Vaccine Mandates

President Biden on Thursday used the full force of his presidency to push two-thirds of the American work force to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, including private sector employees, health care workers, and federal contractors—as well as the vast majority of federal workers, who could face disciplinary measures if they refuse, as the NYT reports.

Taliban Allow Americans to Fly out of Kabul

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities allowed 113 Americans, U.S. permanent residents and holders of other Western passports to leave the country on a flight to Qatar on Thursday, the first such departure by air since U.S. forces withdrew last month, as the WSJ reports.

White House approves partnership with vets evacuating U.S. citizens, Afghan allies

The White House has approved a recommendation by the nation's top military officer that the administration intensify cooperation with the ad hoc groups that have been working to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans from the country, as Politico reports.

Executive Education

Crash Course: Trade Policy with the Trade Guys is a two-day, online seminar for public and private sector professionals working on international trade matters and seeking to improve knowledge of American trade policy and politics. Register here.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

25%

Africa’s thin supply of Covid-19 vaccines has taken another significant hit, with the World Health Organization’s Africa director saying Thursday, “we will get 25% less doses than we were anticipating by the end of the year.”

Source: Associated Press

Critical Quote

"We can and we will turn the tide on Covid-19"

— President Joe Biden

iDeas Lab

In this episode of Afghanistan Aftershocks, CSIS expert Dr. Seth Jones discusses the United States counter-terrorism strategy following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images.) Passengers board a Qatar Airways aircraft at the airport in Kabul on September 9, 2021 on the first flight carrying foreigners out of the Afghan capital since a U.S.-led evacuation ended on August 30.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., join the CSIS Energy Security & Climate Change Program for a high-level discussion between U.S. and Indian government officials on energy cooperation.

And, at 9:30 a.m., Brookings hosts two panel discussions on the legacies and lessons of September 11 for U.S. government and foreign policy.

Then, at 11:30 a.m., the Wilson Center examines the impacts of China's state-led capitalism in Latin America and the costs and benefits of state versus market approaches to development.

Video

Yesterday, the CSIS Korea Chair hosted Representatives Ami Bera (D-CA) and Young Kim (R-CA) for a special discussion on the U.S.-ROK Alliance.

Podcasts

This week, Babel examines what Iran is set to gain in Afghanistan, Iran's relationship with al Qaeda and the Taliban, and potential areas of cooperation or conflict between Iran and the United States as the U.S. withdraws from the region.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

In my view, Jason Isbell is one of the coolest musicians working today. Some call his music country, others alt-country, roots rock, southern rock…whatever you call it, it gets you grooving.

One of the things that I find interesting about Isbell, an Alabama native, is that he’s surrounded himself with a band (the 400 Unit) that is primarily made up of musicians from the Muscle Shoals, Alabama area. Muscle Shoals is famous for being a region that housed the FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound recording studios where masterpieces by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, the Alman Brothers and the Rolling Stones to name a few were produced, often with local musicians backing them.

The Stones recorded some of their album “Sticky Fingers” at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in December of ’69. So it’s not surprising that Isbell and the 400 Unit broke out a couple key tracks from “Sticky Fingers” in tribute to Charlie Watts a few weeks ago. You can hear Muscle Shoals in these covers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xb8YMXBB8

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Kendal Gee, and Paige Montfort.