Good Evening,
It's Wednesday, October 16th.
Note: The Evening will be off on Thursday, October 17th and will return on Monday, October 21st. |
Trump Defends Decision to Withdraw U.S. Troops
President Trump on Wednesday distanced the United States from the conflict between Turkey and America’s Kurdish allies in Syria, saying that the battle “has nothing to do with us” as he defended his decision to withdraw American troops from northern Syria, as the NYT’s Peter Baker, Annie Karni and Lara Jakes report.
Meanwhile, Turkey dismissed a U.S. call for an immediate cease-fire in northeast Syria, pressing ahead with its military offensive, as the WSJ’s David Gauthier-Villars, Vivian Salama and Dion Nissenbaum report.
Dive Deeper: Listen to the new episode of The Truth of the Matter podcast with guest Melissa Dalton of CSIS who tells Bob Schieffer and me about the ongoing conflict in Syria and the sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces there, while analyzing Russia's role, potential U.S. strategy, and the state of Turkey's relationship with the U.S.
“Turkey’s Endgame in Syria: What Erdogan Wants,” by the Middle East Institute’s Gonul Tol for Foreign Affairs. |
Secret U.S. Cyber Attack on Iran
The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, as Reuters’ Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart report. |
Hong Kong
Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said the city had entered a “technical recession” on Wednesday, after she was forced to suspend her annual policy speech when pro-democracy lawmakers shouted her down and called for her resignation, as the FT’s Alice Woodhouse, Nicolle Liu and Sue-Lin Wong report. |
CSIS Executive Education
Join CSIS October 15-18 for our course, Understanding Washington. Explore how formal entities and informal networks interact to impact policy decisions. Open to professionals who are new to D.C. or those seeking a better understanding of the policy ecosystem. |
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel! |
In That Number
354
The House on Wednesday delivered a bipartisan condemnation of President Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces just inside Syria’s border, registering broad opposition in Congress in a vote of 354-60.
Source: NYT |
Critical Quote
“I view the situation on the Turkish border with Syria to be, for the United States, strategically brilliant.”
— President Donald Trump |
iDeas Lab
Few details are known about the Yuemaobinyu 42212, the Chinese fishing vessel that collided with a Philippine fishing boat at Reed Bank in June. CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative teamed up with C4ADS to shine a light on the ship's murky past.
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video. |
Optics
(Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images). President Trump meets with President Sergio Mattarella of Italy today in the Oval Office. |
Recommended Reading
"ISIS Is Already Rising From the Ashes," by CSIS's Brian Katz and the Penn Biden Center's Michael Carpenter for Foreign Affairs. |
This Town Tomorrow
At 10:00 a.m., CSIS will host a conversation about Japan’s infrastructure development strategy and its support for a free and open Indo-Pacific with Tadashi Maeda of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Also, at 10:00 a.m., the Atlantic Council will hold a panel discussion on how multilateral financing can unlock greater energy efficiency, support the energy supply’s decarbonizing, and promote new types of energy infrastructure.
Later, at 5:00 p.m., the CSIS will have a keynote address and two panel discussions with industry experts about maximizing private investment and job impacts in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Video
Yesterday, CSIS hosted a dialogue with Admiral Karl Schultz, commandant of the USCG, and Vice Admiral Peter H. Daly, chief executive officer of the U.S. Naval Institute, about maritime security. Watch the event here. |
Podcasts
Bob and I talk with Melissa Dalton, deputy director of the CSIS International Security Program, to discuss the current situation in Syria after the withdrawal of U.S. forces, Russia's role, potential U.S. strategy, and the state of U.S.-Turkish relations.
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. |
Smiles
Since discussing The Who’s new single and upcoming album yesterday, I got to thinking about that time that Pete Townshend sat in with the Grateful Dead in Essen, Germany for the German television show Rockpalast in 1981.
Yes, you heard it right: Pete and the Dead. It doesn’t get much hipper than that, and not much sounds better either. |
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I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz
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