Flattening the Curve, Fighting COVID-19, and Communist Propaganda

As the United States works to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump and other world leaders are taking unprecedented action, in partnership with the private sector, to save lives and soothe financial markets. The challenges are serious, the stakes are high, and global alliances are shifting as China, which has been weakened by this outbreak, has pivoted from defense to offense, blaming America for causing this pandemic while the West is in the throes of dealing with this crisis.

In the Wall Street Journal [[link removed]], Walter Russell Mead explained why the coronavirus pandemic is the most serious challenge ever encountered by President Trump:

"As he has done in other crises, the president is stalling for time as he processes the nature of the threat and tests rhetorical and policy responses to it. But unlike human political adversaries, the coronavirus isn’t something he can bluff, threaten or placate. If the epidemic follows the course medical experts believe to be largely inevitable, both the disease and its economic consequences will be immune to Mr. Trump’s standard tactics."

Bruno Maçães observes in National Review [[link removed]] that many in western society have not seriously grappled with the threat posed by the coronavirus compared to those in many Asian countries, where epidemics are more common:

"Consider this: In China tens of million had been put on lockdown and three new hospitals were built by the time the country reached the infection statistics that the United States has now. And still the reaction was universally deemed to have come too late. What gives Americans confidence that they are in a better position than China was back then? The only explanation I have heard is that America and China have different political values, but surely to expect that your values can defend you from the world is what defines a religious rather than a scientific approach to life."

Testifying [[link removed]] before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Tim Morrison highlighted the U.S. medical supply chain's inordinate reliance on China:

"In 2004 ... the United States stopped making penicillin domestically. This happened without a vote in this body. It happened without decision in the Executive Branch. I am aware of no part of our government that was consulted about this decision. It was a decision made in a corporate board room based on short-term decision focused on showing a profit on a balance sheet. And it was a decision prompted by China’s Made in 2025 plan to dominate what the CCP determined were strategic sectors which Chinese industry should control globally. But that’s where we are during this global public health emergency."

In the Washington Post [[link removed]], Morrison set the record straight on the existence of the National Security Council team tasked with pandemic response:

"One such move at the NSC was to create the counterproliferation and biodefense directorate, which was the result of consolidating three directorates into one, given the obvious overlap between arms control and nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction terrorism, and global health and biodefense. It is this reorganization that critics have misconstrued or intentionally misrepresented. If anything, the combined directorate was stronger because related expertise could be commingled."

Listen to more from Tim Morrison on America's biodefense readiness on this week's [[link removed]] episode of The Realignment.

In the Washington Times [[link removed]], Adam Mossoff outlines the role of patents in accelerating the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and the virus that causes it:

"... [T]he patent system is essential to new drug development. ... Instead of imposing more price controls and regulatory burdens, lawmakers should be bolstering legal protection for innovations in life-saving medical treatments and cures. They should reform the patent laws to ensure investments continue in creating new cures. There is an easy legislative fix Congress can adopt to provide more effective protection for lifesaving health care innovations like a vaccine for the coronavirus."

On Fox News [[link removed]], Michael Pillsbury discussed the link between the World Health Organization and Chinese propaganda:

"The World Health Organization (WHO) leadership 'is praising China, praising Xi. ... In some ways, the WHO ... has aligned itself with China.'"

Although all of our in-person events are suspended until April 3, we will continue to provide expert analysis through live-streamed events available on our website, podcasts, and YouTube channel. To tune in, please visit Hudson.org/events [[link removed]] for the latest information.

Hudson Highlights

John Lee writes in The Australian [[link removed]] that China's propaganda arm is in full-swing to save the Communist Party's reputation.

In National Review [[link removed]], Tim Morrison highlights the connection between China and the next nuclear-arms-control treaty.

Tom Duesterberg explains how the Saudi-Russia oil feud is effecting the U.S. economy in Forbes [[link removed]].

