Sanctions Lifted Against Turkey

President Trump said he is lifting U.S. sanctions against Turkey after being assured that the country is permanently halting an offensive in northern Syria as part of a deal brokered with Russia, as the WSJ’s Vivian Salama and Rebecca Ballhaus report.

The Turkish Army halted its incursion into a Kurdish-run area of northern Syria on Wednesday morning, after a deal between the Turkish and Russian governments promised that Kurdish fighters would retreat from the Turkish-Syrian border, as the NYT’s Carlotta Gall and Patrick Kingsley report.

Brexit Update

EU member states on Wednesday delayed a decision on whether to grant Britain a three-month Brexit extension, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson said if the deadline is deferred to the end of January he would call an election by Christmas, as Reuters reports.

Chile Protests

Students and trade unionists led marches through Santiago on Wednesday in the first formally organized demonstration against social inequality since Chilean President Sebastian Pinera pledged social reforms to try to quell days of rioting, as Reuters reports.

CSIS Executive Education

Join CSIS December 9-11 for our course, Unpacking the Defense Enterprise. Get a competitive advantage in analyzing the changes within the defense domain and better understand the future of the U.S. defense enterprise.

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

30,000

There are still between 15,000 and 30,000 Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq, including up to 3,000 foreigners (from outside Iraq and Syria).

Source: “Russia’s Battlefield Success in Syria: Will It Be a Pyrrhic Victory?” by CSIS’s Seth Jones for West Point’s CTC Sentinel.

Critical Quote

“Let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand.”

— President Donald Trump

iDeas Lab

As rumors of economic decoupling between the U.S. and China grow, a new report from CSIS's Simon Chair examines how an economic conflict between the United States and China could escalate and eventually de-escalate.

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: Mark Wilson/Getty Images). President Trump is flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while making a statement today at the White House announcing that the U.S. would be lifting all sanctions imposed on Turkey in response to their invasion of northern Syria.

This Town Tomorrow

At 9:00 a.m., the Brookings Institute will hold a panel discussion on using extractive industry data to fight inequality and strengthen accountability in resource-dependent African countries.

And, at 2:00 p.m., the Woodrow Wilson Center will host a panel discussion about the history of Crimean Tartar deportation during the Soviet period and the contemporary issues facing this group.

Later, at 5:30 p.m., the Middle East Institute will hold a film screening and discussion on "Peshmerga," the Kurdish military force allied with the United States against ISIS and facing attack by Turkey.

Video

Last week, CSIS Simon Chair expert and Reconnection Asia Project direct Jonathan E. Hillman testified in Congress before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee regarding the impact of China's maritime rise, its Silk Road Initiative, and global supply chain implications. Watch the testimony here.

Podcasts

Bob and I talk with Brian Katz, a fellow of CSIS's International Security Program and the Transnational Threats Project. Brian breaks down the situation on the ground following the U.S. decision to pull troops out of northern Syria, discusses where ISIS stands, and offers insights into Russia's stance of the unfolding situation and what it means for the region.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Let’s go with one more from Led Zeppelin’s 2007 Celebration Day concert. With Jason Bonham filling in for his dad on drums it may be the last time we ever get to see the band roar…

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, Caleb Diamond, and Brad Honigberg.