The Evening: Rebels Control Damascus, Israeli Strikes on Syria’s Arsenals, Lu’s Jukebox, and More
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Good Evening,
It's Monday, December 9th.
Rebels Assert Control in Damascus
The rebels who ended the Assad family’s brutal rule in Syria began asserting control over the capital on Monday, with fighters taking up positions outside public buildings and directing traffic in a show of their newly claimed authority, as the NYT reports
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Israeli Strikes on Syria Target Chemical Weapons, Rocket and Missile Arsenals
Israel said it had destroyed chemical and other weapons caches in Syria and seized areas along the countries’ shared border, taking advantage of a power vacuum in Syria as it seeks to keep weapons out of the hands of Sunni Islamist rebels, as the WSJ reports
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South Korean President Banned From Travel
South Korea’s Justice Ministry banned President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday from leaving the country while he’s under investigation for alleged treason and abuse of power following his martial law gambit last week and his survival of an impeachment vote over the weekend, as The Washington Post reports
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Executive Education
The impending presidential transition signals major shifts in policy, processes, and personnel. Join Decoding D.C.: Policy, Power, and People
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from March 24-27, 2025 to unpack the changing landscape of Washington D.C. Led by Washington insiders, gain the skills and knowledge needed to achieve policy success. Register
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by March 12.
Audio Briefs
CSIS now offers full audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest Critical Questions by CSIS's Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz,"China Imposes Its Most Stringent Critical Minerals Export Restrictions Yet Amidst Escalating U.S.-China Tech War
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In That Number
96,000
The Assad regime’s downfall has given hope to families of Syrians who disappeared in recent decades, as more than 96,000 people remained forcibly disappeared by the regime since 2011.
Source: WSJ
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Critical Quote
“We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth.”
—Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali
iDeas Lab
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Satellite imagery and other unclassified information analyzed by CSIS provides an unprecedented look at four facilities across Cuba
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that have equipment capable of collecting SIGINT. These four facilities—selected from nearly a dozen Cuban sites of interest analyzed by CSIS—are the most likely to be supporting China’s intelligence efforts in the region.
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: Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP/Getty Images.) The leader of Syria's Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, addresses a crowd at the capital's landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024.
Recommended Reading
“Al-Assad’s Syria Was Brutal. Will What Comes Next Be Better?
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” by CSIS’s Daniel Byman in The New York Times.
This Town Tomorrow
At 11:00 a.m.
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, the CSIS Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics co-hosts a discussion with Stanford University's Center on China's Economy and Institutions on the key challenges in U.S.-China relations.
Then, at 1:00 p.m.
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, CSIS Renewing American Innovation welcomes Professor William Bonvillian for a conversation on the complex science and technology innovation system and the challenges of emerging industrial policies.
Later, at 3:00 p.m.
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, the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group hosts the Honorable Andrew P. Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to discuss the CCA, the industrial base, and the way the Air Force manages risks to meet current and future needs.
Video
Earlier today, the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center hosted an all-day conference featuring remarks from Ambassador Shigeo Yamada of Japan to the United States and Ambassador Laurent Bili of France to the United States. Watch the full video here.
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Podcasts
Alondra Nelson, the Harold F. Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute of Advanced Study, and the former acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, joins the podcast to discuss her background in AI policy.
Listen on Spotify
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& Apple Podcasts
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Smiles
Lucinda Williams is one of my all-time favorite musicians. Her 1998 record “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” is in my desert island stack—it won a Grammy in ’99 and is one of Rolling Stone's greatest albums (number 98).
Williams suffered a stroke in 2020 but has soldiered on. During the pandemic, she began recording a covers series called “Lu’s Jukebox.” I’ve followed her covers closely and enjoy her interpretations of music by Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones. A couple of days ago, Williams released her latest set of covers, “Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road.” Here’s a highlight from the new collection.
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I invite you to email me at
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mailto:
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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.
Follow CSIS
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Connect w/ H. Andrew Schwartz
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