Good Evening,
It's Tuesday, September 17th. |
Hezbollah Pagers Explode
Thousands of people were injured across Lebanon on Tuesday when electronic pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah simultaneously exploded around 3:30 p.m., in what experts said may have been an unprecedented attack by Israel that possibly involved sabotaging the devices before they were delivered, as The Washington Post reports. |
1 Million Dead or Wounded
The number of Ukrainians and Russians killed or wounded in the grinding 2½-year war has reached roughly one million, a staggering toll that two countries struggling with shrinking prewar populations will pay far into the future, as the WSJ reports. |
Moscow Hits Back
A month and a half into its offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region, the Ukrainian Army faces difficult decisions over where best to commit its limited forces. Moscow’s troops have begun counterattacking in the area, reclaiming a few villages and threatening Ukraine’s ability to hold onto the territory it has seized, as the NYT reports. |
Executive Education
As the 2024 election approaches, policy advocates face new uncertainties. Join Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People from October 15-18, 2024, to gain insights into how shifting power dynamics will impact your work—and how to stay ahead. Register by October 1 to connect with Washington insiders and equip yourself with the tools to achieve your policy agenda. |
Audio Briefs
CSIS now offers audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest commentary by CSIS's Daniel Byman and Elizabeth Hoffman, "Observations on the War in Ukraine: Impressions from Our Visit." |
In That Number
2,700
Pagers carried by thousands of Hezbollah operatives exploded at about the same time Tuesday afternoon, leaving more than 2,700 injured and several dead in an unprecedented event that struck across Lebanon.
Source: WSJ |
Critical Quote
“If Israel thinks by this that they’re going to return their displaced people from the north of Israel, they are mistaken. This escalates this war.”
—Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s foreign minister |
 iDeas Lab
American foreign assistance has largely reflected the primary political agenda confronting the United States at any particular time. The initial goal to use American foreign assistance to build a structural world favorable to U.S. strategic interests evolved into a tactical complement to broader foreign policy. Read the full analysis here.
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: STR/AFP/Getty Images.) Farmers transport rice picked from a flooded paddy field near Phayarphyu village in Loikaw township in Myanmar's Karenni state on September 16, 2024, following heavy rains in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi. |
Recommended Reading
“A Strategic Framework for America in the Twenty-First Century” by CSIS’s John J. Hamre. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 8:30 a.m., CSIS welcomes Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for a conversation on her new book, The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House.
At 11:00 a.m., the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development and Dr. Tanaka Akihiko, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, discuss Japan's Official Development Assistance and its approach to strengthen Japan’s engagement with developing nations over time.
At 2:00 p.m., the CSIS Aerospace Security Project hosts a conversation on commercial space and national security with General (Ret.) Ellen M. Pawlikowski, U.S. Air Force, and Ms. Mandy F. Vaughn, CEO and Founder, GXO, Inc. |
Video
Today, the CSIS Aerospace Security Project hosted a discussion on the impacts of GPS jamming and spoofing on public safety. Watch the full video here. |
Podcasts
Former MEP Dragoș Tudorache, co-rapporteur of the EU AI Act and Chair of the Special Committee on AI in the Digital Age, joins the podcast to discuss where we are in the EU AI Act roadmap, how to balance innovation and regulation, the future of the EU AI Office, and the increasing energy infrastructure demands of AI.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
Last week my friend Parker made sure that I saw a fantastic article in the New York Times about Jackson Browne’s classic tune,“These Days,” a song Browne wrote when he was 16 years old. Parker knows everything about great music so I made a beeline to my phone to fire up the piece.
Like many of Browne’s standards, “These Days” is a song that melts your heart, and yes, stirs your soul if you let it. And, as the Times noted, the track has been covered by artists ranging from Gregg Allman to Miley Cyrus and Drake, and even inspired a Wes Anderson’s 2001 film, “The Royal Tenenbaums.” According to the Times, “These Days” has also found new life on TikTok.
Revisiting “These Days” thanks to the Times and Parker has been a smile, and I wanted to share it with you too. |
| I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz |
