citizens living there and even some living in Cuba, into the military forces that participate in military operations in Ukraine.”

—Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

iDeas Lab

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CSIS expert Caitlin Welsh unpacks

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how water stress in the Colorado River Basin is a story about agriculture, both as a consumer of water and a source of solutions.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images.) Pupils of the first grade attend a lesson in a classroom set up in a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 4, 2023.

Recommended Reading

“European Gas Storage Is Nearly Full. Now What?

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” by CSIS’s Ben Cahill and Kunro Irié.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:30 a.m.

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, Brookings hosts author Mireya Solís to discuss her new book, “Japan’s Quiet Leadership: Reshaping the Indo-Pacific,” and Japan’s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific.

At 10:30 a.m.

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, the Hudson Institute hosts General Charles A. Flynn, commanding general of the U.S. Army, Pacific, on the Army’s changing role in the Pacific.

Later, at 11:30 a.m.

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, the Atlantic Council holds a conversation with DHS Under Secretary Kenneth Wainstein on challenges facing the homeland security intelligence enterprise.

Video

CSIS expert Victor Cha and Professor Sungmin Cho, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, discuss South Korea's role in deterring North Korean aggression in a Taiwan contingency. Watch the full video here.

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Podcasts

CSIS experts Joseph Majkut, Ben Cahill, and Gracelin Baskaran dig into global oil markets, BRICS expansion, critical minerals, and the geopolitics of energy.

Listen on Spotify

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& Apple Podcasts

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Smiles

Effortless. Jimmy Buffett made everything he did seem effortless, whether it was crafting some of the catchiest, happiest, and most memorable tunes, like “Margaritaville,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Changes in Latitudes,” to name a few, establishing a business empire, or simply hanging out. And boy did Buffett know how to hang out—he made an art form out of it!

Most people can’t help but smile when thinking about Jimmy Buffett and I’m no exception. Growing up, I was privileged to see him perform at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, a place he took the stage 48 times over 45 years. And later, I got to see Buffett perform just about every year at Jazz Fest, often with The Neville Brothers. Like everywhere else, Buffett is beloved in the Crescent City. It may not surprise you to know that Buffett began his professional music career playing in a cover band on Bourbon Street. In fact, while Jimmy Buffett’s standards are legendary, his cover tunes stand up with the best of them too. I listened to his cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Southern Cross” over and over this weekend while sailing on the Chesapeake Bay—Buffet played it with such joy that I couldn’t stop smiling if I tried

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I invite you to email me at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

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The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Ava Rose.

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