Good Evening,
It's Monday, January 13th. |
Talks On the Brink
President Joe Biden said Monday that a ceasefire and hostage release deal was “on the brink” of coming to fruition, following expressions of optimism from Israeli and Hamas officials over negotiations underway in Qatar, as The Washington Post reports. |
Ferocious Clashes in Russia
Five months after Ukrainian forces swept across the border in the first ground invasion of Russia since World War II, the two armies are engaged in some of the most furious clashes of the war there, fighting over land and leverage in the conflict, as the NYT reports. |
Greenland Doesn’t Want U.S.
Greenland’s prime minister insisted on Monday that his country had no interest in becoming part of the U.S., but said he was open to building closer ties with Washington on security and natural-resource exploitation, as the WSJ reports. |
Executive Education
From production to procurement, explore the defense acquisition process with Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem. Join us at CSIS in-person or virtually on February 11 for a deep dive into the requirements process, funding stages, and how the government acquires and maintains capabilities. Registration closes January 31. |
Audio Briefs
CSIS now offers audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest Commentary by CSIS's Benjamin Jensen, "How to Exorcise Russia’s Ghost Fleet". |
In That Number
20
The Biden administration on Monday unveiled an export control regime that gives 20 close allies and partners uninhibited access to AI-related chips while placing licensing requirements on most other countries. The move faced immediate pushback from the US semiconductor industry.
Source: FT |
Critical Quote
“As AI becomes more powerful, the risks to our national security become even more intense.”
—Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo |
iDeas Lab
The U.S. Air Force has a problem. Could AI and autonomy be the solution? With the price of fighter aircraft continuously skyrocketing and supply rapidly declining, the Collaborative Combat Aircraft marks the largest investment in autonomous systems by the Department of Defense to combat this problem. Watch the full video 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: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images.) The Los Angeles Fire Department works on extinguishing a hot spot during aftermath of Palisades Fire along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California on Sunday, January 12, 2025. |
Recommended Reading
“Back & Forth: Intel and the Semiconductor Industry” by CSIS's Sujai Shivakumar, Charles Wessner, and Christina Alfonso. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 10:30 a.m., the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department hosts Chair Reta Jo Lewis of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), to discuss EXIM’s newly introduced Supply Chain Resiliency Initiative.
Later, at 2:00 p.m., the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center welcomes Alan Estevez, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, to unpack recent export control updates.
And, at 3:15 p.m., AEI holds a conversation with Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) on the national security imperative of building up the defense budget to confront a more dangerous world and sustain the requisite joint force. |
Video
Today, the CSIS Aerospace Security Project hosted a conversation with Secretary of the Air Force the Honorable Frank Kendall. Watch the full video here. |
Podcasts
In this pressing episode, we break down the release of the Biden administration's Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. We discuss the rationale for this latest control (0:52), and its reception among major AI and semiconductor firms (8:14), U.S. allies (17:15), and the incoming administration (19:48).
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
One of the all-time greats passed away last Friday: Sam Moore of the legendary R&B duo Sam & Dave. In my view, their 1966 Stax single “Hold On I’m Coming” is one of the most powerful songs ever recorded. |
| I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz |
