** Weekly Round-Up
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** Quincy in the news
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** October 4, 2020
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** UPCOMING WEBINARS
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** The regional impact of intra-Afghan talks
DATE: Wednesday, October 14
TIME: 12:00 pm ET
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REGISTER ([link removed][UNIQID])
On September 12, 2020, long awaited intra-Afghan talks began between the Taliban and the elected Afghan government. Pakistan helped facilitate earlier talks between the United States and the Taliban, which it has historically supported to varying degrees. India also maintains a significant footprint in Afghanistan, and both view the other’s Afghanistan policy as hostile. A surge in US troops thawed relations between Iran and its traditional Taliban enemy, but Tehran opposes the re-establishment of a Taliban-led Islamic Emirate. The outcome of Intra-Afghan talks will prove consequential for the region as a whole, especially as the American public increasingly desires the withdrawal of remaining US troops from Afghanistan. How will a drawdown of US troops, combined with potential outcomes to the intra-Afghan talks influence regional actors going forward?
Join a discussion between Dr. Barnett Rubin of the Quincy Institute and New York University, Elizabeth Threlkeld of the Stimson Center, and Adam Weinstein of the Quincy Institute. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Sahar Khan of the Cato Institute.
** FEATURED
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For our own sake and the world’s, America must pull back
By Andrew Bacevich, President
Boston Globe, 10/4/20
A remarkable reinvigoration of American politics is emerging as an ironic signature of the Trump era.
A new agenda of progressive reform is emerging. The abuses of the Trump presidency are creating a renewed appreciation for the Constitution and the rule of law. The devastation inflicted by the coronavirus is highlighting the need to improve government capacity to respond to unexpected and unforeseen threats. As wildfires and hurricanes increase in fury and frequency, the threat posed by climate change moves to the forefront of American politics. Societal qualities such as resiliency and self-sufficiency are now receiving greater attention. The economic crisis has made it impossible to ignore the defects of neoliberal policies that benefit the rich while condemning others to lives of insecurity and want. And, not least, the Black Lives Matter movement suggests that a collective reckoning with the legacy of American racism may at long last be at hand.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
How Trump brought home the endless war
By Stephen Wertheim, Deputy Director for Policy & Research
The New Yorker, 10/1/20
Every generation delivers its own update to the worry, as old as democracy, that military crusades abroad will come back to damage freedom at home. The Founders of the United States, haunted by ancient Rome’s descent from republic to empire, resisted establishing a standing army. At the end of the First World War, the American Civil Liberties Union formed in opposition to mass arrests and deportations carried out by the Department of Justice. In our own time, it seemed apparent, until recently, that the main blowback of the war on terror would be the surveillance state inaugurated by the Patriot Act of 2001. Yet, while troubling, mass surveillance did not prompt most Americans to think that their country had become fundamentally unfree. The link between foreign intervention and domestic repression retained an almost metaphorical quality, as when Secretary of State John Quincy Adams warned, in 1821, that if it became “the dictatress of the world,” America “would be no longer the ruler of her
own spirit.”
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
Reset overdue: Remaking US-Saudi relations
By Research Fellow Annelle Sheline & Senior Analyst Steven Simon
Quincy Institute, 10/2/20
The US–Saudi relationship has long been problematic. Although historically justified by US oil dependence and the need for a reliable supplier, Saudi Arabia no longer provides the US with significant oil and is no longer a source of regional stability. Saudi Arabia continues to fund terrorist organizations abroad, despite stated efforts by the Saudi government to curtail such spending after 9/11.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
Principles to guide a new US strategy in East Asia
By Director of East Asia Program Michael Swaine, Senior Research Fellow Jessica Lee, & Research Fellow Rachel Esplin Odell
Quincy Institute, 10/1/20
These principles outline the essence of the QI East Asia program’s views toward the region, centering on the major drawbacks of current US policies and the core elements of a new strategic approach. These principles serve as the foundation for a detailed strategy paper to follow, and for the ongoing work of the program in coming months.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
American democracy is in grave danger
By Paul Pillar, Non-Resident Fellow
Responsible Statecraft, 10/1/20
I customarily write about foreign policy and international affairs, humbly believing that my training and experience enable me to offer some useful insights in that area. What follows, however, is less the output of a foreign policy wonk than the anguished observations of a concerned US citizen.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
Debate ‘train wreck’ shows US in no position to lecture the world
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, Senior Advisor & Contributing Editor
Responsible Statecraft, 9/30/20
It was called ‘“the worst debate in American history” by more than one pundit and cable news anchor.
The graphic descriptions of Tuesday night’s presidential debate between incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden began mounting on social media and spilling over into Wednesday’s headline stories. The most used: “train wreck” and “dumpster fire.” CNN’s Dana Bash figured it was the night to break protocol: “I’m just going to say it like it is. That was a shit show.”
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
10 foreign policy questions that should be asked at the presidential debate (but probably won’t)
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, Senior Advisor & Contributing Editor
Responsible Statecraft, 9/28/20
Tuesday’s highly anticipated debate between President Trump and Democratic challenger Vice President Joe Biden is expected to delve into several broad topics critical to today’s political environment: the Supreme Court, COVID, the economy, race and violence in cities, the integrity of the election, and the candidates’ records.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
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Your World: Trita Parsi on US-Iran tensions
Interviewed: Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President
Sky News Australia, 9/28/20
WATCH HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
How Joe Biden can solve the Iran crisis
By Joe Cirincione, Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow
Responsible Statecraft, 9/25/20
If elected, Joe Biden will have an overwhelming agenda to repair the damage of the previous four years. Iran will be one of the few national security issues that rises to the top of his list.
READ HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
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WEBINAR: What’s a state-sponsored assassination between friends? Reckoning with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and its implications for US-Saudi relations two years later
With Lawrence Wright, Tawakkol Karman, Annelle Sheline, & Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
Quincy Institute, 10/1/20
WATCH HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
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WEBINAR: Where do we go from here? A conversation with Senator Chris Murphy
With Senator Chris Murphy & President Andrew Bacevich
Quincy Institute, 9/29/20
WATCH HERE ([link removed][UNIQID])
** MORE. MORE. MORE.
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* Analysts: US embassy closure could weaken ties with Iraq ([link removed][UNIQID]) , Cited: Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow Gordon Adams, MediaLine, 10/3/20
* Critics cite worsening Saudi repression two years after journalist’s gruesome slaying ([link removed][UNIQID]) by Laura King/ Cited: Research Fellow Annelle Sheline, The Los Angeles Times, 10/2/20
* Tough on China talk finds a rebuke ([link removed][UNIQID]) by David Wertime/ Cited: President Andrew Bacevich, Politico China Watcher, 10/1/20
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