Netanyahu on Rafah

The day after his phone call with President Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he “made it as clear as possible to the president” that Israel sees “no way” to eliminate remaining Hamas battalions in the southern city of Rafah “without a ground incursion,” as The Washington Post reports.

Retired Generals Criticize Afghanistan Withdrawal

Retired Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, the former commander of U.S. Central Command, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former Joint Chiefs chair, said the exit from Afghanistan in August 2021 came up short in testimony today before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as Politico reports.

Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push Into AI

The government of Saudi Arabia plans to create a fund of about $40 billion to invest in artificial intelligence—the latest sign of the gold rush toward a technology that has already begun reshaping how people live and work, as the NYT reports.

Executive Education

Looking to unpack the defense priorities of FY25 without needing to decrypt complicated jargon and dig through lengthy reports? Join CSIS experts on April 16 for Inside DOD’s FY 2025 Budget to explore the most important strategic priorities, acquisition program changes and major budget movements for your organization. Register here by April 2.

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: "Forward Defense: Strengthening U.S. Force Posture in Europe" with CSIS's Seth G. Jones

In That Number

$217 billion

The European Union is pressing ahead with plans to use profits of around $217 billion in frozen Russian bank assets to help provide weapons and other funds for Ukraine, a senior official said Tuesday.
Source: AP

Critical Quote

“I made it as clear as possible to the president that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there is no way to do this without a ground incursion.”

—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

iDeas Lab

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 has led to the deployment of over 100,000 U.S. military personal in Europe, consequently increasing the rate of American military operations in the region. This rise contrasts with the steady decline observed since the Cold War era. Read the CSIS report, Forward Defense: Strengthening U.S. Force Posture in Europe.

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: Stringer/Anadolu/Getty Images.) Sappers of the 'Demining of Ukraine' organization prepare the territory for demining in Dergachiv district, Kharkiv region, Ukraine on March 19, 2024.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., the CSIS Japan Chair and Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group discuss strengthening defense cooperation between Japan and the United States.

Then, at 10:00 a.m., the CSIS Smart Women Smart Power Initiative welcomes Saleha Mohsin, correspondent for Bloomberg News, to discuss her new book.

Later, at 4:00 p.m., CSIS President and CEO Dr. John Hamre hosts a conversation with CSIS Trustee Darío Gil, Director of Research at IBM, and Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, on the state of science in America.

Video

Yesterday, the CSIS Impossible State Live! podcast featured a discussion on the relationship between North Korea and Russia, featuring Dr. Jung Pak, deputy assistant secretary of state for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands and the U.S. senior official for the DPRK. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

Guillermo Christensen, partner at K&L Gates, former CIA intelligence officer, and diplomat, joins in the podcast to discuss the evolving geopolitical landscape companies need to assess and navigate today.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

I was riding number nine
Heading south from Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Got in trouble, had to roam
Left my girl and left my home
I heard that lonesome whistle blow.

Most of Lowell George’s recordings with Little Feat are original songs that he or one of his bandmates penned and have subsequently been covered by other artists like Linda Ronstadt. But on Little Feat’s “Hoy-Hoy!” a 1981 collection released two years after George’s death, a mix of covers, live, unreleased, and alternate takes band together to form an incredibly cohesive record. One of my favorite tracks is the band’s cover of Hank Williams’ “Lonesome Whistle.”

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.