Liselotte Odgaard outlines [[link removed]] the fundamental differences in multilateral policy between China and the European Union.

Patrick Cronin assesses how far China is willing to assert its dominance in the Indo-Pacific in National Interest [[link removed]].

Masashi Murano writes [[link removed]] on where the U.S. and Japan can cooperate on defense strategy.

New Episode of The Realignment

On the latest episode [[link removed]] of The Realignment, Saagar and Marshall sat down with Tim Morrison to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak.

Last week [[link removed]], they caught up with Ross Douthat to discuss his new book, The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success.

Commentary

Afghanistan

In the New York Times [[link removed]], Hussain Haqqani discusses the latest in the U.S. deal with the Taliban:

“'The Taliban and Pakistan’s military that backs them see this as their victory,' said Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. 'Pakistan bet on the Taliban for so long on the assumption that the Americans would leave someday.' … The goal, Mr. Haqqani said, might be to 'continue to have the Taliban as proxies while trying to contain their wildest instincts.'”

In The Print [[link removed]], Haqqani explains the emerging consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghansitan:

"...only time will tell whether the Taliban will honour their only major concession in the Doha agreement [[link removed]] — the promise to 'prevent the use of Afghan soil by any international terrorist groups or individuals against the security of the United States and its allies.'"

China

Tom Duesterberg explains the high-stakes search for a Huawei alternative in National Journal [[link removed]]:

"Thomas Duesterberg ... said O-RAN legislation now percolating through Congress is likely designed to draw attention to the technology, signaling to Europe its viability and the importance Washington places on its development. 'What we really need is a proof-of-concept at scale,' Duesterberg said. Proof-of-concept may be all the legislation is good for, however. While estimates vary, most analysts expect O-RAN equipment won’t be ready to replace Huawei hardware for another 2 to 5 years. And Duesterberg said even $1.2 billion in additional funding is unlikely to 'materially accelerate that time frame.'"

John Lee outlines how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting U.S.-China relations on Bloomberg Asia [[link removed]]:

"Their is a battle of two narratives occuring here. From the United States and other countries, they want to highlight the failure in governance in China to prevent the virus from spreading in the first place. From the Chinese side, they obviously don't like that narrative. They are trying to propel their narrative and that is 'we are more efficient, clinical, and decisive.'"

U.S. Defense Policy and National Security

In Defense News [[link removed]], Bryan Clark discusses the U.S. Navy's plan to not extend the life of its fleet's major workhorse:

"'It’s crazy to throw good money after bad for a bunch of ships you say you don’t need,' Clark said. 'I think the Navy is coming to grips with the fiscal realities; the unsustainable nature of their current plan; and the recognition it is going to have a need for fewer large surface combatants in the future and needs to husband its resources to build a larger fleet of smaller surface combatants. Those are going to be the bulk of the distributed force they intend to have.'"

Seth Cropsey hosted [[link removed]]a bipartisan discussion with U.S. Reps. Representatives Joe Courtney (CT-2) and Rob Wittman (VA-1) to discuss the future of America's defense spending. The event was highlighted by the Washington Examiner [[link removed]]:

"Reps. Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat and Rob Wittman, a Virginia Republican, both members of the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, warned Tuesday that aggressiveness by Russia in the North Atlantic and China in the South China Sea threatened U.S. global dominance, commerce, and the U.S. economy. 'Now is the time the Chinese naval capacity and capability is growing,' Wittman at the Hudson Institute, saying investments cannot wait for a future budget cycle."

Read the Transcript [[link removed]]

Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.

In Case You Missed It

Read: Paul Marshall discusses the changes in Gambia's tradition of pacifist Islam in Religion Unplugged. [[link removed]]

Read: Rebeccah Heinrichs discusses President Trump's foreign policy achievements outweighing concerns about the President's demeanor in The Atlantic [[link removed]].

Listen: Blaise Misztal discusses the current dynamics animating the relationship between Putin and Erdogan on The John Batchelor Show [[link removed]].

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