The Evening: Syrian Rebels Storm Hama, Macron Won’t Resign, Whipping Post, and More

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Good Evening,

It's Thursday, December 5th.

Syrian Rebels Storm Another Major City

Syrian rebels stormed into the city of Hama on Thursday as government forces withdrew, bringing the rebels one step closer to the capital Damascus, as the NYT reports

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Macron Rules Out Resigning

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Thursday that he would name a new prime minister within days, railed against the far-right and left factions that brought down the government and ruled out resigning early himself, as The Washington Post reports

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Europe Races to Set Up Defense Fund

EU countries are discussing a €500 billion joint fund for common defense projects and arms procurement, tapping bond markets to boost spending in anticipation of Donald Trump’s White House return, as the FT reports

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Executive Education

Gain the ethical leadership skills and strategic insights essential to navigating today’s complex global landscape. The AILA International Fellowship

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equips participants with the tools and agile mindset needed to tackle the challenges of our rapidly changing landscape. Apply by January 17, 2025.

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Audio Briefs

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

Listen here: "Closing the Prevention Gap: Expanding Access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Options to Sustain the Global HIV Response

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" with CSIS's Katherine E. Bliss.

In That Number

13

China imposed sanctions on 13 U.S. defense firms and several American defense industry executives on Thursday in retaliation for the Biden administration’s latest batch of arms sales to Taiwan.

Source: NYT

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Critical Quote

“We cannot have a situation where we have Kim Jong Un and the Russian leader and Xi Jinping and Iran high-fiving because we came to a deal which is not good for Ukraine, because long-term that will be a dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the U.S.”

—Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General

iDeas Lab

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China has grown as both a supplier and a buyer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment over the past 15 years. While Chinese firms have in aggregate increased China’s share of global supply, they remain quite small in comparison to foreign firms, providing only 3.2 percent of the equipment globally and 9.6 percent of the equipment purchased by customers operating in China in 2023. Read the full analysis here.

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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: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images.) Members of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party demonstrate against the country's president at the National Assembly on December 5, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea.

Recommended Reading

“China Imposes Its Most Stringent Critical Minerals Export Restrictions Yet Amidst Escalating U.S.-China Tech War

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” by CSIS’s Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz.

This Town Upcoming

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Australia Chair examines the Pacific media landscape and how partners like the United States can support free and open journalism across the region, featuring New Zealand Ambassador to the United States Rosemary Banks.

On Monday, at 9:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center hosts an all-day conference with leading policymakers, industry experts, and thought leaders to explore the latest international efforts in AI governance.

On Tuesday, at 11:00 a.m.

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, the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics welcomes China experts to discuss the key challenges in U.S.-China relations.

Video

This morning, Iris A. Ferguson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience, joined CSIS for a conversation about the PRC's current activities in the region, PRC-Russia cooperation, and hybrid threats in the Arctic. Watch the full video here.

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Podcasts

CSIS's Ryan C. Berg joins Bonny Lin to discuss China's relations with Latin America, including Chinese and U.S. interests in the region and how China is becoming a growing regional security partner.

Listen on Spotify

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& Apple Podcasts

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Smiles

If you watched the Soulshine concert streamed from Madison Square Garden just before Thanksgiving, you were treated to some of the best musicians on the planet performing a hurricane relief and recovery benefit for those impacted in North Carolina and Florida. The event raised over $4.5 million and the worthy cause inspired extraordinary performances. This cover of the Allman Brothers’ classic “Whipping Post

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,” featuring two of the world’s top guitarists—Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks—is so good that it conjures Duane Allman and Dickey Betts’ dual fire on the Allman’s seminal record, “Live at Filmore East.”

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 by Lauren Adler, Ava Rose, and the External Relations team.

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Connect w/ H. Andrew Schwartz



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